Mission Portion Day 1

What a blessing the last few days of our trip were!
We woke up Saturday morning and left the hotel with our new hosts - Cesar and Amber. We were blessed to have Amber with us every day for the mission portion of the trip. It was a joy to watch her mentor the students and really show us a great deal of what it means to be a missionary in a foreign country and how demanding and rewarding a life it can be.
We spent our first day serving at an orphanage in an area outside of Lima called Huaycan. Mission work always has this fun way of surprising you. You go in believing that you are doing something for someone else and yet God blesses you through service. That morning as we stepped off the bus we were greeted by the warmest of hugs, smiles, and "I love you's" from the children. We spent the first part of our day cleaning. We had teams who tackled the bathrooms, the kitchen, the classroom and Mrs. Isbell took on the organization of the library. The kids sang us songs, brought us bracelets and lots of hugs while we cleaned. We were overwhelmed by their love and affection and mostly by the opportunity to not just serve with our time but also with our efforts. The ability to get down on our hands and knees and to clean toilets, to scrub ink off desks, to really get dirty was probably one of the greatest gifts knowing that it would improve someone else's daily life even if only for a few days. It was something we could do and offer.
Following this we were able to serve the children lunch that we sponsored. The children begged for "crema" or mayonnaise for their fries and chicken. This was something of a treat for them. After serving them we were able to fix our own plates and sit down to eat with them. Using our Spanish, the students got to converse about everything from what is your favorite food or color or game to what do you want to be when you grow up. We heard big dreams! What a blessing! We also got to hear some of the children practice their English and were impressed by their desire to learn.
Our last portion of the day was probably our favorite part of the trip. We were able to just "be" with the children. For each of us our time was different. Some spent time in the classroom sprucing it up. The boys pumped up soccer balls and played. As for the girls, we did hair, painted nails, gave lots of hugs and uttered lots of "Que bonita!"
As we reflected on the day, most of the students kept saying how blessed they felt to spend some time playing with the kids. After only a few hours of one day we all felt like we could just want to stay there and love these kids every day. It made us so grateful for Amber who continues to dedicate herself as a constant figure in their lives and as a role model for these children. That evening we prayed for our families, gratefulness for our parents and the opportunities that we have, but most of all we prayed for the children we spent the day with. We pray for education, for opportunity, for Amber and others as role models in their lives, and most of all for a knowledge of who God is and a growing and active faith because of the grace of Jesus Christ in the midst of struggles and suffering.