Writing to you from Guayaquil, Ecuador, reflecting on my first month in South America! My team spent about three weeks in Cusco, the historical capital of Peru, and five days in Trujillo.
Cusco was a dream. Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly fall in love with one more city, God plopped me down in the most unsuspecting of places. This place OOZES with Indigenous Incan culture, and the people there have the best balance of embracing their heritage while also fully welcoming those who are different from them. What a life! The flag of Cusco is a band of different colors to represent the diverse heritage of the city.
One of the things I loved about Cusco was merely the amount of time we spent there. After hopping around Europe so much, staying in one place for three weeks made it feel [almost] like home! Some things that were very UNLIKE home, but I nevertheless LOVED, were the llamas roaming the streets, the breathtaking mountains surrounding city, the San Pedro market where we ate lunch for $1.50 every day, strangers calling us Mami and Papi, Maracuya (passionfruit) flavored EVERYTHING, locals who actually responded to me in Spanish, not being able to breathe because the altitude, and restaurants casually roasting guinea pigs for dinner. Okay those last two were not actually the most glamorous parts but still very new to me!
We actually didn’t choose to come to Cusco, but our leadership scheduled a “mini debrief” with the whole squad in that city, so our team just stretched out our time there. Ronny is one of the logistics coordinators for our squad, which means he is in charge of finding housing for all of us whenever all 16+ of us get together. He ended up finding this amazing place called Brothers Hostel for us to stay in. It is a brand new business and we were actually their first guests. Before the squad mini debrief, Ronny went to check out the space and meet the owners, and Jenna and I tagged along. There we met brothers Arnold and Brandon, and the gentlest woman I’ve ever met, their mom Maritza. We instantly connected with them. That first day, they poured us all coffee and we ended up talking and getting to know each other for over two hours. (Thankfully Ronny has been giving me daily Spanish lessons so I could ~somewhat~ keep up). Maritza told us all that they are Christians too and they were praying for a large group to be their first guests to help get their business going. She was astounded that God not only answered her prayer, He sent her a group of CHRISTIANS. We were honored to be a part of their story.
Our first day at Brothers Hostel
For the next several days my team and I went to see them at their hostel before we actually moved in. Let’s just say, after traveling for nine months around the globe, if anyone knows about hostel culture, it’s us. So we had TONS of tips and ideas to help get their hostel going, and we helped get the place ready however we could. After a few days, the rest of our squad joined us and we were thrilled for them to meet our new friends. I loved seeing the relationships form between everyone, even those who don’t know much Spanish. Arnold, Brandon, and Maritza even joined us for worship and prayer for the few days the whole squad was there. They loved us so well and eagerly joined in when the Spirit was moving. They asked the best questions and had the purest hearts.
One of the questions Maritza and her sons had for our group was about church. There aren’t exactly evangelical churches on every street in Cusco, and they struggled to find one they felt was a good fit. We were able to remind them that THEY ARE the church, and they don’t need a steeple to reflect the heart of God, lift each other up in community, and strengthen their relationships with Christ.
Our last day, saying goodbye to Sweet Maritza
In an effort to improve my Spanish I bought a bilingual Spanish/English Bible when we were in Spain. I was also praying for opportunities to use it to build bridges with locals, and the Lord answered that prayer with Maritza. We would often sit in the breakfast area of the hostel and share stories and talk about our families. One day she and Arnold asked me and Jenna about our tattoos, and we were able to share with them in their own language some of the verses that have had big impacts on our lives. That day we read our favorite portions of the Bible in Spanish and sang the Spanish versions of our favorite worship songs. It was such a beautiful moment on the race I will never forget. To me, that is a picture of the church as God intended it – breaking bread, sharing hardships, leaning on each other, and rejoicing in the Lord’s provision.
Cusco was one of the harder cities for me to leave. On top of bonding with our new hostel friends, we visited a souvenir shop in the city every day and became friends with the family that owned that business as well. Since day one in Cusco, we would enter their shop, and Asunta, Arelí, and Veronica would greet us with a hug and smile, making their shop stand out against the hundreds of other venders in the city selling the same things. You weren’t a stranger when you walked in their shop. I could write a whole separate blog about this, but that is the KINGDOM. That is the kind of love and acceptance I want the church to exude. I pray one day that, like Asunta’s shop, the church will be known for our love, and that we will stand apart from every other community in the world.
Saying bye to Asunta in her shop
God spoke so much to me in our time in Cusco, and this is one place I know I will be returning to. If anyone is interested in taking a trip to see Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain, I will GLADLY join you! And I know of a great hostel where we can stay 🙂
