Day 02: Meeting the Boys

Our wake up call on day two came around 8:00, some earlier and some later than others. As we made our way out of our rooms we ascended to the third floor only to be greeted by a beautiful open air café on top of the Lima Wasi Hotel. We enjoyed the sights and sounds of the busy Lima streets below and had a delicious breakfast of Peruvian favorites. The orange juice was arguably the best part, seeing that it was probably squeezed fresh an hour prior. Many pictures and full bellies later we headed back down to get packed up to prepare for the journey to Ica, our home for the next week. As we finished pulling all luggage to the front curb of the hotel, our bus arrived with a very impressive three-point turn. The bus was packed full with luggage and we got settled in for the 6.5 hour ride ahead of us. Along the way we saw incredible views of coastlines, sand dunes, and quaint seaside villas; but we also saw the poverty. We saw concrete villages with minimal shelter, garbage littering the landscape, and a small market every once in a while. A few hours into the ride, we ate bagged lunches full of Peruvian goodies, eagerly awaiting our destination. Soon enough, we arrived at the gates of the boys home in Ica around 3:30, greeted by smiling faces and good weather. We were shown to our bungalows to get settled in before we joined the festivities. After thirty minutes you would have thought we had been there for a month- a soccer tournament in full swing, spanglish conversations everywhere, laughter and smiles galore. The boys are absolutely incredible. They loved taking pictures with us, showing us the property (including the various fruit trees: mangoes, pecans, avocadoes, oranges, lemons, papayas, bananas, and strawberries!!), and teaching us new things. Once the sun set at 5:30, the boys went in to get washed up for dinner and the team met to talk about the days ahead of us. Dinner was served at 7:30 which consisted of Lomo Saltado (white rice and beef/onion/potato stirfry- YUM). After dinner we had game night in the open courtyard before it was back to the bungalows for all of us. It is starting to feel like home. The Lord is moving within these gates and we are so excited to live out the plan and purpose He has for us. Godspeed.

-Heather