Coffee and Church

This past week has been the week of midterms for me in Lima, or as they are known here "parciales."  What has this meant for me?  It has meant that I have spent a lot of time in coffee shops than I have before, because I have learned that in the confines of my room I am bombarded with the temptations of movies, facebook, or just simply taking a nap.   My room is a place where I my productiveness takes a major hit.   Normally I would decide that this means it is time to hit up the library, but as my school is a round trip of anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours, this is not an option.  So off I go to find coffee shops to learn what the study life of a commuting college student is like.  Although the studying part of this week has not been highlight, the excuse to get out and do a little more exploring of Miraflores has been a welcome change.  I am now proud to report that I have found 3 new coffee shops that are both cheap and conducive to studying, and have discovered a number of hidden gems in my neighborhood that were previously unknown to me.  Luckily for me, everything in Peru is cheaper than in the US and so my new found coffee spree this week can be done with moderately little impact on my wallet.  Aside from being a great place to study,  I have also found that coffee shops are a great place to get out and think.  So have I turned hipster?  I don't think so, but I have come to appreciate the wonder of coffee shops that some of my friends from Houston having being telling me about for a while.

Aside from my excursions to coffee shops, think I have finally found a church that I can call "home" in Peru.  It is called Calvary Chapel Miraflores.  This church is small and definitely does not have a lot whistles and bells. To give you an idea of how small the church is, it meets in a single medium sized room, has only about 30 people, and we don't have a worship team. Instead we sing with recordings and words projected on the wall.  So why did I decide to go with this church?  It was because I can see how God is working in it.  Every time I go, I find that God speaks to me through the pastor, prompting me to refocus on Him, and the people who are there really want to live for God.  Church isn't about the social atmosphere for them.  Its about seeking after a God who loves them and reached out to them first.  So that is the latest update from Peru, and what I have been up to lately.  Until I write next time!