The last 2 days of the trip were a blur! We started the morning on Saturday discussing the 3rd chapter of Romans, and what a depressing reality to recognize ourselves completely guilty before God, but what a wonderful realization that God gave us His righteousness through His Son, Jesus. We are no longer limited to the best we can do, but Christ who has done it all stands in our place as the payment for our sin. What an incredible reality.
As we finished, Pastor Jose was ready to go to breakfast, so we did. Pork sandwiches for breakfast, He loves this place. Most of us had strawberry drinks and pork sandwiches – it was good.
Then we headed down to the market. Two full hours of shopping - you know I was having a good time. I love to shop – yeah, right. Anyway, it is fun to watch the team explore and look for “treasures” that they can take home to family and friends. The kids were spending their wads and I met a lady named Malagro (Miracle). She worked at her family store and she tried to sell me all kinds of stuff. I did buy some tea and some altitude sickness candy (that I subsequently left in Lutgarda’s car). I told her I would be back, hopefully we can continue our conversation in December – I don’t believe she is a Christian, but I pray that she would come to know Christ.
After the market we went to the beach – the kids were looking forward to swimming – most had never been in the Pacific before. We went to the area where the rocks were, but the undertow was too strong, so we took pictures and the kids picked up rocks. We walked down the beach until we found sand, and the kids went out to swim. Pastor Jose and I sat and watched them as they swam in their shorts and t-shirts while the rest of the beach was dressed a little more appropriately for swimming (ie bathing suits – though some of them might have been a little inappropriate as well). The students were hilarious – playing, laughing, dunking each other… they were fun to watch. Eventually I called them together for a group shot, and we were going to try a “jump shot” where they all jump together. Levi, the lightest weight girl in the group, jumped and was tripped just as a wave was heading back to sea. Instantly she was swept away as the rest of the team just stood and watched. I was laughing, but I had the presence of mind to record it all with the camera. The pictures are hilarious!! She was not injured, and she eventually washed back into shore J. Seriously it was funny.
The last thing we did in Peru before going to the airport was to go to the waterpark. What a cool show they put on there. The students played in the water, we ate a snack dinner, rode the train (even Jose and Teresa) and then we watched the laser light show in the water. They really seemed to enjoy it. What a great way to end the trip.
On our way to the airport, we stopped off at the hotel to get our stuff. Lutgarda gave us all gifts to take back home to remind us of Peru (as if we needed anything more to help us), and then we stopped at Wong (a store) for coffee for the team. Eventually we arrived at the airport – 10:45 – about 1 hour and 45 minutes after I wanted to. We rushed through the airport, and made our plane (after stopping at McDonalds for dinner). Not a whole lot of time left when we got to the gate, but by 12:45 we were on our way home.
Our arrival in Miami was uneventful, and we had 2 ½ hours until our next flight left. Plenty of time right?? Not exactly. First of all, Noah must have said something to the guard to make him think that he needed to be checked, and the rest of the team followed him so we had to go through a “special” screening process in customs. When we got out of there, 6 of our team did not have boarding passes, so we had to go to check in to get those. Then, when we entered security, they were backed up so they sent us to another gate. By the time we got to security it was 9:00 – 30 minutes to boarding. The girl in front of us was going to Raleigh, NC and she had a boarding time of 9:30 also. There was no way we were going to make it. The TSA lady eventually allowed our group of 11 (yeah, we added the other girl to our group to help her make it on time too) to go through the smallest line and eventually we ended up at the gate – 10 minutes before they closed the doors.
Here is where it really gets interesting. One of our team members did not have a seat and since we were late, they were already offering $300 in travel certificates for someone to back out of this trip. Interestingly enough, I offered to allow them to give me the $300 if they would put me on a direct flight to Atlanta. They did, Andy took my seat (which was an exit row seat – perfect for his long legs), and I was on my way to Atlanta. I ended up getting to Chattanooga 2 ½ hours earlier than I had expected, with $300 of vouchers in my possession!! God is good.
The story doesn’t end there, but this trip does. I pray that God uses the time we spend in Peru to continue developing this group of young people to know Him more each day. Thanks be to God for His amazing love.
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