Here's how we kicked off our Advent celebration this morning.

Last night (the last night of the course) only 11 people came, a pretty big discouragement for us. Of the 5 leaders, only 1 showed up. I did know in advance about another one not being able come (she had an opportunity to work, not something you turn down), but no word from the remaining 3. In general, the low attendance made for an awkward night. We didn't really know how to wrap things up, and I think our "short and sweet" approach was not very successful.

On the positive side, we did get some interesting responses from our surveys. Here are some (translated) highlights:

How would you have described yourself in relation to the Christian faith before beginning this course?

• as an atheist
• I didn't know anything about the Bible
• with skepticism

How would you describe yourself today?

• I have drawn nearer to God by listening to the responses to certain doubts and questions that I had.
• more convinced
• I know more about God and have more faith in Christ.

Did your relationship with God change through this course? How?

• putting into practice everything the pastor read from the Bible and his own experiences
• Yes, because before I didn't believe, but since I came to the course, I learned a lot about God. Also now I can and know how to pray, because before I didn't do it.
• Yes, a lot. My personality is different.
• Yes, my relationship with Christ and God changed because my life is changing.
• I'm no longer the same. I was grouchy and antisocial with people before.

What did you like most about Alpha?

• The videos and small groups because they helped to dispell my doubts.
• The talks, the relationships with people I didn't know before
• I liked the friendships and the way people treated each other. Also the food.
• The illustrative videos, Tim's questions, his responses, and the harmonious environment in the course

Maybe this Alpha round hasn't been everything I wanted it to be. This morning I was oscillating between discouragement and wanting to forget last night and move on with my day. Somehow neither seemed right. I went to the Bible for answers and indeed found some.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

That sounds like good news to me. My part is trusting Him, which feels like something I can do. His part is filling me up with joy, peace, and hope (definitely not in my power). I feel those gifts springing up inside me little by little as the day moves forward, and I'm so glad I'm not on my own here.

Tonight is our final session for this round of the Alpha Course. I must admit that we're relieved. Alpha is a lot of work for 2 people, especially if those people aren't very social anyway!

The topic tonight is "What about the Church?" This is a pretty big issue for us when it comes to Alpha. So far most of the people who have done the Alpha Course have not become involved in the Comunidad Cristiana or any other church around here. It is our understanding from reading the Bible that the Christian life is meant to be lived in community, and we long to see this group grasp that concept. Pray for us tonight!

1. Attendance. We still don't have much of a clue about who will come tonight! Pray that the "right" people would come (on time) with open ears and open hearts.

2. Us. Pray that we would have a relaxing afternoon and go into this night full of joy and peace.

3. Alpha Questionaires. One problem with this round of the course is that we feel less connected with the participants and don't really have a sense of how this course is (or isn't) helping them in their lives of faith. Tonight they fill our questionaires that address much of that. Pray that they would understand the questions and answer them with sincerity.

4. Logistics. Chicken and Apple Curry, set-up, sound and video equipment, children (not) being a distraction.

5. Introducing New Life in Christ. We are so excited to be able to offer this follow-up discipleship course to Alpha starting next Thursday! Pray that we would have wisdom about how to explain to our Alpha people that Alpha is over, they can't come to the next Alpha, and that we want them to come to this new course. New Life is a very different and more "serious" course. Pray that we would explain it in a way that encourages people to come but also communicates the commitment involved.

At 3 am this morning my second nephew was born, Nathan Charles Murray, to my brother Phil and his wife Christal. He weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and it sounds like everything is ok. I found out from my dad while on a bus to Lima so I wasn´t able to talk long.

Congrats on your arrival Nathan. See you in a year or two.

Today's trials were all brown and made me remember why I love being mostly vegetarian. We had rolls, roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and pumpkin bars for desert. I would definitely recommend the mashed potatoes and gravy (no lumps!).

