Thanksgiving... Finally

It has been a few weeks since Thanksgiving and I am finally getting around to my Thanksgiving post.  Needless to say I've been a blog slacker lately.  So though it is a little late I figured it would be better to post the things I'm thankful for before Christmas actually came around.  Because I have so many things to be thankful for, I decided that narrowing the list would be the best option.  Here are six things that I am thankful for.

Number one: My U.S. friends.  A huge influence on my life from High School to College.  They've made me happy, frustrated me, co

nvicted me, been there for me, and have always loved me even when I'm frustrating them.  I am so thankful that God has put them in my life and that we've stayed in touch while I've been here in Peru.

Number two: My Peru friends.  Through all of my homesickness and the like, Heather, Julie, Gillian, Sarah, and Hamilton have been there for me.  Whether it was showing me around town,

listening to me when I was blubbering at midnight, or giving me directions to the post office,these girls have been Christ to me for the last four months.  I'll really miss Sara and Hamilton next year but I look forward to welcoming the new girl who comes and helping her out the way these girls have helped me.

Number three: My family.  Always, always there for me no matter how

 much of a pain I am.  I'm thankful for my Dad who is about as emotional as I am and is willing (and excited) to watch The Incredibles a thousand times with me.  I'm thankful for my mom who talks to me on Skype every day and helps me to realize when I'm being irrational.  And I'm thankful for Thomas, who though often times gets on my last nerve ;-) is the best younger brother in the world and is willing to play the movie game for hours on end.

Number four: Skype.  Allowing me to connect with my family back in the states.  I really don't

know what on earth I would do without it.  I love my family and hope that I'll talk to them everyday until we're old and gray.

Number five: Peru mission.  Frustrating, sometimes lonely, amazing, and of course a learning experience.  I know that God has sent me here for a reason and I am so glad that He is in control and not me.  I'm learning Spanish, gaining ministry experience, meeting awesome people and hopeful

ly spreading His love to the people I meet.  Though I've missed everyone in the states I've gained a new family here and they've helped me through the hard times.  I look forward to seeing God's kingdom advance while I am here.

Number six: Jesus Christ.  I know that sounds like a church answer but I couldn't write this list without Him.  Even in times when I feel I have no one, when I can't hug my mom or dad or my friends from back home, when I feel directionless and maybe even a little unloved I know that He will always be faithful, He will always love me, He will never let me down.  He is my Lord and Savior, my Life and Light.  I am so thankful that God the Father came down as God the Son to live a perfect life and die with my sins on Him, and then to rise again conquering death.  I can only hope to serve Him the way He deserved, but I rest on the fact that though I may stumble He will never love me any less than He already does.