Day 3!

Greetings from Peru!

I have now been in Ancon, Peru for 3 full days.

My goodness, what a 3 days it has been. '

When my new family picked me up from the airport, and it was like I have entered an entirely new world.

 EVERYTHING is different here. The food (ceviche, rice, spicy chicken, yucca, corn), the drinks (fruit sodas, juice made from purple corn), the transportation (hardly any cars, instead there are these cute little motorized tricycles with seats behind for passengers "motos". The driving here is crazy enough to get a few gray hairs every-time you get into a moto.)

The culture (they are much more loud, flamboyant, and warm), the customs (you kiss everyone every time you see them, or leave them) and even the time frame around here is completely different from us up-tight Americans. lunch is at 3:30 pm. Dinner at 10:00. And obviously the language is different.  There is only one lady I know of in the town that speaks English, so it really is full immersion. Its crazy how much trouble I have communicating the simplest things in Spanish. 

One thing that is not different is the love of Christ. The same Holy Spirit that is in the hearts of Peruvian Christians, motivating them to service and action.

It amazes me, the generosity of the Christians here. The love of God fills their hearts. They, who have almost nothing, spend the little bit of money they do have to serve those in even more need. 

Today we went with some wonderful American missionaries to a very, very poor village, (where the houses were just shacks), to serve the kids lunch.

 It was just a very simple meal of  a mixture of chocolate, milk, and hot cereal and also bread and butter. But if the missionaries from the US hadn't been here, they wouldn't have been able to afford chocolate and cereal for the milk because they just don't have the money. It was only about $15 to buy enough for all the children.

 Being here makes me realize how much money we casually throw around in the USA and on meaningless and non necessary things. A couple of Starbucks drinks would buy a substantial lunch for 50 hungry kids.

The kids are so sweet. I already am just in love with them. They surrounded me, hugs and kisses, and wanted to know how to say stuff in English. They also wanted to know if my hair was natural color (Some of the people here call me Barbie. I've yet to see another blonde person...)

My missionary friend Milena said that there are about 300 children this village, that are all hungry, but there is not enough money to buy food and drinks for them. It doesn't even cost that much, but here money is so scarce. If there was enough money, we could build a big enough building for more kids, buy more food so we would have enough to feed all the kids in the village everyday

It is such an awakening for me for what true giving is. The people here, don't have a lot. They have limited access to things which we consider very necessary. They don't have cars. They don't have lots of things. And yet they are generous. They are giving and kind. They welcome me into there home. They are joyful and kind. They feed the hungry. I am learning a lot from the people here.

The nicest part of Ancon. Upscale beach area

Prayer requests

-I am a little bit sick from the new food and drink here. It is hard for me to eat anything and I am still very tired from travel and all the culture changes. Please pray for quick recovery and full health with no complications from the food especially.

- Please pray for easy adjustment into the new changes around me and also that I will learn the language faster. 

- Please pray for the people of Ancon, that live here that are in need. Especially for their spiritual need. More than they need food, they need Jesus.