Please pray with us for the family of one of our summer missionaries, Greg Gomez. Greg arrived here in Lima the end of May with 60 other summer missionaries to serve on the REAP South Team. Since then he has traveled around southern Peru with a team researching unreached micro people groups. Yesterday afternoon Greg was traveling on a public transportation van near the town of Abancay with another summer missionary and a Peruvian national who also serve on the REAP South team. The van was in an accident and Greg died of head injuries.
Greg is from Illinois and recently graduated from Old Miss University with an engineering degree. Greg’s family was on a trip and weren’t notified until late last night. Please pray for peace for his family and friends. Also, please pray for the two young ladies who were in the accident.
Please pray for the other summer interns. Many of them are in hard to reach places and don’t even know about the accident yet. Pray for the REAP South team and our mission leaders who are ministering to the family in the U.S. and working with Peruvian officials here.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Chicken-something Soup
So yesterday, Claudia, Brad, and I went to a menu to eat lunch. A menu is a small restaurant that serves a small variety of things. Usually at a place like this, one can get an entree, a main dish, and a drink for about 6 soles ($2). It's a pretty good deal and the food is usually great. Yesterday was no exception. The food was good. It definitely wasn't what I was used to though.
They brought out my soup first. I'm not sure what I was expecting, or if I was even expecting anything ... I've learned to be pleasantly surprised by all sorts of random things. As I was slurping up my soup, I noticed one of the 'chunks' didn't look quite normal. So I scooped it up, only to follow it up with the question of "what is that??" There were a few other things like that in my soup. We started analyzing and determined that they were random chicken innards. The first one was either a heart or a liver ... or maybe both stuck together. The gizzard was in there somewhere. I had part of a foot and the neck bone. The neck bone actually had some decent meat on it, so I ate that. I didn't eat the other parts of the chicken though; I'm not a huge fan of heart ... it's a bit chewy for me. :-) I did enjoy the broth and the noodles.
So, next time you order some chicken soup and find a bone, don't complain. At least it's only a bone.
PS - The soup was REALLY good. The random parts definitely add just the right touch of flavor.
They brought out my soup first. I'm not sure what I was expecting, or if I was even expecting anything ... I've learned to be pleasantly surprised by all sorts of random things. As I was slurping up my soup, I noticed one of the 'chunks' didn't look quite normal. So I scooped it up, only to follow it up with the question of "what is that??" There were a few other things like that in my soup. We started analyzing and determined that they were random chicken innards. The first one was either a heart or a liver ... or maybe both stuck together. The gizzard was in there somewhere. I had part of a foot and the neck bone. The neck bone actually had some decent meat on it, so I ate that. I didn't eat the other parts of the chicken though; I'm not a huge fan of heart ... it's a bit chewy for me. :-) I did enjoy the broth and the noodles.
So, next time you order some chicken soup and find a bone, don't complain. At least it's only a bone.
PS - The soup was REALLY good. The random parts definitely add just the right touch of flavor.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
What in the ... is that?? IT IS!!
Okay, so we've determined that end of the world as we know it is coming soon. 'Why in the world would you say such a thing?' you wonder. Well, I'll tell you ... it actually rained in Lima! No joke. We were headed to church on Sunday, walked outside, and discovered that RAIN was falling on us. Now, it wasn't a hard rain ... in fact, under normal circumstances, you would barely call it a drizzle. But, the fact that it was happening in Lima was unbelievable.
Perhaps I should explain why I'm so excited. You see, I'm a Florida girl, born and raised in hot, humid summers that brought afternoon thunderstorms everyday during the summer. One of my favorite childhood memories was sitting on the front porch watching the storms and listening to the rain. And I still LOVE the smell of rain. So, given all that, just think of what moving to one of the driest deserts in the world and not seeing rain for 7 (count them -SEVEN) months can do to a person. I was just like a little kid at Disney world when I walked outside and found it raining. (Had I stopped and thought about it, I probably would've rushed out of the rain because of the amount of pollution that I'm sure was falling on my head. But I didn't want to think about it and ruin the moment.) It was definitely a great way to start off the week (and probably one of the most exciting things of the week).
You know what's funny is that I actually prayed for rain not too long ago. Silly request? Perhaps. But look at what happened. Just goes to show my God can do anything ... even make it rain in Lima!! Too cool!!
(The picture above is one my friend took ... that's RAIN on the windshield of our taxi!!)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Yep, it's true!
Well, I should point out a fact that most of you have already figured out ... I am a TERRIBLE blogger. Right about the time I get into a routine of writing on my blog (well, as much of a routine as I seem to be able to muster), something happens and I lose it all. All that hard work and effort, gone! Haha Perhaps that is a little dramatic of me, but I do feel I should apologize. I will work at getting better ... promise!
