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Sunday, May 25, 2014

When things don't make sense!

     Have you ever had a hard time making sense of things?  Living in a new country, I scratch my head many times as I try to make sense of things.  I'm sure this happens to anyone moving to a new country.  But here are a few things I have a hard time making sense of:

I don't understand why the local police will stop your car if your headlight is out, but it is perfectly acceptable and normal to have an 8 passenger van loaded with 17 people.  Coming home from one of our outreaches we had 17 people packed into this van with our puppet stage roped to the top.  We passed many police who looked at us and did nothing!  Yet on our way from Trujilo our van got stopped for an out headlight and they kept us on the side of a road for an hour while they checked all the paperwork :(




I also don't understand why you CAN'T sit on the steps or sidewalk in front of the mall while waiting for friends.  The security guard actually asked my Dad, Don, and Caleb to stand up and not sit.  They think it is tacky and not appropriate. You also can't sit on the grass at the park in the middle of town?? Yet....on the street in front of the mall it wouldn't be surprising to see a man peeing right out in the open!!!!  You will see men peeing on the busiest streets with people everywhere...off the bridges in broad daylight...or in the middle of an open field. (Not against the wall or behind a plant...RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD!)
Sorry!  No picture of a man peeing ;)




At the mall we were stopped from walking across the parking lot to get to the street.  You must walk on the sidewalks that form a perimeter around the mall.  The guards actually stopped us for our safety?!?!  Yet inside the mall, where there are guards present, they allowed a child to ride up the railing of the escalator. Umm...I think that is a safety issue too!!!!!



A lot of people drive motorcycles here in Peru.  It is not surprising to see an entire family on one motorcycle, even little kids.  There is a law in Peru where the driver must wear a helmet, but nobody else on the motorcycle needs to????????



It also makes no sense that the houses here have roof drains that shoot straight off the roof....not down the side and then out....STRAIGHT OFF THE TOP!  It is also okay to throw your trash out windows or just throw it on the ground when walking.  We finally got the nerve up to ask one of our Peruvian friends why that is okay; he said it is okay because someone will pick it up.  We told him how much you would be fined if you did that in the United States, and he just smiled and said, "No, not here in Peru!"


I realize there are times in life when I won't understand my surroundings.  Things might never make perfect sense to me.  This is the same as in my Christian walk.  Things will not always make sense.  Maybe I won't understand why God has asked me to do something or move somewhere new.  Maybe I won't understand my circumstances....but I must trust in the Lord.  Just as Abraham trusted God when he was asked to sacrifice Isaac; I must trust in the plans of the Lord.  It might not always be easy, I might have an inner struggle, but I can trust that God's plans are perfect.  He sees the big picture when I only see a frame.   Last summer I didn't fully understand what God was doing in our lives.  Now almost 10 months later, I thank God that he called us to Peru.  Everyday I see the little miracles he is doing in our lives and in our community.  Thank you God for your perfect plans!











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