So Friday morning I was on the road by 8:30 to drive 5 1/2 hours to Hackettstown, NJ for an overnight stay. I tell ya, driving up route 81 from VA to NJ is quite a beautiful drive! God's handiwork is displayed in a most magnificent way as you drive over mini-mountains, through valleys, etc. It was quite breathtaking! And right after I exited the highway in NJ as I headed to my destination, I saw a beautiful black bear just moseying through an open field along the road! It was soo cool!

I finally arrived at my friend Arlene's house. She leads short term trips to Peru working with the Deaf and my first trip to Peru in 2013 was with her. Ernesto and Margaret Zavala (also missionaries in Peru who have been key in my journey to Peru) were there also and we were able to chat for a couple of hours. I always chat with them with a notebook and pen in hand because I am constatly learning new things from them that will benefit me once I'm in Peru. Ernesto also works with the Deaf community in Lima and they always opens up their home in Lima for the groups to stay at. It was their home that I stayed in for the month I was in Lima last year attending Spanish Language School. Our time catching up was awesome!

Then the main reason we were both there happened that evening. There was a big get together of people that had been to Peru from the multiple teams that Arlene has led down there. It was soo cool to see my friends from the group I went down with in 2013 as well as meet many others that had been to Peru other years. God also provided me the opportunity to share about my call to long term missions in Peru and I was able to pass out many prayer cards and magnets. Arlene was like a cheerleader for me handing them out and telling people about me before I even had the chance to! It was awesome! I gained many new friends and contacts who will be praying for me in this journey!

I headed home Sat morning after breakfast and had plenty of time to just think during the 5 1/2 hour drive back. I am continually amazed how God brings people into our lives and then uses them in amazing ways that we couldn't ever anticipate. When I just sit back and think about all the people who have been a part of this amazing journey thus far, it is overwhelming how detailed God is. And I'm soo excited to see who else God is going to use to join us in this journey!