Praise God for an awesome day in Trujillo!! We have had a truly incredible day. First we had breakfast here at the hotel and that is always enjoyable. There are the staple, eggs, bread, cereal and it is interesting to see what our hot option is each day. And then it was off to Arevelo for our Orientation Meeting with the Peruvians to prepare for Camp Day One tomorrow!! Arevelo has grown so much since our last visit just a year ago. God is truly blessing all that is going on there and everything that is happening in that community. It has 4 floors now and the clinic building is being built also. You can see pictures in the gallery of how God has blessed this community with a fabulous church to worship Him in. The plans are to finish the Church by the end of FEbruary. There will be apartments on the third floor and teams can stay there as well as missionary families that can stay there and work in the neighborhood.
We had a great orientation meeting with the Peruvians. We started by letting them run through a traditional Twin Lakes Welcome tunnel. Then we did the bugaloo and chu chu wa to start. We spent the morning going over camp details and discussing the plan for camp. We also spent some time teaching the Peruvians the wordless book. And practicing it ourselves. And finally we spent time in prayer for the camp, campers, counselors, community, and that it all would glorify God. So, it was a great day of preparation.
To close out the meeting portion of our trip, we were treated to a slideshow by Pablo a member of ARevelo, showcasing how it has come from a spot in the desert to where it is now and where it is going. It was an excellent presentation. Afterward, he shared with us what God was doing in the community and in his life. It was a special time for us all to share in his joy and Praise the Lord for all His many blessings. AFterward when I was telling him how much I enjoyed it and thank you, he said, "I have joy in the Lord." "It is important to share that joy and that is one way I can grow." Amen!
Lunch was provided by the women of Arevelo. We had traditional Peruvian meal of Lomo Saltado. Rice, french fries and this spicy meat mixture of meat, peppers, onions, and sauce poured over the fries or rice in my case. And ice cream for desert. Lunch also provided a time of fellowship with the Peruvian helpers. For us to get to know one another. And with full stomachs and hearts, we departed Arevelo ready for a great day at camp!!
We left Arevelo and headed to Moche to sort camp supplies and store them and make sure everyone knew where to go tomorrow. The kicker was getting there. We went down the street we normally went on and it was blocked off. So, after some serious driving skills, we got turned around and headed in another direction. We went to another road--very much a "backroad" -- dirt road and lots of small roads and we were driving through small "villages". Well, we then had a chain blocking the road. . . so more serious driving skills and then we finally found a road there. After the chain incident, we were stopped to ask the locals walking around how to get to where we wanted to go with these road blocks and after answering our questions, they hopped in so we had 2 women and 2 kids ride with us to the campsite! WElcome one and all. We finally got there and it was good. And we found a better way out that wasn't through such backroads. Also, along the way to the site, you see the irrigation canals (for lack of a better term). They are ditches of water running from the River and it is used for irrigation and their water system in this poor neighborhood. We saw several kids swimming in them. It is the beginning of their summer and this is their pool. I tried to catch a picture as we went by.
The true highlight came at the end of our day. We were able to go to the orphanage and visit with the orphans. What a blessing to us all!! The website is perukids.com if you want to check it out. The orphanage has 2 "houses" that are split and the girls live upstairs and the boys downstairs so it is more like 4 apartments. There are 4 bedrooms in each "apartment". One room is for the mamasita that takes care of the kids in her "house". Then there are 3 bedrooms with 2 bunkbeds in each so the house can hold 12. Right now they have 10 in all, but for one. We got a tour from Sam, the volunteer coordinator.
Before we could even get out of the car, the boys that were outside playing with us ran up and everyone was hugging and playing. It was wonderful to see old friends from the camp last year and meet the new ones. The children were so excited to have company -- and especially when we brought candy and stickers. Oh we had fun!! The kids age out at 17 years, 11 months and 28 days. No one has done so yet so Sam was unable to tell us what they will do then. The orphanage has school rooms for the younger kids and a great library that we proceeded to add to with all the donations we got and took there to the orphanage. And we saw the dining room. And were told that they eat together as a family per the homes they live in. And then the orphans wash dishes or take turns with chores to try and teach responsibility. On the way out, we saw some jewelry, and cards the kids made and there were also t shirts for sale. The jewelry and cards are sold and 1/2 of the sale goes to the kids themselves in a bank savings account that they can use when they leave.TI bought a bracelet and necklace. the picture of me and the boy in the blue hat is Josue--he made the bracelet i am wearing. Oh how precious were these kids. They wanted some attention and someone to love them. It was so beautiful.
One of the girls talked about camp for ever and remembered the games we played and she was so sad not to get to come. it was sad for us to see old campers that have gotten too old to come back and that really wanted to! But as we were leaving we found out that EVERY child from the orphanage will be at camp tomorrow!! This includes some children that are too small or young for camp so the orphanage may send some workers to help out.
The orphanage is called Hogar de Esperanza -- Home of Hope. And it is a fitting name. There is hope for those children that they will some day have a home. The visit to this orphanage had to be a highlight of our day. The children were just precious!
We returned to the hotel before dinner to shower and freshen up. Then we headed to the Boltons (Chris and Marti). They were kind enough to open their home and feed us and provide a wonderful night of fellowship!! The Charlets were also there to enjoy dinner and fellowship with us. Chris and Don both work in the woodshop project and everyone enjoyed hearing more about this fabulous mission! The Parish Woodshop has taken off and we are praying for wonderful results to further God's kingdom. And dinner was really excellent. We all talked about it for a while after dinner and some tasty desserts!
Now everyone is home and we are getting ready for bed so we can start camp tomorrow!!! Everyone is excited. The kids are excited. The Peruvians are excited. And I hope you are also! We certainly are. Please continue to pray for this trip--that God will work in the hearts and lives of the Peruvians and that He will be glorified in all that we do! Amen.
Thanks for the comments, we always pass them along and are so glad to know that we are being prayed for. We thank you so much!!
