Friday, December 5, 2008

Leaving for a 5 day trek to Machu Picchu at 4:30 in the morning!!!

Greetings!!!!

So i´ve been MIA for a few days. I flew into Cusco Peru about a week ago. I have been staying at an Orphanage about an hour and a half outside the city. It is a BEAUTIFUL place!!! Its quite remote so they only use a satalite phone and the access to the internet is limited. I hope to post some photos when i return to Lima on the 12th. I will have a lot of photos to post since I am leaving bright and early in the morning to trek for 5 days to Machu Picchu. I´m a little scared. I think we are treking somethink like 75K! My old foot injury from my running days flared up a couple days ago so lets pray this doesnt turn into a 75K death march!!!!

Well i love and miss you all!!!! Love and blessings from the road!!!!

Cindy

Friday, November 28, 2008

Lima Peru





Hola! Love and Greetings to one and all!!!

Lima has been relaxing and fun.

I think its so funny when you are out of your "normal life" the things that seem like an accomplishment or extra exhilarating. Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I took a walk by myself in the late morning to a park near my house. It was scary and exciting all at the same time. I walked a couple blocks to a park and wrote in my journal about all the things I was Thankful for. I have sooooooo many!!!! I could have stayed there all day. :)

Last night I went out with some friends from here. We went to see the Principle Square (Which includes the Presidential Palace) after that we took a taxi to the coast, had a Peruvian chicken dinner, then took a beautiful walk. :) It was a lot of fun and before we knew it the evening turned into morning. I fell into my bed exhausted around 2:30!!! :)

The language barrier is getting easier. I'm understanding more and more as the days pass by. Now I need to work on speaking more. :)

I'm going to a museum tonight and tomorrow the Lima zoo!!! :) Next week I will be spending time in Cusco volunteering at an orphanage and hopefully trekking up to Machu Picchu! :) I can't wait! :)

I'm posting a few pics from my days so far in Lima. :) Enjoy! :)

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

PERU

Hola Everybody!!!

I arrived safely in Peru yesterday. I will be able to get this blog up to date soon. Love ya! Cindy

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Leaving on a Jet Plane


The long awaited day has arrived! I depart from LAX tomorrow night!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!

I'm ready to go and I don't totally feel prepared. I will probably repack my bags again tonight! :)

This last 12 days has been awesome. I've had an amazing time visiting friends, resting, and checking off the last of my duties on my to do list. Tomorrow I go to the Brazilian consulate to pick up my passport and visa. I'm hoping and praying that everything goes smoothly.

Well that's about all the news for now....my next post will be from the country of Colombia! :)

Love you all!!!!

Cindy Lu
.

Friday, November 7, 2008

If only we could capture smells




Do you have an all time favorite smell? For me there are many but one that I'm not sure you can top is the way the air smells at Hume Lake. I arrived up here Monday evening, stepped out of the car and the very first thing on my list of things to do is get a great big sniff of this FANTASTIC mountain air. Oh it was amazing. A couple days later I took a walk around the lake. It may have been my longest time on record for completing the almost 3 mile trail. I would walk a while, catch a whiff, stop and draw in a long breath through my nose, take in the sights and then begin my walk again. The whole time I kept thinking how you can capture sounds and images but not smells. People have done their best to recreate smells and have come very close on a lot of fragrances. But they've never come close to the smell of the Hume Lake air. I love it! :)

Hume has been so relaxing. I've slept about 10 hours every night. I've checked some of my administrative to do's off my list and had some refreshing fellowship with some friends. I've also really enjoyed my study of the Word.

As I studied today I was reading about David when he was preparing to fight Goliath. He was suited up with armor and sword. The armor was not a good fit for him and was not able to even walk. So he removed the armor, picked up 5 stones and went out to defeat the giant.

I felt like the Lord revealed to me that we've all been equipped with our "sling shots".... our talents and we need to be using those gifts to do battle. First we need to embrace out gifts and use them how God desires us to use them. I can't fight a sling shot battle with a sword!!!

We need to put our talents to practice to better the world around us! The thing is David didn't wake up that morning with the bright idea that maybe a sling shot was the best weapon to fight Goliath. He knew he could use that tool to fight because he had practiced almost everyday of his life. We need to be exercising our gifts constantly so that when the time comes we can be ready to serve the Lord to the best of our ability.

Well.... that's where my heart and my brain have been today.... :) Here's a pic of the beautiful sunset this evening! I wish you could smell it too!!! :)

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Greetings


Greetings from the road! :) Currently I am on an Amtrak train traveling from Los Angeles to Fresno.

