Advocacy & Fundraising!

Hi, everyone!

Thanks for reading the blog; it’s been very well received, and I am floored by the response. My hope is that somewhere out there a child or two has been sponsored as a result!

Just two quick updates.

Day 9 – Going Home

Sunday, June 14th.

Where did the time go? Was I really in Peru for 8 days?

One of the best parts about this trip was the fact that we all had our trip guides which had sections for us to use as journals. I used to keep a diary as a kid, but I think we all get out of that habit as adults unless we are “writers” and just feel the need to write to unpack our thoughts and emotions. 

Day 8 (Part 2) – Winding Down

As I mentioned in Part 1, I had just left Angely and her mom to walk to the main road with Francesca to catch a cab. I had to quickly find Shirley to say goodbye. She had been traveling with us all week and translating for my family group. She had been wonderful! As I bent down to hug her, she started encouraging me and saying she would miss me. I think I had been holding in a lot of emotion from visiting with Angely, and now here I was saying goodbye to another friend. I just broke down and couldn’t talk for a little while. I was glad to have my trip guide in my hands so I could hold it in front of my face (below my eyes) so I could see to walk to the bus without everyone seeing my horrible cry face. (I’m determined to find Shirley on Facebook!)

Day 8 (Part 1) – Today’s the Day!

Saturday, June 13th.

Oof. There aren’t really words to describe this day, but I’ll try anyway. I think I woke up around 6 AM and couldn’t go back to sleep. The plan was to meet all the kids at the zoo. After breakfast, we piled in the bus and headed out.

Day 7 – Return to Lima

Friday, June 12th.

Today we got up bright and early to pack up and head back to Jauja to fly back to Lima. It was sad to leave Huancayo. When we were in Huancayo, we were always reminded that we were in Peru when we walked out the door. It was noisy since cabs advertise by honking their horns, but it was a very cool place to be.

Day 6 – Sightseeing

Thursday, June 11th.

Today we got to sleep in a little longer than usual as we weren’t going to visit any projects. There were some people in our group who would have their fun day with their sponsored children today so they and some of their families were able to come with us on our sightseeing adventures. The first stop was a park in Huancayo. We had a local tour guide with us. It’s very hard to stay together as a group when you have so many people plus a large park to explore! While we were there, there was a large group of school children there also. As background, they don’t see large groups of Americans and/or tourists in that town very often so we were celebrities somewhat. They love having their picture taken so they were in many of our pictures! See below. I had a group of girls that wanted their pictures taken in various locations. I do know enough Spanish to say “uno mas” so that I indicated it was the last one! After I took pictures and let them see, they were nice enough to hug and kiss me and say thank you. I’m tellin’ ya, I can’t get enough of that. So sweet!!

Day 5 – Manicures, Anyone?

Wednesday, June 10th.

Today we stayed in Huancayo at a local center. We were running VBS in the afternoon at this particular center so it was nice to stay in one place all day but no less tiring! Upon our arrival, we hugged the staff and kids as usual and then entered to hear music playing and dancing/running in a circle with the director! It was a fantastic time! I know pictures of me exist running around with her, but I haven’t seen them yet! We were always met with such excitement everywhere we went that it just filled me with joy every time!

Day 4 – Sapallanga & Chupaca

Tuesday, June 9th.

After such amazing experiences on Monday, our first real day of experiences down here, I was so excited for Tuesday! I was exhausted after travel and trying to adjust to the altitude, but I think we were all experiencing a little bit of a rush!

As an aside, I just went to Walmart tonight and bought some items to send to Angely for her 9th birthday. It’s in September, but it takes a good 3 months for items to get there at the moment so I am sending things now. I’m so grateful that the Compassion staff traveling with us were able to mention that they are actively trying to reduce the time between letters. I can’t tell you how excited I am to buy her things knowing more about her interests and what kinds of things I can send through the mail! More about that in the post for Saturday.

Day 3 – San Jeronimo de Tunan

Monday, June 8th.

Oh my heart. Deanna. Kids. Moms. Families. Babies.

After breakfast and morning devotions and prayer, we all piled in two small buses. We used two smaller ones because going into the mountains requires smaller vehicles! (As it turns out, that’s not always true!) We headed up to Hualhuas just to the north of Huancayo to visit a Child Survival Project (CSP). When we arrived, the mothers and babies were out to greet us!