It's been a year since we've done our laundry. In Arequipa, our host family's housekeeper did it. Here, we've been paying someone $10/week to wash it by hand, dry it, and iron it.

When our vet told us recently that he was selling his 2-yr-old washing machine, we realized it would be cheaper to buy it than continue paying $10/week for 18 more months. At first we were a little conflicted, because our laundry provides a job for our neighbor. We put a lot of thought and prayer into this and for a number of reasons, decided to do it.

I couldn't be more pleased. Maybe it's the sense of control over my own clothes again. Maybe it's the fact that a shirt can go from clean to dirty in one day (instead of 1-3 weeks). Regardless, I am so far not the least bit bothered by the tasks involved. And there are several.

1. Wash the clothes. We have a pending issue with our drain, so we've been rolling our washer from the laundry/dog room outside the back patio. Thank goodness for the rolling platform our vet gave us with it! The drain issue is not entirely averted, and we still almost always end up with a small flood in the laundry room. We've talked to a guy about fixing this, but it seems to be happening on Peruvian time.

2. Hang the clothes to dry. Pull out the stool and start clipping laundry to the line! Our washer is small (6 kg), so we never have that much at once. Our housekeeper has been helping with this task as well.

3. Take the clothes down and iron them. All of them. Remember when I laughed about my neighbor ironing my dishtowels? I did it myself on Saturday. They looked so pitiful all contorted into shapes! With the actual clothes and sheets, I'm more worried about softness than looks, and ironing really does help make them softer. The down side is that, as you can imagine, this is very time-consuming. My Saturday night ironing session lasted through 4 old episodes of 24 (3 hrs?).

My plan with the ironing is to have my housekeeper do most of it. She doesn't have a lot of extra time, but I think she could probably spare 20 minutes a day out of the 4 hours she's here. We'll see how it works. This week I'm saving all the clothes up for her to iron while we're in Lima on Thursday for Thanksgiving.

Today's Thanksgiving trials were delicious and not nearly as time-consuming as yesterday's. Somehow when we sat down for lunch I was already full. Note to self: stop tasting after every step!

We're eagerly looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with our American friends the Chapman's in Lima! This is our first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner (other than dessert contributions), so we decided we ought to test out some recipes first. Today we started with Green Bean Casserole with homemade onion rings and Sweet Potato Gnocchi. The green beans were a huge success (probably even more so if fresh mushrooms were available) and the gnocchi a pretty big flop. Now we know and won't have to frighten our friends with them.

Here's a blog of true one sentence stories. Many of them are hilarious, although a few are pretty sad. Here are a few highlights:

It always brings a smile to my face when my dad tells large groups of strangers how he once cut himself on Jello.

As I woke up from my nap to find written on my feet "This is my momma and you can't have her," I realized that my child is very, very strange.

When I turned in my family tree in the 3rd grade, I realized that having to explain the fact that my parents were cousins would be much harder than I had previously thought.

One of the joys of sleepwalking is spending my morning speculating what happened last night to cause me to wake up holding a teaspoon.

I was bleeding and in pain, but I had to laugh when the ER nurse asked the guy in the next room, "You swallowed HOW MANY toothbrushes?"

Every now and then I get a craving for chocolate cake but I just don't want to go to the trouble of making an entire cake for 2 people. Well yesterday I came across a post of a 5 min cake recipe that turned out to be pretty good. It really only took 5 mins including the baking time!


I'd encourage everyone to try it, but mine was a little spongy so you might want to add a pinch or 2 of baking powder to the flour (and maybe using half an egg?). You can find the recipe here. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!

Tonight is the penultimate session for this Alpha Course. The topic is "Does God Heal Today?" Instead of following the lesson with discussion, we will be using the time to pray for all of the participants one-on-one. I've also prepared a worksheet of sorts for them to have a time of personal reflection while we're praying for others. I feel excited about the possibilities for the night!

