The end of the journey.

Here I am, nearly two months from the time I began my amazing journey to Cajamarca, Peru. What a summer this has been! My experiences definitely surpassed all expectations I had and the people I had the opportunity to meet filled my life with such joy and love. The trip home was a heart breaker, many tears were shed as Claire and I said our goodbyes to Celso, Gleny, and the Heaths.  I went to Peru leaving behind family and loved ones, with only an acquaintance as a travel partner, and I ended up finding a family away from home.  Although leaving was difficult, the memories made from all the love and laughter made it all worthwhile. 

Our group of friends, minus a few. From top left, clockwise: Ivan, Christian, Fernando, Liz, & Tatiana

Edwin was one of our English students. We held classes with him at the Heath's house on Sunday nights. Before we left he gave each of us a painting as a thank you gift.

I will never forget this child.

My last evening with Elio, I did not want to let him go.

The Heath family and Gleny. Claire and I could not have been more blessed by this family. A lifelong friendship was created here and I love them all dearly.

Saying our goodbyes. A little silliness helped ease the sadness of having to leave.

Peru taught me how to love and show compassion without limits.  It taught me how to relax and go with the flow and to just enjoy life in the present moment.  I learned that family is not always created through bloodlines and that having a bunch of "things" does not bring true happiness.  People and love bring happiness.  Jesus Christ brings true joy.  

Thank you again to everyone who has supported and/or prayed for me during this journey.  It was an incredible ride and my heart longs to be able to return again one day.

Lots of love, Kelly

Adorable children, new friends, a trip to the zoo, and a waterfall.

Hello again! Sorry for such a long break in between posts, thought my schedule would slow down after all the teams had come and gone but it seems to have stayed just about as busy as before, if not more so.  This post will be a little different, less wordage and a lot more pictures since so much time has passed and so many events have occurred here.

First I'll start with this adorable little family that Claire and I love. We've taken gifts to them twice now, the last time being a few weeks ago. There are 3 boys and 1 baby girl. Nearly every time we walk to the church or school they run out to the road to see us or yell an adorable "Hola!" from their house. 

Playing with a little Nerf football with Christian. He's my favorite of the group, not that they all aren't precious.

Two of the boys got new shoes, one got a new shirt, all three got Nerf footballs, and the little girl got a small stuff elephant.

Christian!! Ahhh he's so precious! His voice is adorable too.

Explaining the gifts to the mom.

The second time we took gifts their cousins were visiting. We gave more shirts, some pants for the girl, and some Hot Wheels cars.

Many fun experiences occur during our walks here. Crissy and another missionary, Jen, took us one day to the Banos.  This area in town is famous for it's natural hot springs.  We walked there instead of driving through the city. It's about a 40-45 minute walk and is it ever worth it! The scenery and houses seem to take you back in time. 

Taking a quick snapshot of the entrance sign before we started our walk.

Now that doesn't seem like the year 2012 to me.

So tranquil.

What a view!

Started as strangers, ending as sisters.

One of the seminaries here.

We made it to the Heaths' favorite ice cream/pastry shop in the Banos.

Autumn was excited about her two scoops of ice cream, I might have been even more excited.

 

Claire had tiramisu, I had 1 scoop of chocolate and 1 scoop of I think it was peanut butter.

Our first taste test with "fast food". There are always vendors on the side of the road everywhere selling food. A lot of times it's ceviche. We steer clear of that because the potatoes probably aren't sanitized and it has raw fish. This however was a potato that had been stuffed with some vegetables and a little bit of ground beef. It was actually really good and really cheap. We each had seconds and we didn't get sick!

The taxi ride back home was fun...

and very cramped!

My very first taxi ride.

The next few pictures are random shots I took at church one morning. Claire teaches Zumba (a form of exercise that revolves around dancing) during children's church. I went with her this morning to take pictures and see what it was like.

Repeating the prayer during children's church.

Claire leading her dances.

Children's church ended before the sermon was over...

which meant Samuel and I got to have a photo shoot.

And now for more recent pictures. These cover the last week or so of events.

On Saturday afternoons Claire and I teach english to some friends our age. Then we play voli and futbol afterwards.

Keeping Andy entertained before church began one Sunday morning.

After church the Heaths took us to their favorite Chinese restaurant in town.

And after lunch we had an afternoon of shopping at Santa Apolonia.

Claire and I at the school watching the futbol games with Diana and Liz.

One weekday afternoon Claire and I rode with the Heaths to the Banos...

...this time for an actual bath in the hot spring water.

Another adventure was getting to go to Yacanora, which is only about a 20 minute drive and then a little hike. It's worth it to see the few waterfalls that are there.

Claire and I at the second waterfall.

Almost doesn't seem like Peru.

On the way to the waterfall we passed a small run-down building. It was covered in graffiti and names with hearts. I thought it would be neat to add our names to the collection, forever in Peru.

On Friday morning, the 20th, Monte Sion had a parade to celebrate the 20th anniversary for the church. Each grade dressed up in a different themed costume.

Claire and I got to walk in the parade too. If we had know we could have found something to dress up as.

This is Lucho. He's one of the gatekeepers at VM.

Friday night was fun but long! The church held a surprise birthday party for the Pastor's 50th. Of course Claire and I had to get a picture with our "Abuelito".

A party isn't a party without a mariachi band.

This was the first course to the birthday meal, served at 11:30 p.m. It was similar to a tamale but filled with vegetables. Next came chicken and baked potatoes. Followed by a tree tomato sitting in cinnamon sauce for dessert. And the cake wasn't served until Sunday after church. Interesting.

As the night wore on, speaker after speaker, band after band, we lost a few soldiers. So then it was a free for all to keep everyone else entertained. Our table sure had fun even if we were delirious at the end of it all.

One Saturday morning we went with the Heaths to a local zoo.

How gorgeous is that coat!

Our God is so creative!

Buying souvenirs at this cute little shop at the zoo. Everything is handmade.

At the Heath's Friday night soccer ministry. With sweet Elio. I would bring this child home if I could.

Learning how to crochet...

...learning that I am not very good at it. And the Peruvian women were making fun of me.

Rice pudding for the kids at the Friday night soccer ministry. And Crissy and I happened to match that night.

Some of our favorite students from Monte Sion. This was our last big event with them before we leave. We had Wednesday night church outside on the slab and the church commemorated their 20 year anniversary. Some students performed dances, a guest pastor spoke and we sang. All the parents of the students and a lot of the church members attended.

This post probably encompasses around 3 weeks worth of events. Claire and I only have a few days left here in this amazing country. We start our journey back home on Wednesday, August 1. What an experience this has been!! The people of Peru are so loving and genuine. My life has been so blessed by being here.