Where in the world is Huanuco, Peru?

Via satellite, you can see the town where I'll be living in Peru!

http://www.fallingrain.com/world/PE/10/Huanuco.html

Click the word "Satellite" under the map, and then use the + and - buttons next to the arrow keys to zoom in and out.

Musings

I think I've officially entered the last phase of leaving my "normal" life. It's surprisingly okay at times, and then really overwhelming. I guess that's to be expected. I don't mind so much not having a permanent home, but I struggle with not knowing how God is going to provide for my finances. I am actually excited about being lost in a new city, not speaking the language fluently yet, and trying new foods and new ways of interacting with the world. But I do wonder how it will be to try and stay in touch with friends in the States, and even American culture in general. Will I be one of the long-haired, long-skirted super-missionaries I admire but am a little scared of becoming? Will I know what happens on the next season of Lost? More importantly, will the Quechua people I'll be working with be able to understand me and God's love through me?

Here was God's answer to my musings this morning. Maybe He will put your musing to rest as well with this truth: Phil. 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Dinner Pix

Dinner with Jan and Bruce Benson, with whom I'll be working in Peru.

Memories of SIL

For SIL folks: Just for the fun of it, here's a snapshot of yesterday afternoon in the office.
For the rest of you: Don't worry if this doesn't make much sense to you...that means you're normal!

I'm sitting at the table in the sociolinguistics office cubicle, looking out the window. The phonetics department are practicing back velar tonal vowels behind me, low, high, low high. The survey class and their prof and TA are having a meeting to my right, quietly discussing something I don't understand. :) Morph and Syn over my left shoulder is laughing about something, well at least MaryAnne is. LACL is up to something too--actually I just checked and it's James, the TA, talking with a student. He caught me smiling and lowered his voice. I'm a pretty pathetic observer, disturbing my subjects like that. Paul (Academic Coordinator) and Kevin (Anthropology) are working quietly (as usual - which is surprising to me given Kevin's dramatic outbursts at times). And the Business Office is running at it's typical low hum. By the front doors, the staff mailboxes are overflowing a bit. Some of us haven't checked them for days and they're brimming with reminders. I'll finish packing up the cards, notes, and CD's people have been handing me to mail to our staff member Bekah, who had to go home sick last week. We miss her!

Thank you to everyone who is making it possible for me to be here. It's a privilege and a joy!

The Soundtrack

How do you tell the story of what God has done in your life? I was trying to figure out what to share at the Oregon SIL chapel, when God answered: tell My story in your life - and use music to help you do it. What a great idea! :)

So last week, I shared "My Life in God's Story, or God's Story in My Life--THE SOUNDTRACK". I sat at the baby grand piano on stage and talked through the various times and ways God has interacted with me and taught me about Himself. Interspersed were songs that allowed us to praise and worship in response. Here are the songs we sang, as well as the themes they related to in my life.

Knowing You - Theme song of my talk
I Lift My Eyes Up - Learning to turn on Him while growing up
There I None Like You - Trusting that He cares for the suffering in the world
Take Me In (to the Holy of Holies)--> Hosanna (in the Highest)
- Learning about the fear of God (His Majesty, in addition to His friendship)
Psalm 52:8-9 - Knowing who I am in Him, even if my exterior is weak or sick
Galations 2:20-21 - Dying to myself and Christ living in me
Empty Me - " "
Living Water - " "

Teaching Linguistics!

I led my final lecture for the summer this past Monday, on Endangered Languages. I'll put some stuff here soon about that subject (one of my big passions). Here are some pics of class.

The Three Amigas

Two of my new, dear friends at Oregon SIL. MaryAnne, in the middle is working in Africa, and Rebekah, on the left, just finished a year of working with Wycliffe Dinner Theater, which travels the country sharing the story of Bible translation through drama. We get to pray, laugh, sing, walk, and of course talk together. What a blessing they've been to me!

