Mission Peru

Hey everyone! I’m sitting in the breakfast hall waiting for devos to start on this early Tuesday morning, and I think its safe to say that everyone is dead tired. Yesterday was a full day of construction and, although I am super tired and ready to hit the hay at any moment now, I’m feeling the presence of God throughout this whole trip.

Yesterday was a moving and inspirational day. When I was helping the team I work with widen the driveway out front, one of the interns decided to take a walk outside. The expression on her face-her smile a mile wide and the tears welling up in her eyes-made it clear that she was thrilled with the work we’ve done so far.

To me, I didn’t really understand why we were leveling and widening the driveway until she put it in perspective. She mentioned that this would be such a blessing for the children when the orphanage is done and finished, that they would appreciate the work we’ve done immensely.

As I listen to the whole team sing worship music and watch one of the guys say his goodbyes, it hit me that there’s a goodbye in this story. We’ve grown so comfortable and get so caught up with this lifestyle, culture, place and these people that we, at least for me, forget that we have to say goodbye to this lifestyle, culture, place and these people.

Even within the short time that we’ve been here, we’ve built relationships with the Canada team, the Incalink team, and the team of interns that will, hopefully, last a lifetime. The experiences that have happened so far-working on construction, visiting the dump and getting to know everyone-will impact myself and the team for the rest of our lives. 

Going into this trip, I didn’t think I would grow so attached to this lifestyle, culture, place and these people. But, alas, I have. I fell in love with this place the moment we walked on the property.  Seeing what God has done through this team of beautiful people has been such an inspiration and motivation to get through the rest of the week with little complaining and making the most of the time that we have left here.

I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the team during the rest of the week, and I can’t wait to get started and see the work that we will accomplish and the relationships we will build while we’re here. 

As we all get ready to face a long morning of construction and then visiting the children’s centre in the afternoon, I must end this story with a goodbye. Please keep this wonderful team in your prayers as we near the end of the week; that we would have the energy to push through, the patience to deal with someone or something that may be getting on our nerves, and that we would encourage each other with words of grace. 

Goodbye for now!