So, let's see ... where did I leave off?? Oh yes, the colonoscopy. Well, I got the results back from my colonoscopy. The doctor was a bit vague about things, but did say things were normal. When I asked what samples he took and what they were if they were 'normal', he said, "Well, they're not cancer!" Well, gee thanks Doc ... that's good to know. Didn't know that was an option. Apparently, it was, they just hadn't told me. Yikes! I'm very, very thankful they decided to withhold this tidbit of information. I imagine I would've been a bit concerned the whole weekend had he mentioned this in the beginning. So, a praise ... I don't have cancer!
Now, as far as the rest of the stomach story goes ... it's actually still going. I went back to eating normal food when we headed to Chile (a blog about Chile is still to come, I promise!), and for the most part, things went well. I had about a day where I thought my stomach was relapsing, but then it settled down and things were fine. We came back to Peru and things seem to be staying fairly normal. Then this week hit and suddenly my stomach decided it couldn't contain itself anymore. So sad! Why can't it just behave?!?! So right now, I'm actually at home, opting out of the day's activities because of my sick feeling stomach and eating plain noodles. How boring!!
So, all that to say, please keep praying for my stomach. It needs it. And for my sanity during this whole process. I'm sure I need that too! :-)
So, let's see ... where did I leave off?? Oh yes, the colonoscopy. Well, I got the results back from my colonoscopy. The doctor was a bit vague about things, but did say things were normal. When I asked what samples he took and what they were if they were 'normal', he said, "Well, they're not cancer!" Well, gee thanks Doc ... that's good to know. Didn't know that was an option. Apparently, it was, they just hadn't told me. Yikes! I'm very, very thankful they decided to withhold this tidbit of information. I imagine I would've been a bit concerned the whole weekend had he mentioned this in the beginning. So, a praise ... I don't have cancer!
Now, as far as the rest of the stomach story goes ... it's actually still going. I went back to eating normal food when we headed to Chile (a blog about Chile is still to come, I promise!), and for the most part, things went well. I had about a day where I thought my stomach was relapsing, but then it settled down and things were fine. We came back to Peru and things seem to be staying fairly normal. Then this week hit and suddenly my stomach decided it couldn't contain itself anymore. So sad! Why can't it just behave?!?! So right now, I'm actually at home, opting out of the day's activities because of my sick feeling stomach and eating plain noodles. How boring!!
So, all that to say, please keep praying for my stomach. It needs it. And for my sanity during this whole process. I'm sure I need that too! :-)
Friday, January 4, 2008
Colonoscopy
Well, I had my colonoscopy yesterday. Let me tell you how they do colonoscopies here. They aren't too much different than the States, except for one minor detail ... you are fully awake, able to see what's going on, and feel the pain. Yes, that made this whole event quite exciting.
Kathy went with me to my appointment because we weren't sure how drugged I would be when I came out of the office. We got there, found the doctor's office (thanks to Kathy ... me being the space cadet that I was that day left ALL the information at home ... I didn't even know the doctor's name ... smart, huh?), and checked in. They called me back, had me put on the very comfortable, open back hospital gown (gosh, I love those), and had me lay on the bed. I was looking around the room, intrigued by the differences between here and the States. The room was quite warm, not like the typical operating or testing room in the States. The nurse put an IV in my hand, but instead of attaching it to a bag on a pole, she just attached a syringe. She told me, in Spanish, of course, that this would make me sleepy. Well, it's more like she acted out 'sleepy', but I got the idea. The doctor came in and talked to me (in English!!), telling me that he would be back when the medicine had kicked in. I could feel the medicine as it started to take effect and I started to fall asleep. But then they started the procedure and I got to watch the whole thing on the TV screen. I was definitely groggy because I don't remember everything that was said to me (though I do remember them talking to me and me asking questions ... it's a homeschool moment even when I'm drugged up and having a colonoscopy! Mom would be so proud!). I saw (and felt!) as the camera moved through my colon. It was pretty cool to see (not fun to feel, but can't have it all, I guess).
When the test was over, they rolled me into the 'recovery' room, which was really more of a passage between two rooms. It really had the feel of privacy to it, as the nurses passed through to the office and back. (Yep, love Peru!) As I layed there, Kathy came in and sat with me, and I mentioned yet again that I was STARVING! I guess I should've mentioned this earlier ... I hadn't been allowed to eat since midnight the day before ... that means, I hadn't eaten since Tuesday night and the colonoscopy was Thursday at 11am. I WAS HUNGRY! So, Kathy whipped out a bag of M&Ms and handed them to me. I was laying on the bed, still feeling groggy, snacking on M&Ms when the nurse walked in, saw the candy, shook her head and just sort of smiled. She didn't try to stop it or anything. That's my kind of recovery room!! (Way to go Kathy ... those M&Ms were a life saver!) She asked me to sit up and see if I felt dizzy. My head sort of spun when I sat up, so she had me lay down for a little while longer. Once I finally got up and got dressed, Kathy and I had to walk the specimens that he removed from my insides over to the lab for testing. I can honestly say it was a first having to walk my own innards to the lab. :-)
After we finished up with everything at the hospital, we headed to Chili's to meet up with our team for lunch and I enjoyed a nice, juicy BBQ Bacon Burger. But Sandi, that's not on your diet! That's right it's not ... but I figured after NOT eating for over 36 hours, a hamburger is just what I needed. (Hopefully my doctor doesn't read this blog ... I promise I'm back to the diet now!)
