Peru Day 9 Sunday

A few of us went to the market in Cuzco with Miguel. He was looking for some chocolate for his mom. We got to see a lot of cool stuff: all kinds of veggies, cheeses, meats, bread and fruits. They were cutting up pigs right there in front of us. We flew back to Lima at around 10am. We got there and Alex and Daniel were waiting for us. It was great to see them again. They were so much more than translators. They were working right along with us.

We all took showers. I gave Francisca some gifts for letting us stay at her house. I gave her a University of Minnesota shirt, some plates, and some other stuff for her kitchen. She gave me some gifts too. She is so gracious. Then we went to a restaurant called Norky's. It was very good. I had salad, chicken, fries amd torta (cake). We then went to the Incan market. We had about 45 minutes to barter and get some souvenirs. I got two wallets, an Incan folk CD and a figurine.

We then went to the church. Miguel sang some songs and said a very emotional prayer. He talked about us and the people of Bocanegra. He talked about seeing us again. How we will definitely see each other in heaven. Our language differences will dissolve and we will rejoice together. I started to cry and I had a hard time stopping. Then a visiting pastor spoke. It was a little hard to understand. The American team then went to the front and sang some songs. Arturo then spoke for a little bit. After that Javier told the people about a mission team coming to Bocanegra in April. Some of what he was saying got lost in translation again.

Church went a little long and we had to hurry to catch our flight. We gave some presents to the host families. They were deeply thankful. We gave hugs then we had to leave. The kids were crying and gave Emily a note. It said they will miss us and to not forget them. We jumped on the bus and so did some of our Peruvian friends. We took a few pictures then we had to go. (Pictured below is Kelsey, Miguel and Jodi.) They waved at us from the airport windows. What a great trip it was. I will never forget my friends in Peru. They have made a deep impact on my heart.

I'm debating about writing about our travel troubles coming back. I'd like to focus on the positive. I did have a blessing that occurred because of a layover I may write about.

Day 8 Peru Saturday

We headed out by bus to Machu Picchu at 5:30am. It was about 2 hours to Ollantaytambo where we caught the train. We saw some ruins from afar and then headed to a village. We were allowed to tour through some houses. They had a bunch of Guinea Pigs running around. I thought they were pets at first but was later told they eat them.

We then took a 1 and 1/2 hour train ride. It was beautiful to see the mountains and fog roll by. I could tell right away that we were going to experience something really amazing. We then took a 30 minute bus ride to the actual ruins area. We started at a watch tower area where we could see the entire site. It was breath-taking and no words could describe it. We really were up in the clouds.

There are places of worship, housing, burial sites and industrial areas in the ruins. There are areas of better craftmanship. You can tell by the smoothness of the rocks. The smoother rocks meant someone of importance lived in that area. We went at a pretty quick pace, but we had to in order to see everything. The they built was amazing. They often times used pre-exisiting rock and built underneath it. There was no mortar used. The rocks fit together perfectly. There were often so tighly fit that you couldn't fit a knife in between them. We saw a large rock with 30+ angles.

We saw this burial site. (pictured to the left) It was so well crafted and smooth that it was said that there were some important people buried back in there. We couldn't go inside because it was roped off. The Incans took the best ideas from other cultures that they conquered and learned from them. They had a calendar system that they used. It was two pools of water that reflected the stars at night. This is how they could tell the time of year. (pictured below)

We ate at the train station and then headed back. We had a great dinner back in Cuzco. We had a little meeting afterwards. We all got a chance to share our thoughts and thanks to Miguel and Pastor Arturo. Anne translated for us. I said this journey is similar to Abraham's like Arturo had said. I also shared that it will be awhile before this all soaks in. I shared Luke 2:19. It was nice to tell them how I felt.

Day 7 Peru Friday

We left for the airport at 5am. Our plane was supposed to leave at 6 for Cuzco. It kept getting delayed. We really thought it was going to get cancelled. Our plane finally left around 8:15. We went straight to Cesar's mother-in-law's house. Cesar and his wife took a 18-hour bus ride to Cuzco to prepare a place for us to stay. They put in a shower for us. I can't believe the graciousness of these people. The house was actually 15 minutes from Cuzco in San Jeronimo.

A few of us really felt sick from the altitude. I had a shortness of breath and a bad headache. We had some cocoa tea and I took some pills to help adjust. Miguel felt pretty bad. We had lunch and then our guide Carlos took us around Cuzco. We went into the main town square and saw a church called San Francisco. We then went to Sacsayhuaman. It's an Incan ruins area near Cuzco. It was looking pretty rainy the whole time we were there, but it held off most of the time. There was some climbing and hiking involved though. It was tough because we were still trying to adjust to the altitude. It's about 11,000 feet at the site. I almost passed out at one point. I just took it easy after that.

It was really beautiful we saw this lady and behind her is a rainbow. There is also a statue of Jesus near the site. It was given to the town by the Palestinians in the 50's. There is a photo at the bottom of this posting. We found this rock area where it was so smooth you could slide down it. It was pretty fun.

We then went through this tunnel. It was very narrow and completely dark in the middle. We had to hold the hand of the person in front of us. It was like we were walking with faith. Keith fell back and hit his head at the end. He was alright though he just had a few bumps. He is Superman.

We then went into town to a market. We had 30 minutes so I had to barter fast. It was pretty fun. I got 4 or 5 cool souvenirs and gift. We went to the supermarket then back to the house for dinner. We had like 11 guys in one small room that night. It was a tight fit and I got to experience Leon's snoring for the first time. Miguel says he sound like a tractor. It sounds like a Harley to me. I had ear plugs so I slept okay.