Orientation is Over

I drank frog juice after watching the frog being skinned, guts pulled out, boiled, and blended with some other sketch substances. Yes, people, I drank it. It tasted like throw-up. :-)

I don't even know what to tell you, because I feel like there has been so much going on. We had preaching pretty much all day the last two days. It was good for the most part, but hard to sit in a seat for so long when all you want to do is get to the field. Chris and Stephanie, I can't even imagine what you're going through!

I have oriented myself pretty well in Lima and, while my Spanish is still not nearly good enough, I feel a bit more comfortable using it even if I'm wrong. We will be staying in a local hostel the next week as my team prepares to go to 8 different villages in 8.5 weeks. That should be interesting. (We are traveling all over Peru pretty much, which I am way excited about!) Also, I have taken two showers so far- one was freezing and stopped halfway through while my hair had shampoo in it. My other shower was scalding hot and stopped halfway through while I had shampoo in my hair. SO... I have decided that showers are definitely optional. :-)

Yesterday, after orientation was over, we went over to Mike and Kathy weaver's house (the head missionaries here) for Thanksgiving dinner because it is fall here, which means Thanksgiving time! It was so good! Best sweet potatoes I've ever had! Then, we went to the 11pm showing of Pirates of the Caribbean 3- it was good but very long. :-) (All the Creative Ministry boys slept through it!)

Our team is getting along really well so far! We have claimed the "weird drama kids," although I don't know how I feel about that. One more thing, we have one more member on our team, which we found out about when we got here. His name is Brian Tropiano and he is a photographer. I'm going to try to get his website so you can see pics. Also, look at Lindsay and John's sites (linked to my page) for pictures.

Adrian Maddox- there is a girl on one of the teams here who's name is Audra who acts and looks so much like you. It makes me happy!

Mommy, Daddy, and Kelli- I'm sorry I haven't called yet- we still haven't found calling cards. I WILL call eventually! (I still love you though!)

Maddox family- I miss you tons too!

Davey, you know I miss you like infinity times a bajillion.

Everyone else, I'm so thankful to be able to say that I have such great prayer partners! Please send me your requests as well! The CMT will continue to pray for requests from our partners back home.

You are blessings! Vaya con Dios.

~Kathy

Hola de Peru!

I am here safely!

We had a VERY long immersion day today... We did an Amazing Race type of thing around the city and it was exhausting! I love being here! It´s possibly even better than I have been imagining the last few years, so that´s awesome!

We are having orientation the next few days, so hopefully I´ll get a lot of great information about where I´m going and when soon. I´ll try to let you know!

My Spanish is not super great, pero yo salgo some. haha. Keep praying for that please!

Prayer Requests-

Spanish abilities
Energy
Getting along with team and stepping out of my shell and making friends!

Love you all so much! Chao!

Off to Peru

Well, this is my last entry before I leave! I leave DFW at 11 am tomorrow morning, where I will fly to Atlanta. From Atlanta, I have a 5:15 pm flight out to Lima, and should arrive there at about 11 pm. Please pray for safe travel, as well as clarity and ease through customs, baggage claim, and finding my group.

As for the summer... I am very excited to be there, but within the last week my anxiety about going has increased. Do I have everything I need? Am I going to be able to carry this HUGE backpack everywhere I go? And the biggest one- am I going to be able to talk to anyone with my Spanish as poor as it is? But not once have I questioned that God wanted me to go. So, if I don't bring what I need, or if I fall over from my backpack being too heavy, or if I share Christ more through my actions than through my words, I will still be serving Him. Praise God that he doesn't NEED me to do his work, but that he ALLOWS me to be part of his magnificent plan.

I am going to miss everyone here very much, but I know that you will be praying for me, a fellowship that cannot be matched. I also have the peace of knowing that I will be doing exactly what God has called me to do. :-)

Thank you for your prayers, emails, and comments! Keep 'em coming!

I leave you with this:
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. ~Colossians 4:2-4

6 Days and Counting...

Hola amigos y familia!

I am SO excited to get to Peru and will be there a week from yesterday! Ahh! I'm getting a bit nervous, but mostly excited! I have a lot of packing left to do, but other than that, I'm just hanging out with some friends and family before I go.
I have found a website that tells a bit about Peru... you can check it out to find out more about where I'll be this summer! http://southamerica.imb.org/Country_Profile/peru.htm
Also, I have fixed my blog site so that anyone can leave comments, whether you have an account or not. Yay! Please leave me comments so that when I get to check my blog and email I'll have something fun to check! :-)
One more piece of news is that my team for the summer is set. We have myself, Lindsay Swain, John Green, and Solomon Grados (our newest teammate who is a bilingual Peruvian native!)
Alright- you'll hear from me once more before I leave! Chao!

~Kathy

Mail

Some of you have asked about whether or not you can send me letters and packages while I am in Peru. Technically you can, but I am going to tell you that you probably shouldn't. We received an email saying that it can take up to 5 months for the mail to arrive at its location, and that some of it never arrives. Don't worry, emails are definitely okay with me, and anything that I'm homesick for (like PB&J!) I can just have when I get back. Thanks for thinking of me though! Chao!