Peru mission trip!!!!

Hey 'all! :) It's been over 2 weeks since I've been home from Peru and I have a feeling this will be a long post haha So buckle your seatbelts and prepare your minds for what's to come. :P

It's always been my dream to fly on a mission trip somewhere. My church made my dream possible! If you've read my testimony, you know we switched churches back to my childhood church. During the Christmas Eve service my pastor was talking about a trip to Peru for the summer and right then I told my mom "I want to do this." and she told me to go talk to our pastor, so I did, and it was set! We had to raise a lot of money for the trip. I've had plenty of time to prepare my heart for this journey, but it still shocked me with what I've seen down in South America.

My church partnered with a few other churches in the state. We met at a meeting before, but during the trip, we grew so much closer. It was a blast getting to know everyone!

On the morning of July 22nd, I woke up at 4:30am and arrived at church at 5:15 to make sure suitcases were all ready and the right weight limit. We left around 5:30am to drive to Dulles Maryland. From there we met the rest of the group and flew to Houston Texas! Airports are so crazy! It was also my first time flying. I loved seeing the world get smaller as we gained altitude! Houston is so flat! I'm so used to the mountains of PA.
We finally arrived at the Peru airport and went through customs. At the airport, people were holding signs for other to find them easier... just like we see in movies. We all piled into a bus to drive to Little Lambs. Didn't get to bed until 1:30am (2:30 PA time).

7/23 (Tuesday)
We all woke up between 7 and 7:30 and showered. The showers were different than you'd normally see. We had to turn the water on, then flip the switch for the electricity to come on. I accidentally reached back and touched the handle and it shocked me. Then we had to turn the electricity switch off, then turn the water off afterwards. You get used to it after awhile. :)
We met everyone in the dining area for breakfast. They set up trays of really awesome breads for us! We also had eggs a lot. We prayed and talked together, then went out to face what the day had for us. We met some of the Peruvian people (amazingly awesome people!) and played with the children. We played a freeze tag type game called "cemente y agua" meaning "cement and water" where cemete freezed people and ague unfroze them. It was pretty fun!
One of the members of our team, Dee, got picked on all the time by everyone. It was pretty funny :)
Everyone is so loving. People run up randomly to hug you and kiss you on the cheek. I loved it so much! Definitely can't help feeling loved there!
Lunch time came around and we ate rice, sweet potatoes, chicken, and vegetables. Everything was amazing. Rice pudding was our dessert. Afterwards, we ran around with the kids some more, then walked to the area where we would be building one of the 2 homes. Our team was split into 2 groups: 1 group per house. We had to clear away an area. The pastor from the other church, Tim, is hilarious! He made a tail of leaves and used a machete to know trees down and pull them on top of himself. "All things are possible with God and machetes!" hahaha! There were also dogs and ducks and chickens walking around everyone. We picked up the chickens lol. One of the ducks barked.... so Tim imitated it and barked and did the duck's movements all week long. We all cracked up every time! Soooo we called it Tim's duck! :) The house had 2 rooms where we were at... the biggest was where the chickens and ducks were held. The small was the bedroom I was told. We saw a hole in the ground outside that is used to bathe in.... Imagine that.... I can't.... Makes you think how much we truly take things for granted here. All so eye-opening!
We learned and practiced in the church the songs and dances we performed for the Bible school! So catchy! We breathed in so much dirt haha.
We drew on the sidewalks with chalk with the kids. Saw lots of Jesus writings and church drawings. :) We also watched the Peru youth practicing their dance. So much talent!! I got asked to dance, but I didn't know it. lol. People remember your name very well down in Peru too. They care so much! <3
It was hard at first to remember to not put toilet paper in the toiled... they don't have the same plumbing as we do. Like the showers though, you get used to it. At home, we literally had to think about what we were doing! xD haha.
I also got told I smile and laugh a lot. :P hehe How could I not when I'm with those people? <3 In only 24 hours, our lives were changing from the amazing experience.
In Peru, you can't make the "ok" sign with your hands because that is the same meaning as if someone stuck up their middle finger to you.
It was so cold there! We were all bundled up in hoodies, multiple pairs of socks, and our alpaca blanket haha. Except Shelley. She was never cold.
After a shower, I went down to the dining area and watched a game of UNO with my new friend Neiser. Briana was playing UNO and Neiser kept trying to cheat for the other players. Briana said she would hit Neiser and I started laughing. Neiser was confused and I had to attempt to translate. I enjoyed practicing my Spanish, even though it was tough sometimes. It was time for bed, and Neiser was leaving. He called me short. :P