These last few weeks have been a bit chaotic. Good but chaotic. :) I have to say on Sunday Nov. 2nd I had a milestone moment. :) After two all nighters in a row, packing, and saying goodbye I took an inner island flight to Oahu (BTW... I took a 6:30am inner island flight and the sunrise was outstanding!!! What a great way to start an adventure!). I sat down at my gate in Honolulu and realized that I couldn't remember a moment in my life where I felt more exhausted.... EVER!!!! (Leeann your card in that moment was PERFECT!!!) All I wanted to do was lay down on the floor of the airport and sleep... who cares.... they can put me on another flight! Thank goodness my wait time was short or I might still be there sleeping! :)

After arriving in LA a friend picked me up and brought me to her house. She was having a party at her house. The tables were decorated with orchids and they were serving Ox Tail soup and a few other Filipino dishes. I had to laugh. It felt like I had never left Maui. :)

Today I woke up and wanted to sleep for another 10 hours but NO CAN! I needed to apply for a Visa to enter Brazil so I was off to the bus station. My friend Edna was so sweet to escort me down to the Brazilian Consulate. We took city buses around LA to get there! :) It was so much fun. Growing up in Eastern Oregon the only city bus I had experienced was on TV. This experience did not disappoint!!! The unusual people and the city zipping by.... oh man I could hang out there all day!

For now I've dropped off my application and passport. The only thing left is to wait. So my current prayer request is that everyone would pray that there are no hang ups with my visa. I am supposed to pick up my passport on Nov. 13th by noon and I need to be at the airport that night around 9pm. There is no room for any craziness! :)

Well I love you all and I'm having lots of fun so far. :) I will do my best to update as often as possible! :)

Aloha!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Last day at work







I finished my last day at work today. I feel happy and sad. Happy that I don't have to harass the tourists to get their picture taken while at dinner. Sad that I'm saying good-bye to friends. The end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Of course it makes me think of that Robert Frost poem.... Okay... here it is. :)

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black,
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back,

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.
***
Seems very appropriate today!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Another Quote


Here's two great quotes from the Lord of the Rings....

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened. Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

Those seem appropriate for today! :) I'm excited about walking out my door and being swept off somewhere.... AND.... I need to decide what to do with little time that has been give to me in my life! :)

Each day I grow more and more excited about my trip!!! :) Today a friend called and asked if I could teach a basic photography seminar to some missionaries in Colombia!!! I am soooo excited and a little overwhelmed. I need to pray that the Lord will show me what will be the most helpful things to share and that I will be able to present those things in the best possible way! :) I am soooo thrilled at the thought of the Lord using my talents!!!! :) :) :)

Okay folks here is my prayer request for today.... please pray that I will be able to sell my car and for a good price before I leave. :) I've got about 12 days!!! Our God delights in coming through in impossible situations so lets watch Him do what He does best!!!! :)

Okay signing out! :)

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Todays Inspiration

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt

Friday, October 17, 2008

Two Weeks

Hey Folks!!!!

TWO WEEKS TILL LIFT OFF!!!!!! Not much more to say for now other than there is so much to do!!! :)

Hasta!!! :)

Friday, September 26, 2008

Headed in the Right Direction

Today a couple hours after I purchased my plane ticket I ate lunch at Panda Express and my fortune in my fortune cookie said, "You are headed in the right direction"

I know that you can't live by trusting your fate to a by chance encounter with a cookie containing your fortune. But that is just down right funny!!!! I love my God's sense of humor!!!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

The journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step



A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)


I feel I've taken the first of many big steps today! :) I bought my plane ticket for my big big journey. Here is my list of countries

Colombia
Peru
Argentina
Chile
Brazil
El Salvador

I'm a bundle of mixed emotions. Its really a long time dream coming true. Wooo Hooooo

Well... more details to come

Aloha!

Luggage

Up until now this trip has seemed very conceptual, very big and a bit overwhelming.... today it crossed over into EXCITING!!!! :)

A few months ago I gave away my over sized suitcase away to a friend that really needed it. I was thinking to myself how crazy that was since I was considering taking this big trip within the year. But I did it anyway. :) Almost a month later a friend called and told me that she would like to provide me with luggage for my trip. :) How cool is that!!!! :)

Today we picked up my luggage. :) For some reason it made my brain switch from conceptual to REAL!!!! This is really happening! :) Now I have a BEAUTIFUL set of bags sitting in my room looking at me saying.... "Are we there yet???? Are we there yet?????"

My next big step is purchasing the airline ticket.... I have a phone appointment with my travel agent tomorrow morning. I'm trusting that the Lord will work out all the kinks! Good thing the He is in charge and providing everything I need! :)

Monday, September 22, 2008

One Crazy Day!

Aloooooha!!!!

So I was telling a friend this story the other day and he informed me that I really needed to put it into a blog. :) I had the craziest day! To those of you who read this I warn you now that it is going to be difficult to believe but I assure you its true! :)

So I was going about my day like any other. Check my e-mail, goof around the house blah blah blah and then get ready for work. Right around when I normally get ready for work I receive a text message from my boss saying that I should allow myself an extra 30 minutes to get to work because of a fire in Kihei. The problem was that the text message came in at the time when I normally start getting ready. I hurried around and tried to make up for lost time and may have gained an extra 5 or 10 minutes. Oppssieeee.... Looks like I'm going to be late for work! :) The nature of the particular job I was headed to allows for a little flexibility in my arrival time so I wasn't too worried about it.