Please pray for us and for our participants:

1. Attendees. Pray again that God would hand-pick people to come and that we would receive them as such.

2. Logistics. Curried chicken salad sandwiches, set-up, sound and video equipment, children not being a distraction, how to seat people during the prayer time to provide some privacy.

3. Us. Protection from spiritual attack, fullness in the fruit of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control). Pray that the daytime today would be somehow fun and encouraging to us, that we would be happy going into the night.

3b. Us praying. Praying out loud in Spanish is one of the more challenging language tasks we face. Pray that our language abilities wouldn't be a distraction for us or for the participants during the prayer time. Pray that God would set our tongues free to speak well!

4. Praying about prayer :-) Pray that people would be open about prayer needs. Pray that we would see physical and emotional healing during this prayer time. Pray that people would want to give their lives to follow Jesus!

5. Alpha follow-up. We're excited about the follow-up Bible study for Alpha beginning Dec. 4. Please begin praying with us for lots of enthusiastic people to come! More on this in a post to come.

I hope you're as excited about this night as I am. By praying for us, you are participating, too! We're so grateful for your partnership in the gospel and wish you could see the fruit it is bearing with your own eyes.

Today I went to the post office (next town over) to send some postcards. Two weeks ago, I tried to send 21 postcards, but they only had 15 stamps to sell me. Today I went with 27 postcards, and they had no stamps. Amazing. The guy told me to come back tomorrow.

Despite the postcard fiasco, I left the post office with a huge smile on my face after receiving a care package from Sierra! She sent along some special treasures for us-- a new book, a movie, dry erase markers, fun stickers, CHOCOLATE, and some delicious-smelling candles. Equally exciting was the big stack of letters she sent for various Puerto Supe friends. I started distributing them tonight, and I feel somewhat like Santa Claus. It's genuinely moving to me to see people's faces instantly light up. I can tell that they feel so honored to be remembered.

This morning a Jehovah's Witness lady came to my door. I imagine that our conversation was very different than the others she had this morning on my street. My experience with Peruvians is that they either haven't considered what they believe or are unsure about their beliefs. While I don't claim to be any kind of theological star, I know what I believe (and why I believe it) about most issues that matter to me. I'm guessing this woman is used to being the respected religious "expert" in her conversations, and she was a little confused I think when I flatly refused to believe some of the things she told me.

One of the things I found most curious about our conversation was that she was dead set on convincing me that while I might have eternal life, my soul will not. I really wasn't interested in discussing the issue, partly because I didn't want to go into a lengthy philosophical discussion about the parts of person, but mostly because (as I finally told her), I really don't care. I belong to Jesus Christ, now and forever, and I'll trust him to decide what heaven is like down to the most minute detail. I feel perfectly content and comfortable with respect to death, my future, and my faith.

I wonder what her conversations are like with others. Does she really argue with them about less-than-relevant (at least for the non-theologian) philosophical issues? She showed me four or five verses in the Bible and I wondered if that would be enough to convince my neighbors. I, for one, was wholly unconcerned that she could pull verses out of Ecclesiastes to prove her point. Mostly I wonder what she was trying to gain from all of this. What difference does it make to her if I believe her long list of minor doctrinal issues?

Finally I told her that I appreciated her time, but that I really was interested in finding truth and knowing God, so I was going to go back to what I was doing when she came (reading the Bible with my housekeeper). She tried to argue with me a little longer, and I insisted that I really was done with the conversation. She told me she hoped I would think about the things she had said that bothered me. I assured her that I was not bothered and sent her on her way (with some difficulty).

I think I gave her my time because it feels crazy to turn someone away if they want to talk about faith. At the same time, she is not coming to my door to discuss anything; she's coming to persuade me. Is it a poor use of my time (and hers) to humor her? While I was clear about what I believe, I didn't make any efforts to try to reverse the prosyletizing. She was obviously uninterested in exploring any other ideas.

