Month 2 is officially over and I am currently sitting in the Santiago airport in Chile! We have a 19 hour layover before we head to Mendoza, Argentina for 2 days of debrief and then we head to our ministry (in Mendoza), where we will have all squad month and will be working with YWAM! I am so excited to get to spend more time with my other squamates and spend the holidays with them, my World Race family.
Before coming on the Race, God had given me a big heart for a few countries on this route. I’m excited to get to some of the other places, but Peru has definitely been a great place to live these past 2 months. It was such a blessing to have the chance to experience so many different parts of Peru. We started flew into Lima, traveled the coast to Trujillo where we lived right near the beach, made our way to the mountains in Cuzco, and headed back up to Huaraz where we lived at 10,000 feet in elevation and got to experience what life was like in remote villages in the mountains. I knew my time in Peru would be great, but I didn’t know the Lord was going to give me two months of such amazing diversity.
This month was one that took a bit of adjusting to because we never really knew what we would be doing and our days always looked different. We would visit schools and villages, preach and share testimonies at churches and travel to the mountains for some hiking and adventuring. Our last few days looked like us traveling in a car for 6 hours (half on dirt road where I hit my head countless times) to a very small town where Quechua was the prominent language. We brought the Bible to these people so they could read it for THE FIRST TIME in their own language. I cannot imagine not having the Bible in my own language or not being able to read it whenever I wanted. It wasn’t until 3 months ago that the Bible was actually finished being translated into Quechua completely. Being a small part of bringing the Bible to these villages was really special and seeing the reaction of the churches and people was something I won’t be able to forget! We also got to camp in a random field on the side of the road with a view of the mountains the night before hiking 10 miles to and from Laguna 69. We woke up at 3:30am to pack up camp and drive to the National Park, where we started hiking at 6am! The elevation was just over 15,000 feet, which was an unexpected struggle for me, but the Lake was a gorgeous light blue with water from the snowcap mountains falling into the lake. I
Even though I had a tough time adjusting to life in Huaraz, there were some things God blessed me with that brought me rest. For the last two weeks we got to have our squad leader, Landry, join our team and she is a joy to have around! She has the most beautiful heart and every time you talk to her she is filled with joy and smiles! Also, for the last 2 weeks my team gave me the room with my own bed, so getting alone time in my own room was amazing and I am so thankful they let me have that space! Nancy and Rolando, our host parents, were so sweet to us. We loved having Rolando around to joke with us and Nancy around to just be Mama Nancy. They are so generous and are great at pouring out the love of God. California Cafe was a cafe we got to spend some of our time in on our Sabbath days and that was extremely restful because I have been missing my days of being in coffee shops. There is something about coffee shops, coffee and reading in the Word that I just love. Cold weather. Need I say more?! Thankful to have had weather where I could wear pants and my sweatshirt, especially before heading to Africa and Asia. Kayla and I got our monthly street food, which you might think is a bad idea, but if you tasted it I think you would think differently! Our time in Huaraz also meant spending lots of time in the mountains and on farms and that was such a breath of fresh air. If you know anything about me, you know I love being in nature, exploring and taking in God’s beautiful creation. The mountains are such a special place to me and sitting in the grass on these farms (in the mountains), looking over the view of the city was a blessing from the Lord. I loved getting away from the noise and really focusing on God. Being in the towns and cities can be great, but taking a step back from the noise allows me to sit in the presence of the Father and just be still. I was really thankful for Ade, Suzanna, and Felix and Margarita for allowing us to all the stay on their farms.
Thank you for keeping up with my life on the Race!
Until all have heard,
Kristen
