Now THAT'S a Tea Party

I know I'm basically a 7th grader trapped in a 35 year old body, but come on- Who doesn't think this is funny?

Up, Up and Away

We've been cleared for take-off. My leg finally responded to the medicine and now it is healing nicely. All the gross blisters have dried up and the swelling is gone. Thank you for your prayers.

Our plan is to leave Lima on Sunday morning. We will drive about 7 hours North to Huaráz, where we will spend the night. We will take some time on Monday to learn the city because we will travel there often for supplies, groceries, etc. It has a population of about 100,000 people, compared to our town of about 2,000.

Monday afternoon we will travel to Chavín (our hometown) where we will meet up with a team of volunteers from Liberty University. They will be working in the villages around Chavín for about 10 days. At the same time, another missionary couple will be working on remodeling/ making our house liveable. We will be needed in both instances. Therein lies the problem. Ideally, we would have a chance to know a little bit about the community, know where the store is, meet some people, help our kids start adjusting to rural living BEFORE we got committed to so many things at once. BUT the Lord saw otherwise. So please be praying for us and especially Jordan and Trevor that they don't feel overlooked in such a huge life transition.

Hurry up and wait!

Just a quick update on the leg issue. It is getting slightly better but still has some yummy, juicy blisters around the ankle. Today the doctor said continue the course of treatment and we'd talk again on Monday. Thanks for your prayers, I am seeing some signs of improvement.

We were able to pass our online driver's license exams on the first try (which is virtually unheard of based on stories we've heard). Jenn studied pretty well and you know me, I looked over some stuff and prayed that the Lord would be gracious. He was and it came down to my final question: get it right and pass, get it wrong and take that 10 hour drive back to Lima to take the test again. THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR UNDESERVING MERCY!!!!!!! For some reason the Lord said YES to that prayer and now we can drive legally in Perú. Now we just have to learn how to drive in a wild city where it is totally acceptable to make a left hand turn from the far right lane. Now ask yourself, "Why wouldn't that be normal?"

Oh yeah, we also have to learn how to hug the side of the mountain as we drive up over 15,000 feet to get to our new home. YIKES!!! Can you say, Scary? The missionary who is helping us get settled in has told me about the necessary things every vehicle in the mountains should have. For example, a shovel, a pick axe, blankets, water, tow chains, etc. My man should have included some clean underwear in that list cause I'm gonna be wetting my pants when I have to pass a big truck on a narrow dirt road hanging off the side of the flippin' Andes Mountains!!! I'm just sayin'!

The Latest...Finally!!!

After a 2 month 'siesta' I thought I would share the latest information related to the Pennington family. We finished out our year of language study in Costa Rica and graduated on April 24. Interestingly enough, I thought it would be funny to jack my ankle all up so I could walk with crutches for our final week in Costa Rica. So, on the 21st I rolled my ankle playing basketball.
On the 25th we flew to Lima, Peru (crutches and all). We were supposed to stay in Lima for a few days in order to get a ton of paperwork completed BUT.... I thought it would be funny if that ankle got some kind of jungle-rot/cellulitis/watery-blister infection/allergic reaction that would slowly convert into a giant CANKLE!! Since I was succesful in accomplishing my task, we have been in Lima for 11 days and counting. I have another appointment on Wed, May 6th so feel free to pray for me and that the doctors will figure this thing out.
It's fun to be a missionary!!!
At some point in the near future we will be moving to Chavín de Huántar located at about 10,500 feet altitude in the Andes. We are looking forward to the big change to rural life and are curious to see what God has in store.