Catch up time!

Well, it has been forever since I blogged, so for all of you that are reading this, I am sorry. After we started working with three others schools in addition to the school in the community, time became something we didn't really have alot of. I really have not done a good job of keeping up with life outside of here, so catching up will take a while.

Anyways, I just got back from a 2 week walking trip with the high school seniors of the school in the community. It was so much fun. We went to from Lima to Arequipa in bus and then we had a combination of walking and buses for about a week until we arrived in Pisac, and from there we stayed in a hotel and could travel to Cusco in about one hour.

In the process of walking, we came across many kids and people that lived in the towns. We took toys with us to give to the people we came across in the towns. I took about 1500 bracelets that explain the gospel on them through symbols.

Possibly one of the most fantastic experiences I had while on this trip was to see some of my students in action. I was explaining the meaning of the symbols on the bracelet to a man in the square, and one of my students came up to him while I was explaining it and asked him if he understood what I was saying. He spoke Quetcha, which is the indigenous langange, and so he could not understand what I was saying. So, my student started translating into Quetchua what I was saying in Spanish so that the man could understand the gospel. Many of the kids are too afraid to speak Quechua in front of us because they have either forgotten it or just feel awkward doing it, but this kid had no shame. It was amazing.

Another really cool thing that happened while we were on this trip happened while we were in Tuti (a small town between Arequipa and Cusco). We arrived in Tuti about mid-afternoon, and everyone was so exhausted. We were able to find a hotel that offered showers, so we went and took a shower (they charge...cost us about 60 cents) Anyways, we were able to rest some and eat an early dinner, and then it started to rain. I had gone out to try to find something for one of the other ladies on the trip, and just as I was walking across the square to go back to where we were staying, a little girl runs upto me and asks me to "dar vueltas" which take their arms and spin them around really fast until they are flying. There was only one problem, she was really tall for her age, almost as tall as me, so it would have been almost impossible to "dar vueltas." So, instead, I asked her and the other kids that were there if they wanted some bracelects and of course they said yes. So, not only did I get to share the bracelets with them, but they brought their friends and started explaining it to their friends. Then I taught them "My God is so Big" (in Spanish of course) and they loved that. I have had some curious adults looking over to see why this group of kids was gathered in the rain singing =). Thank you God, for opportunities like this to share your name.

We also got to stop in another town called Sibayo. Here, we got to go to a hot water springs swimming pool (or at least that's what I was told it was...hahaha). Anyways, I love swimming and being in the water, so that was alot of fun to get to hang out with the kids and just relax.

We finally made it to Pisac, which is where we spent a majority of the second week. Pisac is really close to Cusco, so we were able to stay in a hotel (a really sweet one) and then take a bus to Cusco for under a dollar when we wanted to go hang out there. Pisac is really amazing (as is Cusco) and we all had a really great time there.

 

To make a long story short, after 23 hrs. on a bus, we made it back to Lima and are safe and sound. It was a wonderful trip and I have many more stories. Well, that is all I have time to write for right now, but I will write more later.  So much much more to tell that has happened in the last three months. Much love. Nancy