Day 3 - Peru 2014 - Sunday in Pachacutec

Day 3 in Peru. 

The night was short, but I slept ok. 

We awoke for 7 am. 

People were not as awake as our first morning. 

Interesting. 

 We awoke slowly and got ready for our morning meeting/devotional time.  Here are Sarah and Rachel waiting for us to get started. 

 Ben is putting on sun screen.

Good man.  

Even though the sun was not shining yesterday, some people got sunburn.  Today was going to be a sunny and hotter day.  

At  7 am we met for at time to share some blog comments from some of you (thank you for them BTW) and then Pastor Steve led us through a devotional for the day. 

 Our translators enjoying breakfast.  

 Our group cleaning up after breakfast.  We help clean up after each meal.  

 Andrew actually took this t-shirt along. Really!!!!

 hmmmm, it looks like Andrew and Colin are praying together, but I'm not sure...

 Frisbee in the compound.  

Helps pass the time. 

 Braiding hair is another way to pass the time, and keep those with long hair from overheating.  

 Andrew looking puzzled...nothing new apparently.  : ) 

 Lori Anne braided lots of hair this morning.  

 A beautiful flower growing in the compound garden, but I don't know what it's called. Pepe just told me it is Jazmin.  

 Hey Rachel. 

Ready for a long bus ride? 

 I took the small bus again.  I caught Chris in the bigger bus looking at his pictures for the day. 

 Gerry always smiling.  

 Chris got a picture of one of the many planes landing at the airport, which we pass by every day.   

 Lori-Anne using the Jazmin plant to keep some of the smells away from her nose as we drive to Pachacutec.  

 Laura pondering out the window.  

 We arrived at the church in good time today.  It's Sunday, and traffic is not that bad.  Took only 1 hour.  

Once there, we divided into 4 groups. One group did construction work, two groups went to walk around the church to invite people to VBS, and one group went to visit in homes of people.  Here's a picture of Julia (sorry, I spelled your name wrong yesterday) working hard.  She and the others did a great job of moving this dirt to make concrete for the floor in one of the classrooms.  

Here's a group visiting in a home.  

Always a special time of learning and praying together. 

 In one of the homes that were visited, the people owned a turtle. Cool.  

 Back at the church, the painting continued.  

 Annette was having lots of fun.  

 Sandy found some new friends at the home he was visiting.  I think they are looking at his camera.  

 Julia and crew continue moving dirt.  

 Already a pro at taking pictures. 

 Sunday School was going on at the church while we were setting up for VBS.  

 This was written by Nancy:

We're NUT givin'up.  Even in Peru we will pray for Stephanie G and give her hope in her fight against NUT Midline Carcinoma.

Sheila, Nancy and Bea set up for VBS. 

 A great picture of teamwork.  

 Josh and Gerry and Steve had to lift bags of concrete dust weighing 100 lbs up the hill.  Not easy work on a hot day.  

 Hey, as semi selfie Chris.  Your family will be happy to see your smiling face.  

Sheldon painting the fence. 

He did an amazing job.  

 So this dirt now has the concrete dust mixed in and this group had to move the pile over about 5 feet, and then move it back again.  An interesting way to mix it.  

 One of the groups visiting homes.  

 Josh was injured so Pepe tended to him.   

 The concrete pile has now been moved twice and is ready to have water added to it. 

 And here it comes.  

 This was a special moment for Nancy. 

This lady remembered her son, Blake.  

A cool moment for both.  

 As lunch approached it was time to begin practicing for face painting.  Tobie and Trinity practicing on each other.  

 Lucy with her regular crowd of kids surrounding her.  

 The concrete mixing continues.  

 Bea came back from walking around the neighbourhood and started painting.

  

 Others took the time to talk together and share experiences so far.  

 It was a very hot day, and sometimes you just need to take a break to rest from the heat.  

 The end result of face painting.  Not bad.  

 Mikayla with her face painted. 

 Sheldon....what a heart he has.  

 Fernando came today to visit.  

Colin and he have formed a great friendship over the years.  

 Bea and Michelle relaxing together.  

 Gerry worked VERY hard today.  The hardest in a long time he just told me.  He was sweaty, dirty, but satisfied with his efforts today.  

