Saturday, March 27^th

^{Hola Amigos!  We have made it here safely to Lima, Peru and have already had an amazing day of fun filled events.  Just to catch everyone up a bit…we had a safe flight and made it to Lima a little after 11pm.  After going through customs, we met our gracious hosts:  Paco (YMCA Director), Daniel & Andreas (YMCA staff from Columbia doing an exchange program), Laddy (Y staff), and John(Camp SeaGull counselor & Chapel Hill resident who has spent the last 3 months here helping out at the Y).  We took some time to have some fellowship with our new friends and took a peak around the Y.  This Y is nothing like anything we have back home.  While there is a pool, youth programs and group exercise classes, there is also a restaurant, bank, school, shops, and much more!  It is truly a huge asset for this community, which is very evident with the amount of people who walk through the front doors every day.  Although excitement was pumping through our veins, we knew we had to rest up for our busy week ahead.  We finally all hit the sack around 2am (which was 3am US time).}

^{Saturday morning started off to a great start, having breakfast with the CEO as well as hearing a debriefing of our week ahead.  We then started off on our journey to the orphanage, walking roughly 25 blocks through the busy streets of Lima.  By walking instead of driving, we had the opportunity to really experience the sights/smells/sounds of the city.  The orphanage was a few blocks off the main road, tucked away in a residential area.  There are roughly 20 children there, ages 3-13.  A majority of the kids are younger, and the older children are girls (the older boys go to a different orphanage).  Most of their parents have passed away or are MIA, while a few made the decision they didn’t want to care for their children anymore.  There was some anticipation while waiting for the guard to let us in.  How would the children react to us?  What if they didn’t understand English?  What on Earth could we do with them for a few hours?  As we continued these thoughts while walking through the gate, they were almost immediately erased.  After taking a few seconds to look us over, the children did something we could not have anticipated-they ran up to us and gave us the biggest, longest, heart-felt hug we could have ever imagined.  And…they didn’t let go!  These children were longing for any kind of love and affection we could give to them.  Language and cultural barriers had no affect on the unconditional love we were sharing with them.  It is not only a very humbling experience, but a reminder of how we should live our lives regarding others. After some brief introductions, we participated in a few games and some silly “repeat after me” dance songs.  The older girls even put on a show for us, doing a Peruvian dance!  Before we knew it, our time was up with our new friends.  With one more long hug, we were on our way…praying that these children would continue to receive love and affection once we were gone.}

^{We headed back to the Y for some lunch.  In Peru, lunch is the big meal, with numerous courses and big portions.  We scarfed down as much as we could and had a little free time before our next activity.  While the girls rested up, the guys decided to start a pick-up futbol (yes, that’s soccer) game with some of the local youngsters who were playing on the concrete field at the Y.  They were REALLY good!  After that, the guys were invited to play in another pick-up game with some younger adults.  It is truly amazing how soccer/futbol is the universal language.  It was great sharing some fellowship with them, and they were disappointed to learn we couldn’t join them next Saturday for a game.} 

^{The afternoon was reserved for a quick tour around Miraflores, one of the areas in Lima.  While predominately known as a tourist area, there is also a lot of interesting history that dates back to the Inca’s hundreds of years ago.  We decided to learn in style, atop a double-decker sightseeing bus.  After all that learning, Paco decided he needed to treat us to ice cream…and that he did, with a gorgeous view overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  We then headed back to the Y for some dinner, and changed for our trip to the Water Park.  However, this Water Park is a little different than ones we are used to back in the States.  If you’ve ever seen the water show in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas, it’s kind of like that…on steroids!  There were around 15 fountains in a beautiful city park, all dancing and moving to different music and all the while changing colors.  At the end of the walking tour, there is one fountain that people can go in.  It shoots up water at different places and times, and there is a 100% chance you will get wet…we had a blast!}

Tomorrow will be another great day as well.  We will tour a different part of Lima, then pack up and head to Independencia to get settled for our huge work project on Monday & Tuesday.   Talk to you soon!