Living Faithfully: Trust & Obey

After reading dozens (perhaps hundreds) of college application essays this past year, I was curious of what my Admissions Counselor self would think of my high school self.  So, I re-read my college application essays.  Wow, did I have life figured out (and wrote a pretty decent essay, if I do say so myself)!

After graduating from Wheaton College, I planned to move into the city (probably St. Louis or Chicago) and teach at some struggling public school (or perhaps Scholar’s Academy).  I would eradicate illiteracy single-handedly and inculcate a love for learning in my students.  I would equip future businesspeople, doctors, lawyers, etc., who would return to the northside of St. Louis after college and rebuild our neighborhood.  I’m a dreamer, and I dreamed big.

...and then, I decided not to teach.  And I moved back to Wheaton.

At a time when I can move anywhere in the world, why would I move to the quintessential suburb of Wheaton?  The short answer is that God plopped a job in my lap, and I would’ve been an idiot not to take it.  (And I do love my job.)  However, I still despised the suburbs.  As my roommates can attest, I ranted and raved.  Part of one such rant can be found here.  Yet, I had committed to my job for at least two years, so my external circumstances were defined.  The lingering question was: what would define my internal posture?  When I named my blog (“Inner Urban, Outer Suburban - Living Faithfully”) last December, I wanted the title to remind me of an internal posture that I seek to cultivate: faithfulness.

Regardless of externalities (location, church, friends, job, family, relationship status, whatever), I am called to live faithfully within those boundaries.  Every day, every moment, I want to give up a little bit more of my self-centered self (a bit redundant, eh?) and partake in a little bit more of the Giver of abundant life.

One of my dad's favorite songs (and has become one of mine, too) is "Trust and Obey."  I want trust and obedience to shape both my external boundaries and my internal posture.  This is the best recording that I could find (you would not believe how many mediocre Christian artists I had to wade through to find this... come on, people!).

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet.
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

A Peruvian Education: Part II (Qorikancha)

While in Cusco, Peru, we visited Qorikancha.  During the height of the Inca empire (approx. 1400 - 1532), Qorikancha was the most important Incan temple.  The walls of this temple were literally covered in gold; hence, the Quechua* name “Qorikancha,” translated “Golden Temple.” 

That is, Qorikancha was covered in gold before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1532.  When the Spanish invaded Cusco, the capital of the Incan empire, they were a bit greedy (as invaders tend to be).  Within nine months, the Spanish had melted down all of the gold in Qorikancha and sent most of it back to Spain.

The Spanish also brought Catholicism with them.  Qorikancha originally had five temples, dedicated to the gods of the sun (father), moon (mother), stars (children), rainbow, and lightning.  The Spanish demolished part of Qorikancha while searching for more gold, then realized that gold was not hidden within the stone walls or floors, and incorporated the remaining Incan stonework** into the construction of a Spanish colonial building.  Qorikancha was rebuilt as a cathedral, the Church of Santo Domingo.  It still functions as a cathedral.

This diagram demonstrates the Quechua conception of God:

Our tour guide pointed out the sun, moon, stars, rainbow, and lightning, as well as the Inca (the king) and his wife and a few other objects associated with divinity.  However, you will also notice a large oval with a triangle in the middle.  This represents God.  According to our tour guide, the Quechua people believed that there was really only one God.  However, they did not build God a temple because it is impossible to build something significant enough for a Supreme Being.  You cannot contain God.  The sun, moon, stars, etc., were merely expressions of His divinity, only significant because they were physical manifestations of a Being beyond comprehension, linking humanity with God.

This reminded me of a wise man, Solomon, who once said, during the dedication of an incredibly impressive temple,

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth?  Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!  Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there, that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place.’  And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place.  And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive” (I Kings 8:27-30).

What an incredible God.
 
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*Quechua refers both to the people and the language of native Peruvians (at least, those native to the highlands/mountains of Peru; there were other people groups along the coast and in the jungle).  The title Inca refers to the king of the Quechua, but the Spanish used the term to refer to the entire people group.  I will probably use the terms Quechua and Inca to refer to the same people.

Inca stone wall at Machu Picchu, Peru.

**Inca stonework is astounding.  While the Spanish colonial buildings crumbled during massive earthquakes in 1650 and 1950, the Inca stonework barely moved.  The stones fit together perfectly without mortar.  There were 18 different Inca techniques for stonework.  Alas, the computer is being funky and will not allow me to upload a few favorite stonework pictures, so these will have to do for now:

Sun temple at Qorikancha (note the reflection of the Spanish pillars in the background... alas, we were not permitted to take pictures of the Spanish aspects added to Qorikancha due to colonial paintings sensitive to flash photography.)

