Our team of 18 youth and adults spent 10 days in and around Cusco, Peru this June. After flying all day and spending all night in the Lima Airport, we arrived without a scratch in Cusco. Let me paint the picture—very brown and dusty, lots of dogs, crazy drivers, and lots of Spanish flying around.
The team worked in conjunction with Keith and Ruth Powlison (full time missionaries in Peru) building outdoor and indoor playgrounds at the Josephine House orphanage. We used oil based paint, most of which stayed on our hands instead of on the walls. In our extra time, we also worked on projects at their home (dry-walling ceilings and tiling bathrooms---the Powlisons have lived in this home for 12 years and it is still unfinished).
We stayed in a cozy little hotel in the heart of San Jeronimo complete with breakfast every morning (great coffee!) and two of the best staff members I have ever met. Cesar, 15, lived under the staircase of the hotel and was willing to do anything we needed him to do. Miriam, early 20’s, was an excellent cook. We all came to care for these two—a good reminder that mission work is not always cut and dried. Oftentimes it comes up in the most ordinary of places, such as gas stations and hotels, and in forms such as clearing your own dishes or offering a piece of cake to the 15 year old under the stairs. The smiles on their faces would melt your heart. I know that looking back on this trip, Miriam and Cesar will always pop into my mind.
Most of our meals were served alongside the children at the Josephine House or at the Powlisons. Everything was pretty normal (taco salad, pizza subs, black beans and rice), but then came the cuy. Otherwise known as guinea pig. Yes, guinea pig. And yes, I ate it. Lol. Think…dark meat chicken. There was not much meat on it, but there was a claw. Based on the reactions I have gotten from friends and family, I know you are grossed out by now, so I will stop talking about it, haha. Other interesting things to eat came in a Brazilian steakhouse we visited. Again, you had your normal cuts of beef, chicken, and pork. Then came the cow hearts. And the chicken gizzards. Yum. The last weird thing was in a buffet at Machu Picchu—alpaca. I will admit, I felt a little funny eating it, especially after thinking of the soft alpaca blankets I bought, but at least I can say I tried it.
We did get to attend a church service while in Peru. There was some praise music, a message about the 10 lepers, and lots of Spanish. I caught a lot of it, but the thing that stuck out to me the most was the praying. The young man leading the service was very humble and sincere. He kept saying, “Gracias, papa…” thanking his heavenly father for his family, his money, his life and his home. The service was very simple, yet moving. It was a good reminder of the universal nature of worship. We also had group devotions every night discussing the Beatitudes.
Despite the narrow roads and cramped quarters, we also got to visit a mountain school and perform our skit/make balloon animals. We got lost going up, so our trip turned into a 2 hr jeep ride complete with a donkey blocking the road and lots of horn honking (apparently whoever honks first has the right of way and the other person has to back up). Our other big adventure was to Machu Picchu- it was great going up and the actual ruin was amazing. Our tour guide, Sylvia, was hilarious; only a few language differences (wirgins, bysteries, and queers/virgins, mysteries, and squares). BUT, the ride down was a little rough. The train in front of us was “de-railed,” meaning it jumped a little bit off the track, nothing serious. It set us back 4 hours though. We even had to walk through part of the de-railed train and then get off and walk beside the track for a while. We waited for PJ, Andrew, and Melissa (who were a few cars behind us) and met some nice backpackers—one guy from the UK and a girl from Boston. We got back around 2:00 the next morning (Mrs. Beth and Ms. Penny were extremely worried). Cesar and the owner of the hotel had potato soup waiting for us. A few hours later, we boarded our plane to Lima and the group settled into the South American Missions (SAM) House for our last couple of days. I had to leave that night, so we all headed out to downtown Lima and toured around some. We saw the changing of the guard, saw some of the nightlife, and then I said my goodbyes and headed off to meet my family in Boston for our New England vacation.
Needless to say, after 59 total hours of traveling in 3 weeks (21 hrs flying, 38 hrs driving), hitting 4 states, Canada, and Peru, I was glad to make it home.
Continued prayer concerns: The Josephine House is mostly in need of good, reliable staff. Many of the issues that face daycares in the US are also present in Peru. The kids (some of which are handicapped/have Down’s): Moses, Jose, Daniel, Catalina, Veronica, Fabiola, Fabrisio, Zoe… are all wonderful. They are content to just sit in your lap and play with blocks. All they need is love and attention. It is so wonderful that they have a place to stay and good food to eat, but there is always a need for more.
On our last day of work, a new baby was dropped off at the orphanage. She has a severe cleft palate and has to be fed with a medicine dropper (pending surgery). When we left, she was staying at the Powlison’s home because she required so much extra attention. Ruth named her Zoe and we all took turns feeding her. Please pray for wisdom surrounding all the decisions that will need to be made regarding her housing and surgery options.
Also, it is important to keep the Powlison family and another missionary family that we met, Scott and Megan, as they are full time missionaries in this area.
Praises for safe travels and health for our team. It was a wonderful trip and I hope to do more trips like this in the future.
Bullet points from my journal:
- Natalie stuffing the pillowcase in the cold air vent on the van to Atlanta
- Playing Dutch Blitz in the airport with Pastor Roberts and Ms. Penny
- Not flushing toilet paper (the pipes are too small)…and yes, the water spins the other way
- Cramming into the Toyota
- COLD showers
- Blankets so heavy you couldn’t move
- Brushing your teeth with bottled water
- Lots of bread (and coffee)
- Winter Solstice celebration—sacrificing a llama
- Kids are kids, no matter where you go. If you build them a playground…they will still play in the dirt.
- Also, it doesn’t matter what shape the balloon starts out as (a dog, a sword, a hat…usually all three), it eventually becomes a worm.
- Peruvian time—it teaches patience
- Singing Happy Birthday 16 times for Sarah, then 18 times the next day for Andrew (it also teaches patience)
- Tangentines
- Oil paint doesn’t wash off
- The 2 hr drive up to the village. On a one lane dirt road. In a tiny Jeep. With 8 people. We got lost…Scott said he could see Chile, lol
- Singing hymns in the lobby (Amazing Grace, Come thou fount, Turn your eyes)
- Chapstick
- The dead cow on the side of the road and the man with the knife walking a little further down
- Yogurt on French toast
- Zoe- the baby that was dropped off on our last day of work-she is only a few weeks old and has a severe cleft palate
- Machu Picchu and our horror movie checklist
- Domino’s pizza in Lima
- The changing of the guard
- My solo flights from Lima to Miami and then from Miami to Boston
