Today (or I guess yesterday now) was the last day of camp! I´ll try and tell you a little bit of how much of an impact we had. Peruvians are known for being late everywhere they go. Today, the first campers arrived at 9:15. We are supposed to start camp at 10:00!! Each day they came earlier and earlier. We heard from some of the parents that the children would talk about camp when they got home until they went to bed and then when they woke up until they left to go to camp. They were excited to be there! We greeted each bus as they arrived and as the bus from Arevelo arrived, the children presented us with a hand made sign thanking us for camp and it was signed by all the children. It was so touching! And we continued to thank God for all he had done as well as the children for coming to camp, the workers from all the churches that helped us. . . a running theme throughout the day.
Today´s camp was in Trujillo (actually by a mall--so long gone was the beautiful mountain backdrop, but it was still a beautiful setting inside the facility area). We had horses again today, the pool, an inflatable, face painting, archery, sports, and superfun games. We started the game with the favorite American camp song--Let me see you boogaloo and the favorite Peruvian camp song--chi chi wa wa wa! And of course, Alle´n Smith and his "band`s" music. They played for us all week and it was really uplifting and a wonderful blessing! Then we began our morning activities. Before lunch, Paul gave his final lesson to the ninos. It was on "I am the light of the world." This time the Peruvian helpers acted out the skit. They were Great! And the children loved it.
After lunch we continued the activities and also presented the Peruvians with some tokens of our appreciation for all thier hard work. In return, each church also gave us a token of appreciation for what we had been doing and to thank us for coming. And hoped to see us again next year! We packed up the camp supplies that we left there in Peru for the churches and then said our sad goodbyes. We were sad to leave and I think the children were sad to see us go.
We had time to go back to the hotel to shower and pack the bags and then it was to Allen Smith´s home for one last dinner in Trujillo before going to the airport. So, we loaded onto "BOB" (our bus had this on the front and i am not sure why? but it became the bus name and headed over to Allen´s. We enjoyed taking a moment to enjoy dinner and spend a short time in prayer and thank Allen for all he had done to make this happen! Some of the church members and other missionaries also came by and wished us goodbye. Then it was off to the airport to fly to Lima. At Allen´s and on the bus to the airport, Matthew shared with us some stories about what God has been doing through this camp.
Before camp, there was a struggle between some of the fathers and mothers about whether the children should go to camp. The children often go to church alone. Thier mothers do not attend, but send them there and the fathers don´t even want them to go. The fathers think that Christians are not intelligent, lazy, liars, etc. and do not think thier child needs to go to camp. But the mothers prevailed and the kids came to camp. Through the kids coming home and talking about what all they learned each day and what was happening, some of the fathers changed thier mind. They said that they knew now that Christians were intelligent and that they wanted thier child to go to church. We also think it worked to bring families closer together and hopefully more families will come to church! I had mentioned before how this was bringing 3 area churches together. They have worked together and been so loving to one another. This was unheard of before this camp. In addition to that, Wichanzao is the poorest of the neighborhoods. It often feels like the outcast or not on equal footing with the other 2 churches, but at this camp, they said for the first time, they felt like they belonged and were equal to the other churches. Camp encouraged them and has built relationships between the churches! Each day we seemed to have more and more people come to camp because the word was spreading about what was happening. Children´s families would want to come and see what was going on or the helper´s family. Our bus driver, Elais (sp?) is a member of a Baptist church. He not only drove us all around each day, but he also came to camp and helped us with activities and translation. He asked if he could bring his 2 daughters today and we were thrilled to have them at camp!
There is no doubt an impact was made this week. I cannot thank you enough for those that have financially supported me and all of those who have prayed for us. It has been a blessing to be a part of this team and to be a small part in what God is doing in Trujillo. I am sure there is more to say, but cannot think of the words to convey what we experienced this week. So, maybe more later with a fresher head!
To my team, sorry I didn´t get to say goodbye! It was an honor and privilege to meet you and serve beside you this week in Peru. Matthew was kind enough to pass along all the high praise we received from the missionaries that worked with us, but I have to agree that this team was incredible! You are all such special people and I look forward to our reunion! Matthew. . . start planning. . . maybe this summer? ´
To Matthew and Andrew, thank you for your endless hours of hard work and organization and inspiration! You were a big part of what made this trip easy, enjoyable and fruitful. I am thankful to God for providing us such capable and fun leaders! You´ve set the bar high for future mission trips!
To everyone that has followed along and prayed for us and this trip, thank you again! Words will not ever express the magnitude of our appreciation, but we will see the fruits of your labor in heaven!
May God bless you all!
Alleen
