On Monday, November 19th, I was ready to return to the field. The day started at 4:30 A.M. at RDU. From there I flew to Houston, had one moment to catch my breath, and boarded the plane to Costa Rica. After a coffee break and a third package of peanut butter crackers, I flew to Lima, Peru. On my favorite airline, Avianca, I had a great time with my blanket, pillow, pasta, and Friends. I went to get my pack, Frieda, from baggage claim, but it wasn’t there. The english-speaking attendant that I searched high and low for said that, since I only bought one ticket for the whole day, Frieda should go straight to Trujillo. I blissfully rushed through yet another security check. My flight was scheduled to leave at 10 P.M., and I fond Gate #1 in a weird basement. At 9:50, someone at the desk said something in Spanish and everyone got up. Conformist that I am, I followed. Outside the boarding door, we walked outside and onto a random bus. Delirious, I thought, we’re driving the ten hours to trujillo. Fortunately, after a ten-minute wait, we drove to multiple planes until one of those guys in the orange vests found the one we were supposed to board. Up the stairs we went, for a bumpy, sleepy, short ride to Trujillo. Once we landed, I looked out at the window at darkness, darkness… and more darkness.
We were the only plane at the airport, though there were two whole gates. We quickly de-boarded down the stairs and entered into the probably 100-square foot baggage claim room. People quickly got their bags and left easily. The gringa stood there awkwardly until everyone had left. Frieda had not made it. I was alone.
Not really, my team leader Kyla and host Joel were waiting outside for me. Kyla joked, “What if Kate doesn’t get her bag?” When i walked out and cheerily waved at them with just my daypack, Kyla went “oh nooooo.” Joel helped me figure out where to go (the next room over) and where my bag was (Costa Rica.) We took the bumpy taxi ride through the desert to the school where we are living this month. I tried to sneak quietly up to our room, but the lights suddenly turned on and all my teammates were awake and waiting for me to get home. We ate chocolate cake at 1 A.M. and talked about how much we missed each other.
The rest of the week, we worked with preschool in the morning. Their school year is about to end, because summer here is December-February. We have played a lot of games and had a lot of fun with the kids. On Wednesday, we went to Viva Abundante Inglesia Christiana, or Life Abundant Christian Church, which our hosts, who run the school, have planted in central Trujillo. Because most of my team had already spoken at the church, I was asked to preach (in Brittany’s shirt and shorts, Cat’s shorts, and Kyla’s chacos). It was such an empowering experience. (blog about it next week!) The church community quickly surrounded me after church and I instantly formed relationships with most of the 25 of them. They are so welcoming.
Once a month, they gather to eat together as a family. They chose to celebrate us by having their dinner on our Thanksgiving Day. We were so excited to wear dirty clothes to eat Papa John’s, potatoes, and animal crackers as our Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for the older ladies who became our grandmothers, urging us to eat more and more, and our teammates, who have really become my sisters and some of my best friends. I was also really thankful that Frieda showed up in Trujillo, and I got to give my 15 pounds of gifts to my girls. (tears might have been shed over sunscreen and peanut butter)
I am so thankful for each of you for supporting me by reading my blogs. If you would like to support me financially, you can find all the information under the orange Donate! button at the top of the page. Thank you!
