Update

The last two weeks have been packed with activities. The Yaycuy team spent a few days in Ventanilla, an extremely marginalized area of the city, working in collaboration with World Vision on some seminars with "community promoters" who are leaders that are working to develop and improve their communities. The students helped with some workshops that focused on movement and dance which were designed to help people learn about self-awareness, self-esteem, and team-building. The students all had to learn about this before teaching it, and for many of them it was a very new and different experience, some students said they were skeptical at first about what they were doing, but as they continued, they realized the value of what they were learning and were excited to share it with the people of Ventanilla. They spent the rest of the week focusing on their mentoring relationships with the City Explorers program and also doing some sports and recreation outreach to kids in the neighborhood around the Yaycuy ministry house.

At Paz y Esperanza we had a week full of lots of different activities. On Monday through Wednesday we continued our regular activities of serving at the community kitchen and doing home visits with our friends Pastor Casio and Pastora Ofelia to visit the sick and pray with them. Then on Thursday through Sunday we spent our time in Bayobar, a nearby neighborhood, where we helped Paz y Esperanza with a community fair and also built a staircase with people from the community. This was hard physical labor without any fancy equipment, and gave us awesome insight into how hard the people of Peru work, especially the poor who build their homes and communities on the hills that surround Lima. The students really enjoyed it and expressed how they felt it taught them so much about how hard the people here work to survive.

Many students are still sick, so please pray for our team's health. The diahrea and colds have been lingering for several students. Please pray for complete health for the whole team in our last days here in Lima. Please also pray that we would continue to take advantage of every moment we have here in Peru to experience more of God's love for us and for the people of Lima and his power to transform this city through those who are willing to serve Him.

Pictures!

We spent a day a few weeks ago seeing some of the crazy constrasts in this big city, the cemetery where the poor bury their dead, and the beautiful beach where the wealthy build their tall hotels and shopping malls. The Yaycuy team is mentoring a group of youth called the city explorers, and they were able to join us that day at the beach and get to know parts of the city that they rarely, if ever, get to enjoy, here's a picture of them skipping rocks:

















(Praise God for many sunny days in Lima despite the fact that it's winter here)


At Paz y Esperanza we have been spending time serving at a "Comedor" or a community kitchen that serves lunch to 60 kids 3 times a week. Here are some of our friends at the comedor:


































The Yaycuy team spent two days putting on a workship in Ventanilla in conjunction with World Vision. The workshop focused on dance and body movement and was a way to help people build creativity, self-awareness, and self esteem. Here are some pics of their time in Ventanilla:

Update

Last week we spent 2 days at our mid-project retreat in an area just about an hour outside Lima where we were able to rest and enjoy the beauty of a relaxing retreat center and take time to process all that we have experienced over the last 2.5 weeks. We spent time in silence with God, time studying scripture and praying together as a team, and also time enjoying nature and climbing one of the mountains nearby. It was really great to get away from the hustle and bustle of Lima and re-center ourselves before heading back into the second half of the Trek.

Our team continues to grow together and build close bonds with one another, which was evident on the retreat as we all enjoyed being together as a whole team for a change instead of at our separate site teams. When we arrived at the retreat we spent some time sharing our highs and lows so far on the Trek. The students at the Yaycuy site had just returned from their week at their homestays with Peruvian host families. These homestays went really well and all the families that hosted our students were tearful when they had to say goodbye to the students. Last week the students at Yaycuy also started one-on-one mentoring with some of the adolescents that Yaycuy works with. This program is called "Amigos del Alma" (Friends of the Soul) and is a unique opportunity for our students to help mentor and encourage young Peruvians who come from really tough living situations and extreme poverty. Last week at Paz y Esperanza we continued our service at the community kitchen and our home visits in the community of Mariategui. The students have really enjoyed visiting people in their homes and praying for the sick, and the people we have been able to visit and pray with have been really encouraged by these times. Most of the students expressed that they feel like so much has already happened on the Trek that it's hard to believe we still have 2.5 weeks ahead of us, and they're not sure what God has in store for us, but they want to continue to stay open and engaged to following God with whatever He has in store for us here. On the low side, we have some upset digestive systems and diahrea and some students with colds, and have put a couple students on antibiotics for their diahrea. This kind of sickness tends to happen every year on the Trek as our bodies are just not used to Peruvian food and the environment of Lima. Our team is taking good care of one another and our Peruvian hosts at our ministry sites are also taking really good care of us, so please don't worry, but please do pray for quick healing so those who aren't feeling 100% can return to full health as soon as possible.

Here are a few more specific prayer requests:

• For the students at the Yaycuy site team (Alicia, Andy, Jacque, Jeff, Walter, Sarah, Sean) to build deep relationships with the youth they are mentoring
• For the Paz y Esperzana site team (Amy G, Amy L, Brandon, Kelton, Laura) to find new and creative ways to serve and go deeper in their relationships with the kids and staff at the community kitchen
• For increasing sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to guide us in the remainder of our time here in Lima so we can fully experience all that God has for us here

Overdue Photos: Orientation night, a fiesta at Yaycuy!

Our first night in Peru was a night of celebration, our host ministry partners at Yaycuy Camuy threw a party for us to teach us about the beauty and diversity of Peruvian culture. It was an awesome way to start the Trek and to remember the importance of joy and celebration in the midst of the poverty and daily struggle of the slums of Lima.

Orientation Day, selling our wares