Hola Amigos!
I have officially been living in Perú for 6 months! Its amazing how fast time goes by when you’re trying to adapt to a new culture and experiencing so many new things! I moved to the jungle last month and it’s been like a whole new world here. I’ve had to learn all over again how to do life here in Perú. I thought I would give you a little look into life in the jungle and my ministry. SO, here is a list of the things I have experienced since moving to San Ramon.
What I’ve done in the jungle (so far):
- Moved into my apartment
- Met the ants also living in my apartment
- Gone to the market to buy food. Spent about $10 for a week of groceries.
- Gone to the Feria (a street market that comes every week from Thursday night to Saturday night, selling anything from produce to knock off sneakers)
- Bought a washing machine (am I adulting?)
- Learned Learning to cook without a microwave
- Gotten sunburn laying out by the pool
- Celebrated my 23rd birthday with jungle food and chocolate cake (thanks Meredith!)
- Successfully removed a gecko from my shower (after freaking out)
- Made an agreement with the geckos in my apartment that if they don’t bother me, I won’t bother them
- Stood under a waterfall
- Traveled to Yanesha communities in the back of a truck (sorry mom)
- Traveled to a Yanesha community by boat
- Traveled to Yanesha communities by foot
- Slept on the floor with the roaches
- Eaten a lot of yuca (kind of like a dry potato-like root that grows wild in the jungle)
- Eaten the fruit inside cacao (the fruit that makes chocolate)
- Eaten REALLY GOOD chocolate
- Gotten more bug bites than I can count
- Seen the milky way in person for the first time ever, like wow guys
- Bathed in a river (shampoo, conditioner, the whole nine)
- Seen the beauty of God’s creation in ways I never imagined
- Taught a bunch of Yanesha kids Jesus Loves Me in English, thought it was a waste of time honestly, but heard some of them singing the chorus after, made me real emotional
- Met some really cool Peruvians
- Met some really cool people from the US that came on short term teams
- Sweat a lot
- Laughed a lot
- Seen God move A LOT
That’s a long list but it hasn’t even scratched the surface of the things I’ve done in this beautiful place I call home. Mostly I’m learning a lot. Every day I learn something new. I’m learning to appreciate the little things and seeing God’s beauty in every small blessing. I’m learning, sometimes the hard way, cultural faux pas and norms. Living overseas, it’s just something you find out never stops changing. There will always be something new to see, experience, learn. Even if some of these things on my list sound not that fun, and sometimes they weren’t, I wouldn’t change anything about my experience here, because it just means I’m learning and growing and loving every minute of it.
Thank you for all your love and support friends! You have no idea how much each and every one of you means to me! I think and pray for you often.
Much love in Christ,
Ellie