Mission Trip to Peru a Great Experience
by Barbara Sayles, CFP Hunger Action Advocate
On July 11 nine of us from 3 churches in Central Florida Presbytery boarded a 6 hour flight to Lima, Peru arriving in Lima around midnight. We spent the following day touring downtown Lima, learning about their history, and enjoying an authentic and delicious Peruvian lunch.
On July 13 at the wee hours of the morning we boarded a bus that would take us 12 hours through the beautiful Andes mountains to a village built by work teams like ours, a place they call Kusi which is near the city of Yungay. Our local hosts welcomed us warmly with fresh bread and a delicious bowl of soup before showing us our sleeping quarters for the week.
We spent the week making adobe bricks, unloading tile for the roof of the new Chapel, planting trees, conducting VBS for about 50 children from nearby village schools, enjoying a canoe ride on a gorgeous turquois blue glacier lake near Mt. Huascaran (the highest peak in Peru), experiencing the local market and experiencing a traditional Pachamanca (a meal cooked by hot rocks in an underground pit). Though it was quite difficult to say goodbye to the beautiful children and our wonderful hosts, we headed back across the Andes and enjoyed one more day in Lima visiting museums, having an oceanside lunch and shopping for souvenirs at the Inca Indian market.
We thank the Presbytery for supporting this memorable mission trip, the Mission Committee for the help of a Hands on Mission Grant, churches Park Lake, Glenwood and Winter Park for donating VBS and medical supplies and helping with the purchase of clothes, shoes and socks for the abandoned boys living at Kusi. I personally will miss the view of the snow covered Mt. Huascaran from my kitchen window, the beautiful smiling faces of the boys and the village children, and the amazing food served up each day by our wonderful and talented local “chef’!
On July 13 at the wee hours of the morning we boarded a bus that would take us 12 hours through the beautiful Andes mountains to a village built by work teams like ours, a place they call Kusi which is near the city of Yungay. Our local hosts welcomed us warmly with fresh bread and a delicious bowl of soup before showing us our sleeping quarters for the week.
We spent the week making adobe bricks, unloading tile for the roof of the new Chapel, planting trees, conducting VBS for about 50 children from nearby village schools, enjoying a canoe ride on a gorgeous turquois blue glacier lake near Mt. Huascaran (the highest peak in Peru), experiencing the local market and experiencing a traditional Pachamanca (a meal cooked by hot rocks in an underground pit). Though it was quite difficult to say goodbye to the beautiful children and our wonderful hosts, we headed back across the Andes and enjoyed one more day in Lima visiting museums, having an oceanside lunch and shopping for souvenirs at the Inca Indian market.
We thank the Presbytery for supporting this memorable mission trip, the Mission Committee for the help of a Hands on Mission Grant, churches Park Lake, Glenwood and Winter Park for donating VBS and medical supplies and helping with the purchase of clothes, shoes and socks for the abandoned boys living at Kusi. I personally will miss the view of the snow covered Mt. Huascaran from my kitchen window, the beautiful smiling faces of the boys and the village children, and the amazing food served up each day by our wonderful and talented local “chef’!