It's been awhile!

Oh my goodness! I never thought that writing a blog post would be on my priority list while at college, but I definitley think that this will help.
This year has been so much different from last in so many ways! I'm a CA in the dorms and have a floor of 36 residents. It's definitely a 24 hours job. I absolutely love my job and have learned tons from it, that's for sure. I've been exposed to so many things that I never thought I would in my lifetime. I will be in a smaller hall next year on an all girls floor and I'm very excited to learn what that is like and be in a different hall since I have been in Gay hall for the past two years!
Also, my classes are getting so much harder! I guess that's what I get for being a Bio/Pre-Med major and wanting to apply for Chiropractic school after my junior year. I can't wait though! I learned last semester that I need to push my self really hard to do well in my classes. I will be taking OChem I and II this summer at Northwestern (the chiropractic school I want to go to) so hopefully that will be good since I can just focus on that.
Matt and I are still dating. It will be a year and a half in May! I can't believe it. Our relationship is wonderful and so positive. I couldn't ask for anything better. We talk about our faith a lot and are learning so much from each other. We will both have busy summers, but will hopefully be able to see each other still!
I guess my main reason for writing this tonight is that I have become overwhelmed with emotions tonight. First of all, it's April Fools Day, so I was expecting some crazy joke from my residents, but nothing. So my first feeling was relieved. My second feeling was rushed. I woke up today at 12:30 (I put my two beds together so I now have one giant comfy bed!) and realized I had lab at 1. I still needed to shower and eat. I guess I need to start setting an alarm on Thursdays... Then I felt happy after lab. Symphonic Winds is always my place to just enjoy life. Music is so much of my life and that time every day is so wonderful. Tonight, I was concentrated. I have a lot to do before Monday, and with this weekend being Easter, I just needed to get a lot done. I was taking a Facebook break when my step mom said 'Hey, have you talked with Apple Valley lately?' (meaning my mom, step dad, and sister). I said, no. And she told me that I should call down there. So I called my sisters cell and she picked up and said, 'oh, did you hear I have mono too?' I said 'no'. Then she proceded to tell me that my step dad has a mass and they think it might be cancerous. Oh man. He also is having mono like symptoms right now. Holy cow. So I guess he is supposed to get surgery and they will test the mass to see if it is cancer. This is just too much right now. God always seems to choose the nicest people. I know it's all for a reason, but oh man.
Basically, I just needed to get this all out. It's all rambling and I still don't know what to make of it all. So many emotions in one day. I've also been listening to Air1 all night online since they don't have a station out here. I seriously love that station. It's wonderful. It's been really hard for me to keep my relationship with Jesus strong this year while I've been at school with so much school work and other responsibilities to do. Air1 just really challenges me to be better and get my relationship with Jesus back to where it used to be.
Another thing that I miss a lot this year is Riverside. That's my church at home and I absolutely love it there. If I never had to go to a different church again, I would be just fine with that. It's so challenging there and it makes me want to be a better person every time I'm there.
Okay, well like I said, this is all so scatter brained. I apologize. I was just thinking about Peru. I really left my heart in Peru. The people are so wonderful there and I will never forget all of the people I met there and how they touched my life. I had this blog while I was in Peru and had planned to keep writing after I returned, but never got around to it. I'll have to do this more often.
If you made it this far in this post, thanks for reading. You're a rockstar!
Have a blessed Easter and remember that Jesus died for you! For your sins! He can make all lives new.
-K.B.K.

La cama

So, yesterday, we went to all three church services which were very fun! The peruvian people are amazing worshippers and are so sincere! For lunch, we went to the mall. For the most part, people had mcdonalds or chinese. I don´t think that I´ve ever been so excited to eat mcdonalds in my life! We did a little window shopping, then headed back for church. At the night service, the church gave us gifts. They are so generous and wonderful! They will definitely be a part of my heart forever. After church, we met with the youth and took tons of pictures. Then, one of the families in the church invited us over. They own a bakery below their house and they made us sandwiches and tres leches!!! (three milk cake) Yum! Then we took some time to get to know everyone. One of the daughters, Kristell, is going to school to be a translator. Last night after we left, she took a bus to Lima to do ministry work there. We sang some worship songs and prayed for her. It was amazing! We were singing and praying in different languages, yet I´m pretty sure we all understood. Oh God is so good! :)


