Thoughts from Peru --

It's been a week and a half since my life started to change. I'm slowly (very slowly) beginning to fall in love with things here. With the ministry. With the people. With the way life is lived here. It's still hard. And I am still homesick. But I can see God changing things up in my life. He has blessed me with time every morning to be in His presence, His word and His hands. They have been peaceful mornings filled with prayer and meditation. I have been blessed by it. He has been placing things and people on my heart lately. And I am finding more purpose in being here and serving in different ways. It's been good. I'm thankful for it.

As I write this I have a pretty broken heart. A friend and her husband from back home found out this morning that her brother had committed suicide over the weekend. It is heartbreaking to know that some people are so lost, so without hope that they decide that life is not worth living. That they give up. I don't understand how life can be so without hope. Being here in Peru I am learning what it means to have hope and to pass that hope on. I know that my friend and her husband along with the newlywed couple they live with are strong Christians. And they are committed to sharing the love of Christ with everyone. And I know they have tried and prayed for months to share with her brother. But Satan got the upperhand and now that family has a hole in it. But they still have hope. They still have the love of Christ lifting them up and helping them through this awful time. My heart aches for them. My heart longs to just give them a hug. But being so far away all I can do now is pray. Will you do the same? Will you help me and others bathe and cover them in prayer? Join with the Church in helping them remember their hope.

May our God be glorified by our actions, our words, our prayers and our lives this week. Dios te bendiga (God bless you).