Burrrrrr…..

Burrrr, it’s cold again in Puno!  It is rainy and cloudy, which at 13,000 feet, makes it quite chilly.  When you first heard I was coming to Peru, did you think…..hot, sweaty, humid, jungle?  I did!  But, here I am, in the cold, rain and sleet of the Andes.  Working in the rain and cold makes everything more difficult, especially since our job is mostly outside.  Even when we disciple people, less than half of them let us into their houses. With most of our contacts, especially in Huascar, we sit on rocks or sidewalk right outside their house and read the Bible and pray.  It’s great when the sun is out, when the sun is out I’d rather be outside warming up than in a cold, dark, cement house.  But in the rain, it’s miserable.  With raindrops falling on my Bible, cold wind blowing in my face, shivering and gritting my teeth, I talk about God.  Sometimes I hate it.  Sometimes I just want to get the lesson over with, pray already and say our goodbyes so I can at least warm up by walking to the next place.  Sometimes my heart just isn’t in it. 
Is it really that cold here?  No, its not THAT cold.  The forecast this week calls for highs in the 50’s and lows in the 30’s.  But, when you are outside all day with clouds covering the sun, rain falling and wind blowing, then you go home to a house that’s a cozy 50 – 55 degrees, it gets to you after a while.  Not to mention the leak in our room, the puddle I have to cross to get to my room, the black mold in our bathroom and the layers and layers of clothes, I’m tired of it all.  And all I could think about today in the cold of Yanamayo was, that it’s only going to get worse.  We had a cold rainy summer, now we are in fall and the rain keeps coming along with clouds and wind, then in May, June and July, comes the freezing cold.  Literally, that’s what they call it here, the freezing, because temperatures drop below freezing most of the day. 

There has been so much rain this year, many of the potato crops have been ruined from too much moisture.   Because of a leak in our roof, Franci and I have black mold in our bathroom.
 
A storm coming in, the view from my room and the puddle from the stairs to my room, the black door in the back.
Layers and layers of clothes!
But, I can’t let the cold get to me, I can’t let this hinder what we are striving to achieve here in Puno.  Instead, I need to keep positive, keep focused on God, keep in the forefront of my mind the need here in Puno, the need for the Gospel and salvation through Christ.  My prayer today as we worked was that God would renew my passion for this city and these people so I can continue on, strong and more passionate than ever for these last 3 months despite the cold, despite the “senioritis”, despite the many reasons I’m anxious to go home. 
I’m home now, warmed with a fleece blanket, sweats, two pairs of socks and a hot water bottle on my feet.  It’s easy to say and write, right now, that I want to be passionate and work hard.  But when we are out in the cold and the rain, it’s a different story.  The good thing is, I am not relying on my weak, fleshly strength, but God is my strength, God is the reason I’ve been able to live in Peru for 22 months, His strength is what has kept me going and what will keep me going.  I am His servant, He is my strength.  His work through me here is not in vain, instead, it is the work of gathering His people and bringing them back to Him, which this work is never done in vain, it is never done with our strength, it is always done to His glory, for His Kingdom, with His strength.

Isaiah 49:1-5

The Servant of the Lord

49 Listen to me, O coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples from afar.
The Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
² He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
³ And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
⁴ But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
and my recompense with my God.”
⁵ And now the Lord says,
he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—