Estamos en Peru! (from Kelsey)

One of the first things I noticed about this trip is how long each moment seems to last. It has only been three days and already seems like a life time.

When we first stepped out of the airport, we were surrounded by at least a hundred people holding signs for cab companies or waiting for friends and family. It was pretty overwhelming until some people from Scripture Union stepped forward to show us where to go. This year, Scripture Union brought along a welcome present for us: two translators, Gillian and Kate. Gillian is from Scotland and Kate is from England, but both have been here for the past few months to help teach classes for Scripture Union.

On the first day here, the group took a trip to Las Islas Paracas. The islands were breathtaking. Birds flew overhead by thousands (poor Ani Arntz was splattered twice), and the seals basked in the sunlight. The caverns everywhere reminded me of stories about pirates and hoards of buried treasure, though it is likely that the caves are only home to bats and marine life.

Later that day, we visited a part of Peru that seemed to be a scene from Arabian Nights. There was sand everywhere (including our shoes, hair, and mouths :-) ). We took the dune buggies up and down the dunes to a fairly high spot where we were each given sand boards and sledded all the way down Mr. Cernuto went the farthest, showing up all the students!
By the end of the day we were pretty exhausted and ready for the nice dinner that was prepared for us when we returned to Kawai.

The next day, our group led church with the street boys at Kawai. We sang some songs and studied Psalm 23, the verse for our trip. Some of the boys came up and sang songs or recited poems to us.
We spent that afternoon playing soccer and hanging out on the playground with the boys. When it was time to leave, they all came out and said goodbye as a group, giving out as many hugs and kisses as they could.
After a two hour bus ride, we arrived in Lima and set up our mattresses on the floor at a hostel owned by Scripture Union. That evening was amazing: everybody played with the street boys in an indoor court. We spent hours playing soccer and basketball and dancing with the littlest boys. Brian was surrounded with little kids as he played songs on his guitar- the boys knew the Spanish version of the songs Every Move I Make and Open the Eyes of my Heart.

Early this morning we had an adventure with a rat that found its way into our room and decided to scratch at the door. It only ran off when Ms. Jackson came at it armed with a camera and flashlight!
After breakfast we had a ten hour bus ride to Caraz. The views were spectacular! At the beginning of the ride we could look out the windows and see straight down a cliff into the ocean. Later we were surrounded by snow-capped mountains and wild valleys. As we drove further into the mountains, the villages became more ramshackle. There were houses made of dirt whose roofs had collapsed, and stray dogs fighting in the streets. It was hard to believe that people actually lived in places like this, and helped us to better understand the lives of the street boys we have been working with.
Tonight we spent some time worshiping the Lord though prayer, song and devotions. So far this trip has been amazing and we have a lot to thank God for. We have had so many opportunities to show God´s love and we are all well and content. Thank you so much for your prayers! I know God is protecting us and helping us to do his work!