Bob Dylan was right..times they are a changing....

Cesar, Kelly, and I enjoying the motocar breeze..

Francis, one of the students of the training school and our dear friend truly enjoying the mudslide

Elias and I at my birthday surprise that followed the kids program...

Mickey, Andy, Maite, Esmeralda, and I

I know right..she looks a little too happy to have just gotten in an accident...

Change...a word popularly used but rarely understood. I thought upon leaving the states, I would cease to see this word plastered on every political ad and proclaimed in every heart-warming speech on television, but thousand of miles away, Nauta city is no different. Being in the middle of elections for mayor here, it seems each candidate clings to this word, claiming to have the ability to awaken a new generation of peace and prosperity.

Now, this is not a blog to discuss corruption in the political realm or the separation of church and state. More than anything, the past 2 months here in Peru have been a constant reminder that instead of constantly focusing on the end goal and looking at our ministry and our relationship with Christ as means to some great end, we should realize that Christ is the end. God is the only one who will never change. He truly is the solid rock on which we can stand. Believing this can completely change our perspective on how we live our lives. Instead of constantly trying to live right or inspire change, we realize that walking with Christ everyday is what is important. While so many people feel like the Christian life means we have to begrudgingly give up our old way of life just because we desire a ticket for eternal life...truly embracing a daily walk with Him brings the realization that we can live abundantly and love fervently here and now on this earth.

As the summer here is drawing to a close, this theme of change resonates within my own heart. I was sitting in the back of the campamento today barefoot, washing my clothes in a bucket as a possessed mother duck was pecking at my foot. All of the sudden I realized...this feels normal. I started thinking about the past week....driving a moto around town, the internet cafe, at least 15 hugs a day from the neighborhoods niños....it all seems normal. In a few days, change is coming. Kelly is headed back to school. I begin my student teaching. Life will continue to move forward here as we move forward there. While politicians everywhere are clamoring for change, I am not quite sure I am ready for it in my own life. I know the goodbyes will be hard, but if there is anything I have learned this summer it is that God always has been, always is, and always will be faithful to us. Praise God that our lives are more than just a series of events and emotional highs and lows. Everyday matters to Jesus and every minute is another chance to get to know Him deeper.

I know Kelly and I both look forward to seeing you all soon. these past few weeks have been full of memories that we will never forget. For those of you who have not heard, Kelly will be bringing a nice cast home with her. In an adevnture gone wrong, I let Kelly take the wheel of the moto and her mental desire to turn down the street and her physical ability to do so collided and we headed for the sidewalk pavement. Kelly fractured her wrist and I got some very beautiful bruises to take home with me but we are alive and very grateful.

My birthday was yesterday and it has to be one of the best birthdays I have ever had. It started out with a midnight serenade of 6 of our friends here, who woke us up singing outside the house at midnight. We had a delicious chicken and rice lunch and Crystal made my day by baking brownies. Afterwards, I found out the pastor we worked with last year was waiting for me at their house with another meal of chicken and rice and another cake. I was incredibly grateful and quite surprised..but it was definitely a struggle trying to eat lunch and cake number 2 with becoming ill.

Afterwards, all our friends went swimming and we found a fantastic slippery mudslide which made for great fun and great pictures. Dont worry Mr. and Mrs. Brill...I did not let Kelly on the slide. Her and her wrist were safely playing soccer in the shallow water. As soon as we finished swimming, we had to shower quickly in order to make it to our Wednesday night childrens program where I was surprised at the end by a delicious cake and many hugs from the children. Upon leaving the church, Crystal handed me the key to her moto and let me take a joyride. It was a cool and clear night and one of the best ways to help bring my 22nd birthday to a close. I met everyone at the campamento where there was...yep you guessed it..left over chicken and rice. I seriously think I ate more yesterday than I have eaten all summer. All jokes aside, I was extremely blessed yesterday. Sadly the day also consisted of 4 eggs broken on my head, a very fun Peruvian birthday tradition. Thanks to Cesar, Francis, Liliet, and Peter...such dear friends...my hair still reeks of egg.

On a more serious note. After an extremely heavy rain and wind storm mid-day yesterday, many of the houses here have suffered serious damage. One friend Moises, lost his roof completely, and I have already seen 2 more houses that have been completely destroyed. While the storm would probably make little to no impact on American houses, here a big difference was made. Our house lost its gutter system, but thats about it. We are continuing to pray for Moises and his family (his daughter was in my group during the childrens congreso) and also trying to see how we can help his family get a new roof as quickly as possible.

Well this blog is surely long enough.

Mucho amor.

