Sooo many things happening all at once. I can't really write about them all. The big thing is that early in-service training starts tomorrow. I have to go home and do laundry and be ready to leave for more than a week (thinking I'll just re-wear some clothes to save on space and time). Who is gonna really care if I smell anyway? I've been frantically finishing my community diagnostic this week. It's a report on my community - what it is like, what needs to be done, what I can possibly do in the next two years. Yeah. Kinda intimidating. Nevertheless, I'm excited to say that I've pretty much finished the report and just need to make some signs for my presentation.
I've got about 10 possible projects in mind. I'm trying to use my creativity and passions to make projects my own. I want to do an "Ama Tu Peru" campaign modeled after "Don't Mess With Texas". The campaign will focus on the various aspects of trash management. I want to coordinate with volunteers to put on events, radio shows, and paint murals to spread the word. Maybe people will think twice about littering or burning their trash. Only time will tell. We did the first part of this campaign in a radio spot (have I mentioned I'm on the radio twice a month as of now?). The Olmos girls have a radio program. A couple weeks ago, I issued a challenged to the Olmos girls to write songs about trash using popular music (i.e. raggaeton and Shakira).
Sara Lev, Sara Bulla and I wrote this song to the tune of "Tu Angelito soy yo" entitled "La Basurita de Yo" (the little trash of mine). The song talked about a guy who was eating an ice cream in the park and then threw the trash on the ground when he was done. I sang that song on the radio and it was tough. The song is at a fast pace, but I think it worked out nicely. People said they could understand us clearly. Then my song gets interrupted with a song sung by Sara Bulla and written by the lovely Sara Lev. We took the Waka Waka song from Shakira and Sara Lev made it about caring for the earth and the different ways you should or shouldn't dispose of trash. The "Waka Waka eh eh" was changed to "Lambayeque eh eh". And "this time for Afrika" was changed to "porque es tu pais" (because this is your country). My favorite line was about how you shouldn't burn trash because it will give you cancer "hey oh". Haha. Hilarious. Not the cancer part. The "hey oh" just cracks me up every time.
And Sara Bulla tore it up on the radio as one would expect. Bulla means louds in Spanish, and she had just the right voice and enthusiasm for the job.
I'm still running. I can call myself a six mile runner, hopefully I'm be close to a 9 mile runner tomorrow. I didn't train very hard this week with all the stress...not to mention we found out no one is in charge of planning the marathon. There isn't a volunteer in Pacasmayo anymore. I am pushing for us to put one on in Olmos. Carolyn and Dani want to do the half marathon in Lima scheduled for May. We shall see. I kinda like the idea of doing a marathon just before my 25th birthday. I ain't old yet. And we could maybe even make it an "envirothon". I just learned of this word today.
I had some great moments in my community this month. It is starting to feel like home and I miss it when I'm gone. I've been traveling a lot this month for anniversary celebrations and visits to the capital to get things done...like try to find out if I have a parasite. Only in Peace Corps could the sentence be uttered "oh, I think I'll go drop of my poop and then catch a movie" without anyone batting an eye.
Keep me in your prayers as I make some important decisions this year. Here is a link to the Waka Waka video. This song just makes my day. Hopefully we can make a music video with our environmental, Peru version.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
the long road to ruin
I found out tonight that it is recommended that you share with people if you're training for a marathon, because then you are held accountable to people. I had originally written a blog to talk about the experience, but had decided against posting it because the blog got really sappy. It talked about hurt feelings from junior high track - the mean things teammates had said when I really sucked. I generally finished in last place at the 1 and 1.5 mile races...with the exception of when Athena would run (and she was 4 foot 1 inch tall). (Tangent: Athena sent out a thing today saying she is doing a Susan G. Komen 60 miles in 3 days fundraiser. Go Athena!)
Anyway, the point is, I am training to run a marathon and all you praying people please pray for inspiration. The first day of training really sucked and I felt God asking me over and over again "why are you doing this?" I feel like I have healthy reasons for wanting to do it: to fight gaining weight from the campo diet, because it is an awesome opportunity to run a marathon in Peru with other volunteers, and because I am happier/more productive when I am in better shape. But I have to check myself, make sure that it isn't to make up for all those hurtful words from 11 years ago that are still floating around in my head.
