So here I am, in Peru, I’m sitting on my new memory foam bed thinking about my day. Ok, so it isn’t really memory foam, and it isn’t solely my bed: It’s just a twin size mattress that is so old, it keeps the shape of my body. Oh, and I am sharing it with Kim this month.
Today was a good, but long, day. We arrived here at our ministry site at 9:00 this morning. We were greeted by a sweet comical man at the bus stop. He cracked a few jokes, thinking Ashley said she was from Transylvania and called her a vampire. We knew right away that we would fit in here.
Pastor Juan drove us to our new home for the month. Before I describe our home, I want to describe our town. We are in Pornevir, a town that looks like it is in the desert, but is cool enough to be in Colorado. Everything here is brown. The buildings, the streets, the scenery… All brown and dusty. The buildings also seem to be falling apart, as if there had been a war fought here. The air even smells of burnt rubber and cement glue. Everything seems to be needing rejuvenation.
And then there’s our house: A bright orange building smack dab in the middle of a row of brown buildings, breaking up the monotony of the scene. We enter the home to find the walls a Barbie pink. The home is cheery and light. We instantly feel grateful for our new home.
We take a bucket shower (cold water), eat a snack and are escorted about a mile to the church, where we are served lunch. We find out that this church works with Compassion International and that many children around us were Compassion Kids. We played with a few and even went to visit a few of their houses.
We were told not to bring anything with us on the house visits since we were going to a bad part of town… Bad part of town was an understatement: The houses were considered nice if they had roofs on them. Children were running and playing in the dirt streets. All the houses, which were interconnected, had bars on the doors and windows. Dust and sand filled my shoes while we walked.
Every time we would get an answer at the door, a little face would peer around from behind a mom’s skirt, and I would know that that very face is one that has been seen on a piece of paper and sponsored by a family in America. We hugged and loved on the kids and their families. We even prayed over two ladies who needed healing.
Overall, good first day in Peru. I know God is going to great things here. Please keep my team and I in your prayers. I love you all!
Catalina
Our Town!
