Thank you!

So I am sitting here thinking about how blessed I am! I have been trying to check my email and facebook but just can't keep up with all the messages. I love you all so much! Thank you for taking your time to make a difference in my life, to show me that you care, for showing me how to give more of him (God) and less of me, for your constant prayers and words of encouragment that mean more to me then you will ever know! And also a little shout out to all you wonderful letter writers :) I have been very blessed to be opening up beautiful letters from you all everyday that help me start the day off right. They are always just what I need to hear! God is pretty stinkin amazing like that. Just one another one of those WOW God moments you can't really fathom how he has such amazing timing like that! (Alissa, Ashlee, Kailey, Melissa, Sheryl, Christine, and my Gina's (Lacy and Amy)! Thank you! And to all of you who are religious blog checkers and commenters. Thank you!!!
Ok so the main thing I want to tell you all about is what happened here on Sunday. It was a special Sunday for baptism. We went to church in the morning. The pastor tried to keep it short and sweet but it was about as long as it normally was. lol We read in 2 Corinthians 5:17. He talked about How we have a new life in Christ. He takes all the old stuff and makes us knew. He takes off all of our old, nasty clothes and baggage and gives us a clean slate. You personally have to make the decision to pick up your cross and follow him daily. What does that look like in your life? This week I am reminded of selflessness. I am surrounded by people who are constantly giving everything of themselves and expecting nothing in return. They want nothing more then to daily follow their Lord. Very inspiring and at the same time kind of a slap in the face to my own selfishness. Anyways...after church everyone (the whole entire church) piled into 2 vans and a car (Peruvian style- about 25-30 people in a van- more it was full of little kids :) )to go to an irrigation ditch near by to have the baptism. I loved every minute of it. First off how exciting to welcome new members into the family! 4 girls from the orphanage got baptized! SO SO EXCITING!!! Second the kids got to play in the water- seeing their faces was priceless! Even though they were shaking they were so cold- that didn't stop them from jumping in. One little boy- Lenny was shaking so bad he almost dropped all the shells he was collecting. Third off- the community setting is so beautiful. Everyone just sat together and fellowshipped. It didn't matter what else they had to do. A true community of Christ! They carry eachothers burdens and support eachother 100% with no judgement! Such a beautiful thing. And fourth off- Peruvians go all out of their picnics :) I brought a peanut butter sandwhich and some chips while they brought huge containers full of homemade meals of chicken, rice, and some vegetables of course! After the baptism I came back and played with some of the kids while it was visitation Sunday. The ones I got to play with didn't have any visitors so it was good to be able to play with them to get their minds off of it. Then we went back to church for night service. We had a special communtion service. Everyone that got baptized earlier got a special certificate and hugs and kisses from the whole church! I didn't know a lot that was going on b/c it was all in spanish, but I could really feel God's presence standing right next to me. For me it went along with what the pastor was talking about earlier- picking up your cross daily. It's not about what I can do but what he did for me.
Today consisted of me going into town twice, playing with the kids (of course! The most important part of the day!) and then taking some of the kids out to dinner. (Jose, Lenny, Yonell (the twins) and David.) We got chicken, french fries, salad, orange Fanta and then some delicious ice cream! Yum Yum! It was a lot of fun! I wish I got more pictures at the beginning though. I thought I left my camera at home but then I figured out I didn't! :) Sorry this is so long. I typed it really fast so hopefully it makes since.