Day 05: Living Water

Our fourth day here in Ica hit me like a ton of bricks, quite literally actually. The previous day's activities consisted of a lot of brick making, taking a toll on the entire group's bodies I imagine. I woke up to the smell of instant coffee and fresh dewy grass and promptly spent some quiet time alone reviewing Mr. Bartel's devotional packet. All around me the air felt energized, but my body was feeling something different. Despite the joyful faces in front of me I was sulky and unmotivated. It took me the entire day to realize that the reason for this trip was to not only push ourselves out of our comfort zone and witness to our new best friends, but also be the embodiment of Christ. I understood in that moment that in order to witness to others as a group, we must also be driven as a group. I had to decide that the intention of our trip here was more important than my attitude in that moment. Continuing to be around the boys as well as my peers taught me a significant lesson in that sacrificing my personal qualms in the interest of our mission here in Ica proves to bring me more joy in the end. On  a completely different and positive note, I made a new best friend. His name is Jesus Sanchez and I can honestly say I may flood Peru again with my tears when we leave this place. Please pray for strength not to shy away from relationships as we look to the future and our trip home from this wonderful place.
-Hailey

Hola, mis amigos it's Day 5, and I can tell you my 2 years of Spanish have been flawless so far. Yesterday, like this trip has been filled with many great memories from spending time with the Girasloes Boys, Bonding with my classmates, and doing a front flip into a giant mud pit ( I definitely stuck the landing don't listen to anyone else). Also, today I gave a devotion on forgiveness to the Girasloes Boys this morning. So yes I will begin seminary school next week. Anyways, today I helped deliver water to the Promise Land. No, I'm not kidding the village is actually called "The Promised Land." They drove a 1995 Dodge heavy duty truck with about a 300 gallon tank filled with water on the back of it. The delivery method was pretty simple. We would drive down the little dirt roads of the village and stop along the houses with the people waiting for their buckets to be filled. It was such an amazing experience to not only minister to the people of the village by spreading God's love, but to also put smiles on the villagers' faces. This sweet little old lady said "Thank You" to me after I dropped her water off about 100 times and gave me the biggest hug I've ever received in my life. She also insisted on baking me cookies... I was tempted to stay for dinner. So Luis (mi amigo) and our group delivered water for 3 hours to the people of the Promised Land. We eventually returned back home and I went straight to playing Uno with major amigo (my best friend) Jesus Sanchez. I tell you, this kid is really good at Uno, like Olympic team worthy. All in all this trip has touched me in so many different ways and its just over halfway done. I am excited for the days ahead.
-Hunter