Scriptures

Here are just a couple scriptures that have been layed on my heart the last couple of days, I just wanted to share.....

1 Peter 2:23
²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

Psalm 91

¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

³ Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ “Because he^[b] loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

Psalm 51

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
¹⁵ Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is^[b] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.

¹⁸ May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

The last few days have been rough, and these are the verses that have helped me get through. Through the fire and the storm. These have been really encouraging and I hope they will be to you as well.

i WAS broken

I was tied, but now unbound

My head is off the ground
For a long time I was so weary
Tired of the sound, I've heard before,
The gnawing of the night time at the door,
Haunted by the things I've made
Stuck between the burning light and the dust shade.
I said now I used to think the past was dead and gone,
But I was wrong, so wrong, whatever makes you blind
Must make you strong, make you strong,
In my time I've melted into many forms
From the day that I was born, I know that there's no place to hide
Stuck between the burning shade and the fading light,
I was broken, For a long time, but It's over now.

Yes and you, and you,
Well you walk these lonely streets that people send, People send.
There are some wounds that just can't mend, I do pretend, pretend,
I am free from all the things that take my friends
But I will stand hear till the end, I know that I can take the moon,
In between the burning shade and the fading light
I was broken, for a long time, but It's over now
I was broken, for a long time, but It's over now

This wasn't planned....

So a lot of the time we think we have all things figured out, to what we want to be, to who we are, where we want to live... ect. Well as humans we don't have all of our ducks in a row.

The reason I bring this up is because my plans and what I thought was going to happen changed.

I decided to go back to the states on our 3 week vacation to get my "ducks in a row." Well I ended up staying in the states longer then planned. And because of that it felt like my life was flipped upside down. And it was looking like I wouldn't be able to return to Peru.

Well I wasn't ready to just give up and be ok with that. I simply told God that I have no idea what to do, I don't know how to feel, breathe, or take the news. The news that because I stayed home to get things worked out that I might have messed up the call that God put in my life. And without much warning he opened a door, not a big opening but he opened a door. He allowed me to come back to do some more work down here in Peru.

Well the thing about this is that I will just to be down here temporarily. Just as a temporary partner for a couple of months or so.

So the closer it get to me going back to the states before my time here is up the more and more my heart breaks. It breaks because I am not ready to be finished, I don't want to be, I don't want to accept that I, MY TIME, is up. But there is pattern there........ I.

In this moment I am being selfish. As my Dad likes to put it.... It's not all about you.

And how true is that. Life isn't about what we want, or our plans its God's.

So I know that in my heart of hearts that this isn't what I want but this is God's plan for me in this moment of life.... and I am learning to trust. I am learning to put my human wants away and see what God has in store for me.

I can't wait!!!

He is going to do amazing and beautiful things in my life, things that I can't even fathom.

But as of right now I am learning. Learning to breathe, put everything I have in his hands and not the hands of man.

Just getting by

So I think the place that I like to meet people most would be in airplanes, in Peru, ok well in general.

Like today, when I got on my flight to come to Lime I meet the sweetest couple EVER.

And I don't know if it is because I am traveling alone. Or if I look like a "Barbie," as I have been told.... or if I am just like-able.... I'm going with I'm like-able.

But we talked the whole time. She game me recipes for Peruvian dishes. We talked about religion, family, life.

So really we covered all the bases.

They were amazing.

And I got a Pear, a number, e-mail and open arms.

This is another thing that just makes me realize how hospitable and loving Peruvian people are. And granted they are not all like this but all the ones I know are.

And this is one thing I really admire about the Peruvian culture.

So thank you Peru for being Awesome.

I forgot my Sweater

So a few weeks ago we had our first event out in Ancahuasi, and as usual things don't go as planned.

1. We left late.
Usually that isn't a problem but when you are going 2 or 2 1/2 hours away its a little bit of a time crunch. We needed to clean set up and get the keys to the building that we used and set up chairs and eat dinner.

2. Technical difficulties.
Technology is a great thing when it works, and when it doesn't it just makes you want to throw something against a table or wall. We had all the items that we needed but it wasn't enough. We didn't have a long enough extension cord, we could get the keys, and no lights (no electricity). So we waited 30-45 minutes until we were able to get started.

3. Extension cords.
Always have more then enough, even if it is 50 ft. and you only need 10ft. Always be overly prepared. And have adapters, because most things here are not made for 3 prong cords just 2 prong... and when you need to plug a three prong into a two prong it makes things a little difficult.

4. Frustration hits.
It was bound to happen. Our other impact events haven't gone well, or gone at all. When 6 people think that there is problem with different parts and they all try to fix it and don't listen, and you have to say it in another language... not easy.

5. I forgot my sweater.
Out of the practical things to forget.

AND HERE COMES THE GOOD NEWS!!!

We had about 80 or more people come to the movie, and half accepted Christ! Whoop Whoop.

And if I had to go through all of the frustration and problems (without a sweater) I would. you know why? Because the amazing blessing and only God could have done that.

After all the difficulties and frustrations we had a little sleep over at one of our contacts houses. We stayed up till midnight making tamales for breakfast and hanging out.

21st birthday!!!!

I’m officially 21!!!!!!!! Now I was born on St. Patties day + 21^st birthday = danger (or it could).

Well I hate to disappoint some people but my birthday didn’t involve drinking, clubs or a raging crazy party. But we fasted……. Boring huh.

Wrong Again

As a group we decided to do the Daniel Fast. It a fast for 21 days. Where we can only eat veggies, fruit and whole grains. So no meat, no sugars and nothing with preservatives. So really it is like a vegan diet but with more rules.

For some people this sounds awful and for other people it sounds like a challenge. It really depends on how you look at it, and how you go about it.

The first week was a little tough, because there are a ton of cravings and temped just to break the fast. But in the middle of the fast it became pretty normal and towards the end we were just counting down the days until we are done.

Amy and Ty did an amazing job with the food that they prepared and the lack of resources here.

So I decided this way it is more memorable to do this then to get trashed.

And in all reality we didn’t decided this to be something for my birthday but when I looked at it I am counting it for my birthday. It was more of a coincidence.

Blah Blah Blah

I have a new address!!!!

Emily Rattle
Correo Central Cusco
Cusco, Peru

And I think I win for the most boring blog in the world.... but that is ok I am still a winner!
Any ways there it is.