The whole ordeal (particularly the part where she wouldn't leave) made me appreciate Alpha all the more. I love the way Alpha (and the Bible, for that matter) focuses on things that really matter and matter to my neighbors, too. I'm glad that there is solid teaching in Alpha, but I love that the point of the course is to give people a time and space to explore faith for themselves. Alpha isn't about me "winning" people to my side; it's about equipping people to make informed decisions about faith. I like that it's for people who choose to come. I imagine, as well, that it's infinitely more effective than my new friend's door-to-door campaign.

I'm still left wondering if I should politely decline the next time a Jehovah's Witness or Mormon comes to my door. Any thoughts?

Yesterday's "photo shoot" became all the more precious when I realized that these are the only photos taken of the baby so far. Cameras a just not an affordable dream for the vast majority of our neighbors. Luckily green paint is, because it makes for some fun photos!

PS- Doesn't this baby remind you of a candy cane?

The Desert Fathers were hermits who fled civilization to work out their lives of faith in the deserts of Egypt beginning around 1700 years ago. I've been thinking about them a lot recently, in part because of a book Jenny sent me-- The Way of the Heart: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Ministry (Henri Nouwen). It always seems that when God wants to teach me something, it comes from 10 million directions. The book was one of many.

We find ourselves in the desert, too, and I'm wondering whether this will be a crucible of personal growth for me or season of dead waiting. So many of my old temptations are removed, and I find myself here mostly free from the deadly calls of materialism and man's approval. I'm grateful for that freedom but left wondering what will happen if and when we return to "civilization." It seems clear that if, here in the desert, I hang on to memories of movie theaters and Starbucks and elevate them to the status of lost gods, my return will send me back even weaker into the same idolatries of the modern world.

The short story of St. Anthony's life (from Nouwen's book) gives some direction to my questions.

After a period of living as a poor laborer at the edge of his village, he withdrew into the desert, where for twenty years he lived in complete solitude. During these years Anthony experienced a terrible trial. The shell of his superficial securities was cracked and the abyss of iniquity was opened to him. But he came out of this trial victoriously-- not because of his own willpower or ascetic exploits, but because of his unconditional surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. When he emerged from his solitude, people recognized in him the qualities of an authentic "healthy" man, whole in body, mind and soul. They flocked to him for healing, comfort, and direction....

The story of St. Anthony, as told by St. Athanasius, shows that we must be made aware of the call to let our false, compulsive self be transformed into the new self of Jesus Christ. It also shows that solitude is the furnace in which this transformation takes place. Finally, it reveals that it is from this transformed or converted self that real ministry flows.

I'd like to "emerge" from my desert that way, too-- healthier in body, mind and soul, transformed into the new self of Jesus Christ. Transformation is a key word here I think, and the crux of another arrow God has been sending to pierce my heart over and over recently:

Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices-- holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing, and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

Do not conform, but be transformed.

I'm left with a few clear applications on my heart. I'm pretty sure to avoid them would be to stick my fingers in my ears and sing "I can't hear you!" at the top of my lungs.

1. Banish the thought of "quitting" from my mind, even and particularly during the toughest moments. Dig in deeper.
2. Let go of Lima as a place of refuge and escape (more something I've been dreaming of than something I've actually had the time to do).
3. Fast from sugar this week. Instead of using sugar as my afternoon "fix," run to prayer. Instead of numbing the pain, confusions, and disappointments, move into them, and let myself be changed in the midst of them.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Psalm 23:1-4

Last night's Alpha was good if not eventful. The only surprise was that 5 new women came, neighbors of one woman who has been attending regularly. Some of them seemed enthusiastic, and I hope we can invite them to the next course in January. After praying that God would hand-pick our attendees, it was fun to see what happened.

Yesterday I started doing the Philippians Bible study with the two girls that run the coffee shop. To my great relief and joy, they are remarkably sharper than the other woman with whom I'm doing the same study. After one 20-minute study, my prediction is that the next 35 afternoons will be relaxed and perhaps even fun.

