Pictures

This is just a quick post from Piura, Peru!!

Lisa Derksen came to visit our team in Peru and take some fantastic pictures of the people here as well as our team. She posted some pictures on her blog, so if you want to take a look at some of the beautiful people I am spending my team here with, check out her blog.

The link is http://exploringthecall.wordpress.com/

I will post more pictures of our team at a later time.

Thanks for following and praying!

Amber

First impressions

You can all rest easy, I have arrived safely in Peru!

We left MCI on Friday morning at 7:30 and headed to the airport with the two Japan teams who were heading out at the same time as we were. Our flight left at 11:45am and things went smoothly. We flew from Winnipeg to Toronto, and then from Toronto to Lima. We arrived in Lima around 1:30am and Nathan (staying at a church in Lima and serving there for the year) picked us up and brought us to the place where we were staying. We got to bed around 3:30 and then got to sleep in a bit the next morning. On Saturday we did some planning for the youth program and church service the following day, and then Nathan took us out exploring Lima. At 7pm we went to the church where we put on the youth program with games, songs and our drime. It went well and it was a ton of fun. They welcomed us with open arms and we experienced the love of Christ that goes beyond language and cultural barriers.

On Sunday morning we participated in as well as led parts of the service. It was great to join in with people and sing praises to God, no matter what language we speak! Following the service Nathan took us out for lunch and we did some more exploring of Lima. We visited the park of love (which includes a large statue of two people making out) and walked around. We also visited a Starbucks which made me feel right at home! Our bus left from Lima at 6pm, and soon enough we were headed to Piura!

After a very loooooong (16 hours) bus ride we safely arrived in Piura at 9:15 on Monday morning. We settled in and began to explore the place where we will be living for the next month. Since we arrived we have had a few meetings, a lot of time to hang out as a team, we shopped at the market and the supermarket and we are also had a spanish lesson! Things are going well, and we are looking forward to diving in and getting to know the language and culture.

Here are a few first impressions that I have experienced...

Rules on the road are more like guidelines..... stop signs are only followed when people feel like it.
People honk their horns to warn everyone else that they are there, not out of anger.
Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way. Cars will not stop for you.
At night- red lights are merely there if there is a lot of traffic.

I have made myself let go of my right to having a warm shower. Cold showers are the way to go. I have to keep reminding myself of that as I feel chilled to the bone each time I step in.

Time doesn't mean a whole lot. If we have a meeting at 10, it may start at 11 or it may not happen at all. On Peruvian time, things happen as they happen. Schedules are held very loosely. To be honest, I LOVE it. I'm more ten minutes late kind of person anyways.

I have been voted the team mom, and as a result Matt calls me "mom" more than he actually uses my real name. I kind of like having that role.

For more team updates please check out our team blog, where each person will get a chance to update it every so often:

www.peruteamaction2010.blogspot.com

On Monday night we went up on the roof of the place where we are staying and we prayed for the city of Piura, as well as for the church that we are working with and staying at. The church has experienced a lot of hard things lately, and is now working on healing and moving forward. We spent time praying for healing and restoration for the people here. It was a really powerful time of prayer and I think God will call us to do more interceding in behalf of the church and the people during our time here. God is going to do new things in this place!!

Thank you for following my trip so far, and I will attempt to continue to post updates. I will also post team pictures and pictures of where we are staying and some stuff we are doing in the next week sometime.

Please pray for:

-Health

-That we would not be affected by the darkness in this place, and that God's light would shine through us.

-That we would remain united as a team

Thank you for your continued prayer and support!

-Amber/ Team Mom.

New Adventures

In 1 1/2 weeks I am about to embark in a new adventure with five other people. This summer I will be participating in Mennonite Brethren Mission and Service International (MBMSI's) ACTION program. I start Orientation on June 30, and then we leave for Peru on July 10. We return to Manitoba August 10, and then I have a few days of debrief before returning home August 13. Orientation and Debrief will both be held in Gretna, Manitoba at MCI.

I am co-leading the Peru team with Jeremy Siemens. The rest of our team consists of David Thiessen, Carolyn Wonneck, Matthew Bergen and Miriam Chavez. I have met four of them, and I have talked to Matt and Miriam via Skype, but I look forward to our time in Gretna together where we can bond as a team and build community before we go out and serve in Piura, Peru.

While in Piura, we will be serving alongside of Otto and Lydia and their work with a local church. We will be partnering with the local church as we help run children's VBS programs as well as being involved with the youth and helping in some english classes. I am really looking forward to this!

I have a few prayer requests as I prepare to go:

Financial support- I am in need of raising funds for this summer; please pray that all of my support comes in. Please prayerfully consider supporting me in this way.

