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