Arrival and Day 1

After 2 long days of travel we made it. After preliminary gear checks it looks like the computer we brought for Avis is going to be fine. I haven’t booted it up yet but everything is in one piece, so that’s a good sign. I was planning on sneaking into the orphanage and surprising the kids, but I got tackled by Gerson, Yhonson and Joel as soon as I stepped off the bus. I was the one who was surprised. After we unpacked our bags we shared a meal with Avis, Ashley, and Tony and Marianna who are a couple from Canada that are planning on building a house down here. I also received another surprise when Avis showed me the living quarters that Orelio and Carlos finished over the last couple months. I am sleeping in a one bedroom place that is mine to stay in when I come back in May.

Day 1- First thing first, I had to take the Rojas kids to get a haircuts. I had talked to them on Skype about a month ago and noticed that their hair was really long, and then they told me that my hair was too long. So I said, "well, I'll cut it when I get to Peru" so they decided to wait until I got here to cut their hair as well. So four weeks later we all had the longest hair we've ever had. After the hair cut we went and got lunch. After that my mom went with some of the ladies from the church to hand out bags full of necessities to the new group of poor people who migrated here. The people already in the town called it an "invasion". Basically a big group of people all moved to Pacasmayo at the same time with no possessions. While my mother was doing this I walked around the town and bought some supplies. Meanwhile dad was already doing what he does best, building a fence. He and Orelio had to build a temporary fence to legally divide the property. The boys and I helped, and they felt really macho learning how to drive nails and cut boards with a handsaw.

Ok, sorry there's no pictures, I've been trying for awhile to post them but for some reason the internet isn't agreeing with them right now. I'll try to get some up soon.

Merry Christmas

Thanks for all the donations. Here are photos of some of the 39 kids receiving their gifts. Yes, 39 now. There are 10 new ones from when I was there over the past summer, and 3 have been adopted out. The older ones received cards which informed them that they got to go to 10 days of summer camp, which starts January 22nd. They were all very excited when they found out (the house moms were too, haha). The younger kids each received their own gift as well.

Welcome back, and Praise God

I wanted make a new post considering I promoted my blog this past Sunday at Gateway.

As we walked into church this past Sunday we were giving a card to write a praise on. On that card I wrote "Praise God for the awesome community of believers at Gateway." You see, when I'm away at college I go to another church, and there's just something missing there. It is a great church, the pastors are excellent and well versed. The messages are clear and precise and easy to relate to my daily life. The people who greet you at the door are friendly. But, there's something missing. It is something that might be hard to notice until you have gone without it. What I'm talking about is community. The result of all of us coming together and uniting under the one true God. We are there to support each other in good times and in bad times, and I know there have been both in the past few weeks.

So what I'm trying to get at is this. You guys are all awesome. I stood up in front of you all this past Sunday, certainly not giving the best public speech of my life. Mumbling over some of my words and forgetting about half of what I wanted to say. I stood up there asking you to give to an organization that you only know through me. None of you have even been there and made personal connections. But yet, you gave. You gave A LOT. Much more than I expected (sorry I underestimated).

I just want to say THANK YOU. I look forward to sharing stories and pictures about all the stuff that you guys will have provided. Check back here to see updates of our actual trip from December 28th to January 17th.

Goodbye...for now.

So I figured I'd make a closing blog just to finish it up if anyone is still reading. As you know I've been back in town for almost a week now, still adjusting back to this way of life. I'm not exactly sure how long it's suppose to take before I feel like I'm back at home. The summer was an unforgettable one. I have learned so much about faith, and the relationship with Christ. About how to depend on Him to see you through hard times, how to be peaceful in the midst of the storms of life. I've learned where faith can take you, the highest highs and the lowest lows. I've watched God's plan unfold infront of me and be awed and humbled by the intricacies of the inner workings.

I just want to thank everyone again for keeping up with me and reading my blog and supporting me with comments, mail, packages etc... thank you all so much.

Here is a video that I made for the kids and sent it on a dvd in the mail. It's in spanish, and theres not a lot of pictures of the city because they know what the city looks like. I'll make another one that I will probably show in church when I get the chance. Goodbye...For now.