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.

Official Business

Well, it's official! Today we became residents of Peru. We're still in Costa Rica but we finally jumped through enough hoops in the application process that the Peruvian Embassy stamped our passports with a "Resident Visa" mark. We are entering on a religious non-catholic visa. It was actually fairly easy but dealing with government offices is always a time-consuming pain in the tracero. When we left the embassy, it was a little surreal. I felt like a little kid getting excited about Christmas or something. I've felt called to Peru since I was in college and it was cool to look in my passport and see God's stamp of approval on that call.

I have a really cool opportunity to work with a volunteer mission team coming in from Tennessee tomorrow (March 7-12). They will be passing out the gospel of John in homes and telling people about the sacrifice Jesus made for them on the cross. I will be working with the team as a translator. I will have many opportunities to share with and pray for people. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would give me the right words so I will be an effective and useful vessel.

Also pray for Jenn and the boys. They won't be going on the trip with me. Pray for their safety, sanity (for Jenn), that Jordan and Trevor will get along with each other, and that they'll help Jenn out during the week.

Faith and Flexibility

We just got an email forwarded to us that said our soon-to-be-mentor in Peru is resigning in order to move back to Alabama. We already knew very little (as in NOTHING) about our job assignment in Peru, now we know even less!!! Wait, technically that is impossible. But you get the point I think.

Thankfully, God has created us to be 2 of the most flexible and laid-back people that I know. This will obviously come in very handy on the mission field. Clearly God has a plan for us when we get to Peru. We just don't have a clue as to what it might be. Pray that the Lord will help us trust Him and His will for our lives even when we can't see one step in front of us.

Toilet Humor

Maybe I'm still in 7th grade, but I can't help it! Funny stories about bathroom related stuff always make me laugh. Today, I learned a new saying in Spanish that I just have to share. First the context. You know how sometimes you're carrying on a conversation with someone and another person walks up in the middle and starts trying to get in on the action. Eventhough they clearly have no clue what the conversation is about, they still try to give their input. In Costa Rica, they say that person is "peeing outside the urinal!" The half of you who have actually stood at a urinal probably find that very amusing. The other half of you have probably cleaned up the bathroom after a husband or son or brother so you know exactly what's up too.

Speaking of urinals reminds me of another funny thing that happened to me a few months ago. We were at the Tico equivalent of a Love's truckstop/gas station/restaurant on the way to the beach. We all went in for a bathroom break and to buy snacks. As I was finishing my "break" I turned from the urinal only to see an 80 something-year-old woman rinsing off her dentures in the sink of the men's restroom. AWKWARD!!!!! They didn't really prepare us for cultural senarios like that during our missionary orientation. As Napoleon Dynamite would say, "What the heck would YOU do in a situation like that?" I quickly spun back around like I still had some unfinished business and waited for her to get those pearly whites suctioned back in.
Once she left, all of the guys in there looked at eachother and thought in our own language, "Dude, Granny was totally in the men's room!"

Toothless Grannies always help break down language barriers!!!

What's Up

Hey everyone, we're still alive eventhough there haven't been any signs of blogging-life for a solid month. Sometimes a guy just doesn't have much to say publicly, other times he's just too lazy to type out his thoughts. This was definitely a case of the latter.

Over the past month we:

• finished our second trimester of language school
• returned to TX for my dad's surgery
• saw our newborn nephew
• attended our homechurch
• ate at Chili's, On the Border, Fresco's, Chic-Fil-A
• caught up with not nearly enough friends
• returned to Costa Rica
• spent a week on vacation with Jenn's parents
• went to the beach
• survived a 6.2 earthquake
• started our third trimester of language school
• and a partridge in a pear tree

We're back in class after a month of not studying on a daily basis. So far, our brains are a little rusty, but that's no different than any other day. Jenn and I are in the same grammar class for the first time since arriving in CR. Now when I fall asleep in class there is someone there to give me a jarring elbow to the ribs (someone other than the teacher, that is.)!

Jesus Loves the Little Children

La Carpio

All of these boys and girls...

live in houses like this,

have faces like this,

have smiles like this,

and need to know that Jesus died so they could have hope!