Its that time of the month again – summary blogs! I’m sitting in the El Salvador International Airport en route to Nicaragua for Month Four. Looking back on the last month, here are my top 11 memorable moments from Peru.
11. McDonalds Moments
What do you do when you want a McFlurry in Latin America and
don’t speak Spanish?
Step 1: Ask Emily (who does
speak Spanish) very nicely if she will write you a note. This note should
include the proper greeting, a thorough description of your order, a thank you,
and should close with your name.
Step 2: Hand this beautifully written note to the cashier.
Step 3: When she looks at you like you are crazy, break out
your mad mime skills and point and act it out until they finally figure out
what you’re asking for.
Step 4: Laugh hysterically while eating your delicious
McFlurry
This was just one of the memories my team created while
hanging out at McDonalds in Trujillo, Peru. We were pretty excited to see
something familiar and took advantage of it while we could.
10. Construction in Florencia
Team Kaleo was paired with Team POP this month as we worked
on a church in the neighbourhood of Florencia in Trujillo. The guys built a
wall and several classrooms behind the church, while the girls painted the
walls, a new sign, chairs and bookshelves. We would go home every day exhausted
and covered in paint, but it was great to be able to see the progress of our
work, and to see the finished product by the end of the month.
9. Bonfire on the
beach
Five teams from V-Squad were all in Trujillo this month so
we all met for a bonfire on the beach one night. It was cut a little short when
we realized that taxis stopped running past that area at 9pm, so at 8:55 there
was a mad rush to pack up and get to the road. But some of my new friends from
the church joined us and we hung out around the fire, went wading in the water
a little bit, and just enjoyed a relaxing evening on the beach.
8. Dump Day
We had the opportunity to spend some time at Trujillo’s
garbage dump and get to know some of the people who live and work there. I can
honestly say that it was the most intense culture shock of my life to see the
conditions that these people are facing every day. And what broke my heart the
most was the children. Despite government actions to prevent it, there are many
children working in the dump from a very young age. Many of them are fourth generation
garbage pickers. For me, it was a challenging afternoon. I felt so frozen that
I did not really talk to anyone or join in the soccer games. I just observed
and prayed and let my North America bubble be popped yet again.
7. Praying over the
church in Florencia
After we finished the construction work at Florencia, Teams
POP and Kaleo had the opportunity to pray and prophecy over the church and the
pastor there. It was an awesome time of prayer that naturally moved into a time
of worship and just crying out to God to bless and protect this church as it is
reaching out to a difficult area of town.
6. Being Kissed by
800 Peruvians
On our last Sunday in Trujillo we attended each of the four
services to be prayed for. At the end of each service, the entire congregation
wanted to wish us “Dios te bendiga” (God bless you) and say goodbye. The
customary greeting and farewell in Peru is a kiss on the cheek. So we formed a
line like you would see at a wedding and talked to every person there. It was
really sweet and touching, but that meant being kissed on the cheek by almost
800 Peruvians in one day. Little overwhelming.
5. Bus Trip – Ecuador
to Peru
The bus trip from Ecuador to Peru was quite an adventure.
Check out my previous blog for more details, but in summary here the trip
involved: 2 overnight bus rides, 1 flat tire, and Denise eating a giant beetle.
All in all, a memorable trip.
4. Temple of the Sun
and the Moon
There is a lot of history in Peru, particularly surrounding
the civilizations that existed here before the
Spanish arrived. The Temple of
the Sun and the Moon is an archaeological site we visited that was the major
religious and political capital of the Moche civilization. The Moche lived in
Peru long before the Incas and had built giant temples and pyramids. Some of us
went to visit the Temple of the Sun and the Moon. It’s an active dig site, so
we were able to watch archaeologists at work. This site has won awards in its
preservation of ancient architecture, not its conservation. All the colours and
statues we saw are preserved exactly as they were found, with no touch ups or
repainting. It was a beautiful site.
3. Brent Dancing
Brent danced during our children’s ministry. I could
probably leave it at that and anyone who knows my teammate Brent would
understand why this would make it on my list of memorable Peruvian moments. But
for those of you who don’t let me explain.
Brent is a very enthusiastic person, so when he was asked to
help lead the actions for the songs in VBS, he took it very seriously. Even
after the program ended, he continued to dance to all the songs that were
playing. I have video, but am having trouble getting it uploaded. But just
picture the scene of an enthusiastic white guy making a bunch of Peruvian kids
laugh until the cry by dancing ridiculously for hours on end. And those kids
weren’t the only ones laughing until they had stomach aches – we were too.
2. Worship Team
I had the opportunity this month to play piano during the
worship service one week, and it turned out to be one of the most challenging,
yet rewarding experiences of the race thus far. Again, check out my previous
blog to find out more about what I learned through this experience.
1. Chan Chan
Chan Chan is another archaeological site we visited this
month. Chan Chan is from the Chimo civilization, which existed in Peru after
the Moche but before the Incas. The entire site encompasses nine royal palaces,
but only one is open to the public. A group of racers from several different
teams spent a morning exploring this site and having fun just relaxing and
taking time to catch up with each other and learn some history of the country
we are living in this month.
