Amigos del Peru

 Peru from the ground or Peru from the air, it's all fascinating.  I think these are salt marshes.  But the land is not my favorite thing about Peru.  The people are my favorite thing. 

 Marie, Cecilia, and Nancy, are in the super special category.  Nancy was my roommate in 1988-89, our first years in Lima.  We did a lot of goofy things together, and nearly starved ourselves as neither of us could cook much at all.  We each dedicated ourselves to learning one good recipe.  I learned pizza, and Nancy learned Chicken Cauliflower Skillet, which she never cooks now, and is a Young family favorite. 

Nancy and I were at Bob Jones together, in Spanish class together.  When I was making my plans to come to Peru, Mr. Frey, the principal at Fetzer Memorial Christian Academy where I would teach, wound up our conversation with, "Well, that's settled.  Now I just need to find a history teacher."  My heart started to pound!  I was satisfied it was the Lord's will for me to be a teacher in Peru, but I sure would feel better if I had a friend going along too!  I told him about Nancy.  She played hard to get for a bit, but eventually caved in and has been in love with Peru ever since! 

She did have to leave in 1989, for one year, so I moved in with Marie.  She taught me, some times with her elbow, more about loving my Peruvian neighbor than anyone else.  "Greet that lady!" was whispered, and punctuated with that elbow as I tended to hang back and be shy. Whatever she does, Marie does heartily, as to the Lord, and I love her style.  I could go on and on.  We shared a love for Pepsi, her dog, who added a fun short dimension to our home in Salamanca.  I had always wanted a home full of company, visitors, ministry:  LIFE!  and Marie had a home like that.   

Cecilia, in the middle, was 12 when I met her.  I love her and her family.  I knew her for the two years in Peru, and also when she came to the States to go to Bob Jones.  She teases Paul worse than anyone else I can think of, even his own siblings.  The two of them are quite a pair.  The first time we came to Peru together, Ceci and Paul lost me for a bit as they were playing hide-and-go-seek in the National Museum!  They help each other get in touch with their inner child, maybe? 

 In Lima, I had a wonderful church, the Iglesia Bautista de Salamanca where I went.  When we got together, with my "jovenes" (youth) group, we had to take lots of pictures of each other. 

 Here's a little glimpse of what I mean about Cecilia and Paul.  :- )

 The "youth" group is such fun to see again.  It's so encouraging to hear their successes, to see them going on in the church, and with the Lord, and with each other.  Lifelong friendships are rare treasures. 

 I'm expecting Evangel to take this picture for her blog (click here to go there) because it looks like it could go with lots of verses about gates and the promised land.  I thought of her when I took it.  That waterfall is from a glacier above the town of Arin.  The people actually changed the course of the glacier's run-off to get it to come down this side of the mountain so they could use its water. 

I got to hike up by the waterfall with Barb Whatley (whose face shows the most) when she was showing some visitors how to get there.  She also told us about some mummies who had been buried there in a crevice on the way.  Peru is so full of undiscovered mummies, she said. 

She was in Peru some when I was there, but we didn't know each other.  Please pray for her and her family as they're needing to sell their house and move from the mountains to the jungle.  We stayed with her for several days, and I loved how she seized this opportunity to share with a group of athletes in Peru for volunteer work. 

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them that bring good tidings...!"  Isaiah 52:7   They need the Lord's help and our prayers.