Summer Video

Perú Summer Video

Felicidad

Happiness.

How is it so easy for me to lose the happiness that I so long for? How is it so easy to pass through each without the joy that is supposed to be flowing from my life?

It is so easy for me to just push off another day of talking with God, and the more I do so, I feel guilty. The joy and love that I need seem so far from me, but I feel unworthy to come back to the place I need to be. I’m scared that I will be met at arms-length with a hesitant welcome. However, these thoughts so obviously do not come from the one who is waiting for me, waiting to fill me with his love—the one who will welcome me with open arms and give me a joy that comes from nowhere else in the world.

Kusi is the Quechan word for Happiness, joy, and contentment, which could not better describe this place. The pure joy, love and happiness that I see here in Angel and Rosa the house parents and even in the boys at times is so evidentially an overflow of what God has poured into their lives.

My prayer is that my life would be an outpouring of the love and joy that Christ has shown to me—so that the people I come in to contact with have no doubt who my heart belongs to.

It's hard to explain the happiness that you find here in Kusi. I don't know if it is the simplicity of taking time to rest, to focus on God, or being faced with the reality of just how blessed you are.




Being reunited with the boys and all the family here in Kusi has been wonderful. As ou first group gets ready to leave on Friday, I can already see God at work, even through this first week. I look forward to sharing more and seeing what all God has in store in the weeks to come! Thanks for your prayers!

Kusi Bound!

All packed and ready to go to Perú!


The lovely Mejia family who let me stay with them during the first couple days of my trip.


My three beautful friends :)


Waiting for our first group to come with my fellow translators (Lauren from DC and Katerina from the Czech Republic) as well as two of the girasoles boys who have since graduated from the program who came to see their friends from Alabama.

We picked up what seems to be an already amazing group of friendly young people from Alabama. We leave for Kusi tomorrow morning at 7, so I appreciate your prayers for a safe journey, a healthy group, and just an overall goodtime as this group does God's will in Yungay, Perú.

I love you all and excited to see how the Lord will work as work team season gets underway.

Thanks for your prayers!!

Here we go again!!

First of all, I want to thank you all for your support for me throughout the summer. After several days with my friends and getting to see the SouthLake group I checked into the Youth Hostal here in Lima, got to meet the other summer interns, and traveled 30 minutes to our Orientation.

After one more day in Lima, were traveling to Kusi tomorrow in Yungay. Im so excited to see everyone again and getting to know the first work group.

Just a quick update..I'll update you all with more soon.

Just wanted to say thank you for yor prayers as we travel to Kusi and look forward to being able to share more soon!

abrazos!!

Catherine

How many times does God have to prove something to me before I will believe Him?

Our culture is all about being in control of your own future. You study study study in High School so you can get into college. You work hard in College so you can get a good job. You work long hours at your job so that you can make enough money so you can provide for yourself. You are considered strong if you are self-sufficient and self-reliant.

It is so hard for me to surrender. Its so hard for me to not have control. Sometinmes there are things I want so much...which all usually have to do with going to Peru ;) ...that I dont want to surrender, because I feel like if I lose control of the situation, if I surrender it to God, then it won't happen. I am a firm believer in the fact that if it is in God's will, then nothing can get in the way of it happening. In other words, if I'm supposed to go, I'll go.

But still I'm scared, because I have that worry in the back of my mind that maybe God doesn't want me to go. And if I give it to Him, that I won't get what I want(as if by keeping it myself, I would somehow be able to get what I want)! I know God has his BEST plans for me, and he's proved to me time and time again that his plans are so much greater than mine...so why cant It just give it up already?

Back to 'normal' life

Right now, I'm sitting at my new desk in my dorm room at Asbury University. Life has been a whirlwind ever since I got back from Peru...catching up with friends, shopping for school supplies, and making sure I had everything I needed for college took up a lot of my time. It almost seems unreal to me that I'm back in the States, and its sadly funny how quickly I seem to be able to fall back into my old routine.

I really don't realize how lucky I am. It seemed like with every person I sat down and talked to for awhile in Peru this summer we ended up talking about college. Each of these people have some great plan with what they would like to do in their life...the majority were directly ministry related..great things for God, but they would have to go to college first. And there is where the problem lies. Even with working and going to college, they couldn't afford it. And here's the part that hit me...it costs $1,500 a year. Shall I even begin on how much my school costs a year?

It makes me really think about what opportunities I have, and makes me want make the most of them.



Well back to Peru..

For the last several days before I left, I stayed with my friend Carmen who is also a translator. (Her dad works for Scripture Union and is very involved with the deaf ministry.) The morning before I left I woke up to find the cutest little boy sitting at the dining room table. I greeted him, said good morning, but he didn't respond.

A little later Carmen's dad explained to me that he is deaf. The little boy and I played together a lot that morning and I even learned a couple signs so we could communicate. This little boy was so happy, and when we would play games together, he would let out this high-pitched laugh that was so contagious.

Evidently he was new at learning sign language. Just months before, he had been extremely bad-behaved and had even kicked his mother. But after being taught a language, and learning how to communicate, this boy seemed like an entirely new person!

In recent years, rights for the deaf have come along way in Peru. In 1989, deaf people were legally allowed to get married for the first time. And just this year, sign language was recognized as a language...which means that for the first time, translation for deaf children in classrooms is recognized as a real job and translators can be paid for their work!

This is one ministry of Scripture Union that Ive gotten to learn a lot about this summer as I have taken quite a few groups to the deaf center in Lima.

And just like with everything, you can hear all the facts and stories in the world, but when you actually meet a deaf child, that is when it stops being a story, and becomes real.

So on my last day in Peru, I decided that I wanted to go home and learn sign language. 80% of Peruvian Sign Language is based of American signs, so I hope if I start learning here, I'll be able to communicate a bit next year! :)

So, after trying to find a Spanish Church near Wilmore, KY, finding a place that teaches sign language is at the top of my list of things to look for in my new home!

Thank you for all of you who have followed me along my journey this summer, supported me financially, and prayed for me. I couldn't have done it without you. I'll be making a video as well as a thank you letter to send out as soon as my limited amount of free time allows as classes start on Monday, and two volleyball practices a day occupy a good deal of time between now and then..prayer for that is appreciated as well! Thank you!

In Christ,
Catherine