After showing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on a 15-ft wide screen last Saturday night, one of our key 5-year-olds came up with the idea to have Movie Night every Saturday night. As others reminded us, it's a ministry, too-- some kind of alternative for kids to following their moms to play bingo. Tim obtained a CCLI licence to show legal movies for a year in the Comunidad Cristiana, up to crowds of 50. It was only $62.50!

Our friend(ish) C gave birth on Thursday afternoon to a beautiful baby girl. They were expecting a boy, so she was a bit of a surprise! The baby is perfect as far as I can tell (although they claim I would have a different view if I came to visit between midnight and dawn). Teeny tiny fingernails, a precious button nose, and the softest feet I've ever touched.

Last week we made 2 groups (divided by gender) instead of 3, and the conversation/discussion time was vastly improved. I'm hoping that we can do that again today. It all depends on who comes, really, and my chances of guessing that accurately are slim.

Tonight's topic is "Why and how should I tell others?" Since I'm not sure that half the group "gets" the message of Christianity themselves, I'm curious how this will go. Maybe I'll find out that I'm entirely wrong. One of the major down points of this round of the course is that I haven't gotten to know all of the participants well.

Please pray for our Alpha Course tonight:

1. attendees hand-picked by God, eager to learn and be honest about their own thoughts and beliefs
2. group placements and group dynamics
3. logistics-- set-up, food, children, video/sound equipment
4. two Murrays full of the Holy Spirit's love, patience, joy, and peace
5. only good surprises :-)

We are beginning to think some about how we want to do the next Alpha Course (starting in January). There's so much we've learned (the hard way) from this round. Please pray that we would have wisdom as we consider those lessons and plan for the next course.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-3

I read this last Sunday "by accident" and all week it has been bouncing off the walls of my mind, stirring up new thoughts, and consoling me. While I wouldn't call anything we're living through "suffering," I would definitely say we're learning what "trials" are all about down here.

Pure joy? Maybe not my first reaction. At the same time, don't I want to be mature, complete, not lacking anything? For sure. If I'm not overflowing with pure joy, I'm at least more grateful this week to remember that the trials are probably not in vain. God is growing a little garden of character in my heart and weeding out the ugly thorns and spiny vines. I'm glad there's purpose in the pain.

If I have learned anything in the past 9 years, it's that God's way turns out better than my way every time. The apostle Paul calls God's will "good, pleasing, and perfect" (Romans 12:2). It doesn't always feel that way in the middle of the storm, but I can't look back on one moment in my life and fault God. Funny, then, that I'm so quick to grumble today.

This morning as we made our way through the obstacle course that is Barranca, Tim told me I was being irritable. "You're right," I said, but not in humble admission. I was actually bathing in self-pity, thinking to myself that it was probably worse being Irritable Me than being him next to Irritable Me. Besides, what can I do if I feel irritable?

Guess what. There's a lot I can do. Pull myself together, for one. Pray, for two. I know that I am responsible for my actions, words, and attitudes. Culture shock may explain my irritability, but it certainly doesn't excuse it for one instant.

I confess that recently, I've felt my very presence here was some kind of gift to God-- like me being unhappy was certain to make God happy. It's not true. The fact that I live here doesn't actually do anyone any good; it's what I do with my life here that counts.

I don't want to be content with a superficial spirituality that means I don't buy pirated movies but I let bitterness or pride pepper my heart and render me unpalatable company for everyone, myself included. I don't want to give up on goodness and let this ugliness reign in my soul. I want to move closer to the heart of God and to grow more into the likeness of Jesus.

Thanks to Tim for speaking the truth and at the same time, letting me decide what to do with it. That's the kind of person that I want to keep around.

Teen pregnancy and abortions. You'd never know abortion was illegal here. Or pirated movies, but that one doesn't concern me as deeply. Hasn't anyone here ever heard of birth control? Or abstinence, for that matter? I feel nauseous thinking about recent news in this field from my neighbors. Since when did abortion become a normal part of a teenage girl's life?

