Wednesday was a pretty relaxing day. After more than two weeks of having an annoying headcold (I’ve had a lot of “sickness” this year in Peru), I finally went to the pharmacy where I was able to tell my symptoms and receive medication without going to a doctor for a prescription. I enjoyed lunch with a friend, ran a few more errands, and went to the Kids Alive apartment to prepare for a Worship Night among friends.
I helped the Kids Alive interns bake cake, cookies, popcorn, and caramel corn, too. We ordered Papa Johns pizza for 25 people, and we enjoyed a glorious night worshiping the Lord and talking among friends. As in the past, Juan Carlos shared a mini-lesson from the Bible. This specific night we talked about our spiritual gifts. Juan Carlos shared the difference between gifts and talents, and he discussed how we see the fruit from those gifts. My favorite quote from the night was, “If you are not living to serve, your life is not worth living.” It really made me think about my purpose in this life, my time here in Peru, and the upcoming school year in which my job is to serve my students.
After ending the Bible study around 10:30 p.m. we sat around and chatted for a while, stuffed ourselves with more food, and headed home around midnight. I hand-washed a few clothes and crawled under my covers around 2 a.m. only to wake up at 7 a.m. Thursday to climb the mountains of Manchay. (See post entitled God is my Protector {July 29, 2012} for this story.)
Thursday evening I decided to go to Pachacamac one last time to hang out with the kids in the Kids Alive Juniper Tree home. Before travelling to Pachacamac, I went to the interns’ apartment to shower since we were all dirty from our trip up the mountains earlier in the day. From the team apartment, we weren’t sure what bus to take, so I asked the driver if he went to the place where we would need to switch buses. He told me yes, so myself and the two interns hopped on the bus. However, halfway through Manchay we were the only three on the bus, and the bus driver refused to go any further. The cobrador (money collector), stopped a bus that was behind us, and told us that bus would take us where we needed to go…we didn’t even have to wait for a bus, it was just there! The bus change location isn’t necessarily safe for three white girls after dark, but again thanks to the graciousness of our heavenly Father, the next bus we needed to get on was there waiting when we got off the bus we could take no further. We hopped in and headed to Pachacamac.
The girls are gone to camp this week, so we hung out with the boys for a bit before they went to bed. The interns and I decided to spend the night so that we would be there this morning (Friday) to play with the kids a bit more. We woke up around 7, went in search of food on the street as we didn’t want to eat the fish the boys had caught yesterday and were excitedly eating for breakfast.
We took the boys to a local skate park where we watched them play around for about an hour. Afterwards we walked to a bakery, and with ministry money, the interns bought a slice of cake for each boy. We returned to the home, helped prepare lunch, and ate altogether before I headed back home.
Tonight I headed downtown Lima with my friend Gisell. You may remember her as my friend who spent time in Cusco with me last year. We did a bit of shopping, ate a delicious chicken dinner, and bought desserts from the street vendors. The city was packed as tomorrow (Saturday) is Independence Day in Peru, and the city officials were preparing the streets for the president’s speech as well as the city march.
Aside from the stressful situation of climbing the mountains Thursday, this week has been amazing. Even the mountain climbing is a fun story to tell, despite the tragedy that could have occurred. This place is home…5 weeks seems as if it’s only been a few short days. Huaraz seems to have happened ages ago, and already my despedida {good-bye outing} is tomorrow - Saturday.
I’m ready for routine again, consistency in my schedule. However, in no way am I ready to say good-bye. God has opened my eyes to a very different side of Peru this year, especially through my trip to Huaraz. He has taught me to trust him in moments of need as well as in moments of confidence. I have been humbled more than once in ways I cannot appropriately describe, and my heart for Peru is stronger now than before {if that’s possible}. I have made new friends, yet again, and I have not been able to reunite with some old friends. This year has been a very different experience in Peru, but it has been everything I needed and more.
Here’s to two more days in this amazing country, my home away from home! My flight leaves from Lima at 10:30 a.m. Monday, and I arrive in Chicago at 1:50 a.m. Tuesday! I’ll fill you all in on my last days upon returning home!
Thank you for your continued prayer support during my time here in Peru. I wouldn’t be here without all of you back home supporting me on my journey!
