Monday March 7, 2011

Today is going to be a great day. We started our day by wishing Alex a Happy Birthday. She is sharing a very special day with us today and we are excited about sharing it with her. We are starting the day with a walking, bus and who knows what other kind of tour of Peru. We are going to be immersed in the culture with some shopping but then learn a lot of the culture, politics, government and I am sure a lot more about the people. We are heading back to the Y for lunch (and to celebrate Alex's birthday) and then we are going back to the orphanage and see our young friends again. We are all very excited to have the opportunity to be able to see and play with our new friends again. Last night at our devotion time we talked about "things that we found to be impactful and didn't want to ever forget." Some of the things the group brought up were having the kids welcome us with open arms and how they were trying to learn our language as much as we were learning their language. They didn't feel entitled to us learning their language but more like they wanted us to be a part in some way, so they tried learning as much as we did. We are very excited to see what special moments come from the orphanage today. The morning touring was fun and this group is amazing. The laughter never stops. Every time I turn around the group is laughing at something Tim and Will have done. They really have been funny together! I love the laughter and the way the group is interacting. It is a pretty hot day but not too bad. We are definitely getting our exercise with all the walking we are doing. We even found a little fire station where we took an impromptu tour. These fireman, like the ones in the States, deserve to be applauded for all they do. This particular fire house was special because they send fireman around the world to places to train, be trained and help out. They have even sent fireman to the states - Texas, Miami and they were there to help out in NY with 9/11. It was like a museum for fireman. This was extra special for Angie because her husband is also a fireman. Everyone was touched by our time there!

Our lunch was good. The food is a little different but it is good. We are eating a lot of chicken and fish with rice and fries. The best part of lunch today was not the food but celebrating Alex's birthday. We decided to get her a cake for her birthday and sing happy birthday to her as loud as we possibly can. It was fun and I think she was surprised. If not, she faked it real well. Happy Birthday Alex and thanks for sharing it with us!

We are heading back to the orphanage now. We found out when we got there that we have a smaller group today because some of the kids were practicing for a performance they had the next day. That didn't stop our group from having a great time. Today is the day we were leading all the games and activities. We also brought the suitcases that were filled with clothes and school supplies and special flash cards that Megan made for the kids. We broke up into two groups and lead them through some games, with a little help from our Peruvian friends. We even played "red light, green light". We had a blast! It was fun leading the games but a bit daring at the same time. The group did great! I was very proud of how everyone was so engaged with the kids. We weren't perfect with our language but we made it work and it was good. We ended our very special time with a birthday song to Alex from the kids. I think she liked that even more than the cake because of how much she loved being with the kids.

Our last adventure for the evening will be a salsa dance class. Last year they got to learn how to play the box drum. This year we get an authentic salsa lesson. Should be fun. Knowing some of this group (myself included) it will be funny. Apparently this is a popular class. The teacher does not speak english and there are a few people hanging around outside the class. The class does not start out too hard. We all seem to get the movements with our feet. We are pretty proud! I am pretty sure I even saw a few high fives from members of our group. Then the teacher added hips, arms, shoulders, head and shaking. The crowd outside the class kept getting bigger. I am pretty sure they were not gathering because of our stellar danching. I am sure our dancing was good comic relief. We started doing as much laughing as the people out of the class. In all fairness, we did have some stellar students. Lendra, Omega and Shannon were tearing the dance floor up. I am sure we will all sleep well tonight!

God Bless, until our next post!

Sunday March 6, 2011 - Serve or be Served

Sunday March 6, 2011:

We are learning culture, using our spanish and working at the orphanage. Just like at home, the Y gets moving early and so did the boys today. Thanks to Michael we were up and ready about an hour before breakfast. We did not even realize it was so early until we were all up. Because it was so late when we got in last night we did not get to see any of the Y, so the boys decided to go exploring. We walked around the Y taking it all in and talking about all the fun things we will be able to do while we are here in Peru.

I mentioned in the last post how generous Paco and crew were by coming to the airport and getting us. Well, this morning that generosity kept coming. They were up before us and had breakfast and an orientation ready for us when we got there. They gave us some tips and some insights into the culture in Lima and went through introductions. One thing to remember from the presentation, not even the locals drink the water. We will be using water bottles that Paco will provide for us. Our mission today, have some fun, get to know each other better, learn about the culture and SERVE. We are going to the orphanage to visit with the kids and play some games and then we will go into town to learn more about Lima. Paco let us know that the most of these kids come from abusive situations and were taken from their parents and placed in the orphanage.

