Top Ten Tuesday

Edit: So, it seems that there are two #3's. Oops. I guess that makes this a Top Eleven List, but oh, well... Not changing it now!

Top Ten Eleven Reasons I Miss Lima (in no particular order):

1. The friends
The Word Made Flesh community in Lima is the best! Even though I don't get to see them often, they love me and welcome me with open arms when I do come to visit. They love the Lord, love each other, and serve their friends on the street so well. My time in Lima on my servant team in 2004 taught me so much about what Christian community can look like and what a blessing true community is. I love these friends!

Sarah, Brian, Rachel, Monica, and Isa

Tali

Linsey and David

I can't find pictures on my computer right now of all of the Peruvian staff (Ana, Sebastian, Jose Luis, Erick, and Lily), but I love them, too!

2. Yummy fruit from the fruit lady on the corner

I love it that I have a "fruit lady" in Lima. Her name is Irma and she sells fruit off of a cart across from the Metro (a supermarket). Even though I am only there about once a year, she remembers me and always seems happy to see me. She tells me about her sons and her family. I love that. And, the fruit is so yummy, too!

3. The trees with the orange flowers.
I have no idea what this particular tree is called, and I can't seem to find a picture of one, but I think that it is beautiful. There are many beautiful things in Peru. I love to enjoy the beauty of God's Creation there. It reminds me of truly how Big and Creative God is. (The pictures below are not from Lima, but I love these places in Peru, too!)

Lake Llanganuco

Machu Picchu

A flower in Arequipa

3. Speaking Spanish
Even though I get to speak some Spanish on a fairly regular basis at the hospital, I miss being surrounded by it and getting to learn more!



4. Banana milk
It's just milk and bananas and a little bit of vanilla mixed together, but it's so good! I always go to the same little cafe on the corner of a park in an area of Lima called Pueblo Libre to get banana milk and read.

5. The park at the end of Salaverry
There is a park in Lima that overlooks the ocean, and I love to spend time there. It is a great place to go to be alone with the Lord. There are so many ways to tangibly experience God's character - the vastness of the ocean, the beauty of the flowers, the feeling of the wind in your face... I love it! (It is nearly incomprehensible to me that I can't find a picture of the park on my computer, but alas...)

6. Holding beautiful babies
I love holding babies all the time, regardless of where I am (except when they are crying inconsolably...), but there is something special about holding a baby on a dirty street in the middle of a poverty-stricken city at night, all the while interceding for a different life for the precious child in your arms. It's a privilege indeed.

Me and the daughter of a friend in 2004

7. Playing cards
All of my card-playing skills (which is not necessarily saying much...) come from fun nights of card playing at Craig and David's place during my Servant team and subsequent visits. They taught me how to play a game called Pluck that my family and I now often play when we are together. I sometimes get in the mood for a good card game night, and wish that my Lima friends were around to share that with!

8. You can walk almost anywhere
I love that things are often within walking distance in the city. There are corner stores everywhere that you can go to pick up snacks and groceries and various other things that you may need (like a Sublime chocolate bar for example). The WMF community in Lima pretty much all live within one district, which makes it easy to walk between homes. I love to walk down to the park overlooking the ocean when I am there, even though it is a little farther away.

9. Seeing the faces of old friends
I miss seeing the faces of the friends that I have made on the streets of Lima over the past few years. I wonder how they are doing. I wonder if they are still in their homes, or if the lure of street life has again won them over. I wonder if they have food to eat. I wonder what their children look like now - they must be getting all grown up! I wonder if they understand how precious they are in the sight of their Creator, or if they only hear the voice of the world telling them they are worthless. I wonder what they are thinking about tonight...

10. Seeing firsthand the ways that the Lord is redeeming the lives of precious youth and calling them to Himself
God is definitely at work on the streets of Lima. On my most recent visit, I got the chance to spend some time with a young lady that I met on my first trip to Lima in 2004. I was so encouraged to visit her in her home with her family, away from her life on the street. The life that she was living was not easy by any means, but she was choosing to trust the Lord. She had started going to church and was so excited to share with the WMF staff members that were visiting her what she had been learning from the Bible and from church. She had been sharing those truths and encouraging other people around her, even in the waiting room of the clinic where she went every day to get medicines to treat her tuberculosis. God is indeed redeeming the lives of youth on the streets in Lima. I miss getting to see that up close.