Living the Impossible

A reason to love the north

I have found another reason to love this northern part of the country. THE SNOW! I complain of the cold, because, well frankly, it's cold. But the snow makes the cold worth it!

It is as though the world has put on a fuzzy blanket and is curled up waiting expectantly for spring.

This shot was taken in my backyard after we got about 2 feet of snow. We (the roomies and our buddy String) had a blast digging out the drive, munching yummies and bonding.

This is String and I buried in snow. I got the joy of finding out what the term "white wash" means here in Michigander land. I owe him one!

The Girls. The snow was up to our knees and we had a blast making snow angels and shoveling and throwing snowballs. I think my arms are going to develop muscles from all of the digging we did!

Play Laugh Fly

Day 11 - Many of our group opted to head to Cuzco to see some of the sights and wonders of Peru Cuzco is amazingly beautiful. The city has many trees (funny enough many of them are Eucalyptus from Australia!) and is very green. After a brief siesta to acclimatize, we went up to Sacsaywaman and saw some of the old temple ruins in downtown Cuzco.

Day 12 - NEW YEARS DAY! What a way to spend the first day of the new year! We went to Macchu Picchu. I hiked Waynapicchu, the hill overlooking Macchu with a small group of friends. I was the slow one! The views and the humid dampness of the area was fabulous. To be surrounded by crashing hills and rolling rivers and lush vegetation was breathtaking. And hiking down the hill we got a special treat: a double rainbow! An astounding reminder while standing in the ruins of an ancient dead civilization that God is still watching out for us!

Day 13 - The flight back to Lima was short, but very VERY turbulent. I was not happy to be bounced and jounced around...nor was my stomach. Settled into a luxury hotel for the night. It was tough being there, remembering that only 40 minutes away were the hovels and slums where we had labored so hard just days before.

Day 14 - Last day in country. Spent the day with the Miller Family at the beach. Watched paragliders leaping off the cliffs and hanging around the in the air off the coast of Lima. Got sunburned and enjoyed the warmth radiating from my burn the whole trip home.

Eat Sleep Celebrate

The Trip to Peru Continued

Day 7 - Dawn was early on the Wednesday of relaxation. We packed into a luxury double decker bus and meadered through the country side north of Lima for about 3 hours to arrive at a lovely little village that had an oasis of joy: a white water rafting company. The 1 and 1/2 hour trip down level 3 rapids was amazingly fun with our team and crazy guide Juan Carlos. A quick respite at a local hotel allowed for swimming and eating which we followed up by a trip to downtown Lima for a spin at the local markets.

Our deluxe accomodations!

The river of much joy, wetness and fun.

Day 8 - Back to the grind on job sites, but we were all feeling much better rested and happy to be back to the work we had gone down to Peru for.

Day 9 - Last day on the job sites. We saw miracles happen! Three walls of the outside of our structure were 100% complete, leaving the bathroom walls and the gables behind the baptistry to finish. We also added 1/3 of the roof to the church that Friday. The day ended with a spectacular on site water fight. I dripped my way back to the University that night along with Ben and Annika.

Day 10 - Sabbath in the new church buildings! I remember being relieved and tired and happy to share some of what I know of God with the congregation. The joy in the crowded church was tangible. All of the kids who attended VBS and came to church came forward when I asked for anyone who wanted to give their life to Christ. One of our team members prayed over them while we stood with them. It was hard to leave. Four of the nursing students did a wonderful puppet presentation and one of the local boys, Gustavo recited a poem and preached a homily. He was 10. Amazing!

Fly Work Live

This Christmas I had the joy of going to far away Peru for 18 heat filled days. The flights alone should scare anyone and landing at 1 Am local time makes the first days of your visit seem foggy. I went with a wonderful group of 58 others, all of us with the goal of building 2 churches for local congregations.

The poverty in and around Lima is stunning. The children with bellies distended by worms and malnutrition, the drinking water they consume smells of urine, the air is clogged with grimy smoke from burning trash and the houses contructed with plastic bags and rusted iron are enough to make the strongest gape in awe. Over 500 thousand people live in the sand dunes around Lima.

Day 1 -After a brief nap we wrangled ourselves into two ancient buses and hauled ourselves to the work sites where we learned to lay block and got a lay of the land. On our site in Pachecutec (say that one 5 times fast!) we had an ocean view and a breeze that kept us somewhat cooled during the sunny, smoggy days.

This is the first block we laid on site. Ray led the way and got rolling fast on putting up the walls. Our foreman, Art, taught us well. None of the walls feel down. Jericho could take a lesson from us!

