Upon arriving to Peru, I had an all night bus ride way up into the Andes Mountains.
As the sun started to shine through my window, waking me from my slumber, I looked out to see the most beautiful countryside I have ever laid eyes upon.
Green rolling hills as far as the eye could see, beautiful majestic snow capped mountains, and crystal clear rivers, cutting through the land, dividing the mountains and the valleys.
For the past week we have been living and working in a beautiful mountain town called Mushu.
It is by far the most beautiful place I have been on this earth so far.
Mushu sits at a little over 10,000 feet, and is directly under the famous climbing mountain Huscaran, which towers over the town at a whopping 22,000 feet.
We have been staying in a small cement room in the back of a local church.
This is where locals cook our meals for us over an open fire, and where we share one outdoor shower and toilet as well.
We sleep on mattresses that are lined up next to one another on the floor.
It also gets really cold at night, usually around 50 degrees, so we each also have 2 wool blankets to help ease the chill of the night.
Each morning we wake up to the smell of campfire, and eggs, as the fire is directly under our open room.
Warm in my cozy nest of blankets, I wake up around 7:00 every morning to hike up the trail towards the base camp of Huscaran and enjoy fresh breaths of mountain air and the beautiful scenery that is found in every direction.
We are all typically greeted as gringas, even the little kids get a kick out of yelling gringos at us as we walk down the street.
All the women love our light hair and blue and green eyes, and until we tell them otherwise, everyone assumes we are there to climb the mountain.
In the mornings after breakfast we all walk together to the neighboring town of Tumpa.
There we split into different ministries, such as working in fields, sports ministry, door-to-door evangelism, bible studies, and just getting to know the area and people.
I love the people here, they are genuinely nice, extremely polite, and always willing to take time out of their day to stop and have a conversation.
At night we attend service at the church we are staying at, have outreaches in Tumpa, or enjoy quiet time and exploring the local countryside.
Every afternoon it rains, sometimes it is not too bad, but sometimes it rains hard, and the rain leeks through our roof, semi soaking our blankets, making our cold nights a little more chilly.
I love Peru, everything I have seen so far, and all that I will see when I come back to explore in the future.
For me, there is nothing better than a fresh breath of mountain air, a beautiful scenery, and the peaceful solitude that awaits me just a few steps from my sleeping bag.
