Saturday -- the rest of the day

This is not Ron. It's John. Ron's busy right now, so I'm uploading some pictures of the day.
Ron will be by later to add more text to this entry. But in the meantime, here's a brief pictoral outline of the day.

This is our Hostel from the outside.

We have about a 75 minute bus ride from the Hostel to Pachacutec. It takes us through downtown Lima where we see crazy traffic and some interesting sites. It seems like people prefer using their horns more so than their brakes.

We had a fairly emotional welcome when we got to the church. The children came out waving Canadian flags. They gave us red and white balloons and pinned leather momentos on our shirts. There were some children who were there from two years ago. I heard one calling for Allisa. Hopefully she's happy to have found Allisa's sister...

Inside the church was a special display they'd set up to welcome us. Their pastor then spoke some very gracious words to welcome us, and some of the kids did a dance (Sorry no picture, but we captured the dance on video)

This part of the church looks like it needs a roof. I knew we brought Brian along for a reason.

We visited the local medical centre and got a tour. We donated a suitcase full of medical supplies.

A taxi stand.

After lunch we did a walkabout through the area distributing leaflets inviting children to attend VBS.

More to come!

So, I tried to post a message on the site, and was half way through, but lost Internet connection. So, I’m retyping. Ah, these things happen here in Peru.

So, thanks John for taking the time to put some more pictures up on the blog. I hope you all find them helpful in seeing what we are up to. I was doing video interviews with the different groups. They get done each evening to allow all of us to reflect on what happens each day and formulate better our thoughts and reactions to what we are experiencing.

So, I’ll try to fill in some of the blanks from John’s postings. I woke up at about 8:30 am this morning to the VERY hot sun shining through our second story room. At first, I couldn't figure out why I was waking up sweating with my son snoring next to me, rather than waking up next to my wife in my snugly warm bed. Then it hit me…I wasn’t in Ottawa right now, but in Peru.

After a quick refreshing shower, getting rid of all the travel grime, I sauntered down to the first floor and met the group. We all enjoyed a great breakfast in our open air dining area. The food has been very good, and as John has said, our kitchen staff are very nice. They view this not as work, but as a ministry, and it shows.

After breakfast we took a short walk to the park down the street. We came upon a fantastic view of the ocean. We saw people Para Sailing, as well as surfing in the ocean. A wonderful view. We then took a few moments to begin the day in prayer, and I reminded the group that this week was not about them, but about serving each other and those we would be meeting this week.

A quick walk back to the hostel, and on to our big white bus. I think we have the same bus driver as last time. We traveled 1.5 hours to Pachecutec. It takes a bit longer this time. The ride brought back many memories. The constant flow of traffic that moves in a chaotic, yet rhythmic way. The sound of horns galore, of squeaking brakes as people move out of each others way, and the constant calm near misses of people and cars as we travel along the road.

We traveled by the same places, and I was reminded of the constant contrasts. The places of lush green grass being irrigated, and then the dry desert like sand that seems to go endlessly.

We arrived in Pachecutec and were once again greeted with joy, smiles, and Canadian flags by many of the church’s children. It was neat to see that Bethany was able to meet some kids from two years ago, and some girl asked for Alisa. We did make an impact in the hearts of these children two years ago. As usual, the kids, mostly girls at first, flocked all over our girls. Ashlyn was mauled, as was Bethany and Holly. But I did see that Kevin had some kids hugging his arm, and he’s had to be careful about his thumb and hand. He was able to tell the kids what happened to his hand, and he’s learned some new Spanish words in the process. He’s still in good spirits Ken and Sharon, just in case you were wondering. He’s also taking my father role with Christopher for the week, which I thank him for. This allows me to be a leader when needed. It seems to be working out well.

We were greeted by Sergio, the director of the church, and the children danced for us. It was neat to see how some things had changed around Pachecutec, and other things had not. The library was still blue on the outside, and white on the inside. There were books on the shelves that we had not seen before, and the sanctuary has been torn down and is being rebuilt, as you can see from the pictures above. We hope to put more of the roof up, though I’m not sure how. I hope Brian has some ideas. The bathrooms haven’t changed much. In fact, we are going to purchase some toilet top lids so that we can better sit down when we need to. Small things that will prove helpful for us, and for the church.

After our welcome, we went to visit a medical clinic a couple of blocks away. We took the bus, so Marg could come with us too. She’s not able to walk well with her air cast on. We entered a small, hot, yet welcoming centre. The medical doctor told us about the place. They serve 12 000 people from this clinic. It’s open 6 days a week. They deal with minor issues of nutrition, child care, skin diseases, eye issues, and other things. Anything else requires a trip to another emergency clinic, or the hospital which is not close by. The visits are not completely free, though the gov’t does cover 95 % of the bill. This does keep many people away from the clinic because they can’t afford to come.

Carmen, our nurse on the trip, came with a suitcase full of medical supplies to donate. Once the doctor had shared with us some things, I allowed those who wished to move out into the sunlight to do so, and for Carmen and some others to simply linger for a while and talk more to the doctor. They certainly did, and it was neat to see Carmen engage in conversation. I could see the wheels turning for her, and who knows what will come from this meeting.

After the clinic we returned and had some lunch….without the kids who had met us. This did not go unnoticed by the group and we’ll see how this pans itself out.

After lunch we did a bit of a walk about in the neighborhood. We invited kids to come to the VBS in the next week. It was a bit crazy, with people watching us all the time, but you get used to it pretty quick.

While we were gone, Marg stayed behind and talked with one of the ladies of the church. Neither could understand each other linguistically, but Marg said that they made a connection anyway and that was special to her.

After this we said our farewells, and it did take a bit of time, and we were back on the bus back to our Hostel. We relaxed for a bit, and then sat down to a wonderful dinner of chicken and rice with broccoli. Pepe purchased some INCA COLA for the group which met with mixed reviews. Ah, each to his own. I love the stuff personally.

After dinner we sat down to listen to Pepe share a bit about FRONTLINE PERU and why it exists. He spoke with wisdom, and humility and we all appreciated what he had to say.

Then it was time for our video interviews. Each group sits down and I ask them some questions about the day, and what they thought of the things they have seen. I end with the standard, but very good questions of “How did you see God at work today?” I always get mixed reviews on the answers, but it’s always good to hear them. I think the group is beginning to gel a bit more, and people are beginning to settle in. tomorrow will be a busier day. The itinerary has changed 4 times today, so I’ll let you know about it tomorrow evening. Bea is getting excited about the crafts tomorrow, as is Ruth. It will be a chaotic first day, but that’s normal.

I just found out I’m the preacher for tomorrow afternoon’s service, and I’ve been asked to pray over a family that has lost a mom and son in the past several months. The mom died during childbirth, but I don’t know the details about the son at the moment. There is much tragedy in the midst of the lives here in Peru.

Well, that’s about it. I’ll try to get this on the web blog now. Blessings to you all. We are all well. I understand that church has been cancelled for Calvin tomorrow. That happened to us once while we were in Sarnia, so it must not be fun right now in Ontario. Happy digging out. I hope you can get out of the house by the time you need to pick us up Joycegina.