In general, I am more of a goofy-dance-in-the-dark kind of person. I would rather groove to some Earth, Wind and Fire or hop around for an hour to some Phoenix with no one to laugh at me but the good Lord. (And I'm pretty sure I've made God laugh quite a bit with my funky moves.) After a better run on Wednesday, I was dancing and singing some rap/R&B song in the campo with a farmer watching the whole scene (unbeknownst to me). Exercise becomes about how the music changes my heart, who comes to my mind, the ideas that form while I'm moving and have time to think. I like to wake up and decide that day what to do, how far to walk, jog, hike or ride. Nothing is mapped or planned ahead of time. Some days it is peaceful, prayerful. Other days, I'm surprised by what ends up happening, leaving me delighted at the end of it all wondering “where did that come from?” And God uses that to take me to new places, to show me life in new ways...to teach me how to walk more closely together. I learn how to love myself in ways that wouldn't impress anyone, but seem to make me and God smile together. So, I'm taking this marathon thing one day at a time.
I ran into these verses (no pun intended) that will help me to keep running in perspective:
Jeremiah 17:5-8 (New International Reader's Version)
5 The Lord says,
"Those who trust in man are under my curse.
They depend on human strength.
Their hearts turn away from me.
6 They will be like a bush in a dry and empty land.
They will not enjoy success when it comes.
They will live in dry places in the desert.
It is a land of salt where no one else lives.
7 "But I will bless any man who trusts in me.
I will show my favor to the one who depends on me.
8 He will be like a tree that is planted near water.
It sends out its roots beside a stream.
It is not afraid when heat comes.
Its leaves are always green.
It does not worry when there is no rain.
It always bears fruit."
Anyway, the point is, I am training to run a marathon and all you praying people please pray for inspiration. The first day of training really sucked and I felt God asking me over and over again "why are you doing this?" I feel like I have healthy reasons for wanting to do it: to fight gaining weight from the campo diet, because it is an awesome opportunity to run a marathon in Peru with other volunteers, and because I am happier/more productive when I am in better shape. But I have to check myself, make sure that it isn't to make up for all those hurtful words from 11 years ago that are still floating around in my head.
In general, I am more of a goofy-dance-in-the-dark kind of person. I would rather groove to some Earth, Wind and Fire or hop around for an hour to some Phoenix with no one to laugh at me but the good Lord. (And I'm pretty sure I've made God laugh quite a bit with my funky moves.) After a better run on Wednesday, I was dancing and singing some rap/R&B song in the campo with a farmer watching the whole scene (unbeknownst to me). Exercise becomes about how the music changes my heart, who comes to my mind, the ideas that form while I'm moving and have time to think. I like to wake up and decide that day what to do, how far to walk, jog, hike or ride. Nothing is mapped or planned ahead of time. Some days it is peaceful, prayerful. Other days, I'm surprised by what ends up happening, leaving me delighted at the end of it all wondering “where did that come from?” And God uses that to take me to new places, to show me life in new ways...to teach me how to walk more closely together. I learn how to love myself in ways that wouldn't impress anyone, but seem to make me and God smile together. So, I'm taking this marathon thing one day at a time.
I ran into these verses (no pun intended) that will help me to keep running in perspective:
Jeremiah 17:5-8 (New International Reader's Version)
5 The Lord says,
"Those who trust in man are under my curse.
They depend on human strength.
Their hearts turn away from me.
6 They will be like a bush in a dry and empty land.
They will not enjoy success when it comes.
They will live in dry places in the desert.
It is a land of salt where no one else lives.
7 "But I will bless any man who trusts in me.
I will show my favor to the one who depends on me.
8 He will be like a tree that is planted near water.
It sends out its roots beside a stream.
It is not afraid when heat comes.
Its leaves are always green.
It does not worry when there is no rain.
It always bears fruit."
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The Olmos Crew is awesome. Exhibit A:
Subject: PLEASE particiPLATE muahahahahhaa
Hello All BEAUTIFUL OLMOS folk :-)
Hope the sun is shinning brightly in your life today. Or, as Sara
Liben has just informed me, I hope your sky is full of clouds. I am
sitting here with the lovely Terraca and Sara and we have designed a
Stupendous Event that all of Olmos volunteers are FORMALLY invited to
participate in.....
"I DOMINATED the FUCK out of that SANDWICH" Competition
Olmos, Lambayeque, Peru, March 20 2011.
