Tuesday, April 27th

What a long day. I can’t even believe I’m still awake to write this and its only 10 pm local time. It was an early start with everyone having to be downstairs for breakfast at 7:30 am. I took my wonderful hot shower (thank God for abnormal accommodations), finished up a blog to send out, and had pancakes prepared by our breakfast chef, David Hodges. Then it was on the road for a 2 hour and 15 minute ride to Chincha.

Chincha is a poor region that was devastated by the Peruvian earthquake of 2007. We arrived at a fenced in complex, a feeding program funded by Compassion feeds about 250 kids a day. In Peru, there is morning school, generally for elementary grades, and afternoon school for the junior and senior high. That gave us two groups of loving children to share our message and present everything we had planned. We flawlessly went through our first routine with Emily teaching on their worth in God’s eyes (Deuteronomy 7:6.)

After eating lunch and enjoying a 12 pound watermelon we picked up at a stand on the way, I finally got my first opportunity to play soccer in Peru. Normally “futbol” is not one of my favorite sports, but having played while growing up, this is something that was definitely on my Peruvian to-do list. Marco and I each made our own teams and enjoyed running around in the heat for about an hour. The outcome didn’t matter, but we were definitely able to break the ice with the boys and open a door to communicate with them.

We repeated our lesson plan for the next group, although it was about 3 or 4 times the size of the first. Leaving was probably the worst part, with the children crowding our van as we tried to navigate out of the facility. After stopping at a local restaurant for cold water, our next destination was 10 minutes away at a local church that is still in the construction phase.

We tiredly performed a new series and ended with face-painting to a group of about 25 kids. Many of them took taxis to be there and this was once again an event put together just for us to be there. What an honor.

I’m not sitting on a couch outside my bedroom, more than ready to crash in the bed I just had to reassemble. (I promise I haven’t been overeating aside from Sunday.) Its been a long but rewarding day and I’m quickly being taught on how to run on Holy Spirit fuel. The reason we are here is because of God, and the only reason we will continue to be here is because of Him. Continue to pray for opportunities for us to minister on a more personal level to the people of Peru and as always, your support is much appreciated.

Goodnight, Dylon