Well, I have not been feeling good since Saturday morning. (cold symptoms: stuffy nose, my eyes feel like they are popping out, my shoulders and neck are tense, etc.) This morning, I woke up and I´m pretty sure that I have a fever. When we got to the construction site for the church, I started to feel dizzy. Then, Marco took me to meet a little boy (3 years old) that has seizures. We brought him medicine for the USA and I got to meet him when we delivered it. The family was so thankful and said send our blessings and muchas gracias to your mom! (my step mom is the one that got it for him!) Well, that was a great time, but when we got back to the work site, I started to feel dizzy whenever I would work. I ended up at the home below the study center and they let me sleep in one of their children´s bedrooms! Ahhhh I was so touched! After lunch, I slept in the nursery of the study center along with some of the other people on the team. Now, I can´t sleep because I have been sleeping all day, so I´m updating all of you!


Since I haven´t been to the worksite today, I´m not sure how it has been going, but I´m sure it is great!


Tonight, pastor marco and his family have invited us over for dinner. I am very excited! Other than that, I don´t think that we have anything else planned for the night.


Health update: Everyone but Rhonda and Kristin are sick from the food if you know what I mean. Me and Michael have colds. I know that Sam and Anna had them earlier in the trip. Also, Merium (Jurg´s wife) told me that I should get tested for malaria when I get home because of my cold symptoms and that I have a ton of bug bites on my legs. Many of us got the bites and I´m the only one this sick, so I really pray that I don´t! I would appreciate prayers!!!!


Well, we leave tomorrow. We will be going to the market downtown to go shopping and packing up to leave. Our flight leaves Trujillo at 4:30 or 5 to Lima. Then we will be leaving from there to Miami at midnight. We will be home Wednesday sometime in the afternoon!


Thank you all for your prayers! They mean so much to all of us and it has really been a wonderful trip! We have seen God at work for sure! 7 or 8 children gave their lives to Christ at the camp. Awesome! Also, we have made some friendships that are great and will last a lifetime!


We love you all!


Kayla





p.s. ñññññññ ahhhh awesome! we can do that on these computers! sweet! ;)

Good Morning World!

Happy Sunday morning! Last night Pastor Marco ate pizza with us for supper then we headed to their youth church service. It was very up beat and fun! We sang lots of songs, played games, and danced! After, we had a debrief time then went to bed!
Tommy, Sam, Matt, and Kristen are all kind of having stomach problems. Well not kind of, they do. Also, Michael, Anna, and I have colds. (I think Anna is getting over hers now) So if you could all be praying for our health, that would be great! And also to keep Rhonda, Christian, and our intern Doug strong for the last few days, that would be great!
Today, we will be going to the morning church services (2), then to the mall for lunch, then around downtown for shopping, then to the night church service, and then playing soccer in the park by the study center with the locals!
Sounds like an exciting day! We are all still having a great time and getting along awesome! :)

Vamos a la playa!

This morning we had breakfast then headed to exchange our money. Then we went and visited some old civilization ruins called huaca de luna. it was very cool and interesting! After, we headed to huanchaco beach! we had dinner at a resturant on the beach then played in the ocean for a bit! Then we headed to the shops. everyone started their shopping for gifts and learned how to haggle prices and whatnot! :) Now we are waiting to go to church! Tomorrow we will attend 3 services and possibly do a little more shopping.
A new group from Inca Link is arriving to the guest house tonight and they are not allowed to use the internet for a while once they get here. so we are not allowed to use it either if they are around so i'm not sure when i will be able to update next, but hopefully soon!
Over all, we are all doing great! The team has gotten along wonderfully and it has been an awesome trip! Some people just started getting sick and a few of us have colds. Otherwise, its all good!
Thanks for the continued prayers! You are all awesome!
Love- Kayla

Te amo peru parte dos! (the long one) (mas grande!)