And no wonder people stay poor. If you opt out of the abortion, you're a mom before you finish high school, and that's the end of any hope of economic change for the family. Forget a high school diploma, much less college. The girl is now stuck in a lifetime of 48-hr/week jobs that pay $60/month. And no time to raise this small creature that entered the world at the "wrong" time.

The whole thing makes me angry and sick and very, very sad.

Reading comprehension. Today was the 68th day I've sat down to read the Bible with a certain someone. Afterwards we answer 2-3 questions. It's exhausting. To give her the benefit of the doubt, I'm assuming the problem is reading comprehension and not plain lack of intelligence. Regardless, I'm getting tired of either trying to draw out the right answer or pretending the answer is right when it's clearly 100 miles off base.

I'm not talking about tough questions, here. The question says, for example, "Where was Paul?" The text says, "As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ." After a long time reading and re-reading, she says, "Oh! He was in the palace!" Well, yes, I suppose that's true, but I have to go on to point out that he was in prison in the palace. I imagine she is perhaps spending her time scanning the text for a word that indicates a place but not actually reading and digesting what the sentence says. And this is only the beginning.

Tomorrow I am going to start working through the same booklet with two other women in town (of the same age). I'm curious to see how they do, to see if it's just this person or if I should fault the Peruvian education system. Teaching in a Charlotte public high school for 3 years was a real wake-up call. I realized quickly that humans are not nearly as smart as I thought they were. I'm glad that I had that stepping stone before coming here, because Puerto Supe is a whole new level of intellectual poverty.

Reading over this post, I see that I sound arrogant and bitter. It wouldn't be the first time, I guess. Pray that my heart would be softened by love and humility, and that in my frustration, I would fight for the people and not against them. I want to live out what I read with this woman today, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:3-4)

I recently read an article about email management that made me pretty excited. For the most part I hate having email in my inbox or things left undone there. Every now and then I'll make a strong effort to organize it but eventually it just backs up again.

A brief summary:

• If you can deal with any email in 2 minutes, do it immediately.
• Only check your email every 30min/hour.
• Create 3 folders for emails requiring more than 2 minutes: answer, read, hold - empty these regularly!
• DON'T organize emails - this takes too much time and is unneccessary.
• DELETE all email once you've handled it. I think this is the real secret. Because virtually every email program/provider offer you the opportunity to never empty the Trash folder, this can become your archive, you can send emails there by just pressing the delete button and if you need to find some thing all you have to do is search for it. I know it's scary, but it's worth it!

I suggest you read the full article here, especially if you're interested in trying it out.

I think I was 5 or 6 when I spied my dad reading The Hobbit and asked if he would read it aloud to me. Or maybe it was his idea. Regardless, it kicked of 8 or so years of serious bedtime reading. I'm grateful for those memories, for the time he devoted to reading to David Hugh (my brother) and me, and for the gift he gave me when he taught me to love literature.

I've decided to start a list of the books I want to read to my children some day, starting with the ones my dad read to me.

• The Hobbit
• The Lord of the Rings trilogy (I think we read through these twice.)
• The Dark is Rising series
• The Once and Future King
• Chronicles of Pridian series (a real favorite)
• the Tripods trilogy (John Christopher)
• Little Women
• A Wrinkle in Time
• Redwall and all the others that had been written at the time

I can't remember if Dad read these to us or not, but I'm adding them to my list. I'm at least sure that one or both of my parents put them in my hands.

• The Chronicles of Narnia
• Anne of Green Gables series
• The Mouse and the Motorcycle series
• Bridge to Terebithia
• The Giver
• The Twenty-One Balloons
• Matilda
• The Wheel on the School
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
• Where the Red Fern Grows
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
• The Borrowers
• Ramona and friends
• Number the Stars
• A Little Princess
• The Secret Garden
• Rebecca
• Little House on the Prarie series
• Harry Potter 1-7

What am I forgetting? A LOT, I know.

