It's hard to explain everything that's happened so far since I came to Peru... but I will do my best to explain all that I'm learning... sorry if this is a little long :)
We experienced some issues when we first arrived in Peru; one of which being that our flight to the jungle was overbooked and so, we flew to Cusco instead. We stayed there for one night before catching a 10 hour bus to the jungle. The first day that we were there, we all relaxed and got to meet some of Hannah's family. I never thought that I'd be able to say that I met a pet monkey named Poncho in the Amazon jungle or that I fell asleep in my Mozzidome to the sound of rain pounding all around me... or that I'd be living with a family The first and second days were really eye-opening for me. For the first time in my life, I was using a bucket as a toilet and showering in an open area with only two sides (the other two were just open sides, facing the jungle) and freezing cold water. I had to put drops into my water and wait ten minutes to drink it. All our food was being cooked by Hannah's 17 year old sister, Rachel, over a wood fire. I never realized how blessed I am at home... in a home that has walls and bathrooms and stoves. The way their family all worked together just blew my mind and I was disgusted with the way that I've treated my family at home. There were kids who were 9 years old doing more work in a day then I would do in a week... and they all did it cheerfully. I wish I could explain all the ways that I grew during these past two weeks!
We did all kinds of work while we were there over the two weeks... we planted trees and beans and corn (using sticks to dig the holes and having someone drop the beans and corn into it), we cut weeds and grass with machettes too. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, helping Hannah's younger sister make food for everyone. We also did laundry for a day... and by doing laundry, I mean sitting in front of a bucket for almost 7 hours, scrubbing the dirt out of shirts and pants.
It was a really good time for me in my relationship with God as well... I was able to spend a lot of time in devotions or just reading through my bible :) I think that it's going to be one of the biggest impacts that this outreach will make on me.
Things have been so amazing and God has been so good in our team. We all get along so well and we've overcome some crazy things already! Emma got a nice gash in her knee from when she was cutting grass and hit herself with the machette... and Ali sprained her ankle pretty bad when she fell in a hole in the field. We've all been tired and sick from the change of food and the bus ride and from the altitude... but we're becoming closer and closer and I can't wait to see how that will impact us as a team while we're here in Cusco.
I wish I could explain more about all the crazy things that happened in the jungle but I'm afraid that it would just be too hard to type out. Luckily, we're filming a documentry about our time that I'll be able to show when I get home, so get pumped! I'm missing everyone very much but I'm really excited for these next four weeks! I'll try my best to keep updating but it's just a little difficult. Thanks for all the prayers and support!
God bless :)
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