The Runway

Where has the summer gone?  In less than two weeks I leave for Peru and while I still have so much to do, I can see everything beginning to fall into place.  Immunizations - check, passport - check, banking - check, found out my host family - check, packing... well maybe I still have a way to go on that one.  It seems funny to tie up the loose ends of one major part of my life to know that in two weeks, everything will be different, but along with the temporary goodbyes is an excitement that is building up.    Yesterday I found out my host family assignment, and it seems like my host family and I will get along really well.  They have two sons that are about my age, one of which goes to my host university, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.  Its good to know that I will already know someone on campus those first couple of weeks. Anyway, that is the latest update with Peru.  Wish me luck as I hurtle down the runway of things I need to do before I leave!

What to Keep My Eyes On

As I am coming down to the last month before I leave, I feel like I have a lot still left to do.  Immunizations, packing, making sure I have the right adapters and a good Spanish dictionary are just a few things on my list.  Despite having a whirlwind of things to do, in the last week I have decided that it is even more important for me to solidify my purpose for going.  Pushing forward without even a plan or a vague purpose is a good recipe for not going anywhere very quickly.  It would be like trying to hike across the wilderness without a map, fun for a while, but quickly becoming disorienting.  There are a lot of things that could fall under the umbrella of my purpose in going to Peru.  If I were to make a list of all the good reasons for going abroad, it could include learning what its like to live in another culture, cementing my fluency in Spanish, getting to see another part of the world, even getting basic distribution classes out of the way, but I think I have settled on something even better.  My purpose for the study abroad is to use this experience to trust God in new places, allow myself to be put out of my comfort zone and really hold on to the promises that He gives us in the Bible.  With that purpose in place, I am excited to see what will come. I love the picture that I see in Hebrews when it says "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."  Keeping our eyes on the purpose, helps us to have an organization and keep our "race" from going off track.  Even though I don't what this leg of the journey will look like, I at least know where I am going with it.