 Pastor Sergio and Pepe going over things today.  

 The kids began to arrive after lunch and we went down to the road to meet them.  Some of our group went and played with them, or just got reacquainted like Lucy is doing.  

 Colin, nice throw.  

 Some of our ladies met with ladies from the church for some Bible study and knitting time.  

Cheryl was a great teacher.  

We brought some soccer balls with us.  

Peruvians love their soccer, no matter the age. 

Sounds similar to we Canadians with that other sport. : )

 Bea getting to know a lady from Gamaliel church. 

 It seems that Pastor Steve worked a wee bit too hard on the concrete crew.  Time to recover.  

 Dianne meeting her old friends again.  

 He shoots........Did he score Andrew??

 This parachute was a hit with the kids. 

 Where did everyone go?  

 Everyone wanted to pose for the camera.  

 Samantha, what are you teaching these Peruvian young people?  

 I remember the last time Bea came, a picture similar to this was taken.  : ) 

 Silke hard at work with face painting.  That was also an option before VBS began.  

 At 3 pm we began VBS with singing.  A mixture of translators and ourselves went up and did the actions to several songs.  Always a hoot to watch. 

 Some of the actions were a bit crazy, but everyone took it in stride. 

 Lots of group participation.  

 After songs, it was time for drama.  Josh seems enthralled.  

 The drama today was about the prodical son.  Here we see the father and wayward son being reunited.  Martin and Robert did and awesome job, as did the others. 

 After the drama, some time was taken to explain the point of the lesson, and then it was time for a game.  You can see some blobs sticking to the poster.  Hard to describe. You had to be there. 

 Hey there buddy.

 Julia taking care of a baby while mom is involved in VBS.  Where is your hat Julia....?????  

 Lucy enjoying time with a precious child. 

 Sarah has made a new friend today.  

 Our craft today was decorating a flower pot and then filling it with dirt and a seed.  Hopefully it will soon grow into a nice flower.  

 Some of us are having a hard time with our feet.  

Wet shoes and heat don't bode well.....gross...Chris, I'm going to have to talk to you about your picture selections : ) 

 After VBS was over, we had church.  Not your traditional church, however.  We set up tables and chairs because we were going to get to know the people of Gamaliel church and share a meal together too.  Here is Anika saying hello...you should also know that Anika and Cindy were not with us today.  They spent the day visiting a child they sponsor here in Peru. A special day for them.  

 Here we are in the church getting acquainted before church begins.  

 We had rousing worship together.  

This is the computer donated two years ago, and the new projector being used as well. 

 Andrew getting into the songs.  

 Pastor Steve preached a great sermon today.  

 It started to rain while church was going on.  

Not just a light rain, but pretty heavy.  

This has not happened before on one of our trips. 

 After church it was time to share our pictures with the congregation and who we were, and then have food.  

We needed volunteers to serve the food, so Steve K volunteered.  

 Tonight's meal was chicken, fries, and Inca Cola. 

Delicious.  

 Sharing our meal together.  

The food was very good. 

 I didn't take this picture Martin, just so you know.  : ) 

 After spending some great time sharing our lives together, it was time to go.  Chris got this picture of Pachacutec at night.  Looks very pretty. 

We end the picture portion of our day with a wonderful picture of two of Gamaliel's congregational members.   It's symbolic of what we are trying to do here while in Peru.  We aren't about trying to build things, though that is admirable.  We are not about trying to fix problems and issues here, because that is not going to happen in just one week, or 5 visits over 8 years. 

We ARE about building relationships with people here and growing together and blessing each other. 

We had a fairly fast trip home as well, and when we arrived we did our video blogs with our groups.  This time we hope that Gerry actually presses the record button on the video camera to actually record the sessions.  That's something that didn't happen last night....communication is such a hard thing to do at times, but I love you anyway Gerry.  

So ends day 3 for us. 

A great day for all, yet challenging for some.  

People are learning, growing, and that's also what this Learning Opportunity is about. 

We thank you for your comments (I've noticed lots of Cornwall it'es commenting....we need to step it up Calvin ites : ) )   and your prayers as well.  

See you tomorrow........