1 Peter 3:15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
When I (Becca) am by myself, I often don't start a ton of conversations, especially with men here in Peru. If I'm in a taxi and he starts a conversation, I'll go along with it, but living in a country full of a lot of crime (theft, kidnappings, etc) I typically don't reveal much about myself. While I was in the immigration office waiting for my visa ID card, I was waiting in a common area where other foreigners were waiting for their visa ID, but mostly Peruvians waiting for their passports. (A stressful day in a stressful place of stressful papers for every stressed out person there.) A seat next to me was open, and I was wanting to stay in my little cave to myself. I saw a young Peruvian business guy looking around for a place to sit....there were other vacant seats, and found myself saying "Don' sit next to me, don't sit next to me." He sits next to me. Next I'm saying, "Don't talk to me, don't talk to me." *translated for your reading comfort* he says, "Hey, how long have you been waiting?" I tell him around 45 minutes. He apparently can't wait that long. I tell him I'm waiting for my residence visa not my passport. He then asks why I'm living in Peru (SPRINGBOARD!!) I share with him simply about our ministry. He seems interested, then asks "Well isn't my god and your God the same?" I ask him who his god is....
It was a fun conversation sharing with him some of the differences between the Roman Catholic Church (which is quite different here than in the US) and what we believe. It was great too, because just when I was thinking about where to go next with the conversation, he was piping in with another question. We even covered the Old and New Testaments, modern day stuff, saints, Mary, etc. He got a few phone calls even during our chat, and each time when he hung up, I was feeling out the social cues about whether or not to restart where I left off, and he jumped right back in saying, "Ok, so you were talking about...."
In the end he ended up going to check on his passport, and I didn't get his name. He got his passport, waved at me on his way out and wished me luck. I've thought about that conversation many times, and can only pray for that business man at immigrations. And to think that I didn't want him to sit next to me or talk to me, all for my security and safety! God had betterplans! =)
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Pucallpa....here we come!!
Tomorrow we're OFFICIALLY moving to Pucallpa!! There's a delay on Marshall's visa paperwork, mine should be ready this week, but we've decided to go on to get started in settling instead of twiddling our thumbs in Lima.
We're both excited. Its hard to believe we're actually going as it has always been something "far off".
- While we were dating, the plan was to come back to Pucallpa.
- While we were married, we raised support to come back to Pucallpa....(30 states in 13 months of marriage....I still think that's some sort of record!)
- While in Arequipa, we were bettering our Spanish to come back to Pucallpa
- While being limbo in Lima, we were waiting on paperwork and making home purchases to put in our house we'd rent in Pucallpa.
Its been almost 10 of 19 months of marriage that we've lived with other families or a transitional spot....tomorrow we'll have a place to call HOME again! (granted it'll take a bit of time for it to feel like "home"...but it'll be our space! Our kitchen spatulas, our mattress, our treasures in suitcases we've forgotten about!
We're excited to unpack our suitcases and leave them unpacked for a while! Most of our marriage we've spent traveling (and not vacation type travels either). What does marriage look like settled in a home? We can't wait to find out!!!
Soon you'll see our home when we post pictures of it....it needs some help....but we'll keep you in the loop of those projects. I (Becca) will also try to blog more, especially as I learn new things about Pucallpa....I've lived in Lima and Arequipa for a good amount of time and have enjoyed it....but Pucallpa is quite different! Stay tuned!
We're both excited. Its hard to believe we're actually going as it has always been something "far off".
- While we were dating, the plan was to come back to Pucallpa.
- While we were married, we raised support to come back to Pucallpa....(30 states in 13 months of marriage....I still think that's some sort of record!)
- While in Arequipa, we were bettering our Spanish to come back to Pucallpa
- While being limbo in Lima, we were waiting on paperwork and making home purchases to put in our house we'd rent in Pucallpa.
Its been almost 10 of 19 months of marriage that we've lived with other families or a transitional spot....tomorrow we'll have a place to call HOME again! (granted it'll take a bit of time for it to feel like "home"...but it'll be our space! Our kitchen spatulas, our mattress, our treasures in suitcases we've forgotten about!
We're excited to unpack our suitcases and leave them unpacked for a while! Most of our marriage we've spent traveling (and not vacation type travels either). What does marriage look like settled in a home? We can't wait to find out!!!
Soon you'll see our home when we post pictures of it....it needs some help....but we'll keep you in the loop of those projects. I (Becca) will also try to blog more, especially as I learn new things about Pucallpa....I've lived in Lima and Arequipa for a good amount of time and have enjoyed it....but Pucallpa is quite different! Stay tuned!
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