Email me or better yet, post a comment so others can reap the benefits!

Saturday morning at 4:30 am, I was up with stomach issues and picked up Edith Schaeffer's The Hidden Art of Homemaking. I love reading. It's challenging, inspiring, and brings so much fullness to my life. I ended up enthralled by this particular book and read it all the way through once on Saturday and again on Sunday.

I'm a peculiar breed of woman myself, indignant about pay inequity but crazy about Martha Stewart. Ephesians 5 (submission in marriage) doesn't make me squirm, but most Christian books written for women do. This one caught me off guard.

I should have known, really, since Schaeffer and her husband started L'Abri, which always seemed to me to be the hippy commune of the Christian world. Now that I've read the book, I'm hesitant to call her a hippy, but Edith Schaeffer is definitely not "the church lady." She's an artist and a thinker and a lover of God.

From my reading of it, the basic premise of the book is that we were made by and in the image of a beautiful, creative God. The family likeness should be evident in our personalities, in our appearance, in our homes, in our parenting, in our recreation. Our lives should overflow with music and delicious foods. We should be close to something green and living. We don't need to resort to frozen lasagna and Pottery Barn; we can create our own foods, furniture, and frills. We were made for beauty, and we can bring beauty home.

I'm dedicating this week to making myself and the spaces in which I live my life a little more beautiful, to using my gifts and expressing myself in the life God has given me. Here are some of my ideas:

• an urban garden-in-a-pot
• flowers on the table (even if they're the cheapest ones I can find)
• listening to more of a variety of music
• playing music together at home more often
• (gently) encouraging Tim to paint
• mercilessly attacking all ugly (dirty, messy) spaces in the house
• patching up where the dogs have eaten the wool carpet (!)
• creating an interesting centerpiece with beach stuff (shells, rocks, sand, wood)
• taking on food presentation as a form of art
• writing a letter to my grandfather
• reading aloud together (actually, we already do this at night)
• looking in the mirror at least once a day... and then doing something to make that mirror look a little better
• thinking twice when I get dressed (so that I wear sweatpants with intention and not just as a default!)
• keeping up our morning walks on the beach

Likely I will not get all that far on my list this week, and that's fine. Really this is my one danger in reading an inspiring book-- I get all excited, and then after a couple of disappointments, give up. I'm hoping not to give up this time, not on myself and not on beauty as a way of life.

My hope is to unleash life as I pursue beauty and creative expression, one day at a time.

• sunshine and strawberries
• Grace, who keeps up with our life here and sends us lots of words of encouragement
• grace, the unmerited love and mercy shown to me by a marvelous God
• an adventure in Peru
• my new black-out curtains (before, everyone could see inside our house at night as they walked by- not my favorite feeling)
• The West Wing on iTunes
• last night's Alpha discussions (the most comfortable yet for me)
• a new book when I was up at 4:30 am with indigestion: The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer (so far not about homemaking, but wildly interesting)
• the now-comforting crow of roosters in the night
• the fact that the roosters don't live on our block
• my new felt-tip black pen
• freedom from the lure of materialism (nothing to buy here)
• Tim. He's a fighter.

Tonight's topic is "How can I resist evil?" It's about temptation but also about demonic forces. You only laugh because you don't live in a world of witch doctors. Here's, it's relevant (and there, too, I might add, only you don't see it so plainly).

The same prayer requests as usual apply (set-up, food, attendance, leaders, etc) but I want to focus on two specific ones that feel the most pressing right now.

Groups. Boy have we learned a lot this go round about forming groups. In some ways, our group situation this time feels like a big ol' flop. Here we are 70% of the way through the course, and we're still at a loss. There's a possibility that tonight we will make some big changes in the groups. Pray that God would direct our thoughts. This is such a huge part of the course, and we want to honor God with our decisions above all else. Pray that no matter what, God's grace would be over the conversations tonight, and that there would be lively, focused, easy discussion (a miracle, in other words).