WHO ARE MY STUDENTS?

Please pray for the 24 students in my class and for the over 50 students studying at Oregon SIL this summer.

Many like Jessica (not her real name) are still looking for what the next step will be in here life. I have committed to Jessica to pray with her over the summer, and listen with her for God's voice and direction.

Others, like John and Janelle (not their real names) have come here from Asia, and will have their first child after they return there at the end of the summer. They are wondering how God will use them into the future that area in that area.

Sharon (another pseudonym) is from a local Native American tribe and is learning about linguistics in order to see her language revitalized. I'm praying she will be inspired by the vision that we have for this kind of work because of Jesus - He loves her language and culture!

A little humor

HEADLINES
What would be our newspaper captions if Old Testament events happened today?

Crossing of the Red Sea:
Wetlands trampled in labor strike. Pursuing environmentalists killed.

David kills Goliath:
Hate crime kills beloved champion. Psychologist questions influence of rock.

Guess who's coming to dinner?

What an incredible evening! Bruce and Jan Benson were visiting Eugene, Oregon, for one more day when I drove down from Portland on Tuesday evening. They are the couple doing translation work that I will be supporting in Peru. My parents hosted dinner for all of us on Wednesday, and we spent several hours telling stories, sharing visions, and marveling over how God has brought us together "for such a time as this".

Sometimes when I tell people I'm moving to Peru for 2 years, I share the story in terms that any non-religious person could easily buy into. There are social justice benefits to a language development work that every person can appreciate. But after Wednesday night, I haven't been able to hold it all in! I want to share with everyone what GOD is doing! I have been excited about this idea of working with the Quechua, and the reality of it is really overwhelming. As I learn more about how I can help, and the experiences and training I will receive, it reminds me of when a friend describes meeting the man they are going to marry. That perfect timing, the perfectly aligned goals and interests, the complementing strengths.

The players in this drama number in the tens of thousands (80,000 Quechua speak just one of six languages in the area), but God has been leading us together for "such a time as this". It's humbling, scary, and exciting to be part of God's grand story, but it's the call of a lifetime!

Moving Day!

I can hardly believe it! I'm stacking boxes up to move to my storage unit on Saturday, and may not see most of the stuff in them for 2 years. It's an odd and exciting thing to be removed from one's possessions.

If you're in town and would like to help me move, I could use a few more people on Saturday (June 3) from 10-12, lunch included! Let me know if you can make it.

Amy
(Check out the Andes below.)

Power Lingo!

Righteousness goes before him
And prepares the way for his steps
Psalm 85:13

Lingua Lingo

It's a little scary thinking about learning another language (Spanish) and then starting to work with yet another (Huamalies Quechua). And it's exciting too because I really love languages. I love the way they work differently, sound differently, and reflect different cultures.

But learning Spanish - learning it really well - was troubling me. I had to keep giving up control of how much I would learn and when - something I wanted to spend a lot of time on, and I haven't been able to. I'm doing a little Spanish self-study now and hope to take a class this summer while at SIL, but it has been weighing on my mind.

But then came my Spanish lunch last week. My old Latin America department at Northwest Medical Teams all went out for lunch together to speak ONLY Spanish, and invited anyone to join them. While we were chatting (I was only able to put simple sentences together), I started getting a lot of great feedback! My old boss (and good friend) was even saying how amazing it was that God was preparing me so well for Peru! Now that's what I call giving glory to God!

It's true, He does prepare us for the road He takes us down. For example, I have a friend who is supporting three of her friends going through cancer right now. I don't have what it takes to go through that, but God is giving to her what she needs right now. And He's doing the same for me. And for you! Glory to God!

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours.

From Weight of Glory, by C.S. Lewis

Daily Blog coming soon

Well, it probably won't be daily, but for those of you who'd like a window into this adventure as it unfolds weekly, check back here for stories from every day life.

"Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither."
C. S. Lewis