As I’m writing this, I realize how quickly time is flying by. Seems like just the other day I was arriving in Colombia not knowing what to expect out of this journey. It has been nothing short of amazing so far and I want to thank you all so much for your prayer and support.
After leaving Quito, we arrived in Cusco about 60 or so hours later. 1 bus from Quito to Huaquilles at the border of Ecuador, then another bus from there to Tumbes, Peru. Tumbes to Lima, then Lima to Cusco. In Tumbes, getting a bus to Lima wasn’t as easy as we thought. We ran around for a bit trying to find a way out but it wasn’t working out. The police kept coming by to ask us if we found anything because it was getting later and they didn’t want us in the area as it was not safe. The only bus tickets we found did not leave until the next day so we had to find a place to stay for the night. Luckily, the local police were more than willing to help out and found us a hostel not too far away and even helped shuttle people and bags over. Didn’t think I would end the night riding in the back of a police car, but God was watching out for us and got us where we needed to be safely.
This month in Cusco, Perú, we are staying with a host family at their home, which also doubles as the church they started at the end of August of 2016 called La Semilla. Their names are Darwin, who is the pastor, his wife Annie, and their 2 kids Mery and Kassia. Here is a picture of me with the girls before church last week!
So far, we have helped clean and paint huts in the small village of Chinchero, helped out doing activities at a local senior center down the street, and cleaned a restaurant kitchen that one of the ladies in the church owns.
Below are the huts in Chinchero that will later be used by the church we are staying with to host VBS and other activities for the people of Chinchero.
Here is a shot of Kat, Katy, and Josh as we clean the kitchen.
Here is a picture of the seniors we helped as they do a word search.
And here I am calling a bingo game!
I have been overwhelmed at the amount of love and kindness the people of Peru have showed us so far. The other day we were walking through the farming fields of Chinchero when we happened upon some potato farmers tending to their fields. After talking briefly, they were quick to throw together bowls of food for us gringos to try! These people don’t have much at all, but didn’t think twice to give us their food whether we needed it or not. It really left an impact on me as we walked away that day, something I think we take for granted in our lives. I find myself worrying about what I have and don’t have, but not about how little the people around me have and how willing they are to give it up in an instant to make a bunch of strangers happy.
We have been able to see some amazing things so far as the scenery here is beautiful! We went horseback riding in the mountains around Cusco, and earlier this week got to visit Machu Picchu! We took a bus 7 hours over the mountain to a small town called Hydroelectrica. From there it was a 6.5 mile hike to Aquas Caliente where we stayed the night. We woke up the next morning at 4 am to set off. We opted to take the stairs all the way up as opposed to taking a bus. It was fun running up the stairs with a bunch of strangers at 5 in the morning. It took about an hour of climbing to finally reach the top! What an experience, one that is really hard to put into words.
I hope all is well back home wherever you are reading this. Thank you for taking the time to read my stories and all my team is doing here. Now for the hard part, as of right now I am just $585 away from meeting my next financial deadline. If you or anybody you know feels lead to give I would pray and ask that you consider it. So many of you have been gracious enough to give to me which means so much to me. I really didn’t think I could raise as much as I already have. Feel free to share my website with anybody you think would be interested. Above all, I just ask for your prayers for my team as well as the rest of my squad. We have been blessed beyond words. So many parts of Peru are struggling now with the flooding so I ask that you also keep them in your prayers as well. Thanks again for reading and I’ll talk to you all soon!
