8 days!

Click on this picture to make it bigger! This overlooks where I live!

AAAAAH I only have 8 days in this beautiful place....  My heart is so torn! I love these people so very much but yet I am incredibly excited to go back to California to see my family and my friends. This week is going to be very hard.... Please keep me in your prayers! *especially with traveling ( I have 16 hours on a winding road in a bus then 3 different flights after that).  Thank you!  Well yesterday was a very full day starting of with an intense workout session haha gotta love the Insanity dvds! *Pure cardio and cardio abs I totally recommend it! after that we got to go to the Orphanage which is always a treat! I love being with those kids :) after that I met up with Cynthia and we went to her english class. It was my second time being the guest speaker there and its sooo much fun! The students ask me questions and as I answer they listen and write down my answers *or what they could understand. The great thing about it is that it ends up being such an awesome witnessing experience as well! After class I headed back to Banos to celebrate one of my friends birthdays Peruvian style which meant she was creamed with an Egg in the head and when they brought the cake out she had to take the first bite with her face!!! LOL It was pretty awesome! :) and now they know that my birthday is tuesday which means hehe I have a lot to look forward to!  :) haha  so fun! anyway I just wanted to post a quick update. Ill be posting another one right before I head out! see you all soon!
~Brandy

We hiked up to the cross for Good Friday it was an awesome time of fellowship!

Happy Birthday Maria!

so fast...

Once again time is going way too fast..... But it has been so good. I love this place... And its hard to believe I will be leaving this beautiful country in a month! While I am excited to go home I am also gonna miss this place and the people dearly. Today as I was sitting in a combie(public transportation) I started thinking about all of the things I am thankful for here. I was looking out the window at how beautiful it is and I just started making a list. 

I am thankful for the beautiful blue sky and always white puffy clouds (except for when they are grey and POURING RAIN)

I am thankful for the pouring rain, for how sporadic it is and INTENSE.

I am thankful for the culture, that you can meet someone and then be invited over for dinner OR to live with them?!!? ( and yes that happened!)

I am thankful for how people will see someone they know driving by and will stick their tongue out at them! (this happened today! LOL)

I am thankful for the carefree lifestyle that is so freeing.

I am thankful for the beautiful sunsets over the mountains that I get to see every night from my apartment.

I am thankful for how easy it is to make deep friendships here even with the language barrier.

I am thankful for the trust people have in each other. 

I am thankful for the incredible taste of french fries here...*seriously though they are the best!

I am thankful for the crazy street dogs that even though have been abused will love you instantly with a a few pets they will become your most faithful friend.

I am thankful for the kids here, for their beautiful smiles, and their dedication to games, sports, or even coloring!

I am thankful for combies even the overcrowded ones with crazy drivers that make you fear for your life!!! *talk about Adventure!

I am thankful for the lack of rules/regulations :) life wasnt meant to be lived in bubble wrap!

I am thankful for this place......

My time here has been such a gift. And although I will be leaving soon I know this place will always be a second home to me. God is so good and so faithful.... Don't forget that. It's so easy to be worried about money or future or you name it. But I have to keep reminding myself, has God ever let me down? No.... He has always provided for me and He will continue to do so. My life might be a little different than most, it might seem a little crazy or even irresponsible in ways but what I know is He is leading me and I am... well I am trying to do my best to follow. As for what's next.... well that is a great question haha I think it's important for me to spend time with my family so that's my first focus and then... well there's a possibility of working in Ohio at Marmon Valley Farm (a Christian summer camp and riding stables) but also I have been looking into YWAM (a missionary organization) they have bases all over the world. I'm thinking about one based in Wyoming. Prayers for guidance and direction are greatly appreciated!!! I love you all! and am so grateful for your support!

kiddos at the orphanage playing "memory"

Visitor!

Well this last weekend has been awesome first off I had a surprise visitor stay with me for a few days, miss Jessica! (that was the first time I had anyone stay at my place lol! I totally did not have anything for her as far as a bed LOL so she slept on the floor but she's a trooper!) Saturday we got to go to Carhuaquero working with the kiddos teaching on the 10 plagues, then in the evening was Youth Group, and the next day was church! It was an agape feast and communion time it was such a sweet time of fellowship and God totally did a work through the worship because I was super scared about it (we did In Christ Alone in spanish and Amazing Grace (My chains are gone! in spanish!!!) talk about hard to sing!!! whoa! but God is so very good!!!! and it was beautiful. After church we headed to Incanllada it makes for a very full day! But so entirely worth it! The kids in Incanllada have been such a blessing to me, when I see them I so clearly see the fingerprints of God. We have started with Genesis with them going through the Bible. When we first arrived there was only 2 kids so then we went around the neighborhood and then had 15. It's so cool to watch them come out of their shell. When we hand out crayons and pictures they get serious! And wow they are really good! The funny thing is the first time we came with crayons they thought they were candy and tried to eat them!!! but now they love drawing! :)  God is so good and truly its been incredible to be apart of His work. The more I serve God the more evident it is that it's His work not ours.... In our human-ness we just fail... but with Christ all things are possible.

Jessica and I!

Jessica learning how it works....

my lil buddy Alicia!

Cynthia with our lil buddies inviting more kids to come

riding the combie!

farmland!

wow....

this is the view from my apartment window!

