Day 3 - Tuesday

Cam H.’s alarm clock woke us up at 6:00am with an overly happy, Apple-phone stereotypical ring…as planned. I think. Oh, and “us” refers to Lyn T., Cam and me, Jessica C….otherwise known as Profe.

Our bodies didn’t respond as readily to the alarm, however. Our plane ride on Sunday, bus ride on Monday and unfamiliar surroundings made waking up an extra hard chore. But soon the need for a hot beverage, excitement of being in Peru and desire to see the sun peak over the Andes Mountains motivated us out of our warm sleeping bags.

Breakfast was a quiet affair for our group…I’m guessing most of the girl’s faces were make-up free for the first time in…well, since their last rushed, make-up-less final exam day. J But this time, wearing Goodwill-found jeans, washed-out T-shirts from freshman year, and clean faces reflected a preparedness that was soon reflected in their attitudes and willing hands.

Mr. H. called us all to the “plaza” – the cutest concrete slab in the middle of Kusi that is the center of this white-washed adobe village. The “Alcalde”, or Mayor, of the town welcomed us officially and told us the story behind Kusi, the place we all believed was a simple Boy’s Home. We now know that the vision for Kusi is much farther reaching. Kusi is actually designed as a small village. What to us was perceived as a rustic, yet well laid out, camp grounds -  with bungalows, a dining hall,

an industrial kitchen (with none of the amenities we are familiar with, yet fully functioning!), several buildings used for school rooms and some unfinished structures – is actually a town! Therefore, “Girasoles”, the Boys Home we believed we were here to serve is just one ministry that Scripture Union is a part of. All the Southlake students listened with rapt attention as Kati, the woman we thought was just another sweet, God-serving member of the Scripture Union team, transformed into the true “mayor” of the town that she is! We pray this place becomes the refuge of peace, productivity and spiritual light that Scripture Union and Southlake have been working together to build for years now! It’s such a blessing to be a small part of this ministry.

Kyle, Noah, Emily, Meghan, Alison, Corbin, Alexa, John R., Jillian, Ansley, Ashlyn, Anna, Stephen, and Andrew and Kirby circled up right after the meeting in the “town square” to hammer out last minute details for day 1 of VBS with the primary school children. Although we had planned to have all Southlake students participate in the VBS, either as a “team leader” or a “support team member”, we soon discovered we needed to adjust our expectations. The director of the school felt (with good reason) that we would overwhelm the 30 elementary age students if all 31 of our high-school age students converged upon them. So, a new plan was formed: only the VBS team leaders carried out the VBS while the others went to various work sites to haul rocks or dismantle benches and clean plastic chairs in the town square. Feeling rushed and slightly unprepared, the VBS team leaders quickly walked through the new plan for VBS for today. Watching how that plan was carried out makes me almost cry just thinking about it. This is the first year, that I know of, that the students COMPLETELY created and lead the VBS on their own. This meant in a practical sense, that Ansley was the first one to step out in front of all these cute, but not-even-remotely-bilingual kiddos and welcomed them and prayed for them in Spanish. Alison followed her, with the help of Anna and Ashlyn, teaching the students the verses on the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:14-17) in Spanish with hand-motions. Alexa, John R., Jillian and Corbin lead the students in song in Spanish. Kyle opened our Bible lesson with a skit in Spanish, and Noah spoke for over 15 minutes recounting the story of Joseph in Spanish!

Jesus has used these Southlake students to encourage me so much on this trip simply watching them confidently walk into uncomfortable territory trying out their Spanish and making connections with the workers and students. Watching Andrew and Kirby give directions in Spanish  - both of them! – made my heart burst with pride while they instructed the little guys on how to play “Sharks and Fishes” (their awesome translation of “Sharks and Minnows”). More Southlake students came to the soccer field and more smiles were given and pictures were snapped than can be counted as everyone joined the game.

 

After lunch, people went back to work moving rocks, pulling weeds in the square, and removing boards from benches readying them for a new paint job and new boards to replace the seats. The men moving rocks will be using some of those huge boulders to building foundations, retaining walls and possibly walk-ways. I overheard several guys bragging on Justin and Sasha’s strength. Not sure who’s winning the rock lifting competition at the moment…we’ll have to wait and see. The guys tell me that running uphill with a wheelbarrow filled with rocks is practically impossible because of the low oxygen levels. They tried. I’ll take their word for it. Sarah C. told me the story that she,  Emily and Meghan were trying to move a giant watermelon sized rock at on point. Even between the three of them, they weren’t able to move it an inch. Then Jonathan H. came over to assist and managed to not only lift the rock by himself, but carry it to where it needed to be. The girls were impressed…Although we (the chaperones) are trying our hardest to keep everyone hydrated and lathered in sunscreen, it’s amusing to watch people compare watchband and farmer’s tans after one day.

 

Mr. H., Ms. Cam, Ms. Lyn, Kate (our missionary leader), Alexa, Meghan, and Claire spent most of the day unpacking the 45 ministry bags Southlake sent with us filled with gently used clothing, uniforms, toothbrushes, books, games, etc. for the boys and girls homes that Scripture Union runs. They unloaded, sorted by size, refolded, and repacked the items designated to specific homes.

 

Stephanie, Claire, Kelsey, Sarah Y., Lydia, Kirby, and Ansley spent HOURS using 2 tiny wrenches, 1 hammer and lots of brute strength and creative reasoning to dismantle the wooden boards (seats and backs) from the metal frame benches in the town square. The screws were rusted to the bolts, so you can imagine the difficulty. But all girls worked steadily, enjoying each other’s company. They were surrounded by little Peruvian bodies as the children came out to the square during recess to watch. Cassidy, Sarah C., Anna, Emily, Ashlyn, Jillian, Alexa, Meghan did several odd jobs throughout the day including weeding (um…can anyone say “spiders”?), cleaning, changing lightbulbs (without a ladder…those 3 people cheerleading pyramids came in handy), etc.

 

During free-time most of the boys went up to the soccer field to play agains the Kusi kids. Girls took showers and came back out to watch the game and the sunset over the mountain peaks. Dinner was an especially fun time since the boys came to eat with us. I had the privilege of sitting with Hayden, Dan, Alex and Sasha who asked me to come translate for them so they could speak with our friends from Kusi. I loved hearing about the soccer game (amazingly Southlake trumped the Girasoles, but I was told it wasn’t a fair game since we outnumbered their team). Watching Hayden and Sasha especially try to communicate was very fulfilling to see true communication happen even without my help.  Dan kept us entertained with senior year memories and Alex put in his two cents at the just the right moment to keep us laughing.

 

The evening concluded with an unexpected twist. We cleared the dining hall leaving only the benches lining the walls. A strobe light was hung and a sound system rigged up for some choreographed dances the boys had prepared for us. After the first dance, all of a sudden, the power went out leaving us in complete darkness. Several of us turned on our flashlights and we filled our last half hour together with short words of thanksgiving for the opportunity to be together and an impromptu sing-along. Ending the evening with a time of singing to our God in Spanish and English (sometimes at the same time) was somehow so very appropriate. We don’t know when the power will come back on. We’re not sure how that will affect showers and cooking tomorrow. But it doesn’t matter. We know our God. And He knows our needs. He cares about our unity and love for one another and He gave us this special night. As I lay down for some much needed sleep in complete darkness, I think on the lyrics we just sang together, “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. I want to see you.”

 

-         Jessica Campbell