We don't have results from the colonoscopy yet. The doctor that performed it said there were two places where things did not look normal. Those are the places he took samples from and we are now just waiting to find out what exactly "not normal" means.
During our team meeting today, I was once again reminded of the verse that seems to be coming up so much during my time here.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Kathy went with me to my appointment because we weren't sure how drugged I would be when I came out of the office. We got there, found the doctor's office (thanks to Kathy ... me being the space cadet that I was that day left ALL the information at home ... I didn't even know the doctor's name ... smart, huh?), and checked in. They called me back, had me put on the very comfortable, open back hospital gown (gosh, I love those), and had me lay on the bed. I was looking around the room, intrigued by the differences between here and the States. The room was quite warm, not like the typical operating or testing room in the States. The nurse put an IV in my hand, but instead of attaching it to a bag on a pole, she just attached a syringe. She told me, in Spanish, of course, that this would make me sleepy. Well, it's more like she acted out 'sleepy', but I got the idea. The doctor came in and talked to me (in English!!), telling me that he would be back when the medicine had kicked in. I could feel the medicine as it started to take effect and I started to fall asleep. But then they started the procedure and I got to watch the whole thing on the TV screen. I was definitely groggy because I don't remember everything that was said to me (though I do remember them talking to me and me asking questions ... it's a homeschool moment even when I'm drugged up and having a colonoscopy! Mom would be so proud!). I saw (and felt!) as the camera moved through my colon. It was pretty cool to see (not fun to feel, but can't have it all, I guess).
When the test was over, they rolled me into the 'recovery' room, which was really more of a passage between two rooms. It really had the feel of privacy to it, as the nurses passed through to the office and back. (Yep, love Peru!) As I layed there, Kathy came in and sat with me, and I mentioned yet again that I was STARVING! I guess I should've mentioned this earlier ... I hadn't been allowed to eat since midnight the day before ... that means, I hadn't eaten since Tuesday night and the colonoscopy was Thursday at 11am. I WAS HUNGRY! So, Kathy whipped out a bag of M&Ms and handed them to me. I was laying on the bed, still feeling groggy, snacking on M&Ms when the nurse walked in, saw the candy, shook her head and just sort of smiled. She didn't try to stop it or anything. That's my kind of recovery room!! (Way to go Kathy ... those M&Ms were a life saver!) She asked me to sit up and see if I felt dizzy. My head sort of spun when I sat up, so she had me lay down for a little while longer. Once I finally got up and got dressed, Kathy and I had to walk the specimens that he removed from my insides over to the lab for testing. I can honestly say it was a first having to walk my own innards to the lab. :-)
After we finished up with everything at the hospital, we headed to Chili's to meet up with our team for lunch and I enjoyed a nice, juicy BBQ Bacon Burger. But Sandi, that's not on your diet! That's right it's not ... but I figured after NOT eating for over 36 hours, a hamburger is just what I needed. (Hopefully my doctor doesn't read this blog ... I promise I'm back to the diet now!)
We don't have results from the colonoscopy yet. The doctor that performed it said there were two places where things did not look normal. Those are the places he took samples from and we are now just waiting to find out what exactly "not normal" means.
During our team meeting today, I was once again reminded of the verse that seems to be coming up so much during my time here.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
"9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
As I was considering the frustrations of being sick and the frustrations of waiting to find out what might be wrong with me, I was reminded that I need to delight and boast in my weaknesses, for in this Christ's power may rest on me and then I will be strong. That's not really the first thing that comes to mind for me when I think about being sick. I tend to think more along the lines of 'man, this is annoying', 'gosh, I hate bland food', and 'why does something have to be 'not normal'?' But then I remember that I am called to rejoice in even these things because then will I be made strong.
So this is me rejoicing ... I know God is big and going to do great things even through me being sick. And, one day, I'm pretty sure I'll be telling my grandkids about Peru and God's faithfulness ... and how cool it was that I got to watch my own colonoscopy on a video screen. :-)
As I was considering the frustrations of being sick and the frustrations of waiting to find out what might be wrong with me, I was reminded that I need to delight and boast in my weaknesses, for in this Christ's power may rest on me and then I will be strong. That's not really the first thing that comes to mind for me when I think about being sick. I tend to think more along the lines of 'man, this is annoying', 'gosh, I hate bland food', and 'why does something have to be 'not normal'?' But then I remember that I am called to rejoice in even these things because then will I be made strong.
So this is me rejoicing ... I know God is big and going to do great things even through me being sick. And, one day, I'm pretty sure I'll be telling my grandkids about Peru and God's faithfulness ... and how cool it was that I got to watch my own colonoscopy on a video screen. :-)
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