Confused Enough?? Dear Reader let US enlighten YOu about the events
that are about to unfold before your very eyeballs.
the WHO: **Panel of Judges: Dani Reuter, Sebastian and Rosa
Lopez (Sarah's host siblings), and special guest...straight from
Chiclayo mismo....the MIKE REED
**The Iron Chefs: Lisa Melendy, Sara Lev,
Therasa Hill, Caroline Booth, Sarah Bulla, Speare Hodges, John
Rohrback
the WHEN: Sunday March 20: Competition Starts at 12 pm (arrive
earlier to prepare yourself). ATTENTION: judges try to arrive as close
to 12 as possible in order to eliminate biases...aka this is a blind
food competition.
the WHERE: The judging will take place at My lovely, bachlorette
abode. Be prepared to share Kitchen space.
the WHAT: We have only ONE rule: that is all ingredients
that are to be used for the sandwiches can ONLY come from your
site/Olmos/or Chiclayo.
All chefs must let me know if they are going
to be needing a cocina ASAP (no later than regional meeting).
I have utensils and plates here but seeing
as presentation is 25% of the score, prepare to bring stuff from your
own site to spice up your presentation. You will be presenting one
sandwich to the judges for tasting (that will be cut and distributed
between the four judges) and enough supplies to able to prepare 2
additional sandwiches for AFTER the competition.
Rubric:
*Presentation: 1-5 points
*Originality: 1-5 points
*SABOR: 1-10 points
Otras NOtaS: You can prepare a hot OR cold sanwich, however NO
hamburgers (we will consider this other level of competition at a
later date). Don't forget to include a creative title (that will be
apart of the judging). If you wish to change your status in the
competition or cannot participate PLEASE let me know ASAP. Just let me
know as soon as possible if you can make it. OJO: We need more chefs
than judges.
LET THE PLATE CREATING.....BEGINNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!
lotta love,
the creators of this Sandwich Paloooooza
Hello All BEAUTIFUL OLMOS folk :-)
Hope the sun is shinning brightly in your life today. Or, as Sara
Liben has just informed me, I hope your sky is full of clouds. I am
sitting here with the lovely Terraca and Sara and we have designed a
Stupendous Event that all of Olmos volunteers are FORMALLY invited to
participate in.....
"I DOMINATED the FUCK out of that SANDWICH" Competition
Olmos, Lambayeque, Peru, March 20 2011.
Confused Enough?? Dear Reader let US enlighten YOu about the events
that are about to unfold before your very eyeballs.
the WHO: **Panel of Judges: Dani Reuter, Sebastian and Rosa
Lopez (Sarah's host siblings), and special guest...straight from
Chiclayo mismo....the MIKE REED
**The Iron Chefs: Lisa Melendy, Sara Lev,
Therasa Hill, Caroline Booth, Sarah Bulla, Speare Hodges, John
Rohrback
the WHEN: Sunday March 20: Competition Starts at 12 pm (arrive
earlier to prepare yourself). ATTENTION: judges try to arrive as close
to 12 as possible in order to eliminate biases...aka this is a blind
food competition.
the WHERE: The judging will take place at My lovely, bachlorette
abode. Be prepared to share Kitchen space.
the WHAT: We have only ONE rule: that is all ingredients
that are to be used for the sandwiches can ONLY come from your
site/Olmos/or Chiclayo.
All chefs must let me know if they are going
to be needing a cocina ASAP (no later than regional meeting).
I have utensils and plates here but seeing
as presentation is 25% of the score, prepare to bring stuff from your
own site to spice up your presentation. You will be presenting one
sandwich to the judges for tasting (that will be cut and distributed
between the four judges) and enough supplies to able to prepare 2
additional sandwiches for AFTER the competition.
Rubric:
*Presentation: 1-5 points
*Originality: 1-5 points
*SABOR: 1-10 points
Otras NOtaS: You can prepare a hot OR cold sanwich, however NO
hamburgers (we will consider this other level of competition at a
later date). Don't forget to include a creative title (that will be
apart of the judging). If you wish to change your status in the
competition or cannot participate PLEASE let me know ASAP. Just let me
know as soon as possible if you can make it. OJO: We need more chefs
than judges.
LET THE PLATE CREATING.....BEGINNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!
lotta love,
the creators of this Sandwich Paloooooza
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Shame on me: a tale of verguenza
Verguenza - the spanish word for shame or embarrassment. Shhh shhh shame on me. I'll cut to the story. Me on stage at a big concert in Olmos, after a few pisco sours, trying to rip the shirt off of the lead singer of Corazon Cerrano and then his backup singer. He was frightened. Smiling with an assursed look that I could be trusted, I yelled "let me" in English I believe I recall. How did I get there?
