Well, the bus wasn’t all it was cracked up to be… I found out this morning that Pastor Jose thought that the bottom level of the bus was better than the top level, so he purchased the bottom level for us. He was a little disappointed when I told him that the top seats on the bus fully reclined, but the bottom seats do not. It was a lot better than the bus ride up to Huaraz, but since I had told the team that we would have the fully reclining seats, I think they were disappointed as well. No one complained, as a matter of fact, they responded very well and went to sleep. The only “issue” we had was when the stewardess lady came in and put Jenna’s and Anthony’s seats down. They were reading, and weren’t ready to lay down, but since she put their seats down, they waited until she left and put them up again. I thought it was funny, because there really was no reason why she insisted on laying them down. Maybe she thought they were tired.
We arrived in Lima around 6 in the morning, and were picked
up around 6:30. We went to the hotel and
put our things in our room, showered and got ready for the day. By 8:00 we were at the church eating eggs,
bread, and bacon. The Apon family does a
great job of feeding us in the morning.
We began practicing some songs for the kids, and soon were ready to head
to the center. No one knew what we had
in store for us…
We stopped at Metro to pick up water and Gatorade for the
team, and then headed to the child care center.
We parked and carried our things up the dirty stairs to the small church
building. You would have never thought
that there were 60+ kids inside. But as
soon as we walked through the door, they welcomed us with a “good morning” in a
strong Spanish accent. They swarmed the
team and we couldn’t even get through the door.
Anna (my daughter’s sponsored child) asked if she was here. I had to tell her she was not – she was
disappointed, but not for long. We
walked through the mob of kids to the front of the facility to put all of our
things on the stage. It was difficult to
walk as kids were hugging us and trying to kiss us. Eventually we made it and put our things
down. As I turned to look at the kids at
the table, some of them were finishing up their books. Kid after kid showed the
team members their books – with pride, showing us what they had completed. I was very impressed with some as they had
done a very nice job coloring, but also recording the bible stories on the
lines given.
The team spared no time blending in and playing with the
kids. It was a madhouse! The team really seemed to enjoy the
connections with the kids. It always
amazes me to see the connections that start almost immediately and last
throughout the entire day. Jeremy had
one little boy stay with him all day – he literally had to tear the boy away to
be able to leave. Anyway, we saw some
funny things today – from the great idea to do face paint with our fingers… Kids were painting everyone’s faces. Jeremy looked like one of the “blue man group”
people – completely painted blue all over his head – to kids making bracelets,
necklaces, blowing bubbles, doing pushups, playing soccer… they were a blast to watch.
My little Norma was hilarious as she acted like she had no idea
who I was. She is so incredibly smart
and funny. I love to hear her talk and
to watch her as she plays with others. I
am humbled to be able to sponsor her and watch her grow up. My wife and I are trying to find a way to
help her family, and it seems like we have finally figured it out. We are planning to help her pay her rent by “hiring”
Norma’s mother at the center. They said
they will give her work to do maybe 3 days a week, and we can help her pay her
rent with the money she earns. I hope
this is just the beginning of a long term relationship with them. Norma has
brought us so much joy as we get to sponsor her and see her grow. I was able to hug her and laugh with her and
just encourage her to do well in school. I was also able to give her the
backpack Dee gave me the money for – she really liked that.
The team sang songs – and the kids clapped along. Then Jenna and Kelly shared their
testimonies. They did a great job and
gave a clear presentation of the good news of the gospel. I think it is so much more impacting when the
teenagers share their stories, because the kids can identify with them because
they are about the same age. I pray that
if there are any there who don’t know Christ, that they would come to know him
as a result of the things these girls shared.
After a couple of hours of interaction with the children, we
handed out the certificates and candy for the kids who completed their
books. One by one, the kids left the
center and received their certificate, a candy bar, and took a picture with a
team member. I think the kids really
appreciated the gifts from the kids.
As the kids left, half of our team went on home visits and
the other half stayed and played ball with the kids. We visited some of the poorest people in the
area and they welcomed us into their homes.
We saw a house no larger than most American’s living rooms, but 5 people
lived there. We saw a variety of houses,
met a number of people, and basically walked around the area with kids showing
us their homes. They all seemed to
appreciate our visits. I pray that God would
encourage those we visited.
We returned to the hotel, and boy did we get some funny
looks as we traveled home. Usually,
people look at us a little different because we are “gringos”, but today, many
of our team had paint all over their faces – especially Jeremy. And with him sitting in the front seat of the
one vehicle, he really stuck out. Not to
mention that he seemed to enjoy the attention – making faces at us as our car
pulled alongside his.
We showered and cleaned up for dinner. We walked about 4 blocks to the Italian
restaurant, where we met with the Apons – Jose, Theresa, Lutgarda, Leah and
Carla. We had a wonderful time as we
ate pizza and talked. Jeremy started a
very strange way to drink that many of the team attempted to mimic – if you
want to know more you will need to ask someone on the team. We followed the pizza with a ice cream dessert - the team really liked that.
As the day drew to a close, we took some time for devotions,
played some rage, watched some “futbol” on TV, and unwound from a chaotic
day. Tomorrow is more of the same – with
about 2-3 times the number of kids… here
we go again!!!
Thought for the day: As
I sat down in my seat on the bus, I was wondering why this team ended up on the
bottom level of the bus when just above our heads was a much better situation.
Jeremy and I ended up in the last row, so our seats didn’t recline as far as
everyone else on the team, so we had it just a little “worse” than the
others. Why couldn’t we be
upstairs?
Then it dawned on me – I have a seat in a bus that is taking
me to Lima while I sleep (or at least attempt to). I will be in a hotel in the morning, have a
good hot breakfast ready for me at the church, and really have many of the
comforts of home even as I travel. I am
not walking. I am not pressed in with
dozens of other passengers. I am in a
seat by myself, I have food, drink, and a blanket and pillow.
Why do I so quickly seek my own comfort and forget the
plight of others? Because I am selfish
by nature and seek to make myself happy more than anything first. Lord help me be willing to “suffer” for Him –
and really know when I am actually suffering.
Having a less than perfect seat on a bus is hardly suffering! After a day like today – seeing the house
situations and the lack of “normal” comforts, I pray that I will not forget the
blessings that God gives me, and that I will choose to be thankful for them!
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