Mission Peru

written by Utah Broughton

Today, June 29, 2019, we started out the day with a select group of us going to play floor ball with many kids native to Peru at Elim, near the local dump. The Elim Ministry just recently started to form a “team” to play with any local kids that want to come and play. We played for a couple hours and throughout that time I met all of the kids there. I not only tried to know all of their names, but I tried to talk to them even with the language barrier. All of the kids were incredibly good at floor ball compared to us even though they were still really young! Today, I was pushed a little out of my comfort zone going to Elim. I knew only 2 others from my church, so I had to meet and get to know the other students attending and meet all of the kids there to play. The thing that surprised me the most was that many of the kids seemed so grateful for everything they had and they did not show any envy towards what we had. Saying bye to the kids was saddening as we all had already made some bonds with them even though we only knew them for a couple hours. We left Elim with new knowledge on some of the kids of Peru and a new experience.

We arrived back at the compound shortly before lunch and just had some time to relax and talk with the other students and leaders at the compound. The lunch that was provided to us was wonderful! I am so grateful for the amazing cooks that are here at the compound that are preparing the food for us! After lunch, two out of the four church groups here went out to Elim and did a program with some of the kids and the other two stayed behind and went to the Inka Thakhi Ministry and did a lot of construction work. This included shoveling, leveling ground, moving many pounds of bricks, and moving many full wheelbarrows. The Inka Takhi Ministry is the closest ministry to the compound being a hop, skip, and a jump, out the front gate. The ministry works with many young kids who come beginning or after school to do activities. Some of the students at Inka Takhi played soccer with some kids that showed up. While this transpired, I worked my butt off. I was so exhausted; however, I work until the job I am doing is complete. Today, God showed me that I was capable to wield a pickaxe and to perform pickaxe like duties. Overall, I had a fantastic time working and playing with the kids throughout the day.

For the rest of my time in Peru, I am really excited to experience more of the Peruvian culture and how it differs from my own.