It was a week before when I was finishing summer school. The world map wasn't yet finished. Sara Lev. came to my site to help me draw in the rest of the countries. After the junior high and some high school kids would draw, it would be so off that I would have to correct almost everything they drew. This added up to over 40 hours of my time outside of working on it during class. I was at the point where I could no longer find the patience or motivation to move forward. Seeing how inaccurate it all was and trying to draw it all myself was just too much. I needed a helper. God bless you, Sara Lev.
Throughout the week, we finished painting the mural and did projects. Each of my three classes was required to complete a community project around the theme of the environment to get a certificate for my class. The younger two classes picked up trashed, particularly broken glass, around the community and worked in the organic farm. I laughed pretty hard when my 1st through 3rd graders were trying to lift pitchforks, shovels, and pickaxes that weighed more than they did. My 4th and 5th graders were more helpful. I had warned them to watched for snakes as the people who owned the field had killed a snake that morning. While the kids were turning the dirt, a skinny poisinous snake slithered out the around the legs of my students as the screamed and leaped away from it. The farmer partially chopped off its head quickly, but one of my best students tried to touch the moving head. A couple days later when they were doing their trash pickup, I screamed snake. Hay una culebra!!! And they all started screaming the running again. I died laughing. I really had them going.
My high school class decided to do recycling promotion and teaching about the importance of not burning trash. I was impressed with their enthusiasm to give door to door presentations (5 minutes or less) at each house. For students who probably had never given presentations before, they were pretty good. They struggled to not get frustrated with one another for messing up parts and talking amongst themselves insteading of paying attention to the mom of the house. I was just so proud of them for their willingness to take on such a big project and with sincere conviction for the environment and health of their community and families.
I had a day before the clausura, which is kind of like a mini graduation from my summer school classes. Girl's night with the Olmos crew was exciting. I needed to cut loose and summer school was over. Projects had been completed. Many projects, many rice and potato meals, many outdoor showers later, I was ready to get a little crazy with the girls. This past month, the volunteers in the Olmos area have had three girl's night, each of which were incredibly uplifting and a much needed break from campo life. Girl's nights consist of lots of ice cream, dancing, drinking, the pollo a la braza place, and more food. This last girl's night was planned to coincide with a big carnival evening in Olmos with all sorts of food venders, a farriswheel, and a concert from a very well known Peruvian band called Corazon Cerrano. I went up for the girl's night and had just finished the last of my summer school classes I taught. Between the satisfaction of the completion of an incredible summer school experience, the atmosphere of the carnival and the amazingness of girl's night, I was estatic. We all were bouncing around. We bought a aerobics Shakira's Africa.
Then we went to the concert. We went where you would expect - front and center, right at the bottom of the stage. We all danced like maniacs. At one point, I start admiring the shirts the band is wearing. It is just like the kind of shirt I have been trying to buy for weeks, light-weight with two front pockets that button. I told Sara I wanted the shirt. And then I jumped on stage, started dancing with the lead singer and tried to rip his shirt off of him. He was terrified. Then two other girls joined me on the stage for a dance around. I tried to rip a shirt off of anothe band member, still without success. The crowd cheered us all on and the band didn't seem to mind us dancing so long as I stopped trying to take shirts off their backs. I'm kind of a celebrity in Olmos now and some people in my town have mentioned being at the concert, hinting with smirks on their faces to my dancing. They made a dvd and Carolyn said there is a track that is completely dedicated to my appearance. A bit of verguenza...although I'm kind of shocked by my own boldness.
That led up to our clausura. I got to say a few words about every student as they accepted their certificate. I got choked up for a few, two in particular really got to me. One was this kickass girl who joined our class for just the last two weeks. Her brothers had been in my classes the whole time and star students. But she blew everyone out of the water with her knowledge, maturity and enthusiasm. She wants to be a missionary for the Catholic church and get a high college degree to be a leader. I can't waitto see how we can work together.
The second girl that really touched my heart was this high school girl who tested my patience everyday. I kicked her out of class for having an attitude and went back to house to ask her back. She came back only to test my patience day after day for the remainder of classes. But the week of the projects she got really excited initiating the grand projects for high school and passionately yelling at group members for not getting their parts right. She didn't handle things perfectly, but she really gave a damn, even pushing us to meet on Sunday to stretch out classes (meeting early and leaving late) to reach more people.
