Rookie of the Week

Learning how to drive manual on the highest mountain in Peru makes you feel like a total badass.

There's something so satisfying about shifting gears and understanding the deeper physics behind mobiles. On top of that, you can garner some mad respect points from Peruvians if you're a woman. Want to talk about stereotypes? They really think women can't drive. Like, at all. They're more impressed that I'm a woman driving a car than that I've learned manual in a week.

Learning manual wasn't all easy peasy squeezy, though. I've had to go through some coaching and rough bumps in the road (seriously) to get to this point where driving manual is almost becoming second nature. That's pretty much been the theme of my first week here in Peru - aka the week of the Rookie.

Generally, I pride myself on being a fairly quick learner (and humble at that!). But when you throw a bunch of different things with lots of tiny details in the pot of learning? My brain begins to stew.  That's kind of what this week has been like - learning lots of little things, big things, and praying that I don't forget either of them along the way.

The little things are what I would consider things that, on their own, don't change the core of my life. I think little things are more likely to reveal what resides at the core. This week has been full of them - learning the ropes at the cafe, in the car, and what to do in mini crises like when my bank account stopped working because I got phished. Yeah. That actually happens (careful where you swipe your card). The cool thing about having a lot of little things pile up slash a mini crisis is these circumstances point me back to God. It reminds me that He's bigger than me and all of these things added together.

Through these little things, I'm starting to see the themes of some Big Things. I think we're about to get serious with some trust, prayer, and grace. So not vague, right? These three things, I'm feeling, will be the core of whatever God is teaching me while I'm here in Peru.

For starters, TRUST. The day after I got to Peru last week, someone in Georgia stole my moneys. At the time, I didn't have enough cash on me to last the entire time I'm here. I needed to figure out how to get a new bank card sent to this little old country called PERU where addresses can be faulty and the mail system even faultier. Oh, that and I didn't have an easy way to call the US without WiFi. [Insert freak out moment here].

Thankfully, a lot of small little pieces were in place where, looking back at it, I can tell God was over all of it. Por ejemplo, I called the bank before leaving America to say "hey, I'll be in Peru for a while." That's probably the only reason they would've thought Georgia to be a totally strange place for me to be. I was also in Lima, which was not the original plan, but it made it a lot easier to take care of this banking issue business. On top of that, I have amazing family and friends who helped me to coordinate a bajillion different things to a) get some cash in Peru to carry me over until the card gets here and 2) get the card here. It all just kept getting better and better.

The thing about trust is - when I'm in the middle of the worry spot, I can look at one of two things - God or what I'm worried about. Usually, I keep looking at what I'm worried about. Enter God getting His Frozen on like "Let it gooo..."

I wish I would listen sometimes. Instead, I get caught up in this worry spiral that just snowballs into everything - money, safety, little things, big things. It's the pits.

If I really trusted the Lord was good and was with me, like really really trusted Him, I don't think it would be an issue. He would fill me with peace, and I would get straight up Elsa on that business and let it go. That's His promise -

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7

Preach, Paul. Preach. Grace, prayer, and other lessons in trust are yet to come. In the meantime, excuse me while I play that verse and Frozen on repeat.

p.s. Prayer Corner
If you'd like to pray for me, I would love prayer that this verse would actually sink in - especially when it comes to staying in the house by myself or managing the cafe. Thanks! :)