Continuing on....

Ok, so I got sick, work has been busy, and I have had a bunch of stuff to do so I haven't really had much time to write even tho I said I would make more time.. duh, that is me tho... You should see my journal, it does the exact same thing... Says how I am gonna start writing more and then it takes me 2 weeks or a month before I write in it again..
We arrived at the airport in Lima and got thru customs and the church from Lima greeted us, grabbed our bags and after a few minutes of "hellos", we headed to the buses. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the hotel. Traffic was heavy, but in Lima, traffic is pretty heavy 24 hours a day. Some times it is heavier than others but it is always busy. I think there are lines on the streets as lane markers but no one really pays much attention to that. Most American drivers would not make it in Peru. But then again, most Peruvian drivers wouldn't understand the way we drive here either. Honking the horn, swerving around and cutting people off are common driving practices in Peru. Anyway, so our hotel rooms are on the 4th floor at the Hotel Kuelap. By the end of the week, my legs were in better shape, but they were so tired from up and down, up and down. They only have stairs there, no elevators. Fun stuff. The bed Amanda and I slept in was not comfortable, but by the end of each day, we were very happy to lie in it to go to sleep. We remembered to bring our earplugs also. The street noise, and other work going on, is always very loud and would wake you up at all times of the night. We slept pretty good tho since we could drown everything out.
Breakfast came and went the next morning. Rolls, butter for them, usually eggs with ham (or something) in them, coffee, and hot chocolate were the staples of our morning foods. We seperated into our groups for VBS and practiced our skits. We had our VBS time in Sector 10. It was Amanda, me, Pat, Sarah, Marilee, Hunter, Lynn, and Tammy.. I think that was all of us in our group on the first week. Gabby was our interpreter the first day. Our skit that we performed for the children was the story of Herman the shepherd. Herman led his sheep to pastures and protected his sheep from predators. I played the bad wolf ( which fit me perfectly, ha ). Then it was time for the children to learn a Bible verse and then they made little sheep puppets out of lunch sacks. It was a good time.
The children there are precious. Dirty faces with messed up hair. They have a look in their eyes that you will not forget. Some or most of them have been abused in some way or another. Only God has kept them alive. One little boy had a black eye. He never smiled all three days we were there at VBS. Some of the kids came from good homes. They were dressed nicer and always looked cleaner, but I am sure they have things happen to them that no person should ever have to go through. Most girls are raped or molested before they reach 10 years old in Lima. I forget the percentage but it is very high. They have no hope outside the hope of Christ.
The eyes of the people on the street showed a lack of that hope. For the most part, the only hope I saw in anyone's eyes, was from those that were a part of the church. Not just the building but the true church body of Christ. There was a look in there eyes of past abuse, yes, some even looked sad or angry at times, but behind there eyes was love. They were not empty inside. One lady in particular stands out to me. I saw her the first night of services at the church. She looked like she had years of abuse. But when the worship music played, she went from a somber sad look, to a look a joy and praising Jesus. It was quite a transformation. I wish you could see the picture I have in my mind right now because it would make you shed a tear of joy for her. These people truly know what a hard life is, but the love of Christ softens even the hardest. Most of what we do in America is easy compared their everyday life. We truly are a blessed nation. God, continue to show your grace upon us.