Then I left for Lima and three glorious days of eating whatever I wanted that day. Mediterranean food. Sushi. A Dunkin donut. Oreo milkshake. Yummy yummy sandwich time. Appetizing appetizers at the U.S. Ambassador's house. Beer. Soda that tasted like pancakes. Mini waffles. Yogurt. Beer and pisco sours. Meeting up with my tech trainer Moni who let me be the first PCV to know she is having a baby!!! We went to an amazing juice place where we ran into the famous female boxer, Kina. She was being followed around by a guy with a huge camera pointed at her the whole time she was just trying to get some juice.
At the Ambassador's house, I met former President of Peru, Toledo. He was the one to invited Peace Corps to return to Peru. When he was a kid, he had a volunteer in his house and a few encouraged him to study at Stanford. I told him that my mayor loved him. He asked me where and I said Corral de Arena, Olmos. He had recently made an appearance in Olmos and knew immediately where I was talking about. I told him that my mayor and I hoped that he would win and that we needed landfills in Olmos; the trash problem is horrible. Landfills for the caserios are needed. He gave me a look like "really, you're gonna bring this up at the cocktail party?" Maybe he'll remember it after he wins. Apparently he is leading in the polls with around 60 percent of the projected votes.
I've had a lovely "vacation", enjoying the luxuries of big city life. Today I was reading Rob Bell's book, Drops Like Stars. It talks about the art of suffering - how suffering makes us better; it helps us to fill alive. I am so grateful that I got to cutloose and have so many delightful experiences, but it also helped me to see how alive I felt in the middle of all my pain. Those moments when I'm praying in the dark, hurt and unsure of what will happen next. I think I am going to train for the marathon though I don't really believe I am capable of it if I'm being completely honest. I don't like pushing myself like that.
I was running to the beach in Lima, thinking about the times this past week when I could have made better decisions. I could have eaten less, worked-out more, acted more appropriately in public. I jogged to a rock walk out thingy on the ocean and was giving myself a pretty hard time when this wave slammed so hard against the rocks that it startled me and silenced my thoughts immediately. I felt God shutting me up. I felt God tell me just how much I underestimated the unstoppable power of my God. And then I watched that being said over and over again as wave after wave beat upon the rocks with nothing that could stop it. How much stronger is this god over mine, and yet I have so little faith in God's ability to change me - to completely transform me in good time.
It was a week before when I was finishing summer school. The world map wasn't yet finished. Sara Lev. came to my site to help me draw in the rest of the countries. After the junior high and some high school kids would draw, it would be so off that I would have to correct almost everything they drew. This added up to over 40 hours of my time outside of working on it during class. I was at the point where I could no longer find the patience or motivation to move forward. Seeing how inaccurate it all was and trying to draw it all myself was just too much. I needed a helper. God bless you, Sara Lev.
Throughout the week, we finished painting the mural and did projects. Each of my three classes was required to complete a community project around the theme of the environment to get a certificate for my class. The younger two classes picked up trashed, particularly broken glass, around the community and worked in the organic farm. I laughed pretty hard when my 1st through 3rd graders were trying to lift pitchforks, shovels, and pickaxes that weighed more than they did. My 4th and 5th graders were more helpful. I had warned them to watched for snakes as the people who owned the field had killed a snake that morning. While the kids were turning the dirt, a skinny poisinous snake slithered out the around the legs of my students as the screamed and leaped away from it. The farmer partially chopped off its head quickly, but one of my best students tried to touch the moving head. A couple days later when they were doing their trash pickup, I screamed snake. Hay una culebra!!! And they all started screaming the running again. I died laughing. I really had them going.
My high school class decided to do recycling promotion and teaching about the importance of not burning trash. I was impressed with their enthusiasm to give door to door presentations (5 minutes or less) at each house. For students who probably had never given presentations before, they were pretty good. They struggled to not get frustrated with one another for messing up parts and talking amongst themselves insteading of paying attention to the mom of the house. I was just so proud of them for their willingness to take on such a big project and with sincere conviction for the environment and health of their community and families.
I had a day before the clausura, which is kind of like a mini graduation from my summer school classes. Girl's night with the Olmos crew was exciting. I needed to cut loose and summer school was over. Projects had been completed. Many projects, many rice and potato meals, many outdoor showers later, I was ready to get a little crazy with the girls. This past month, the volunteers in the Olmos area have had three girl's night, each of which were incredibly uplifting and a much needed break from campo life. Girl's nights consist of lots of ice cream, dancing, drinking, the pollo a la braza place, and more food. This last girl's night was planned to coincide with a big carnival evening in Olmos with all sorts of food venders, a farriswheel, and a concert from a very well known Peruvian band called Corazon Cerrano. I went up for the girl's night and had just finished the last of my summer school classes I taught. Between the satisfaction of the completion of an incredible summer school experience, the atmosphere of the carnival and the amazingness of girl's night, I was estatic. We all were bouncing around. We bought a aerobics Shakira's Africa.