Smooth Transition- I am currently working at Manitoba House, but this will be my first summer since I graduated that I will not be working at Manitoba House. This will be really hard for me, but I look forward to going to Peru and experiencing what God is doing around the Nations, and bringing that home with me in the fall. I will be returning to working part time at Manitoba House in September, and I hope this summer will be a nice break and I will come back feeling refreshed.

Strength and Wisdom- Please pray for an open mind and heart as I walk into this new adventure. I want to learn and serve this summer and rely on God's strength and wisdom.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. I will try and keep this updated througout the summer with what we are doing and more prayer requests.

Blessings,

Amber

Watching the Rain.

I am sitting here in my living room watching the rain. These past few days I have been experiencing the rain. Sometimes I hate that I care so much about things, but I guess it's blessing. I have a passion for people, relationships and for seeing the redeeming power of Jesus Christ at work in the lives of people around me. These lyrics sung by Incubus are running through my head:

Love hurts
But sometimes it's a good hurt
And it feels like I'm alive

Love sings
When it transcends the bad things
Have a heart and try me
Cause without love I won't survive

Sometimes you love something or are passionate about something so much that it is painful. You carry this burden, and you care so much and you want to see it grow and succeed. And when there are tough days and situations that are out of your control, it hurts. You take it personally, feeling as though you have failed. I have to realize that I have not failed. This passion, this love that I have makes me feel alive. This anger that I carry when there are difficult situations keeps me going back the next day. Love hurts...and it feels like I'm alive.

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:22-23


After the rain, comes the sun.

Back again

It's been forever since I have written on here, and I don't even know if anyone reads this, but I felt like writing anyways.
I am sitting here in my basement, knowing I should be doing homework but I can't help but think about other things. (Which means it'll be a late night tonight and tomorrow...)
Lately it feels like my life has been way too crazy to handle, and I seem to have lost sight of things. But now I feel more at peace with things. I think I am finally letting God be in control, and realizing that He is Almighty. Again.
My friend Lisa and I recently decided that we would work at holding each other accountable for things. All things.
There is a verse that I know is her favourite verse, and I am holding onto it tightly right now.

Proverbs 31:25
"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."

We were talking about how we want to learn to trust God more, and be able to laugh at the days to come. To laugh, and not worry about the future.
This image of a woman who is connected so closely to her Heavenly Father, and she walks around with His love shining through her. With dignity and grace. And I want to be that woman. Father teach be to be that woman. Lead me to be that woman.

Last night I talked to Bre. It was so good to hear her voice, and just to laugh with her about nothing. It's amazing how I feel God's joy when I talk and laugh with her. She was praying for me and her and us and we both just kept laughing, and it was uncontrollable and uncontainable. Pure joy. Everytime I laugh with her, even if it's just on the phone, because she lives far away, I just get the word "daughter" in my head. I think it's because we can't help but be the daughters we are made to be. Daughters of the King. And I know our Father is looking at us, and laughing with us, and just IS with us. Those are truly moments of unexplainable joy.

Thank you Father for moments like that. Thank you for allowing us just to be your daughters, who can laugh and cry together. And share our hearts with each other and with you. Thank you Father. I love being your daughter.

Back on Canadian Soil

So when I started this whole blog thing, I thought it would be a great idea, I would update it at least two times a week and people could keep track of what was going on in my life, in case it was too difficult over email. Apparently it was more difficult than I thought to keep it updated!

At this moment I am sitting in my room at the Mark Center, looking at all of the stuff I brought home, and the stuff that I left here to take home, and wondering where time has gone??? Sometimes I still feel weird being back in Canada. It's like I know that it's all almost over, but I don't want to actually believe it. I remember a year ago sitting in my friends car (who was also planning on going away and doind YWAM for 6 months) and we were just itching to graduate and begin new adventures. Now here I am, a year later and I can hardly believe how much has happened this year and how my life has changed. First off, I worked in a place where I fell in love with (MB House and it's neighborhood kids!) and God really showed me a lot there. Then I came to Abbotsford and spent two months with amazing TREKers and Leaders and Interns and Mentors and MBMSI Staff and learned so many things that will stay with me my entire life. Then I was sent off to Japan, to a country I didn't know, with a team of girls I thought I knew (but looking back I was oh so wrong, and I came to know and love them more than I thought possible!), and to work with a culture and missionaries and church that I knew nothing about. I know that looking back none of this would have been possible without my Savior in front of me and beside me the whole time. He has carried me each step of the way, and lead me to where He has wanted me. I know I haven't always done the right thing at the right moment, but I did try, and God's Grace is bigger than my mistakes.
Japan was an amazing time of learning about a new culture and people group and about team life and missionary life. Even though it's hard to remember it all, I know that the learning never stopped. I think that's how life should be, as long as we are learning we shoudn't be worried, but it's when we stop learning, and stop seeking that we are in danger.

