Tuesday, March 30th

We just finished our devotion for the evening and it was an awesome time of reflection for the past few days.  The people of Indenpendencia really had an impact on all of us.  It's funny, a lot of times we go to an area to serve thinking we are going to change the lives of the people there, when the truth is that they will change our lives more than we could have ever imagined. 

This morning we went back to work on the mountain to finish our work project.  To our delight, one portion of the wall we worked on yesterday was already dry and looked great.  When we arrived, many of the locals were pleased to see us and greeted everyone with a warm smile and wave.  Like we mentioned before, we may not be able to fully communicate by words, but smiles, waves, hugs, dancing, and futbol are a universal language that has no barriers. It breaks our heart to think that they may expect us to be there tomorrow, and the next day, etc.  We worked hard until after lunch time and finished the rest of the wall.  Many of the locals also came out to watch/help us work, and we took some time to dance and play with some of the ninas :) 

We headed back for a quick lunch and packed our things to go back to the YMCA (to pack again and we finally got a shower!).  We quickly left for the trip to Campamento de Playa (Y Camp) in Caniet, south of Lima on the coast.  Paco and his staff run the camp here, having numerous overnight sessions throughout the summer.  Speaking of Paco and his staff...they are AMAZING!  Paco is a wonderful example of servant leadership and is going above and beyond to help the people of Peru.  We could not have been left in better hands, and we are going to miss them so much when we have to leave!

Tomorrow is a big day-service projects in the morning, some beach time, then off for an adventure in the desert!  And while typing this, we are sitting out under the stars, up on a cliff, listening to the waves crash into the sand below.  WOW we are blessed!  But before we sign off, here are a few tidbits we forgot to mention in the last updates:

-The teens did a fantastic job of collecting clothing back in the US for the orphange and for El Barrio.  We were able to deliver them in person and see the joy on the their faces.

-We were able to eat at the big Peru fast food chain-Bembo's.  They have really good hamburgers with tons of different toppings and styles

-We let Paco order Peruvian appetizers for us tonight.  We recognized the chicken, and thought the steak skewers and fried meat was really good...and then we learned that it was Cow Hearts and Gizzards!  Still pretty good though.

-A lot of us put Ahi on everything when we eat.  Ahi is a yellowish hot sauce

-A fun game to play in the vans is "Chifa."  Chifa is the Peruvian word for Chinese food, and they have stores EVERYWHERE...kind of like Starbucks in the US.

Since we will be in the desert tomorrow night, we most likely wont be able to update until Thursday morning.  See ya then!