I honestly don't even know where to start. Going on this mission trip was honestly one if not THE best experience of my life. Leaving my comfort zone and going out to a world in need really opened my eyes to what is beyond my life. I realized so much about not only Peru and the people, but myself. With going there, the realization came to mind that I don't NEED anything but Jesus. Visiting small villages where the people barely had anything were so happy. They get by from the land and don't need high tech gadgets or a nice house to be happy. In the orphanage, all the orphans were so happy. I know Jesus loves each and every one of them.
The song that comes to mind whenever I am thinking about them is Kings & Queens by Audio Adrenaline. This song shows how God sees his little children as kings and queens, and that we are to love the least of these, just as Jesus did and continues to do. (By the way, one of the girls took this picture of her little toes! Artsy, wouldn't you say?)
The first mission we went on was to a small village a couple hours away from Tarapoto. It is up in the jungle and is pretty underdeveloped. There were dirt roads, the houses were small shacks, and not all the houses had running water. My friend's parents, who were on the trip as well became friends with a pastor in this village. They previously did work in the village for the church. They planned with Lupita (our translator's mom) to hold a medical clinic in this village called Santa Cruz. Lupita used to be a nurse, so she was able to get a hold of de-worming medication as well as other medications the people in the village may have needed. Not only did we give them medications specific to their certain health conditions, we also gave them Spanish Bibles!
The people there were so friendly and hospitable. One instance Kassie and I were in the pastor's house. While we were in there waiting, the pastor's wife asked if we wanted coconut water (Somehow, even not knowing Spanish I was able to understand). We of course said yes, and she went into her backyard and chopped off two coconuts, wacked them, with a machete, and put a straw in the top for coconut water! Another instance later in the day, a boy asked his mother if we could come over and have coconut (again, the language barrier didn't help us much). Clara and I went in the house, her husband cut off two coconuts and wacked the top off and gave us more to drink! It was so cool how nonchalant they did that! It was great to have to replenish our lost electrolytes from how hot and sweaty we were!
All of us took a break from the clinic and the pastor took us around to other small villages in the area. We didn't have our translator with us so it was fun trying to communicate with our driver and the villagers we ran into. Without being able to fully communicate, we were able to get a real game of volleyball going: USA vs. Peru! We lost...
A few of us spent most of the evening with the children. We played different games like volleyball and el gato en media (their version of monkey in the middle). They were actually really good! They were so happy and full of energy. I enjoyed spending time with them, and they helped me realize the importance of laughter and happiness. We don't need things things things, but love.
They also had a church service for us while we were there! It was neat to experience that! Even though we were there on a Monday, they wanted to do that for us. Kassie's dad also preached and Bibi (our translator) translated it for the Peruvians.
The rest of the week was spent in Tarapoto, where the orphanage was. Before I talk about all the kids, I wanted to touch upon some of the things we helped out the orphanage with, from our time and the money we fund raised. First off, we painted the outside of the building they use for school. It has been a while and needed to be re done. It took us about a day and a half. We also, bought concrete which was needed to enclose the orphanage completely, for the children's safety. We helped fund some children to go to school outside of the orphanage. They do school inside the orphanage, but these kids needed more of a challenge so they went externally. A truck used by the orphanage for many different tasks needed repairs, so we helped with that, along with school tools like white boards. Each house family in the orphanage has a small tv, but one broke. We decided to purchase one for that family, and also a radio for the kitchen staff to listen to music while they cooked for the kids every day.
- Also, I wanted to mention what I mean by house family. The orphans are groups of kids of different ages and placed in 'families.' They live together in one house and this set up makes it seem more of a family with brothers, sisters, and a mother. The house mom takes care of the kids and they see her as their mom. This orphanage is set up with 4 families with around 6 kids per home.
Finally, we wanted to have a birthday party. We didn't know how often they celebrate birthdays, so we decided to host a birthday party for all of them! We were able to get decorations, cakes and ice cream, pinatas, and goodie bags for all the children! They had such a blast, from wacking open the pinata, to blowing out the trick candles many times, and dancing the afternoon away! There were smiles the whole time and we all enjoyed ourselves very much. That was our last day we spent with them, and it was a memorable time to say the least.
What the principle of the orphanage wanted us to do above all else was to love on the kids. We spent a lot of our time there just playing and having fun with them. They loved just being with us. I grew close with a lot of the kids and one of the house moms. We spent a lot of the time taking pictures. They absolutely LOVED doing that as well as videos. Once of the houses had a English/Spanish picture dictionary which was very helpful for not only them but me as well!It was fun with all of us trying to pronounce in Spanish or them trying to pronounce words in English. The girls loved braiding our hair, and they were really good at it too!
Some other fun things we did with the kids was make pizza for them! They barely ever have pizza, so it was a nice treat for them! We also took them to the movies! They all seemed to really enjoy that! It was fun for us Americans as well, watching a movie in Spanish. I was able to pick up on some of the jokes even though they were in Spanish!
Yorka!
With only being there a short time and even with the language barrier, I felt such a connection with the kids and loved them even though I just met them. Their personalities are just so different from each other, and they have such joy in their lives. Even though we were there to help them, I felt like they helped me to appreciate my life and to love God's little children as He does!
Our last day we spent in the rainforest! We hiked to see a beautiful waterfall, and we also went to a 'zoo.' We hiked through the forest and came to a zoo with some enclosed animals, like a leopard, bear, monkeys, panthers, and more! The beauty of the forest was almost too much for me to take in! I loved it so much!
I could go on and on about my trip and everything I experienced, but I have to end it somewhere. God did marvelous things while we were in Peru, and I want to give him all the glory for what is happening there and all over the world!
A BIG thank you goes out to those that supported us in our finances for our trip, and also for those that prayed! God heard your prayers! Thank you!
May God Bless You Always!
"Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!"
his marvelous works among all the peoples!"
-Psalm 96:3
