So today was the equivalent of the 4th of July in the USA. It's Peru's birthday. In 1824, Peru officially became free from Spain. I'm sure there's more to the story, but no one tried to give me a history lesson today, and I just haven't had the time to research it for myself.
Today was also Karen Collins' birthday. In honor of these events the house was filled with people from church, bringing cakes (we ended up with 6!), and presents for Karen. Everyone enjoyed P. Stan's arroz con pollo (Ecuador style), and a special kind of South American sausage (I can't remember the name) prepared by Gustavo.
I'm not sure if any of you have ever been in a room full of people speaking another language. It's different from church. At church you exchange a few pleasantries, sit down and listen to the message, and then say a few more words and a goodbye to the people around you. Today was different. Children, adults, teenagers, young people, old people. All gathered together. All speaking Spanish. It was a little daunting.
But as the afternoon progressed, I realized that I could still manage pretty well. I was forced to listen more than talk, and to listen intently, in order to understand what was being said. And there's nothing like having no other way to communicate to force a person to practice and expand their vocabulary. Already I understand a lot, and today I was able to tell people about my family, about Baltimore, about my roomie (I miss you, Angelica!), and about my past couple of weeks here in Lima.
Something else that I've noticed already, but still surprises me, is that I've made some pretty close friends, even though I've never been able to have a deep conversation with them. Two in particular, are already dear to me, even though their English vocabulary is only slightly greater than my Spanish one. And, of course, there are a few friends who speak English wonderfully, and I like to spend most of my time around them.
Overall, the Body is still the Body, in Peru, in Baltimore, in Budapest, in Canada, in France, and in Poland. Language is not such a thick wall. I can allow myself to be edified wherever I am.
Plenty of other things have been going on as well. On Tuesday I got to spend the day with a group of friends. We saw the center of the city, where all the government buildings and the president's house are. We traveled to the top of a mountain, where we saw the cross of San Cristobal, and got an amazing view of Lima spread out far and wide (it's about the size of Rhode Island!). Then we had lunch and browsed the museums and shops in the area. I finally got to have some ice cream...all I can say is that Peruvian ice cream is 10 times better.
I've also completed one Bible college course. P. Stan and P. Lajos did a six class course in having spiritual discernment. Half the class was in Spanish, but I still managed to take good notes. We'll see how I do on the final exam, but this will be one credit I can add to my Bible college transcript. (yay!)
There's plenty more that's going on. Things that interesting to me, or new, or funny. But, for some reason, writing those things isn't always the easiest task. There's been quite a lot that's happening in me that I can't translate into typed English (kind of like how, even when I can understand a message in Spanish, I would never be able to sit next to someone and translate it for them). Today was the halfway point in my time here. Today I went from feeling pretty homesick, and planning every minute of the 10 days following my return; to starting to feel a bit sad that I only have two weeks left here. I guess I still have some learning to be content to do.
One last thing before I close this post out, and it's the thing I least like to do. First, I want to thank all of you who are reading this, and especially the ones who have commented here or messaged me to tell me that they've been edified by what I've written. You all build me up so much. It's astonishing and humbling to see that more than just my mom is reading this (no offense, Mom!), and I really appreciate the feedback. I do want to just throw this out to anyone reading, though. I'm still several hundred dollars shy of actually having this trip completely covered. Yeah, I made it, but I'm also pretty highly in debt to my parents right now, and I'm not really going to have any money for groceries until a month after I get home. If you're able to contribute anything at all, it would be much appreciated. As always, no pressure. The support of prayer is certainly as useful (if not more) to me. And if you've given me anything already, thank you again, so much. You've made this trip possible. I'm letting you all know where I stand, but I'm trusting God to provide the money.
OK, not the note I want to end on, so here are some more Spanish words: one nuevo sol to the first person to comment and tell me what song this is in English (try not to use the rest of the internet, please):
Todo lo creaste
La tierra, cielo y mar
Los cielos son tu tabernaculo
Gloria al Dios Altísimo
Dios del cielo, maravilloso Dios
Eres santo, santo
La creación muestra su majestad
Eres santo, santo
Dios de la creación
Dios de la creación
Cuando amanezco
He de celebrar Tu luz
Si tropiezo en tinieblas
Volvere a ver tu cruz
Aleluya, Al Dios de la creación
Aleluya, Al Dios de la creación
Dios del cielo, maravilloso Dios
Eres santo, santo
Muéstrame Señor tu corazón
Eres santo, santo, santo