7/24 (Wednesday)
I woke up in the morning to hear how Tim doesn't use a comb on his hair; his uses a brush. Everyone was lovingly teasing him about it. Then he said he wants corn rows in his hair. haha :)
We had our first day of Bible school! WOOT WOOT! Everyone always gave Jesus a big "Woot Woot" and it was awesome! :D It definitely stuck through the rest of the week, and a lot of us even now still shout it randomly. One of the guys yelled "Weet Weet" instead of woot woot so we sometimes even yell "weet weet" just because...memories. :) But at Bible school, we danced to 3 awesome songs and had a great time getting the kids involved in it. The craft they made was a prayer box. Tim gave the message on prayer, while Sarah translated for them. The days seemed to last longer in Peru because no one was ever rushed for anything. Everyone is so laid back and no one ever cared about what time it was. Things always started late, but no one cared. I really liked that sometimes, not caring about the time or needing to be at a certain place right on the dot.
We ate spaghetti for dinner. :) It was excellent! We had an interesting drink made from purple corn. It wasn't my favorite thing there. I was more open to trying the food and drinks there than in the US for some reason. Not really sure why that is.
Afterwards, I kicked a soccer ball around with some of the people there. That's the only time you'll see me doing anything sports related. :P We went to a park outreach that the Peruvians hosted and put on a show for us all. It was really interesting with all the dancing. Also, Dee, Tim, and I saw 2 dogs mating. Tim said "they just did the nasty right in front of us!" and Dee and I started crying from laughing so hard. That became an inside joke of ours: Park!
Back at Little Lambs for dinner, Shelley put too much sugar in her tea and her face made everyone crack up. She was so hyper after that and it was hilarious! Amanda and I sang Veggie Tales songs hahaha! We're such odd people! :)
We had face painting! :D It was enjoyable. The kids LOVED it! The one 6 year old boy named Alex kept saying I was crazy. I love that kid! I was chasing him around where we stayed and caught him, wrapping him in my arms and tickling him. We were both laughing. Then we saw Ethan on the roof and Alex said to me "Tu loca para ti" meaning "You crazy for him" and kept making a heart sign with his hands at me and pointing at Ethan. I kept saying "no no no" but arguing with Alex never works.
For some reason, a lot of the Peru guys I hung around with thought Michaela and I were related, so they made a joke from it and kept switching our names on purpose. XD I didn't even miss my phone nearly as much as I thought I would. I barely even thought about it laying in the bottom of my suitcase. We had nightly meetings (with Tim's group) where we talked about our day. It was awesome! :) We prayed together too. So nice to share feelings like that.

7/25 (Thursday)
Merry Christmas in July! woot woot! Dee was named "princesa abuela" meaning grandma princess ;) hahaha.
We danced in the second park outreach and got to dance with the Peru group to their song! :D We probably made fools of ourselves, but we enjoyed doing it. Fools for Christ! <3
We went to start building the home. We had to dig probably about 20 holes through the day because we kept doing it wrong.  We rode back on the moto-taxi which was so awesome! We passed a yarn shop and Shelley got super excited. Amanda and I almost fell off the back of the moto because we were laughing so hard.
My friend Kris asked me to play UNO so we played, laughed, and teased each other. Neiser cheats! :P
Then I walked to the church and I GOT TO PLAY GUITAR WITH THE WORSHIP TEAM!!!!! Such an amazing moment!!! :) I got pics with the team and Dee and I fell over laughing about the dogs again. xD
That was a night of a deep moment with Kris and some members of the team.
Doug, Sarah, and Israel made me try carbonated water. They wouldn't quit nagging me until I did. It's so gross!
Ethan and Michael and I played with the kids. Ethan got attacked and kept asking me to free him, as I took pictures!

7/26 (Friday)
I sat on the roof for a minute. It was cool. We went shopping downtown today! Downtown traffic was crazy -- like worse than Pittsburgh! The cars drove so close to us and there was so much honking because no one uses turn signals. I found a lot of gifts. It was a great time. I also have some soles (the money) too. We ate at a restaurant called Norky's and they had Inca Kola!!!! Dee and I talked and laughed the whole way back. I said they should turn the A/C on, but there was no air in the bus... so now instead of "park" being our joke, it's "park-air". We blamed our endless laughter on the bus fumes. Shelley and Lori saw 4 guys relieving themselves outside....awkwaaaard.... And we enjoyed teasing Shelley.
It's funny how I felt so at home there, especially considering the poverty.
We played Dutch Blitz which was a game I quickly became hooked on. We stopped because Tim wanted me to get some pictures for him of some of the team. He got made at someone for saying something I didn't hear, but was I think aimed at me. We talked later in the top of the church and he explained his childhood to me after I said his sermon he was planning fit me almost perfectly. We had a nice deep conversation and he asked me to help me with the message. It was on hurting and broken hearts. Amanda and Michael created a dance to Jar Of Hearts by Christina Perri, and it was amazing! It gave me chills just watching them practice. My job was to hold up a broken heart and separate the pieces (Satan steals our joy), then hold up a full heart (how Jesus can make us whole).
I walk down and Neiser wanted me to play the guitar. He got it for me and just sat in front of me watching and listening to me sing and play. We talked for awhile afterwards.
Then I talked with Ethan for awhile.
It was Elmer's birthday and we gave him a gift that we split the cost of.