Part of the Inca ruins at Sasquahuaman, Cusco, Peru.  This stonework obviously differs in technique from the other pictures, but I thought I'd highlight the sheer size of some of the stones.

A Peruvian Education: Part I (Geography)

Preface: Since my job has a summer break, I’m traveling around this summer, visiting family and friends in Peru and the U.S. (Nashville, Seattle, St. Louis, Colorado).  In Peru, I’m visiting my cousin Kaite and her husband Chris.  They live in Lima, and Chris is a hydrogeologist contractor (usually working with mining companies, since the mining industry in Peru is booming).

Chris’ Peruvian coworker once asked him, “So, what do U.S. citizens think of when they think of Peru?  Pisco sours?  Incan ruins and Spanish conquistadors?  Machu Picchu?”

Umm...well, the average U.S. citizen probably draws a blank when considering Peru.  Most could locate Peru as a Spanish-speaking country in South America.  Some may think of Machu Picchu but may have difficulty pinpointing its location to Peru (“it’s somewhere in South America”).  Alas, I’m guilty of ignorance, too.

It’s a good thing that I was an education major, because you’re about to get an elementary education about Peru.  

Actually, this post will only be a geographical introduction; further posts will include more history and culture, including pisco sours, Machu Picchu, and the Spanish and Quechua/Inca peoples. Also, beware: I love figuring out how things work, which is why I was a physics concentration and why you may not find this blog post especially interesting.
 
For the visual learners (myself included!), let's start with a map:
 


As you can see, Peru is...
- in South America (not Central America).
- barely south of the equator.  (Hence, Peru is in the tropics.)

On this map, notice the bordering countries (and the location of Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu):

 

For the kinesthetic learners, feel free to build a 3-D model of this topographical map:

Notice that everything east of the Andes mountains is fairly tropical/jungle. Tributaries of the Amazon River (Amazon = largest volume and second longest river in the world) begin in the Andean mountains and flow east across South America (mostly across Brazil), emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. I won't be visiting the jungles of Peru, so this will be the only mention of that region.

Look at Lima, the capital and largest city (population approx. 10 million), sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the Andean mountains.  As a coastal city, it’s quite humid.  Yet since we’re next to the mountains, the clouds are trapped and remain on top of Lima (especially in winter, which in the Southern Hemisphere, is right now).  Chris and Kaite call it “Styrofoam days,” the winter months in which an impenetrable blanket of clouds/fog hangs over the Lima.

Now, look at Cusco (also spelled “Cuzco”; biggest Peruvian tourist destination, partially due to its proximity to Machu Picchu; population approx. 500,000).  At a 10,000 ft. elevation, it’s smack in the middle of the Andes mountain range.  Yet, Peru is in the tropics.  A mountain range in the tropics?  Yes, a bit bizarre.  We (Kaite, Chris, myself, and Kaite’s family) flew from Lima to Cusco on Saturday, May 26, and came back to Lima on Thursday, May 31, with a 24-hour trip to Machu Picchu on Tuesday/Wednesday.  Going from sea level (literally, Lima is on the coast) to Cusco's 10,000 foot elevation within an hour plane ride wreaks a bit of havoc upon human bodies.  We spent Saturday afternoon lounging about our hotel and trying to breathe.  No seriously, walking across the room would make our hearts pound and lungs gasp (higher elevation = thinner atmosphere = less oxygen = body working harder to keep breathing and circulating blood).  Thankfully, God created a remarkable human body, and we adjusted fairly well by the following day.  

Anyways, as I was saying, Cusco is in both the mountains and the tropics.  Thus, in the midday equatorial sun, I was comfortable in a t-shirt and shorts (and it’s winter here!).  But, if I stepped into the shade, it felt like a 20 degree difference, and I quickly grabbed my sweater.  Once the sun set, the warmth evaporated.  Heading out for dinner on our first night (dinner in Peru = 2-hour event that begins around 8 p.m.), I wore long underwear, two sweatshirts, a scarf, and a hat... and was still a bit chilly (a reminder that we were indeed in the mountains).  Cusco is a funky place.  

Ok, it's 10 a.m., and I have yet to eat breakfast. Oh, long-windedness! This concludes our lesson on Peru's geography. Stay tuned for further lessons.