Peru is definitely no Holland

It's finally time for an update. I have a few moments to just chill and not go on Facebook, so I figured I'd finally post some news. If I don't do it tonight, then more stuff will happen, and it will be even harder to write the next update because there will have been so much to update on that it just won't happen. And we all don't want that.

Well, where to start? I'm having a hard time believing it's been six weeks here already. We held our first service this past Sunday, using a board room in the school the Smith kids' go to. We had about 20 people fellowship together, and I thought it was great. We were given permission to use this one room for 50 sols/week, and when we exceed 20 people we could have a bigger room. Well, it' looks like we're going to need that room. Not too bad.

I am mid way through my fourth week of Spanish school, which is currently my main focus right now. It has been every weekday from 9am to 1pm, and then I don't do much else with my time because it seems by the time I get home (I walk just shy of 30 minutes each direction), I'm wiped out from just this heat, for the physical aspect of it, then just mentally from how tiring language learning is on my brain. Certain days of the week I might have people over or accompany Ron to ministry related errands if he invites me on any in the evenings. I'm getting into a groove as far as my schedule for this season goes.

We began pre-intermediate level today in language school, and thankfully I finally got my tax refund from the government in time to pay for two--probably three--more weeks of lessons. I'm on a bit of a pay-as-I-go system at the school since raising and saving enough money to take $9/hour Spanish school and enough support to live here was daunting, but God has been providing every step of the way so far, so I know I'll finish what I started, just more likely at two weeks of each month instead of a whole stretch of 19 weeks in a row. I figure this is OK because I'll have ample opportunity to practice what I learn with native speakers anyway. Peru is definitely no Holland in terms of people speaking my language.

Each week we also have the opportunity, included in the cost of the school, to attend different cultural excursions, such as a museum they took us to, and last week I had the opportunity to visit this country's government palace - the Canadian equivalent would be parliament, or the White House in Washington. The two pictures below are from that trip.

For how little time I've spent learning the language, I am pleased about how much headway I'm making. I think the Hispana school I'm going to is really good and affordable compared to other ones I checked out before choosing this one. As a relevant side note, I also switched rooms to the one in this house that doesn't face the busy road and the noisy construction of the high rise they're beginning to construct across the street. In this slightly more expensive, but larger 'feels like a hotel room', I have a cable TV and I've watched Star Trek Nemesis in Spanish subtitles. No matter what language you watch it in, that movie still sucks. But my theory was that I might understand it if I watch a movie I've already seen, but dubbed.

I also watch Spanish CNN. I personally am finding that news is very easy to understand, because they speak clearly and proper. But Los Simpson makes no sense to me yet. But all in all I love being here, even if I'm not doing "ministry" just yet, but learning the language. Speaking however, is still hard. When I try expressing myself in my limited vocabulary, I'm sure the Peruvians think I'm the Spanish equivalent to Yoda when they try understanding me. But we're moving into past tense and reflexive verbs now, so I can say more than just "I go to eat" and "I don't like cebiche."

All the things I went through in Holland, and even the past year in Canada before coming here, were definitely in preparation for the starting line I'm now reaching. It's like I heard someone say that God uses people and experiences to shape us and put edges and grooves in us like a locksmith does when you get a new key made. Then only when it's complete and has the proper slots grinded into it and edges made, will the key fit the lock it was intended for. Such is how I'm feeling. I'm starting to see ways that God was leeding me to this 'unlocked door' for lack of a better way of putting it.

And in closing, for those of you who are wondering, no the podcast is not over. However I am going to be having more guests on it. I'm not sure how often my usual co-host Dan Slavin wants to keep doing them nowadays, but I've got about 3 different people with a passion for different subjects that burn on their hearts. Fire On Your Head isn't going to start having random guests for fill in the blank episodes just to keep doing them for the sake of doing them but Dan has expressed in the last phone call I had with him before coming to Peru that twice a month is way too often for him at this season, and has 'released' me to make as many as I want with other guests. I talked to Dima Kurovsky (our resident creation apologist and tongues googler) and he's burning with some new things he learned while in the United States he wants me to let him on to talk about, as well as a follow up to the one we did together on google searching your glossolalia (one of three most listened to of all time). As well, a friend of mine from Bible school is really interested in talking politics--at least, if Christianity and politics mix, and what the church is supposed to do if anything. I still have topics I want to do but am waiting for the right timing, and a suitable co-host that's interested in getting their preach on with me--such as another follow up on living holy like we started months ago but never got back around to doing.

And of course, Ron Smith, director of Fire Peru is more than happy to be turned loose and get his preach on about what we're doing here. So forgive me if my blogs only cover so much, but despite the interviews lined up, I'm trying to hold off and make sure the very next one is the interview with Ron, which I think is only appropriate to do as the first one since I've been back to Peru. Look for that in a week or two.

That being said, if you've never checked out the Fire On Your Head written blog, you should. We're averaging over 100 unique visitors per day, and I'm really enjoying the articles the other authors we have are posting on that site. We've had an interesting three part series on the Jezebel spirit that I thought was very insightful.

Well, that's all for now. Happy April Fool's day tomorrow (which is probably today when you're reading this).

Blessings and fire on your head.