7/27 (Saturday)
Busy day. We celebrated Peru Independence Day today, even though it's not today. (I think it's the 28th but I could be wrong.) There was dancing from every age in the school. It was adorable! I sat on the roof and watched, then raced down when it was the Team's turn to dance. Hung out with my awesome friends there. Then we went to work at the house more.
We showed up at the house and saw that they tried to re-build the house (as if we wouldn't notice the huge gaping hole where a panels was only days before) differently to make it bigger. They thought we would have more panels for them, which we didn't. No one wanted to stay and re-build it, but we ended up modifying it, and it was a little bit smaller than before. We left the extra panels there, because the family is going to re-build it their way sometime in the future.
We got back and had the church service where Tim spoke. The altar call was amazing!!! Probably my favorite night of the week! Most of the team went up during the call and laid hands on those who knelt by the cross praying (silently or aloud). It almost made me cry, too. Afterwards, we walked around and asked people if they were okay and if there was anything we could do to help them. Kris hugged me for awhile and said I'm like his sister, and his best friend, and he loves me. We planned to talk more the next day, because he was going home. I met up with Neiser and Michaela and we joked around. Before leaving, Neiser picked me up really high haha. Then Ethan spun me in circles. I think we were all in great moods from the church service. Their services are so cool. The youth did an amazing pantomime that I loved! I wish I could see more things like that around where I live.
This was a day full of ups and downs... but God worked wonders by the end of it!

7/28 (Sunday)
We had church this morning where Pastor Gary preached. Each member of the Team got upfront to introduce ourselves and say something. It was interesting, considering I'm not much of a public speaker and it was totally improv. Israel translated for the Peruvians. Pastor Gary spoke on being a witness. After church we talked to the people for awhile and Neiser wanted me to wear his sweatshirt and get a picture with me in it. It was so long on me and Neiser made fun of me the rest of the day haha. I asked why and he was like, "por favor? para mi?" (please? for me?) so I gave in haha. :)
We ate goat today! :) It's so good!
We set out to go finish the house today. Didn't go as well as we hoped, but it's finished. "Weet weet!"
We laughed and danced and cheered a lot in celebration haha.
I was outside one time and Alex kept coming up and scaring me. He's so cute!
I handed out some gifts to the children, too! We also bought our tea and Inka to take home with us!<3
After playing UNO (Peruvian way...won't ever be the same again), I went to shower, and the power went off on me twice. Not fun because it was dark and the water turned freezing haha.

7/29 (Monday)
After breakfast, Pastor Gary had me pray for our protection and for the day. I don't like praying out loud, so that was new for me kind of.
We got all of our stuff packed up and it took awhile to get organized enough. I walked into the dining area and hung out listening to music with Kris. I also kicked the soccer ball around outside a bit with 2 of the guys. We took some pictures and joked around with the guys. We kept trying to get Louis to say "scared" and he said "escared". It was too funny!
We played Dutch Blitz and Michael and I were going at it and slamming cards down. hahaha!
For lunch some of us tried guinea pig (cui)! It was too chewy for my taste. My new friends kept laughing when I showed them the picture of it that I took because it's a pet (mascota) in the States and food in Peru.
We hung out for awhile and walked to the 2 houses that were built. We came back and talked some more. The cooks told us they had a snack for us and it ended up being like a dinner: chicken, rice, and potatoes.
Preparing to leave was not fun at all! The bus came around 7pm and we were all walking around hugging everyone and saying our goodbyes. A lot of us (both American and Peruvian) started crying. Neiser hugged me and (trying to make me stop crying and be happier) said, "Facebook. Tomorrow." <3 Then one of the little girls kept hugging me tightly and trying to move my mouth with her fingers to make me smile. She said "No triste, happy happy happy!" It was adorable! Kris was hugging me for a long time and said he loves me and he'll miss me and for me not to cry. I completely lost it.... A lot of the older women hugged and kissed me. One of them tried to wipe my tears away. I hugged Neiser again and was the last one on the bus. We drove off and waved to everyone until we couldn't see them anymore.
Neiser surprised me by meeting us at the airport. I ran over and yelled "oh my gosh!" and gave him a big hug. It was so crowded there haha...
We played Dutch Blitz in the airport during our wait. Good distraction.
Slept for 3 hours max. on the flight to Houston. Back in Houston, we had a 5 hour layover and just laid around. I turned my cell phone on and it was so weird having it on again and using it. The first thing I had was a voicemail saying I lost my second job I had just gotten for a stupid reason, and I wanted to just turned around and get on the next plane back to Lima and away from drama and stress again.
Sat by Josh on the flight from Houston to Dulles. He was singing "Don't Stop Believing" and dancing haha. I needed a laugh.
Came home and my life is changed! I no longer take as many things for granted. I miss everyone so much and think about them all the time. They're always in my prayers and I'd go back in a heartbeat. We keep in contact through facebook, which I'm so happy about, but you know it's never the same as talking to them in person. I can't wait for next year! Already talking fundraising! Woot Woot! <333