-Sarita

update...FINALLY!!!

I I apologize to everyone for taking so long to update the blog. We have been really busy lately, and have had no time to sit down and write out everything that we have been doing. We are in the last 2 weeks of our trip. Sarah and I are SOOOOOO sad to be leaving. We constantly sit and talk about the differences between our life here and how we live in the states. When were here...life is simple. Whether it is with the clothes we wear, the food we eat, or the church services we attend......all is simple. We try and wonder sometimes what people here would think of us in the states, and if they would view us in the same way or differently. Sarah and I constantly learn new things each day. We both have different areas in our life where God is working, but I feel like He has really been showing us how to build up our treasures in heaven, instead of treasures on this earth. Some nights I will walk out into the middle of the field and just stare up at the stars. I begin talking with God, and my heart is overwhelmed with JOY that he has chosen me to be his servant. I know that it´s only by his grace that I am here.

Soooo, there has been a lot going on around the campamento lately. We had our Kids congreso last Thursday, Friday and Saturday. There were around 100 kids that attended that were from Nauta, Iquitos, and different villages down river. We had a blast serving these kids, and getting to spend the night at the campamento with them. Sarah was a leader of one group, and I was able to lead my own. The days were filled with different activities for the kids. They had a Bible story each day, and different arts and crafts to do. There was also volleyball and Soccer that the kids partcipated in, and my team won FIRST PLACE!!!!! The first night that we went to sleep..there was SOOOOOO much noise in the campamento. The kids were out of control. Sarah and I at one point had 5 people in our mosquito net to sleep. We ended up going downstairs, and found Crystal still awake. We decided to go on a little joy ride on her moto at 11 p.m. to get a break from the kids. When we got back, sarah and I decided it would be better to sleep on the picnic table outside. How uncomfortbale!!! We woke up freezing because the dew had gotten all over our blankets and pillows. But it was definitely quite the experience! Also, we rose at 4 30 A.M. because the guys from the campamento began playing the guitar and singing.....which resulted in all the kids waking up. The kids had an awesome time of fellowship wiht other there age, and we just pray that they always remember the Bible stories and verses that they heard.

Sarah´s birthday is coming up fairly soon, but 3 guys from the campamento have already left. They were very sad they they would not be able to crack eggs over her head. So, the day before we left, the boys plotted to smash an egg over her head. They were successful, but in there success....they got me with an egg as well. I was not happy. Crystal, Sarah and I schemed and schemed. We woke up at 4 in the morning to sneak to the campamento with eggs and flour in our hands. We found them in there beds, and we were able to get a few of them. But they knew we were there and had there eggs ready as well. We left covered in egg and flour. We had a good time sneaking around the campamento.

The campamento has been very quiet lately. Three of the boys in the discipleship program have left to go home to there villages for two months. They are going home to put into practice what they have been learning, and to serve in there home churches. I learned so much from these guys. They have a passion to serve Christ, and you can see the love they have for him by the way they live there lives. Those guys have become our family here this summer, and it broke our hearts to have to say goodbye. I would always make fun of one guy at the campamento...his name is Gumersindo. I would call him Goobs, and then call him lazy!! ooo the love we have for each other!! haha pray for these guys as they are returning home. Pray that they stay strong in the faith. Dustin, another one of the guys who left....is the only Christian in his family. I know it is hard when there is no support in his own home. Pray that he will be able to witness, and share the love of Christ with them.

Sarah and I have been able to really experience the peruvian life. The other day, Marisol...a woman who helps out at the campamento...asked me if I wanted to help here with dinner. I said of course! She then proceeded to tell me that I would be pealing the chicken..................WHAT??? She pulled the chicken out of the cage, and we proceeded. Sarah cut the neck of the chicken and drained the blood...adn then we put it in pulling water where I began to pluck the feathers from the chicken. It really was not that bad. I figured I should probably learn if I am going to be doing this one day. This is normal for hte people here. After the chicken was dead....one of the girls was sitting playing with its foot in bloody water. I have a lot I still need to get used to!!

Continue praying for us. We have many friends in the next 2 weeks that we want to visit. We have some friends that do not know Christ. Pray that our conversations would be spent talking about things that really matter...things that can impact a persons life for eternity. God is good, and faithful. I pray that all we do is to only bring honor and glory to his name, and we live each day knowing that we were called to waste our lives for Christ. I want to leave this world knowing that I gave everything...and never look back with regrets. I believe with my whole heart that Jesus is worth more than anything I could ever hold in my hands. He is better than life itself. He is the one we live for each day!!!

Kelly B.3