Thursday Evening 10:22 PM - waiting for Peru...

It is Thursday evening, and I am sitting here at "the Summit", Ridgedale Baptist Church's youth facility. The team, all except Zach and Dave, are here. Tony is heading to bed, and Gina says she is going to do the same. The teenagers are running around the facility with much excitement for the things ahead. So here I sit writing down some thoughts in preparation for the trip...

First of all, here is our schedule in a nutshell.

Friday - fly to Fort Lauderdale and then on to Peru.
Saturday - wake up early and take a 8 hour bus ride to Huaraz. We will arrive in Huaraz in the late afternoon, so we might go downtown.
Sunday - after breakfast we leave for the Andes Mountains - led by Ade, our guide.
Monday - wake up and trek again...
Tuesday - wake up, pack up, and get ready to go back to Huaraz.
Wednesday - work at the child care center
Thursday - take the 8 hour bus ride back to Lima.
Friday - work at 2 child care centers
Saturday - visit Lima
Sunday - Church in AM - head home in the evening.
Monday - arrive home safe and sound - thanks to the prayers of others.


This group is going to be a great group. There are 9 teenagers and 4 adults. The 9 teenagers (apart from the 2 brothers) all attend different schools. Christian school, private school, and public schools are all represented. I don't think any are home schooled. Anyway, they treat each other as friends that are just getting to know each other. This could make the trip an excellent experience for them as they mold together and bring the excitement of the trip back home. However, it can also be a problem since what they do know about each other is based on premise, not on fact, so as they get to know each other better, they may not like what they see. So I guess this is an area for prayer. That God would bring unity and harmony to the team, and that He would merge them together for the common purpose of glorifying Him in Peru, and ultimately back at home.

Well, they are all playing hide and seek - making an amazing amount of noise for Tony to sleep in. We will see how long this lasts. I doubt I will be getting any sleep.

Hope to write more tomorrow. Thank God for the prayers of the faithful that make these trips effective and efficient for the work of God. By the way, I have never flown SPIRIT airlines, so that is a concern for Friday. We will see what God has in store for us.