Welcome to Cusco!
After two days of travelling from Huaraz to Lima, and then Lima to Cusco, we’ve arrived and settled into our hotel room for debrief. The cobblestone streets and Spanish architecture are reminiscent of Antigua, yet the climate seems a bit more like what we’ve been experiencing this month. We are now living at 12,000 ft., about 1,000 ft. higher than where we were in Ancash, but I don’t feel a difference. Some of the A squad say they are having trouble with being out of breath and hands going numb. We in the B squad take those comments in stride, as we’ve been where they are now.
We had a full day in Lima to spend with our translators before we hurried into buses at 3 am to catch our 6 am flight to Cusco. Oddly enough, we spent the day at a mall, catching a flick, eating at Pizza Hut, although there are other American restaurants there too… I wish I could have experienced them all (Chili’s and Longhorn to name a few). Scott and I spent the day with Tana, Jake, Kim, and our translators Dina, Rudolfo, and Richard. It was a great ending to our stay in the mountains. We also grabbed a Starbucks coffee before heading back to the church we had originally been staying at at the beginning of our time in Peru. Scott and I tried to take a little nap before putting our stuff together and hopping on the airport shuttle bus.
I don’t remember much about our flight, as I was dead asleep. I woke up just in time to drink and orange juice and watch the plane land. Today has been a free day. Much of it has been spent napping, eating lunch with our team (very affordable, I might add… 7 soles for a three course meal, or 2.33 USD), and galovanting about the center of town. We’ve already found the Cusquena stone, or a twelve sided carved stone, that is apparently dated as pre-Incan. We’ve been harrassed by street vendors. Ok, not really harrassed, but really, how many finger puppets do I need?!
Tomorrow we start debriefing our time in Peru. As I look back on this month, I see much growth, as I’ve become much more confident in who God created me to be. I’m learning the art of looking like a Martha, but really being a Mary at heart. Just because you look busy doesn’t mean you’re not sitting at Jesus’ feet, right? It’s all about the attitude. Martha’s attitude stunk, because she wasn’t worshipping, she was annoyed. But, if you can learn how to “do” and “be” at the same time, you really start to see God’s hand at work in everything. In my own life and in the lives of the people in Musho, Tumpa, and Utupampa. That revelation has been something sweet between God and I.
I know I’m a “beaver”, a go-getter, an organizer. I used to resent it because I never got to do the fun stuff, and felt overwhelmed most of the time. But God has shown me that doing those things can be a form of worship, as long as the attitude is right. So, for me, going into Tumpa everyday never got tedious, boring, annoying. It was an honor to do, as God has been teaching me who am becoming. Pretty cool, huh?