Thomas got us started today with a thought for the day and a prayer. He really challenged us all to think outside of ourselves and try everything. This experience will be what we make of it and we should not look back and wish that we did something different. Wow, pastor Thomas really brought it in his quiet, yet powerful way.

So, with our challenge before us, we gathered our stuff and headed out to the orphanage. We are walking to the orphanage so we can experience some of the culture of Peru on our way. Pablo, Lucia, Lodie, Karen and Rafi were our guides and they were going to lead the games and songs that we would do with the kids at the orphanage. We are so lucky to have them!

After a nice 10+ block walk to get to the orphanage, we all stand at the colorful gates not knowing what to expect. As I anxiously stood there waiting for the security guard to open the gate I thought of how we were going to come in and put our YMCA magic on things and "wow" everyone. I got a little more excited to show off in front of the Peruvian Staff. The gates open and we pour into a beautiful courtyard surrounded by classrooms but there were no children. Shortly after we go in the kids start coming out. Most of the kids are a little tentative, possibly because of the abused background or just because we are strangers.

It did not take long for some of them to warm up to us and start calling us "papa and mama". We had a blast playing with the kids and Pablo and Rafi did a fantastic job leading the kids in songs and games. It was a little crazy but we did not "wow" them as much as they "wowed" us and stole our hearts. We left anxiously awaiting tomorrow's visit.

Once we left the orphanage we did a tour of part of the city, ate at Mangos and even had time to walk around the mall for a half hour where we saw an electronic elephant on skates giving kids rides.




The city is rich in history and we learned a lot about that history and the culture. We are all trying to use whatever spanish speaking skills we have. Our favorite saying is "Como se dice _____?" which means "how do you say ______?" Some people speak english but the majority only speak spanish. Again, Paco and crew have been very patient with us and have helped us make it through the language barrier. But, our shining stars for language are Will and Thomas. They know a lot of the language and are able to communicate and help the rest of us. It has been really great to see them take the lead and be so confident while speaking another language.



Mangos is a Peruvian restaurant that has a buffet to die for or at least you feel like you are going to die after eating so much good food. It was amazing! We got to try a lot of things but one of the standouts was Ceviche. A fish cooked by the acid of lemon juice. A lot of us don't like sushi and thought we would not like Ceviche but we decided to try it because of Thomas' devotion today. The overwhelming response...Awesome!

At devotion tonight we are asking three pointed questions:



What is something that was funny?


What is something that was impactful?


What is something you don't want to forget?

We all took some time to write down some things and then we talked about them. It was an amazing time of reflection. I will share with you some things that were expressed when we have more time. We will be asking these same questions each night. Right now we have to get a quick breakfast and head out to our next adventure.

God Bless until our next post

Saturday March 5th - Travels:

We had a good flight. The trip to Atlanta was quick and easy and we even had a bit of time to grab some snacks before we boarded our next flight. This set of teens makes moving through an airport easy.

When we got to spend some time in the Atlanta airport we really started to have some fun and laugh with each other. We even got to participate in one of my favorite activities, “People Watching”. Coming from an experienced people watcher, there is no better place to “people watch” than an airport. You can see some of the most interesting things in an airport like…


yes, that is a suitcase made of bubble wrap and packing tape. Enough said!
"People watching" takes it out of you and sometimes you have to just take some time to recharge, just ask Tim…

(sign above his head)

On a different note, before we left Raleigh Leigh did our devotion and talked to us about this experience. She talked about how at some point on the trip we would realize that this is real. As we sat and waited to board our plane some of us started talking about how this was starting to become real. We are heading to PERU, South America to be God’s hands and feet. WOW! I think this feeling will continue to creep up on us as we go through the week and if Leigh is right there will be a time that the emotion and reality of it all will wash over us. I welcome it!

God Bless until our next entry.

Saturday March 5 – Safe in Peru

6 hours in the plane and a few movies later we touched down in Peru. I am going to channel my inner optimist and instead of focusing on the long flight I am going to focus on the fact that there are not many times you get to watch a couple movies and take a nap.

Overall it was a good flight, just long. Michael and I sat beside each other on this flight so I got to learn a lot about what he wants to do when he graduated in December. All I have to say is “biotech world - beware!” He is such a fascinating and smart young man. Oh, Angie and I also found out that he loves giving hugs. Don't worry we won't use that against him throughout this trip! We as leaders must have been good this year because the entire group is awesome! I can’t wait to get to know each person individually.