Then we went to the concert. We went where you would expect - front and center, right at the bottom of the stage. We all danced like maniacs. At one point, I start admiring the shirts the band is wearing. It is just like the kind of shirt I have been trying to buy for weeks, light-weight with two front pockets that button. I told Sara I wanted the shirt. And then I jumped on stage, started dancing with the lead singer and tried to rip his shirt off of him. He was terrified. Then two other girls joined me on the stage for a dance around. I tried to rip a shirt off of anothe band member, still without success. The crowd cheered us all on and the band didn't seem to mind us dancing so long as I stopped trying to take shirts off their backs. I'm kind of a celebrity in Olmos now and some people in my town have mentioned being at the concert, hinting with smirks on their faces to my dancing. They made a dvd and Carolyn said there is a track that is completely dedicated to my appearance. A bit of verguenza...although I'm kind of shocked by my own boldness.
That led up to our clausura. I got to say a few words about every student as they accepted their certificate. I got choked up for a few, two in particular really got to me. One was this kickass girl who joined our class for just the last two weeks. Her brothers had been in my classes the whole time and star students. But she blew everyone out of the water with her knowledge, maturity and enthusiasm. She wants to be a missionary for the Catholic church and get a high college degree to be a leader. I can't waitto see how we can work together.
The second girl that really touched my heart was this high school girl who tested my patience everyday. I kicked her out of class for having an attitude and went back to house to ask her back. She came back only to test my patience day after day for the remainder of classes. But the week of the projects she got really excited initiating the grand projects for high school and passionately yelling at group members for not getting their parts right. She didn't handle things perfectly, but she really gave a damn, even pushing us to meet on Sunday to stretch out classes (meeting early and leaving late) to reach more people.
Then I left for Lima and three glorious days of eating whatever I wanted that day. Mediterranean food. Sushi. A Dunkin donut. Oreo milkshake. Yummy yummy sandwich time. Appetizing appetizers at the U.S. Ambassador's house. Beer. Soda that tasted like pancakes. Mini waffles. Yogurt. Beer and pisco sours. Meeting up with my tech trainer Moni who let me be the first PCV to know she is having a baby!!! We went to an amazing juice place where we ran into the famous female boxer, Kina. She was being followed around by a guy with a huge camera pointed at her the whole time she was just trying to get some juice.
At the Ambassador's house, I met former President of Peru, Toledo. He was the one to invited Peace Corps to return to Peru. When he was a kid, he had a volunteer in his house and a few encouraged him to study at Stanford. I told him that my mayor loved him. He asked me where and I said Corral de Arena, Olmos. He had recently made an appearance in Olmos and knew immediately where I was talking about. I told him that my mayor and I hoped that he would win and that we needed landfills in Olmos; the trash problem is horrible. Landfills for the caserios are needed. He gave me a look like "really, you're gonna bring this up at the cocktail party?" Maybe he'll remember it after he wins. Apparently he is leading in the polls with around 60 percent of the projected votes.
I've had a lovely "vacation", enjoying the luxuries of big city life. Today I was reading Rob Bell's book, Drops Like Stars. It talks about the art of suffering - how suffering makes us better; it helps us to fill alive. I am so grateful that I got to cutloose and have so many delightful experiences, but it also helped me to see how alive I felt in the middle of all my pain. Those moments when I'm praying in the dark, hurt and unsure of what will happen next. I think I am going to train for the marathon though I don't really believe I am capable of it if I'm being completely honest. I don't like pushing myself like that.
I was running to the beach in Lima, thinking about the times this past week when I could have made better decisions. I could have eaten less, worked-out more, acted more appropriately in public. I jogged to a rock walk out thingy on the ocean and was giving myself a pretty hard time when this wave slammed so hard against the rocks that it startled me and silenced my thoughts immediately. I felt God shutting me up. I felt God tell me just how much I underestimated the unstoppable power of my God. And then I watched that being said over and over again as wave after wave beat upon the rocks with nothing that could stop it. How much stronger is this god over mine, and yet I have so little faith in God's ability to change me - to completely transform me in good time.
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