Us. Some days (often Fridays), it feels like we're spending our time here in vain and we might as well pack it up and come home. We're desperate for some sign that what we're doing here matters. Studies say culture shock hits big time as you cross the one year mark. That was last Saturday. Maybe it's something else, but either way, we need the Holy Spirit to pour out His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control in us.

Thanks in advance for your prayers. We need you fighting for us and alongside us.

What do I think of my new "presidente moreno"? That's all anyone here wants to talk to me about today.

If you've ever taken a Spanish class, you probably learned that "rubio" is blonde and "moreno" is brunette (or in general dark hair/dark skin). Guess what. It's not here. I guess I can't vouch for the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries, but here "moreno" means black. Don't say "African-American," because you'll seriously offend someone.

What exactly is considered racism anyway? People here are a lot more direct about appearances ("the fatty," for example, might be a way to identify your daughter). I get confused about whether it's inappropriate. In some ways, it seems that people here are more comfortable with racial differences and have no need to be politically correct. In other ways, it seems that they are being cruel. I always think it's odd to hear jokes about "morenos" here anyway, because to me, they're all "moreno" or at least varying shades of darker than me.

Most of the prejudice isn't directed against black/African descent people actually; it's against "serranos," people from the mountains. Peruvians are proud of their Incan heritage and prejudice against indigenous people at the same time. The whiter you are, the better. It's racial, but it's also cultural and economic. There's so much to say about the state of affairs here, and then again, so much I don't know and don't understand.

PS- Tim is about as white as you get around here and feels he suffers for it! He doesn't get jokes or snide comments; he gets high prices and people yelling "gringo" at him in the streets. He's suffering with grace but missing South Park Mall where he's in the majority as a blonde (although maybe not as a natural blonde).

Tim is spending the evening hitting F5 to refresh his election map and missing TV. Taza and Ellie are notably unimpressed by the whole ordeal.

I mean, I know how to vote absentee, but I don't know how to vote, as in for whom to vote. And for that reason, I'm not voting this year.

The Alpha Retreat turned out different and I think better than we expected. It was very low key (major plus). We had a good number of people, although I was sad to note the absence of a few particular individuals. Here are the stats on attendance:

Total number of stores* I or a proxy (read: husband, housekeeper) have visited today in an attempt to collect everything I need for the Alpha Retreat:

25

Tomorrow is the Alpha Retreat, a potentially fun day of food, games, and learning about the Holy Spirit. Pray for that same Spirit to move in powerful ways and for people's lives to be changed.

When it comes to the Alpha Retreat, my biggest preoccupation is food. Here's the menu:

• Breakfast: tamales and sarsa (onion/chile/lemon/garlic sauce), manzanilla tea
• Morning snack: Cocoa Krispy Treats, fruit salad, lemonade
• Lunch: ocopa, arroz con pollo
• Afternoon snack: caramelized peanuts, banana chips, guacamole and chips, animal crackers, soda
• Evening snack: grilled anticuchos (cow hearts) and chicken wings, boiled potatoes

Some of this is traditional Peruvian, other parts traditional American. I think it will be a fun balance. In case you're looking for something delicious to eat this weekend, here's the recipe for the fruit salad. I never like fruit salads with sauce until I made this.

Unbelievable Fruit Salad
Thank you, Food Network!

Ingredients
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used natural yogurt)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey (I used sugar)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
1 cup seedless grapes, halved
1 pear, peeled, cored and diced (I forgot this part)
10 to 12 medium size strawberries, halved
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 banana, sliced
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions
In a small mixing bowl whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, honey, vanilla extract and salt. Season with pepper, to taste. Set aside. Place all of the fruit and the nuts into a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Add the dressing, toss and serve.