First impressions

You can all rest easy, I have arrived safely in Peru!

We left MCI on Friday morning at 7:30 and headed to the airport with the two Japan teams who were heading out at the same time as we were. Our flight left at 11:45am and things went smoothly. We flew from Winnipeg to Toronto, and then from Toronto to Lima. We arrived in Lima around 1:30am and Nathan (staying at a church in Lima and serving there for the year) picked us up and brought us to the place where we were staying. We got to bed around 3:30 and then got to sleep in a bit the next morning. On Saturday we did some planning for the youth program and church service the following day, and then Nathan took us out exploring Lima. At 7pm we went to the church where we put on the youth program with games, songs and our drime. It went well and it was a ton of fun. They welcomed us with open arms and we experienced the love of Christ that goes beyond language and cultural barriers.

On Sunday morning we participated in as well as led parts of the service. It was great to join in with people and sing praises to God, no matter what language we speak! Following the service Nathan took us out for lunch and we did some more exploring of Lima. We visited the park of love (which includes a large statue of two people making out) and walked around. We also visited a Starbucks which made me feel right at home! Our bus left from Lima at 6pm, and soon enough we were headed to Piura!

After a very loooooong (16 hours) bus ride we safely arrived in Piura at 9:15 on Monday morning. We settled in and began to explore the place where we will be living for the next month. Since we arrived we have had a few meetings, a lot of time to hang out as a team, we shopped at the market and the supermarket and we are also had a spanish lesson! Things are going well, and we are looking forward to diving in and getting to know the language and culture.

Here are a few first impressions that I have experienced...

Rules on the road are more like guidelines..... stop signs are only followed when people feel like it.
People honk their horns to warn everyone else that they are there, not out of anger.
Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way. Cars will not stop for you.
At night- red lights are merely there if there is a lot of traffic.

I have made myself let go of my right to having a warm shower. Cold showers are the way to go. I have to keep reminding myself of that as I feel chilled to the bone each time I step in.

Time doesn't mean a whole lot. If we have a meeting at 10, it may start at 11 or it may not happen at all. On Peruvian time, things happen as they happen. Schedules are held very loosely. To be honest, I LOVE it. I'm more ten minutes late kind of person anyways.

I have been voted the team mom, and as a result Matt calls me "mom" more than he actually uses my real name. I kind of like having that role.

For more team updates please check out our team blog, where each person will get a chance to update it every so often:

www.peruteamaction2010.blogspot.com

On Monday night we went up on the roof of the place where we are staying and we prayed for the city of Piura, as well as for the church that we are working with and staying at. The church has experienced a lot of hard things lately, and is now working on healing and moving forward. We spent time praying for healing and restoration for the people here. It was a really powerful time of prayer and I think God will call us to do more interceding in behalf of the church and the people during our time here. God is going to do new things in this place!!

Thank you for following my trip so far, and I will attempt to continue to post updates. I will also post team pictures and pictures of where we are staying and some stuff we are doing in the next week sometime.

Please pray for:

-Health

-That we would not be affected by the darkness in this place, and that God's light would shine through us.

-That we would remain united as a team

Thank you for your continued prayer and support!

-Amber/ Team Mom.