Ciao Peru!

I'll be home this weekend! Hooray!
I seriously can't wait to upload pictures, especially after today. We went to the zoo and it was sooo fun. Me and Bee (Brandy, our extra team member) played with a pink dolphin for a while, my neck is sore from having an anaconda around my shoulders, and I got to touch more monkeys and a capybara too even though we're probably not supposed to touch them... And last night we had macaroni for dinner -the blue box and everything! Luke is so good to me... it's been a pretty good past 24 hours :)
Being in the city again, like before, is kinda bittersweet. The water at the base situation is still a huge frustration and it's hard not to think why not just be back on the river, but I really do love this city. Well, most of it. I think I mentioned that last weekend at one of the churches we helped out with another youth camp kinda thing, most of us preached, we did dramas, and we had some fun worship times, dancing included thanks to me and Jo. Mostly Jo kept that up though because I got too hot after a while. Me and her made a new friend, not very surprising since she becomes friends with someone wherever we go. But she's coming to visit us at the base tomorrow so I'm excited to hang out with her again.
Like I said, most of us preached and man, I was fighting with God when I had to share. Well I didn't have to really but I felt like He wanted me to talk about trust, so I started trying to figure out what I was going to talk about on like Friday. I was speaking Sunday night. By 5:00pm, two hours before I was supposed to speak, I still had no idea what God wanted me to say. I was freaking out... Aside from the fact that I hate hate hate speaking in front of people and that I really wanted to translate it into Spanish before I spoke so I wouldn't have to use a translator, I was so mad that God wasn't giving me anything to really go on except one story from my life but I didn't know how to tie that in and actually make it an hour long. After pouting for probably 30-45 more minutes, I told Him it was all in His hands, and tried writing again. Words started flowing like crazy and I kept writing until literally one or two minutes before I stood up to go to the front. I haven't gone back and read what I wrote so I kind of don't know most of what I said, but a few people came up and told me that's exactly what they needed to hear, and let me tell you this is probably one of the biggest glory moments I had all Outreach. Considering that all the glory of it is going straight to Ashna (God) because seriously none of that would've happened on my own. Pretty sure the biggest theme of this trip for me is that I am capable of so much more than I think I can ever do, but only when I get over myself, stop pouting, and open up my hands for Him to take control of whatever it is I'm holding onto.
On that note, in a team meeting last night, we talked about frustrations and highlights of the trip, and it reminded me of a lot of stories I have... I'll try my best to put the important things in here when I get home and don't have a life again. Speaking of which... We leave Iquitos Friday night sometime around 7pm I think, fly from Lima to Atlanta, and then to MN and I'll be back at the base probably late afternoon on Saturday. I can't tell you how much I am ready to come home and see my Russia friends... Ahhh it's gonna be so great!

I'll see you all SOON!!!

Monkeys Arent Even Cute To Me Anymore

Back in the city again! I would say home sweet home -as close to home as we can get while we're still out of the country- but it's honestly really frustrating here. Like the things we miss the most when we're in the jungle usually have to do with toilets, showers, and ice cream, but the only one of those we can actually have on a regular basis is ice cream. Not gonna lie, I will miss these popsicles an awful lot. But the YWAM base here is just not quality. It makes me more and more greatful for the amazing place and people in the Minnesota base every day. Seriously. I'm kinda just whining right now but after we get done with the youth camp we're helping out at this weekend, we (the girls on our team) will be doing a ton of cleaning around the base for the next week and I can't wait to have a bed with no dirty q-tips, cobwebs, or bugs around the sides. And apparently the well that the base is getting water from keeps drying up and tubes break or something so that we can only shower when we pray really hard (I'm not kidding at all. we've actually got some pretty good stories from it), we pretty much never flush the toilets, and when we do it's normally with a bucket. So... it's nice not to be in the villages, but mostly because I love riding in mototaxis and not worrying about waking up with chickens or dead spiders under my hammock. I've been pretty spent the past couple weeks, missing things like lasagna and dry clothes, can't wait to come home. Still not looking forward to after we're done debriefing because I have no idea what I'm doing with my life or even where I'm living right away, but God will provide. He always does. That's pretty much my biggest prayer request right now is that I would trust God has a plan for me and not stress out about it, and also that I wouldn't want to kill everyone the last week we're here. My mood has been really good though the past couple days so hopefully the last one won't be a problem... But anyways. I'll be home soon! I'll upload pictures and stuff as soon as I can.
Ciao for now!