Anyways, I will share more about our last couple weeks in Japan later, but right now all the TREKers are watchign a movie and I would love to join them. I am trying to just dive in and enjoy these last couple of days together. Debrief is a time of rest and relaxing and a time to slowly transition and re-enter our own culture. So far it's going so good, and I would say that I'm over jetlag already! I am really enjoying my time of hearing and sharing stories from the missionfield, reflection on good times on training, and looking towards the future. God is here with us and is going to guide us as we go out from here.

God is so sneaky..

I am trying to think of all that has happened since I last wrote on here. Let's see, last Friday we went to the Toyota main Headquarters and visited the showroom (which they have spent a lot of money on, and it looks great! Anyways, so when we got there, Laurence dropped us off at the door, and there were like 150 guys standing outside waiting to go in I guess. They all parted and we walked through the middle while everyone watched us silently. It was really funny and awkward at the same time. Then while we were in there we kept getting our picture taken, some were trying to be conspicuous, but some weren't at all. It seems that everywhere we go to sightsee, we become the sight to see. Interesting. So when we got to the showroom this guy came up and asked if he could be in a picture with us, so we said yes and posed for one, then with his friend. It was pretty funny! Then I was wating to go sit in the convertible (because it was a really nice car!) and that same guy sat in it with me and took a picture. As he was getting out he said to his friend, "Hot car, Beautiful Girl, It's my dream!!!" We all got a pretty good laugh out of that one :P The picture is of me and the Korean guy in the convertible.

On Sunday we were at church helping out again during lunch and also watching the kids in the afternoon. Ok so one thing is that every Sunday the woman always do the dishes, and we try and help but most of the time we just get shooed away. But this time we beat them to it, we started washing dishes before they were done eating, just because we wanted to. We like being able to serve in any way they can. It was really funny because they tried to kick us out like four or five times (and you have no idea how hard it is to fight with these ladies!! And when we don't speak the same language.) We usually lose the battle. But this Sunday we were determined, and even when they came and bascially grabbed the dishes out of our hands we stood strong and we won. THE VICTORY WAS OURS. It only took us three months! :)

One Wednesday, Brianna and I were invited over for supper to a couple from the churches house (and we teach her daughter english!). They have this small but very cute apartment. They made us a wondeful meal and we enjoyed our time there. I played on a Wii for the first time (I am not very good at it!!). After the games the food we went and sang worship songs in English and Japanese and then we prayed together. It was really great to worship and fellowship them! God has put so many wonderful people into our lives here and we are thankful for any and every opportunity we have to spend with them.

Friday Night we were very sneaky and had a Scavenger hunt prepared for Darlene because it will be her brithday tomorrow. Happy Birthday Darlene! (She turns 19.) It started up at home, went up to the 100yen store and then took the bus downtown to starbucks, then to Karaoke and then back home. We really surprised her and it was a ton of fun! On the bus on the way home I ended up sitting by this Japanese guy who asked me where I was from, why I was here etc. I said I was from Canada and here volunteering in a Church. He asked what Church, I said Toyota Higashi. His face brightened and he said that his wife took a class from Leona and that they knew the Hieberts, and had known them for over ten years! It was so neat how I ended up randomly sitting by him and him knowing the church and the Hieberts. Then we also realized that I helped out in the class that his wife took, so I knew her! That was pretty cool. We got to talk about the whole way home. He said although he and his wife aren't Christians he likes the church and the Hieberts and thinks its great what we are doing. It was pretty neat. It's amazing how things that seem so random to us, and be so right to God. His timing and His ways are always perfect. It's amazing, it really is. And He's so sneaky about it too!!

Last thing for this post, today we were in Fujjigaoka running a kids program all day. We weren't quite sure how it would go, but it actually was great! There were about 20 kids and we had translators. I think that everyone had a good time! We did songs and games and eating and a craft and more songs and more games! Everyone was tired by the end of the day, but as Joanna said it's an answer to her prayers (p.s. She prayed that we would be exhausted at the end of every day....God asnwered her prayers!) There was one girl, Soyoka (Soy-chan) who attached herself to my side all day, it was really sweet.

Being there reminded me of home and the inner city kids and made me miss doing stuff with them! But it was really exciting to be there with these kids and I will cherish every moment we had!

I thank God for all of the wonderful opportunities He has given us here, and I hope that we will continue to have divine appointments while we are here. Please pray for strength and endurance as we finish off our last two weeks here in Japan. We want to finish off strong, and we have a lot planned! Pray that we are able to get everything done, and not just because we have to, but because we want to. We want to have hearts like Jesus and let our every action be out of love for God and one another.