the Last

Plane ticket - $1086

Traveling Expenses - $1553

SUMMER MISSIONS - PRICELESS

As of today we are 5 days away from being on our way home. We can finally count on one hand how many days we have left and right now it is hard not to start crying. We are in our last village and tomorrow will be our last full day in this village. I have learned so much this summer from I can go 8 days without a shower to knowing how much the world needs to know the one who died to take thier place. I have had fun but there also some moments I would not care to relive. I know there has been some people who have prayed for me and are still praying.

My moma, who let me come to Peru for 10 weeks and has been more than supportive since I said I wanted to come.

Mrs. Christy, Thank You so much for taking the time to talk to me about summer missions and answer my every question.

Willis family, thank you all so much for the neverending support and prayers, I thank God that He has put ya´ll in my life.

And many thanks to all of the churches who have supported me.

I have not come to Peru alone. I could not have done any of this without you and Jesus Christ being My Lord and Strength.

I ask that you please pray for us over the next few days. We leave Lima, Peru 11.30 pm August 2, and I will arrive in Birmingham, AL around 6pm on August 3. Please pray for us as we leave, that we will get through customs without any problems. And as we are about to be at home please pray 1. for our health, over 2 hours I am sure our eating habits will change dramaticlly and 2. we are going back to a differnet culture and language. Most of us have gotten in Spanish mode and everytime someone talks to us in English we even answer in Spanish.

Change of Plans

Yesterday we were about to leave Ica and go to our next village but we got a phone call saying there is a festival and we wouldn't be able to get out. So now we are in Lima and hopefully in an hour we will be headed to our last village. Brandon is not feeling so well right now, so we are waiting to see how he feels within the next hour. We arrived in Lima yesterday and last night we ate dinner at TGI Fridays. That was the best food we have had in 2 months. Hamburgers and Hiens Ketchup never tasted so good. And I got to go to Starbucks in Lima. I love my Starbucks!

We are about to be in the last village. This summer has went by so fast. This time next week we will be in final debriefing. It has been wonderful seeing God work through all things. I know this will not be my last time to be in Latin America. Please pray for us as we are about to be home. It is a completely different world. I can not wait to get a hold of some cold sweet tea, Jim-N-Nicks BBQ, and I miss going to Birmingham and going to see my besties at thier work. I don't know what I am going to do when everybody speaks English instead of Spanish, I have to take a shower everyday, and I can put toilet paper in the comode. It was hard coming home after I had been in another country for one week. I really can not imagine coming home after 10 weeks. It is not going to be easy, but I know I will be ok.

it´s our last week

One week from today we will be leaving our last village and on our way to final debriefing. This summer has been amazing. I never thought I would be in Peru for the entire summer. It is so amazing now to look back over the summer. Just 2 months ago 70 days seemed like an eturnity. God has worked in so many ways and I know I will never be the same. Please continue to pray for us as we are about to go home. And thank you all so much for all of the concern and support you have shown this summer.

STILL in Nazca.

Well yesterday I told you healtwise we are all doing fine. Today, however, Jon is not feeling good. It seemswhenever we tell everybody we are doing so well someone gets sick. I think now we are determined not to talk health issues.

In other news, we are staying in Nazca until tommorow morning. Then we go to Laramate for 1 day then we are off to our final 3 villages. :( I got the chance to talk to a friend last night and they said that they thought I would love Peru and woiuld end up staying, but I know I have to come home and finish school. So I am coming home in 17 days.

And I finally took a shower last night after going 8 days without a shower. I had to wash my hair 4 times before it would become clean.

We´re in Nazca!!

After getting up at 5am to get on a bus at 6:30, we have made it to Nazca. It was suposed to be an 8 hour trip but turned out to be 11 hours. There were not any combies going to Laramate (our next village) so tomorrow morning we will be on our way to one of our last 4 villages.

I have went 8 days without a shower but I think tonight I am going to give in and take a shower. We are in Nazca with some warm running water, so why not? I was trying to go 2 weeks but I still have some time for that. Going without shower has not been that bad. I have washed my hair and feet once in the sink. We travled through the desert today and that is my favorite place to go through. I am not sure why, but probably just because it is so different from any other places we have been. Healthwise we are all doing wonderful. I am going to miss all of my teammates this time next month. We have grown so close and now we have all of our inside jokes I don´t know what I will do once I don´t have them anymore. I have not gotten homesick hardly any this summer. Thanks to all of your never ceasing prayers and we have been safe 99% of our time in Peru.

I miss my Alabama more and more everyday, but I think it is just beacause we are getting closer to going home. I think most of us have our first week planned once we get home; where we are going, and even what we are going to eat and wear. We all miss some wonderful cold sweet tea. I most of all am going to miss this weather in Peru. It is winter time here because we are below the Equator. We have been on the Bolivia and Peru border where it was about 20 degrees at night. But during the day it does not get above 75 degrees and I am a hot natured girl from Alabama (NO exageration). This weather was made for me, I LOVE it.

50 Days in Peru!!!

We have now been in Peru for 50 days and 20 days from now we will be on plane on our way to the US. We are in Cabana right now and we will leave tomorrow. We have 4 villages left. For the past week we have been without internet access and I have not taken a shower in 6 days. It is not as bad as it seems. Our time in Peru has been so amazing. When we get home we have so many stories to tell.

Cuatro de Julio!

It is the forth of July and we are going to celebrate tonight with 2 village teams and maybe some fireworks. We arrived in Coracora yesterday after travling 8 hours on a miserable bus ride. Let´s just say we will be so glad when we actually see a paved road again. This weekend is more laid back than most days, so we are going to enjoy it while it last.

Most of the team has been sick over the past four days with a virus. Ashley & I have not been sick and we are praying that we do not. Please pray for them, it is not so easy being sick in Peru. We are now 29 days away from being at home. It´s not long but at times we may think it will never be here. It so wierd we are counting in days now because we have never really done that. As the tme is getting closer it is so easy to ponder on things that nedd to be done, all the school stuff, family issues, and all the choices we have to make. I found out a few days ago that the pastor of my home church resigned and now I don´t really know what the future brings once I go home. If there is one thing I have learned in Peru it is don´t worry about planning because things won´t turn out the way you planned anyway. I moved back home so I could be at church more and be more involved, and who knows now I may not even be going to the same church.

Life in Peru.

Today we areleaving Caraveli and we are on to the next village. Our time in Caraveli has been interesting, it is very full of Catholism, so much so that we do not use the word Catholic. The village team that is here goes through alot of persecution, the catholics will not listen to what they have to say. Yesterday we went to a local highschool and they were so surprised that the students actually listened to us. Yesterday and today Brandon has not been feeling so well. At first we thought he had the same thing Jon had about two weeks ago but now we dont think so. At 11:30pm tonight we leave for Coracora. We have only 6 villages left.

As of today we are one month away from being home. It is so strange now that we can count villages left in single digits and counting down days we are about to be in the twenties. For me it is exciting and sad at the same time, but I continue to ask for your prayers. Please pray that we will not lose our focus, we get more anxious everyday but I want my heart to be in all I do. And another prayer request, Kristen Seay is from Trussville, AL has been a missionary here in Peru for two years but now she is coming to the end of her term of service. She leaves with us, Aug. 2, please pray for her I know it is hard to leave a country no matter how long you stay, but she especially loves every bit of Peru.