Hello everyone! It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve taken the time to update you all on the happenings of this world race thing! I last left off with an update of our first week of ministry with a new church plant here in Lima. The following week of ministry consisted of working with another church north of Lima in another district called Ventanilla. As our week of ministry there ended, our Christmas adventure travel plans began without leaving much time in between for writing an update. Fear not though, this blog will fill you in on the goodness of the ministry we were a part of in Ventanilla, our Christmas trip to Machu Picchu, and what things look like for coming days as we make our move to Africa!
When initially choosing this world race route option, I saw Peru on the list of countries and imagined rolling green pastures amongst the Andes mountains, indigenous people inhabiting the countryside and modest towns throughout the land. My team and I traveled along the western coast of South America when we made our way down to Lima from Ecuador. To my surprise, the view out the window of the bus portrayed a sandy desert of vast nothingness. Coastal Peru is actually an arid desert climate that receives extremely little rain throughout the year. Inland from the coastal desert are the steep and rugged Andes mountains, followed by a tropical rainforest environment in the Eastern lowlands of Peru. Quite a diversity! However, to set the stage of this area called Ventanilla, imagine a place where it never rains and there is nothing green to be seen. Most everything is dirty from blowing sand and dust, and impoverished villages are built into the sides of the rocky terrain. It’s definitely not the prettiest picture, but we ended up sharing all kinds of joy with people here throughout the week!
After an hour long bus ride from where my team and I are staying in Lima, we arrived for our first day at Nueva Vida (New Life) Community Church. We were introduced to Pastor Roberto and his wife and we also introduced ourselves with the help of our leader and translator, Rob, from RAMAS. Pastor Roberto is a genuine man, full of love and motivation to help those around him. He shared with us that several families in their community can’t afford to send their children to school. In result, parents will often times leave for work, thus leaving their children home alone with little or nothing good to eat. Pastor Roberto decided to take action for these families and made a plan to add a kitchen onto the back of the little church to be able to provide a safe place and something to eat on certain days for these children at home.
Kaelyn and Hannah in front of Nueva Vida Community Church
Our teams first job for the week was to help get the church kitchen project rolling. The back of this little church butts up against the mountainside, so we had to hand excavate a flat spot for the kitchen layout with shovels. We made a chain gang to haul buckets of sand and rock up and away. It was some hot work in the sun, but so worth it with the end result in mind. We also helped set the walls for the kitchen and braced them with stakes driven down into the sand. Some of the walls were pre-fabricated with what we’d be familiar with as recycled pallet wood. The church itself is constructed of the same material and to be honest, I think we might have more money stuck into the building materials for our enclosed deer hunting blinds at home. They make the best of what they have that’s for sure! We had to hand saw some boards to length in a couple of connecting areas and nail them on to finish out the walls. We got the job completed and Pastor Roberto was thankful for this new kitchen area. He hopes to soon have the roof added, but I’m sure him and his wife will make use of the space until then.
Kaelyn working hard to fill the buckets and level out the kitchen area
Darwin and Hayden working together to haul the fill up and away on the mountain
Church kitchen walls are finished! Pastor Roberto over my shoulder and Rob on the other end
Along with the kitchen project, we also got to help out with some different kids ministries! With Christmas in sight, we helped prepare gift bags containing a variety of treats, we wrapped presents that were donated to the church, and also sorted through and packaged donated clothing items. The neighborhoods built into the different valleys of the mountainsides of Ventanilla have their own names and are kind of like their own little communities. We got to help out with holding events in another neighborhood over the ridge as well a couple of programs at the church. We did some singing/dancing with the kids at the programs, played several different games, shared some words with them, and in the end got to see several happy smiles as we passed out gift bags and presents. There were a lot of kids at these programs and sometimes things seemed a bit wild, but it was such a joy to have some fun with them.
Santa Claus in comin’ to town! Gift bags and presents on the way up the mountain
Dancing with the kids from the neighborhood over the ridge
Kids enjoying the goods from their gift bags
Our last day in Ventanilla was a Sunday. We had free time in the afternoon between the morning kids Christmas program and the evening church service. One of the families from the community over the ridge invited us to their home for lunch. They had three young children that we had previously met at the program that was held in their area. We crowded into their living room space and they served us a Peruvian dish of chicken and potatoes along with a drink made from purple corn called chicha morada. They didn’t have much, and I’m pretty certain it wasn’t just a small thing for them to invite us in and prepare a meal for us. They didn’t have to invite us for lunch, but they wanted to be a blessing to us from the goodness of their hearts. We were so thankful for their hospitality, and it definitely made me think about the way that we really are brothers and sisters in Christ, as different as our lives may look. I pray that God blesses their family and that His presence continues to dwell in them throughout their days!
