finally here

friends, i'm finally here and i can't believe it. after all the earthquakes and flight craziness, i didn't think i'd get here...but god is good and here i am. let me just start off by saying thank you all for your prayers. my travel, although delayed and rushed at times, couldn't have gone better.

i met an amazing christian man named Ray on the plane and he was such a blessing--since the other girls missed the flight, i was the only one who arrived--so ray was a blessing. it's funny how god takes care of every detail.

i love love love the people i have met so far. my team is great and the staff is amazing. also, i live with a host family--the Cordova's--and they are the cutest people i have ever met. my living arrangements are wonderful--i have a room at the top of the stairs that i share with my teammate megan. it is more than i could ask for and i have plenty of room...i don't feel like i'm intruding either, so that's a plus.

i just feel so blessed every second of every day. just being able to be here and learn the culture is a blessing. the first day i was really out of my realm and all that spanish i thought i knew did NOTHING for me. so that was my biggest prayer request--and still is--but the next day, god gave me the opportunity to practice my spanish with one of the peruvian staff members and i grew in confidence a ton. i am now super excited to perfect my spanish and really be immersed in the culture.

we don't really have much of a schedule yet because the rest of the girls got here last night at 2 am and we're all still adjusting. we did however have orientation today and learned a lot about what we'll be doing...and i can't wait.

i guess my biggest prayer requests are the language barrier, healing for the people in the earthquake, and that god would be able to use us in whatever way possible. speaking of earthquakes...there has been 2 aftershocks since i've been here...i slept right through the first one and then the one last night was awesome...really long, but not scary.

i know some people might have thought-or still think-that i'm crazy for being here or coming here without knowing what i was getting into. BUT honestly god has taken care of every detail...and he has allowed me to not have expectations, which i feel is the best way to go into things anyways. i had no expectations of where i was sleeping, but i was prepared to sleep on the floor, and instead i was provided my own room with a bed and plenty of space for my stuff. god is so good. i'm starting to realize he will take care of me no matter where i'm at. when i'm in his will, he WANTS to give me the desires of my heart...and his. it's so great. ok, more later. but for now, hasta luego.

much love.