While I was on the road to Kihei I get an update from my boss saying, "don't take the highway! Take South Kihei road" So as I approach the turn off for South Kihei road I can see that traffic is backed up and people were waiting on the shoulder of the highway trying to squeeze onto South Kihei road but traffic was moving freely on the highway. So despite my bosses warning.... I took the highway. Things were moving along nicely for a little while. A very little while! :) Eventually things slowed to a dead stop.

I jumped at my first opportunity to get off the highway. I turned onto a residential street and was inching my way to work at a snails pace. When all of a sudden an old friend popped up out of no where. Oh yes.... how exciting.... it was my fuel light. In this circumstance the only thing you can do is hope for the best and praise the Lord you drive a Honda! :)

So eventually I worked my way through the traffic. My boss met me on the curb of the job site (one of the resorts on Maui) I was headed to with my camera and some paperwork. I left my car running, jumped out of the car and ran over to pick up the gear.

Now here is an important footnote into this story... my car had been in a hit and run accident the week before and because of that the driver side door just doesn't open and close the way it used to.

So as I went over to retrieve the stuff I needed my door swung shut. And yes you guessed it.... the door was lock and yes the car is running, with the Air Conditioning on, with the fuel light ON!!!!! So my boss gets out and surveys the scene as I run into the resort to recruit the assistance of the security department.

I get the attention of the security officer on duty and I am informed that they wont be able to help me. They were in the middle of dealing with a shark sighting at the beach below the resort. He did inform me that there was a wire hanger in the women' locker room that I could help myself to.

Soooo.... eventually we got my car unlocked before it ran out of gas and I was a little over two hours late for work. :)

I love chaos! :)

The New Hair Cut


Howdy Folks!

Well in my last update I said just about everything had changed with the exception of my hair style. Well.... that is not true anymore. About a month or so ago I had seven inches cut off my hair and added a few layers. All of a sudden everything felt right in the world. :) Its funny how a haircut can put things into perspective. Allow me to explain.

I'm beginning to see a new and unexpected trend in my life. I've grown to fear change! This is foreign territory for me. When I was younger I hated making my bed because doing things out of routine was excruciating. I used to drive the long way home from school just because I couldn't handle taking the same old route.

I've been thinking about changing my hairstyle for a year! I've gone in to my stylist fully intending on having him do something new and chickening out as soon as I sit in his chair. After writing my last blog I realized that it really was time for something new. :) So I called my stylist of 5 years and turns out. He is getting out of the industry and only taking customers two days per week. I begged him to fit me in and found out that his appointment book was filled for the next three months.

More change....

So I put off the decision. Sat around hating my hair but still not willing to change stylists. Putting off the inevitable. Until one day I just couldn't take it anymore. I walked into Queen Ka'ahumanu Center, found Master Cuts told the first stylist I got.... "I hate my hair! Do what ever you want!

Half way through my hair cut I felt so happy I couldn't stop smiling. I knew I made the right decision!

So here is what I've learned. Change an be exhilarating. I cut seven inches off from my hair a little over a month ago....yesterday I woke up, got out of bed and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and said, "wow! I really love my hair!"

I'm trying to let that lesson carry over into my preparation for leaving for this mission trip. I'm so afraid to leave Maui. I gotta stop listening to the What ifs!!! :) They don't know what they are talking about! :)

Sunday, July 6, 2008

The Unexpected


Life has taken an unexpected turn. When I started this blog last last year I had a whole different plan, mind set, goal, job, house, frame of mind. Its amazing that a few months absolutely everything can change. Some of this change has been for the better, some for the worse and a lot just for the.... different. As one one of my professors taught us (talking about adjusting to culture shock on the mission field) keep reminding your self its not bad or weird... its just different.

Okay... here is what is different

The big changes in my life started occuring last August with some oganizational changes at my work. After that another big unexpected occurance the end of November. From there its been an avalanch of different. :) It feels like the only thing that hasn't changed is my hairstyle. :)

Two months ago I left the ministry that I had served at for 4 1/2 years to pursue photography and prepare for an around the world mission trip. The last two months have felt like a century. I guess because life leading up to recent days has been moving at light speed. You know looking back I can totally see how when I was living life at light speed I wasn't getting to experience anything going on around me. Everything was just streaks of light zipping around me. My change of employment has slowed my pace significantly. The last two months have been filled with beauty, fresh air, and the Lord's provision. Its been fantastic.

Since I took a long break in blogging I'm not sure that I have anybody reading this but I will put this out into the cosmos... well at least the world wide web anyway... I could use prayer. :)

1. I need direction from the Lord
2. I need just the right plane ticket
3. Ideas for a new hair cut... might as well change everything

Thats all for now....

*Image is the view from one of my photography jobs.... I've been taking portraits at one of the Luaus.