In Deepest Darkest Peru
Recently…
I and the rest of the team visited the Amazon Rainforest, a small part of it anyway!
We were there for a few days, some of the most humid days I’ve ever experienced!. Whilst there, we worked with a local church plant by putting on some kids and youth groups. We did arts and crafts with the kids, music and testimonies with the youth and games with both.
It was vastly different from the more western Cuzco and it was a great eye opener to a different side of Peru. An example: the church floor was massively swollen and there were holes everywhere, so the balls we used for games kept disappearing!
We also got to trek into the jungle for a day. We saw a few things, but I think more animals saw us. I even swam in a piranha-infested lake (the safe part)!
Llamas, Graveyards and Church
So, let me fill you in on what’s been happening these past couple of weeks.
First-off, we went with our new church to the Sacred Valley, one of the most beautiful places on the planet, in my opinion. It was their first weekend away as a church and each morning we woke up to lush green mountains rising up on either side of us. Our main priority was to look after the kids whilst the adults attended sessions to help them in thier relationships with Jesus. We also had some free time, most which was spent playing volleyball, and these games turned out to be a good way of practicing the Spanish I’ve been learning. It was also incredibly hot!
After Halloween, there is a thing called the Day of the Dead. This is when people believe that they can talk to their dead loved ones. So, on the second of November, graveyards around Cusco are filled to bursting with friends and relatives bring food and drink for their deceased. We went along to one graveyard, where bodies are placed in walls instead of the ground, to wittness this part of Peruvian culture.
Also, the church has finally moved into a new building, which suits it’s needs a lot better than the old one. For the past few days, we’ve been publicing the church to the local residents, making ourselves known and trying to get to know the people that live near-by. We’re hoping God will use the church to bring the communtiy together.
Lastly, we’ve come to the end of out orientation, and soon, we’ll be getting involved in leading some of the projects that we’ve, so far, only observed.
Endings Lead Into Beginings
So, training is over.
However, before that, I must fill you in on the last week or so of training.
So, we went back to Castle Hill Baptist church in Warwick from Friday-Monday. It was so intense! Painting solidly from 9am-3pm then working on our plan for the church service the next day and going round people’s houses and eating their foods. So, we didn’t end up getting back to our hosts until 11pm! The next day was filled with 3 church services! Firstly, the morning services at Castle Hill, which the team and I led (it seemed to go down really well!), then more socializing with church members, followed by the evening services at Castle Hill, before getting rushed off to a youth services in near-by Leamington! Monday morning, we were at the church’s pre-school, which was a lot of fun!
So, as I was saying, training is over! officially, I’m just about to get started on one of the biggest adventures of my life to date, yet already it feels like I’ve conquered mountains. All the while we were training, going to Peru seemed like a distant dream, now it suddenly seems a lot closer. For the past four weeks, I have shared the highs and lows with 14 other people who will all be going to various countries and doing similar stuff to what I’m going to be doing in Peru, and it feels weird to be starting this new chapter without them.
Yet, this is the dawn of something amazing and I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s going to happen to myself and those around me for the glory of God!
I’m back home for now and it’s also great to have some down time with the fam! 😀
The Game We Play 