ooookay! so we are officially back from camp! yay!
tuesday: woke up. ate bread and jelly and juice. went to a place where they are builing an orphanage. we helped clear sand around a soccer field and also helped lay cement for the soccer field. it was a long day of labor. then at night we got into our groups (or as they called them, families) and made bonfires. we ate dinner and sang songs then played some games after their youth pastor Raul preached. we slept on the cement floors of the future orphanage with the peruvians. it was definitely a new experience for all of us!
wednesday: after we woke up and did devotionals and had breakfast, we headed to the camp on buses. okay, so get this. the camp is in between the mountains and the moche river. it was absolutely gorgeous! i cant even exlain it. its sad because they said we shouldnt bring valuables in case they get stolen, so i didnt bring my camera, but other people got pictures, so i'm sure i will have them at some point! that day we went to the river and jumped around on the rocks and over the small rapids and whatnot. it was really sweet! then we had a talent show at night. a lot of people did skits, but one group i was in (my "family" which consisted of Americanas y Peruanas) sang open the eyes of my heart in english and spanish. then the group from riverside sang i am free. oh, just a side note, the theme for the camp was 'Si se puede' or 'I can do it' because the peruvians in general do not think very highly of themselves.
thursday: woke up and didnt take a super cold shower....that is, until later. we headed to the sand dunes after breakfast. they were absolutely huge! we had to walk part way because we only had Jurg's van so not all of the people could fit at one time. we passed a bunch of sugar cane fields and the peruvians picked some for us, so we ate real pure sugar cane! once we were at the sand dunes, each family had to find 4 flags on the sand dune then come back down. from the top, the view was the most amazing thing ever! you could see mountains, and water, and farms, and animals, and houses, and desert, ect! everything that God has made! SO AMAZING! then we ran down the hill and most of the guys ended up rolling down and looking like sandmen at the bottom! when we got back, we got into our swimsuits and swam in the river and slid down the rapids. it was very fun!!! at night, we had a birthday party for Tonio and Tommy! We had tamales and tres leches(cake) and played a bunch of games inside and outside.
Today: All the girls woke up early and took freezing showers so that we could stand outside the boys' cabin and sing love songs for tommy's birthday. we sang in english and spanish! some of the guys even threw candy out to us! yay! then each family was given a bible verse to make a song and dance to perform to the whole group. after that, pastor matt preached. it was awesome! After lunch, a bunch of us went for another swim in the river before we left. Once we got back in town, we went out to eat with all of the people from the camp and their families. It was an awesome time! We played cards until Jurg could come and get us. After we dropped our stuff at the guesthouse, half of us went out for ice cream, chicken sandwiches and inca cola/cokes. Very fun times!
We have been having a great time! We have all made some amazing friends that we will never forget! i really dont think that any of us want to leave! Half of us have some intense bug bites from some killer mosquitoes! (i didnt even know that they had those in peru!) but other than that, we are all healthy and looking forward to the beach tomorrow! I will keep you updated! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers! God Bless and see you all soon! :)

Te Amo Peru!!! (part one...the short one!)

hola!!!! we just got back from the camp right now, but we are heading out on the town for pop and ice cream and food other than chicken and rice! yay! the camp was amazing and fun and the people are absolutely WONDERFUL! i definitely forgot exactly how much i love this place! i'm not going to want to leave! one of the guys even told me that he thought deep down i was peruvian! :)
well i will write more either when we get back from town or tomorrow at some point. we're going to the beach tomorrow!!!!
i love you all and miss you very very much!
-kayla

Una Falda

So, the title of this blog is random, but WE HAVE ARRIVED IN TRUJILLO!!!! :) The flights all went super smooth! We had a day full of laughs, playing cards, and enjoying the wonderful airline LAN! Also, our hotel experience last night was awesome! Praise God!!!! :)
We are staying at the Guest House for missionaries in Trujillo. Our translators name is Doug. He is very nice! For me, it is so great to be back! I have missed it a lot!!!!!
The guest house is huge and like a maze, but we all have beds and robes and towels and clean water and everything! Oh yeah, and internet! ;)
Well, it really is getting late and we are leaving at 7 tomorrow to do some construction (not sure what or where) then sleeping in an unfinished home so basically sleeping outside! We're very excited about that! We will be at the camp until Friday, so I will try to get on ASAP to keep everyone updated once we are back!
Thanks for reading! Love you all! God Bless! And thanks for all the prayers! You all are wonderful!
GOOD NIGHT!