Day 2 - A full day of work on the site got us up to course four of blocks. FAST work! I got to work on grouting with a team of magnificent crazy people, including the two monkies you see below, Annika and KK. Finished early to prepare for Sabbath.

Day 3 - A long bus ride to church and we were almost the first ones there! The church we built will replace a pole contruction with plastic bags for a roof, and solid dirt for a floor. I must say though, having a dog sit next to me in church was a new experience. Also new for me..shaking everyone's hand on the way out the door of the church!

Day 4 - Back to the grind. Made it up to course 7 of blocks on one half of the building and I believe up to course four on the other half. Had sprinkles of rain on site today. It helped keep the dust down a bit, except for the dust being flung about by the saw we used to cut block with.

Day 5 - A full day of work on the site. Lost three of our team members to illness, which left us all pulling harder to fill in the missing gaps. The younger ones started to wear out earlier in the day. Lunches consist of sandwiches and carefully purchased chips that were full of MSG. Yeah for MSG! We celebrated Christmas today with sandwiches (surprise!) on site and handfuls of fake snow thrown on us by my lovely roommate for the trip, Dawn. Dinner was a huge affair with singing and an elegantly prepared dinner with tableclothes and centerpieces. Lotsa hoopla! The kids (18 and under) all got purses or hats to celebrate the ultimate Gift.

Day 6 - Fatigue had by this time started to hit us all. Wednesday and rafting were approaching and we were all ready for the "Time to go!" call. Our foreman, Art, whom I lovingly call Artimus, would have worked all night if we would have let him. Achy muscles and short tempers all become a part of these trips I surmise, but we had worship nightly and everyone the kept lack of sleep and lack of energy greatly under control.

The rest of the days will soon be added. I just wanted to start posting before mayhem breaks out for me not telling people what happened!

The elephant in the room

In the spirit of Christmas there was a bash held in our home last night. What a joy to be surrounded by friends, joy, love and laughter for another wonderous night. We traded food and gifts and, my favorite- we traded time. We spent hours enmeshed in each others lives. We dug into soul. And there we have found treasure beyond measure.

God has been kind(amazing! gracious! merciful!) and given me friends who bless this world by their presence. I know I say this alot, but it because I believe it!

Like my friend Stacy. My joyful and most compassionate friend in the whole wide world. She blesses me with her patience and love. She reminds me to be kind and to revel in the wonder of the moment.

And Katie. She challenges me to think and grow emotionally and to walk a life that is honest and open. And I am reminded to embrace fierce opinions and to share them with earnestness.

And Derek. He teaches me to be brave and face confusion and possibility with optimism and strength. (no photo here yet...)

And Kari. She radiates joy and graciousness. She allows me to see the genuine wonder of womanhood.

And Kyle reminds me why I love politics--
the people there are awesome!
And he shows me what it is to work
hard to get where you want to be.

And Micheal.

He allows me
to see grace
and friendship
in a whole new light.

And Zach. I see the laughter and humor that shows me that life is light and joking when we choose it to be.

Merry Christmas! May there be Peace on Earth and in Your Heart.

Confused

I am surrounded by a mass of women.
I see them daily. I smile with them and chat with them. I eat with them and I play in the snow with them. I love these women. They are strong, creative and lovely. They surround themselves with humilty and grace and the body of Christ.These women are beautiful.
They teach me to laugh and fill Michigan (and Texas and California and Sicily) with joy and mercy. I see God in these women. I see what it means to grow. I see challenges faced with tears and determination. I see fierce passion and motivation.
And I see pain. I am surrounded by these women. Lonely women. And I ache for them. Heck, I ache with them. It seems an odd thing to be so independent, as these women are, and yet to feel a longing for a 'someone'. These women are alone, some lonely, some just sadly alone. and I wish I had that band-aid for their soul sized bullet hole. (Thank you POTUSA for that lyric)

I am also surrounded by a mass of men. I see them every day. I smell them every day. I laugh with them and at them. I cry for them and with them. I see strength and vulnerablity. I see hope and trust and love. I see what it means to fight the good fight. These men stun me with their depth and their quiet heroism. They make me remember what makes man great - His search for God. These men are beautiful.
They show fortitude and dependance on a Greater Man. They teach me to appreciate kindness and grace. I learn every day what it means to be humble and driven. I love these men. They make this world a more marvelous place.
And I see pain here too. I see the pain hiding in eyes that rise over a smile. Some are lonely, and some just dreadfully alone. Oh, for that heavenly first-aid kit...

Now if only I can get these two groups together. Can you imagine?