Talk about crazy! haha things have been going great here and time has been going so fast! Cajamarca is the capital in Peru for Carnival (a festival that last.... forever haha  or so it seems) anyhow being so it is expected to get drenched with water balloons, squirt guns, buckets, and whatever is near throughout town for about a whole month... I most definitely experienced that! (being a "gringa" foreigner you are a sure target) It can be really fun! especially getting them back when they least expect it haha! But also during the celebration comes  1 to 2 days of PAINT throwing!!!! Fortunately I missed out on the paint but got some pictures!

On March 7th we had our first visit to the orphanage. It was so incredible! (on my next post ill have pictures from the Orphanage!) We started out by playing with the kids, I got a soccer game going of course :) and then we did some songs a puppet show and a lesson on creation. The kids were really into it and asked some great questions. It was such a blessing to be with them... We will be going again on March 28th I can't wait! The other ministries have been going really well, bellow are some pictures from Carhuaquero and a new ministry in Incanllada (im pretty sure thats not how you spell it but i will get the correct spelling next time! haha) I especially feel bonded to these kiddos :)

:)

Potatoes!

Meet Cynthia and Rosia... <3

Stealing my hat was their favorite game! lol

I will be posting another update soon! (It's been too long!)

Ministry

Last saturday we got to do some ministry with the kiddos in Carhuaquero. I love going there! The people are  so sweet, before we start they lead us into worship in Quechua I recorded a bit of it below! (Isn't it beautiful?!?)

Afterwards we do a sunday school class for the kids but this time an older lady named Miranda came too. When I first met her she kept asking me to teach her to say her name. I was so confused? She said a lot of other things too but so fast I couldn't understand so I asked Don to help translate. He also was wondering why she was asking us so he told her that her name was the same in English as in Spanish then she rephrased her question it wasn't that she wanted us to teach her how to say her name....  she wanted to learn how to write her name....

I was shocked I don't know why... I mean I should understand this by now that these people don't learn stuff like writing, or reading. They don't have a need for it... but that doesn't mean they don't have a desire. So in that moment I got a crayon and one of the coloring pages we had for the kids and wrote out her name in big letters at first it was really hard for her to copy but within a few tries she was able to. It was so neat. Before I knew it it was time to leave but  I wasn't ready to go! We only come every other Saturday so it will be a while before I see her again but I am looking forward to it.

Before we left they wanted us to eat with them so for lunch it was boiled potatoes with green sauce :) hehe yum! It's kind of fun to eat because you peel the potatoes by hand and then throw the peels on the ground or to the dogs. I really feel so blessed to live here. And I'm not sure I can imagine leaving... But again I want to thank all of you who have helped me to be able to stay here. God is faithful to provide.  As for updates things are going well. My apartment is looking a lot more like my home (but still has a long way to go). Leading worship is still very stretching for me and sometimes I just want to give up but all in all I am so glad to be able to serve in this way.
Psalms 25:4-7

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
    teach me your paths.
5Lead me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God of my salvation;
    for you I wait all the day long.

6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
    for they have been from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
    according to your steadfast love remember me,
    for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

Stretching...

Some of you know some of you don't... this past week has been a hard one for me... I finally found a new home for my puppy (she was quite a handful and I had realized I really just wanted my Cor boy back)  well  I found Cor and I got to spend 2 amazing days with him :)   he was looking pretty skinny/flee infested/ with some sores.  But I got him cleaned up and with a full belly. It was nice to have him back on the third morning Cor jumped from my apartment and after an ultrasound discovered his liver was destroyed from the fall. Sadly I had to put him down it was one of the hardest days of my life. God is good though and he's taking care of me.

Last Thursday and Sunday services I was able to lead worship for the first time with the help of Don Brower (THANKS!) lol It was a blessed a time. Although I am extremely nervous playing/singing infront of people I am glad to and I will be doing that for every service now.

Saturday the youth group went out to do some evangelism we got to have some really cool conversations  and will be starting a class on evangelism soon!

English classes are going well and growing!

Ryan and Nicole are in contact with an orphanage that hopefully will allow us to go there every other week (please pray for that to happen! and for healing and confidence for me.)

Those are all the updates for now I appreciate your prayers!

Week 1

Alright so my first week back in Peru :) so cool....  It was a little hectic at first.... searching for apartments and for things I need like mini refrigerator, mini stove top,  water boiler/purifier.... all that fun stuff.  Now I am more situated and while I still dont know how long I will be here or what exactly God has in mind it is exciting none-the-less. I had my first scary moment this morning!!! (okay well actually my second the first one being the tarantula in my clothes drawer!!! pictured above) So I got up at about 7 to let the puppy out on the patio but she started to go back inside so I quickly shut the door not realizing the door would latch leaving the puppy and I locked on the top of a third story apartment in the RAIN! Not cool.  So I looked around for something to see if i could get the door open... then I shouted over the balcony!!!  Someone heard me but couldn't help because the Landlord who has the keys wasn't there. So I ended up staying out there for an hour before finding a plastic outlet cover that was partially broken so I ripped it off the rest of the way and used it to wiggle the latch! *THANK YOU JESUS!!!  I don't know how long I would have been stuck up there....also thanks to Celestino who showed me how to do that!!!!   Anyway it has been an adventure already!

But I really wanted to share about somethings I'm involved with.  Every Wednesday at Refugio there are free english classes. It was so awesome to be a part of it and you could see how much the Peruvians enjoyed it as well. Alright thats all for now... :)