A very welcoming family! The mother is wearing the patterned shirt in front and the father is in the back next to me
My teammate Hayden brought the message for that final evening church service at Nueva Vida Church in Ventanilla. She shared the sweet story of the parable of the workers in the vineyard found in Matthew 20 and talked about how the Lord desires a relationship with each of us, no matter where in our lives we come to Him. Following the service, we each shared some words with the church. I talked about how I was reminded of Daniel in the bible and how the Lord always remained faithful to him through his trials. I’m sure that God will also remain faithful to Pastor Roberto and the congregation at Nueva Vida. Things may not always be easy, but they can surely rely on the promise that the Lord will be with His people through it all! Pastor Roberto sent us off with a thankful heart, a prayer for the rest of our journey, and hugs goodbye.
We were given the following week of Christmas off, so our ministry host, Cesar, helped us organize a trip to Cusco, Peru to go see the ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu! It was quite a journey to get there. We tried to save a little money by taking a coach bus to Cusco rather than flying. The bus ride ended up being 23 hours long and we concluded it was definitely not worth the savings by the time we arrived! As soon as we checked into our hostel there, we all bought tickets for a 1.5 hour plane ride back to Lima to avoid that bus ride again! From Cusco, our travels included another 6 hour van ride and a 7.5 mile hike to the village of Machu Picchu, also known as Aguas Calientes. I was so glad to be able to travel with my own two legs after all that riding! The hike in and out of Machu Picchu was absolutely beautiful. We followed along a rushing river with all kinds of green vegetation and the mountains towering up all around us. Of course, the morning we had scheduled for our guided tour of the Incan ruins, it was cold and raining steady. Even with rain jackets and ponchos, we were all got soaked. It was so worth it though. The remains of the Inca village were incredible to witness and my mind wandered through what life might have looked like for these people. I don’t know how on earth they were able to build such a place on the peak of a mountain!
A beautiful 7.5 mile hike to Machu Picchu
It’s a wonder of the world and know I can understand why!
This has been the first Christmas that I haven’t spent at home with my family. The adventure to go see Machu Picchu was definitely a cool experience that I’m glad to have witnessed. If I have to be away for Christmas, it’s a pretty sweet second option! However, I can’t say that I didn’t wish I was back at home with my near and dear family at least a time or two. I guess it really is a blessing in itself to have people at home that are worth missing so much! I’m thankful for modern technology and facetime so I can at least stay connected to them and see them on a screen. I’m a long ways from home, but I still got to see my family and what my parents got me for Christmas! You know you’re getting old when you get a fire extinguisher for Christmas.. (Thanks mom and dad! ??) Jay – you might want to go grab that thing to be sure I still have a house to come home to in 8 months! (I know the place is in good hands buddy) It’s been a different kind of Christmas but I still stand by the words that I feel so blessed to be where I am and doing the things that I’m doing. Growing and learning in new ways and I’m so thankful for it all.
With a new year comes a new continent for our squad. On Monday the 30th, we will be flying out of Lima and beginning our journey to the country of Lesotho. Our first flight will get us to Madrid, Spain shortly after 5am on the 31st. We have a 16 hour layover there so we get to head out and explore Madrid for a day! Our new year’s eve will be spent high in the sky on an Emirates flight to Dubai. From there, we have one last flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. That’s 3 flights for a total of more than 27 hours in the air! We will be staying with and adventures in missions base just north of Johannesburg the evening of the 1st and then back on buses to get to our ministry locations for the month in Lesotho. This is a ton of travel, and my fellow teammate Em and myself are the squad logistic coordinators. This means that we’re responsible for getting the squad from point A to point B. If you’re wondering how you can pray for us in the coming days, please pray for smooth travels!
Upon arriving in Lesotho, my team will be joining up with another team from our squad to work with Africa 4 Jesus, our ministry host for the month. I don’t know a whole lot about what we’ll be up to in Lesotho quite yet, but I think it’s going to be another transition in some new and stretching ways. Our living conditions will look a bit different from what we’ve seen so far on the race. No wifi where we’re staying, no electricity for that matter, long drop toilets, maybe even tents. I’m not sure of all the details quite yet but I’m looking forward to it all. I think God has big things in store for me in Africa. It may not be easy, but sometimes the best things are a little bit hard.
Thanks for reading and thanks for all the continued love and support!
God Bless
