Our first day in Lima in pictures + update!!!

The first day here was exciting

We were all up early and ready to see what we could accomplish...but we didn't realize Peru doesn't really wake up until around 10 or 11

so we hung out around the hotel for awhile

 

When we did get out to the stores they weren't all open anyway but we enjoyed a nice walk.

In fact we walked and walked and walked.

But the boys still had energy so we let them play at the playground.

They were not the least bit excited about it

  

We ate at my current favorite restaurant

They have a cute little flower cart outside.

After lunch we drove around for a few hours looking for houses with for rent signs outside...we didn't find many but that didn't really matter.

We finished out the day at a grocery store named Wong. Jose got our cell phones set up and me and the boys sat in the little coin operated car area.

They liked this one

We have really seen God's hand and just favor over us the whole time here.

Even when we were flying over here. We checked with the airline the day before we left to find out how much it would cost if we checked extra baggage they said $140 per bag. We decided to buy an extra suitcase and check it because we were just running out of options. Tuesday morning at 4 am we showed up at the airport with our 11 suitcases, 5 carry-ons and 5 personal items. We weighed everything to make sure we weren't over weight and had to move a few things to carry ons. Jose went to check the bags and they said it was only an extra $40 instead of $140. Jose decided to go ahead and check 2 of our carry-ons as well because it was so much cheaper (plus we really didn't want that many carry ons.) The lady called her supervisor over at the end to sign off on everything and the supervisor said "no, you were supposed to charge them $140 for each additional bag" then she told Jose "sir because of our mistake we are going to let you check these 3 bags for free" We didn't have to pay any extra fees for our bags at all!

Secondly when we went out with the realtor she had 2 apartments to show us in our price range, and 2 that were slightly higher than we wanted to pay. We looked at all of them and Jose and I both liked the first one we looked at (which was in our price range hallelujah). All the places in the area we need to be in were unfurnished though. So while we waited to get the contract from the owner we decided to go price furniture and appliances (houses don't even come with ovens here) I'm not going to lie. Looking at how much everything was going to cost and even just trying to furnish a complete house from nothing was a little intimidating. But I serve a big God. That night we went to meet with the owner (a former actress/tv host) We were there for about 2 hours talking about the house/living arrangement/her health/the realtors family/ etc.... this is Peru you don't have short meetings about one specific thing and then move on here. In the process of our conversation she asked if we have furniture. We told her we don't and she said "My daughter lived here for 3 months. She bought everything new and left it with me when she moved. I'll tell you what, if you want I can furnish the house for an extra $200 a month then when you go to Piura you can have it all if you want it. I even have trucks that go up there all the time you can take it in one of my trucks when you go."  All we need to get is linens and some kitchen items to have everything we need for our house.

Third. One minor hickup is that the house is brand new. When we were looking at it it didn't have light fixtures and was still being painted. Because of that the house won't be ready until Friday. But our hotel is only available until Tuesday then we were going to have to move to a different room. Not a big deal for us but it would cost us 4 extra night's in the hotel. Yesterday when we were at church we talking with the pastors and the couple that is in charge of the retreat center. They asked where we are staying and we explained the whole situation. When we finished they said "don't spend your money on a hotel we have a guest house behind our house you can stay there until your house is finished." Then Jose asked if we can start moving our luggage over today and the pastor said "just use the church van. I will send it over to pick all your sutff up on Tuesday so you can move everything in one trip"

We have an amazing God. It is so awesome to see his hand on every step of our journey. It is clear he is Jehovah Jireh our provider. We can't wait to see what He is going to do next! 

Please be in prayer with us for a vehicle. There are six of us so we need something that carries at least six comfortably. We are really praying for an H1 mini van (they carry 12 passengers but look like a mini van) We have called on a few used vehicles but they sell for almost the same as new...cars do not depreciate here. 

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support it is deeply appreciated! And we can seriously see/feel the prayers in our daily life!   

First Day In Lima

The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, and it's not over! We arrived in Lima last night around 12 with all of our 13 suitcases. Jose's dad had alreay secured and checked in to our hotel so he picked us up at the airport with a taxi-van and his rental car and we managed to fit everything into those 2 vehicles. We got a great night of sleep (8 hours! I can't remember when the last time we got that much sleep in a bed. maybe a week but it seems like months)
Today we will start looking for a place to stay a little more permanently. We also plan to stop by Casa Del Padre and check in with them.

There are so many ways we recieved favor and have seen the presence of God in our lives in this time it is absolutely amazing! We feel everyones prayers and are so thankful for them.

Next blog I plan to put up some pictures...but for now I gotta' run. God Bless!

3 Days left...

We are in Florida! Getting in some family time with Jose's family. Tonight we are eating Peruvian food and staying up way too late! We got blessed with a nice hotel room and are enjoying a little bit of chill out time. I'm not sure how soon we will have internet access in Peru so just please pray for us Tuesday we have to be at the airport in Miami at 4am. Logan has been getting motion sickness in the car and we are not sure how the airplane will be because this is a new thing. I have stocked up on dramamine and we are trying everything we can.

quick update

After almost 2 days in Amarillo we took off yesterday around 1 (2 hours later than originally planned) and arrived in Kansas City at 1am. (yes it took us 12 hours to make a 10 hour drive) We are staying with my friend Jami's parents. When I was little I told my mom I wanted to be just like Terri Baker when I grew up and I really haven't changed my mind :) She has made us feel so at home. 

I get to see my best friend today! And we are going to ihop! Then I get to see Jami tomorrow! (Jami in case I don't talk to you before you read this, we are hanging out tomorrow fyi...lol)

August 1st

Today as we were driving to church I noticed one of those time/date/temp clocks that some buildings have. It said August 1st. 11 months ago we decided to leave in August. At that time it seemed like August was so far away I might never see it. But here it is. We are leaving Houston in 9 days and the U.S. in 22.
Time is flying by. Excited and nervous are the main feelings right now for all of us. Butterflies abound.

If you are wondering how I feel and you have ever been pregnant that is a pretty good way of describing it. We are about to birth something. We think we know what it will be like but we can't really be sure until it's time. Some people (most actually) are supportive and happy for us and some are not. We have been looking forward to and planning for this for a long time. And here it is!

We will be traveling a lot for the next several weeks so please pray for safety and sanity since we will be logging lots of hours on the road with small children.
Also thank you for those of you that have committed to pray for us and support us financially. As you can see on the right our list of prayer partners is slowly but steadily growing. We can't do it without you so THANK YOU!