After Spain, we headed over to South America which was the continent I was most excited for. I love the Latino culture and I knew that it was going to feel like home for me. I was excited about our month in Peru and I knew that God was going to move in such a powerful way. After hours of travel and time change, we arrived in Cusco, Peru. The elevation here is at 11,150 feet so I was struggling to breathe! This city is full of people who are proud of their traditions. Almost every day there were festivals and parades on the street because they were celebrating some worth of religious ritual.
This month God really pressed into my heart to engage with the local people. I knew that I had an advantage cause I’m able to speak the language allowing me to quickly connect with people. I was sooo excited to finally use the language I love so much. If you know me you know that the Spanish blood in me is very strong. I’m proud of my roots and being Latino to me is a blessing. Thank you, Jesus! As I started talking to locals at the San Pedro Market, street vendors, stores, restaurants and everywhere around me I realized that this next season of the race was going to be one of my favorites.
It was almost time for our squad to reunite for our mini debrief here in Cusco. Hunter and I are in charge of finding a place for our squad to stay and meet. We had found a hostel online so I contacted the owner and asked if we could meet to clarify some questions we had. He agreed so I asked my team to join me. We met Arnold, his brother Brandon and mother Maritza who all run the hostel. They received us with so much love and hospitality. I shared with them about The World Race and they got really excited and said they would love to host our squad at their hostel. They had just finished construction for the hostel and we would be the first group to have ever stayed there. He also told us that because of all the expenses they had been praying and asking God to please bring a group into the hostel and boom there we were. Isn’t it interesting how God works all the time?
That same day we asked them if there was anything we could help them with. Arnold was a bit confused by my question cause he said that he wasn’t going to put us to work. We laughed and told him that we are here to serve those in front of us and be the hands and feet of Jesus. He smiled and said okay yes we do. Since there wasn’t enough money to finish the garden they had a mess and we got to help organize and clean it up. Arnold also needed help with the marketing of the hostel. He hasn’t been able to travel outside of Peru yet so he’s not fully aware of how the hostel life is like. Thankfully we’ve spent most of our time in hostels all over Asia, Africa, and Europe. He had so many logistical questions and we had so much knowledge that we were able to help him.
We still had about a week before our mini debrief so we continued our relationship with them. We were able to help him with the hostel marketing and getting his platforms up and running to start bringing people in. My creative heart began pouring ideas that could help his hostel and he loved them. I began working on signs that he needed and as I finished I looked up at God and smiled. He knows exactly what gets me going. I’m not a singer… I’m not a musician… I’m not a preacher… I’m not a pastor… But I am an artist. Getting to create content for me is like fuel needed to make a car run. God is sooo cool! He makes each one of us unique and special. We all carry specific gifts that He’s given us we just need to make sure that we’re using them to the fullest.
After spending most of the month with Arnold, Brandon, and Maritza we got to share more and more about Jesus. They joined us for our sessions, prayers and worship nights. They had so many questions about Christianity and wanted to know why we carried so much peace and love. We told them it was all Jesus and He could do the same for them! After so many family problems they felt tired and hopeless but God brought us to them with a purpose. We reminded them of God’s goodness and how much He loves them. Now we have a family forever in them!
Don’t forget to drop some love…
