My team and I left Santiago on the 1stof September and arrived after a 22 hours bus ride in San Pedro de Atacama when the sun had already begun to go down slowly. We had to carry our backpacks for 20 minutes through the lovely dusky desert streets who attracts a lot of tourists. As soon as we arrived at the hostel we went tired from travelling straight to bed.
The alarm clock woke me up the 2ndof September. It was a chilly morning. Cold nights, sunny warm days– typical for the desert! The more cold than hot shower was literally refreshing before meeting the first squad mates who arrived at the hostel.
This is how debrief looked like:
All team from the squad come together and spent some days relaxing, enjoying company, listening to sessions, worshipping and reflecting the things happened in the first month.
My top 11 likes from debrief:
– Different fun games (i.e. cookie decorating blindfolded, with feet,…)
– Cheesecake in Burros Café (…always thankful for the little sweet things in life)
– Star tripping (In this game you spin around yourself for 19 seconds while looking fixated on one star, then somebody blinds the flashlight towards your eyes and then you have to run… but you can’t nothing else do then fall to the ground.)
– Watching the sun rise over mountains and a volcano what no picture could capture as well as our eyes.
– Going for a run with my team mate Sarah and exploring the surroundings with her.
– Delicious dinners coordinated by a talented squad mate. (I forgot in the first month how satisfying a delicious meal is…!)
– Listening to stories about what other teams experienced so far.
– Discovering another spiritual gift: godly dreams
– My rejoicing in hope in God and his answer through a constant sensible presence of him.
– The kindness and generosity from the hostel owner to drive our backpacks to the bus terminal.
– My team Agape Vita had a little team change. Tori Field joined our team. Look at these ladies I can spend time and doing life with – how wonderful is this?!
Debrief came to an end on the 6thof September. After this intentional time together every team left San Pedro individually on the 7thand made their own way up to Peru.
I was and still are really excited to set foot on this country. It’s a month where we don’t have a host. The motto for the time in Peru is “Life is ministry, ministry is life”. This means that we travel intentionally around and seeking what God tells us to do here. We want to be bold in leaving the personal comfort zone and pursuing what the spirit has in store for us.
We already made new friends with three lovely and beautiful Peruvian girls from a Church we attended on Sunday. They showed us Arequipa (including typical Peruvian food) and shared their dreams, heart and laughter with us. I can’t wait to see them one day again….at least in heaven!
