Hello all! I have been in Peru doing ministry for a week now. Travel to Peru started very early (as in 2:15am) on the morning of October 7th, included two flights, a 9-hour layover, a one-night stay in a hostel, and a 24-hour bus ride. All in all, it took almost 60 hours to get to Cusco, Peru. Although it was a very long bus ride with a limited amount of sleep, it was totally worth it to see so much of this beautiful country! The road from Lima to Cusco winds through many remote mountain villages and I saw a plethora of animals at roadside farms including cows, horses, sheep, goats, and pigs. There were so many picturesque fields on the mountainsides and in the valleys.
Meals on the bus were pretty interesting. The bus did not stop very often, so when it stopped at about 7:30 at night, everyone on my team piled out in search of dinner. There was a small snack stand at the station we stopped at, so everyone got a sandwich and chips for dinner. Not more than 10 minutes after we got back on the bus the attendant started serving dinner! We had no idea that the bus served meals, so we all had two dinners that night! The next morning for breakfast, we were served what initially looked like a cinnamon roll. However, upon closer inspection, I decided it looked more like blueberries instead of cinnamon. When I took my first bite, I discovered that it was not blueberries, but olives. It was very disconcerting to expect blueberries and taste olives. I picked out the olives and just ate the bread and everything was fine!
For ministry this month, my team is serving a church called Calvary Chapel Cusco. We are staying at the church and have hot showers and beds, so the accommodations are pretty nice. So far, our schedule has been very busy each day. Ministry looks like helping the church with their different programs, including youth group, outreach, prayer walks, and various projects. Right now, one of the projects we are working on is refinishing a large dish cabinet for a local children’s home. One of the projects I am most excited about is developing meal ideas for the kids that are cheap and provide good nutrition. Most of the local kids do not receive a lot of good nutrition and eat mostly rice and potatoes. As you can imagine, I am super excited to be working on a project that I am so passionate about.
Thank you all so much for your prayers, they are so appreciated!