We touched down in Peru at 11:50pm but did not get our luggage and get through customs until close to 1:30am. It would have been sooner but I got stopped at customs. They say it is random but I was the only one out of all 13 of us that got stopped. Paco and crew met us at the airport with smiles on their faces. They are amazing, giving people to be so generous. We were all very excited to see them and equally excited to hear that the Y was only 20 minutes away from the airport. Once we got to the Y we unloaded all our gear, settled into our rooms, said a prayer of thanks for the safe travel and hit the bed by 2:30. Breakfast is at 8:30 and the day is full so...

God Bless and good night until our next entry.

Friday March 4, 2011: Let the Adventure Begin...Peru 2011

Growing up, Christmas was always one of my favorite times of the year. Christmas has always been special because of the laughter, family and fellowship but let's be honest, the gifts get you excited. My mother and father used to always make me and my siblings go to bed early so Santa would be able to come. Every year I would go to bed and lay there for the longest time, not able to sleep because of how excited I was. Tonight as I get ready for our trip I get that same type of feeling, EXCITEMENT! I know I should be asleep but I just can't because Saturday I get the privilege of going to Peru with 10 fantastic college aged teens and 2 Amazing Y-Staff. We will have a lot of laughter and fellowship and this group will become like family to each other over the next week.

I guess I should start by telling you who I am...I am the luckiest man in the world. My name is Yo Sobha and I am the trip leader for the 2011 trip to Peru. I have worked for the YMCA of the Triangle for the past 23 years and in my current position I get to create opportunities for teens to get involved, give back and grow. Yes, this is my job and yes, they pay me to do this. I sometimes watch those travel shows and think to myself that those guys have an awesome job but truthfully mine is better. They travel alone and I get to travel with some amazing people!

Next, let me introduce you to Tim Townsend from the Finley YMCA. He is one of the other Y-Staff going on this trip. We might start calling him "Doc" for this trip. We love to give out nicknames at the Y and no one has more nicknames than Tim. So I figured we would try and make another one stick. He, like all of the leaders are trained in First Aid and CPRO but he is taking on the main role of doctor on the trip. That really means he gets to hold and keep up with the big first aid kit. He is so excited about that part of the trip. We are sure he will not have to use it but it is always good to have. Hence the nickname "Doc".

Our last Y-Staff that is going on the trip is Angie Field from the Cary YMCA. Angie started her Y career around the same time that I did but she left to work with youth in a church setting. During that time she had the opportunity to take many groups on Mission trips and is our most experienced traveler. She is the Volunteer Coordinator at the Cary Y. A true "people person". She is the mother of two and takes on the mother role for our group. Angie is also the practical joker and instigator of the group. She has already tried to get the other members of the group to bring rubber bugs to scare me on the trip. I may have to strike first to have a chance.

Angie, Tim and I feel blessed to be able to lead this group of teens to Peru from Saturday, March 5th-Sunday, March 13th. We are extremely excited to show God's love by serving others but we are well aware that God will probably show us His love through the people we serve.

Here are some prayers for our group...


1.) Safe Travels to Peru, through different areas of Peru and for our safe return.

2.)Our group will be open to hear God's whispers and have the strength to follow them.

3.)The people of Peru so they will be open and welcoming to us and their lives will be changed and impacted.

4.)Energy and Good Health- that we will be able to work enthusiastically and energetically for God.

5.)Adventurous - allow us to be adventurous for God and reach beyond ourselves giving to others.

6.)For or families back in the states, that they will be protected and safe while we are gone.

Schedule...

Here is our tentative schedule for the week:

Saturday, March 5th-arrive in Peru

Sunday, March 6th-visit to orphanage

Monday, March 7th-historical tour of Lima

Tuesday, March 8th-service project, building a community kitchen in a low-income village area

Wednesday, March 9th-service project, building a community kitchen in a low-income village area

Thursday, March 10th-ecotourism! (desert trip, dune buggy rides, sand boarding, camp out)

Friday, March 11th-ecotoursim! (Ballestas Island tour, wildlife reserve, beach)

Saturday March 12th-ecotourim! (aqua trekking, fun at Y Camp)

Sunday March 13th-return home leave at 12:25am and arrive back at 12:30pm

God Bless and Good Night!