Mere Christianity Illustrations "Forgiveness"

"[...W]e might try to understand exactly what loving your neighbor as yourself means. I have to love him as I love myself. Well, how exactly do I love myself?'

"Now that I come to think of it, I have not exactly got a feeling of fondness or affection for myself, and I do not even always enjoy my own society. So apparently 'Love your neighbor' does not mean 'feel fond of him' or 'find him attractive'. I ought to have seen that before, because, of course, you cannot feel fond of a person by trying. Do I think well of myself, think myself a nice chap? Well, I am afraid I sometimes do (and those are, no doubt, my worst moments) but that is not why I love myself. In fact it is the other way round: my self-love makes me think myself nice, but thinking myself nice is not why I love myself. So loving my enemies does not apparently mean thinking them nice either."

C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity, Forgiveness)

Mere Christianity Illustrations "The Great Sin"

Wilmer and I have been reading "Mere Christianity" recently as I have both an English and Spanish copy of the book. I have been attempting to illustrate a few chapters as a personal challenge. This illustration was inspired by some sunflowers and rubble I saw in Chincha, Peru.

"Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good—above all, that we are better than someone else—I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the devil. The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether.'
[...]
'"We must not think Pride is something God forbids because He is offended at it, or that Humility is something He demands as due to His own dignity—as if God Himself was proud. He is not in the least worried about His dignity. The point is, He wants you to know Him: wants to give you Himself. And He and you are two things of such a kind that if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble—delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life."

C.S. Lewis, "The Great Sin"

Train Games

I take the train to get many places now that I live much more south of the city. Here I am waiting for the train on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Few people were in the station to witness it. 

My other new nieces and nephews...

Here are my other new nieces and nephews... there are six other ones besides the two that my intermediate family have provided.

The cute girl on the left is Andrea and the boy on the right is Enson. Andrea is a sweetheart and Enson is kind of like the gopher of the family (Wilmer and his siblings are always telling him to go pick them up something from the store and he never has anything better to do than to assist and maybe get a tip for the work).

Pictured below is their older brother and his name is...

uh....er....I don't remember his name... though I love the creeper eyebrows and slouched back curving into me as he posed in my wedding picture.

This other nephew has a name that I don't remember either. I went to his birthday party and noticed he had a very gentle character...his mother forced him to dance with every girl in the room and he did it without complaining though it was obviously very awkward for him.

This is the oldest of the nephews I think. His glare says, "you are a horrible, horrible aunt for not knowing our names yet..."

And finally, here is a photo of one of my favorite girls...Kaley...she is way too cool for her age (which is like 10 months I think). 

With that name, you know he will be homeschooled...

Looky looky! I am an aunt again. Meet another new member of the family, Hananiah begotten by Paul the husband of Bethany (Hananiah 4:4). Thanks for the aunt Eden shirt, Grace.

Introducing...my new husband

Meet my new husband. Here he is traveling in the train, showing off his giant muscles.

Bus Knit

This bus driver had a multicolored knitted piece that was made custom fit for his dash. You know that someone who knows how to knit loves that driver. I wish I got a better shot!

Virgin Under Maintenance

In Peru, there are honored virgin dolls behind glass in most parks. I encountered this one empty on my walk today. The sign explained (literally) that "the Virgin is finding herself in restoration." Virgins gotta keep themselves pure I guess :)

Easter in Peru

This post is late because I can't figure out how to schedule my posts...help?

Protestants in Peru don´t know what to do with Easter. They fear being enslaved by the traditional idols of Catholicism and often don't do any special focus on Easter Sunday. 

So...this Easter instead of going to a special traditional service I watched rock bands singing songs they invented about Jesus and exhibited evangelistic artworks of my own. And instead of watching children search for Easter eggs,  I watched them wrestling one another out of boredom.

Collectivos

Is it wrong that I get sad when they shut down illegal things in Peru? My beloved collectivos, taxis that fill up with different people to get me home in a half the time, have been monitored by the police recently. 
The other day I got in and the lady who helps call people to get in yelled at the driver, "GO GO THEY'RE COMING!" and all the collectivos that weren't properly registered sped away fast down the highway including my ride as the police pulled up. My poor driver didn't earn much that day. 
Peru is more unique and a lot cheaper because businesses are free from government limitations most of the time. Sometimes it seems like any way of life is possible here (if you are illegal, wealthy, or connected). May the country grow in safety and economy but may it never lose its freedom. 

 ...waiting for the collectivo to fill up, I took a photo. 

Hand of Bananas

In Peru, if you want to buy bananas they ask you if you want one hand, two hands, or three hands. 

Just one hand for me please.