Mission Peru

So, yesterday was the day that the team met all together for the first time at Pearson airport at 6:30 in the morning! Tired and excited, we arrived at the airport. We all got our tickets and sent away our luggage (most of us had one team bag and one personal bag, plus our carry on, so it was kind of a challenge for the less muscularly endowed people...like me) and we said goodbye to our families for the last time for 2 weeks (Jeff gave us about 2 and a half minutes) Getting onto the plane we discovered that the individual teams (Missisauga, Bolton and Thunder Bay) were basically split up throughout and put with people from other teams, and although it was nerve wracking (well it was for me, anyways) it ended up being a blessing in disguise! There isn't a much better way to get to know each other than sitting next to each other on a 5 hour plane ride!

The first flight was great, and smooth, although it might have been a little scary for people who were first flying! Once we arrived in San Salvador the fact that most of us had gotten way less sleep than we were supposed to the night before started kicking in! We waited in the airport for our flight to Lima to get here, and once it did we packed ourselves up and boarded.

The plane ride to Lima was not as smooth as the one to San Salvador! There was a lot of turbulance and a lot more Gravol taken! Thankfully after much praying and clinging to our armrests we landed safely and walked out into Peru, anxious as the fact that we were finally there was kicking in. We waited a while for our luggage, which for first time flyers (well maybe not all of them, but I know for Victoria!) was scary, because we were nervous our luggage might not arrive! Again, after praying and patience it all arrive and we left the airport.

Landing in Peru for me was an experience that made me feel a mixture of emotions, I was excited, yes because we'd finally made it through all the flights and into Peru, but at the same time it was all so new and so scary, there were so few people that spoke English and the culture was so different! Jeff's friend who is a pastor at a huge Alliance church here in Lima and his family picked us up from the airport (thank goodness for that, because we would not have been able to get our luggage out alone!)

We all boarded a big bus and started to drive. Once we got on the bus Jeff came to the front and told us that instead of staying in a hotel like what was planned, we were going to stay in the quarters that the Alliance church had set up for us! On the bus we even got to sit with a few of the people who attend the church, and although their English (much like our Spanish) is broken, we managed to make great friends, they're so nice!

We dropped off the luggage at the Alliance church and all the  girls were told to stay on the bus while the guys unpacked the suitcases (I don't think any of the girls minded this at all, I know I didn't) and then we were told by our new friends that we were going to have "a real Peruvian feast!". So the boys boarded the bus again and we drove to a restaurant, the name of which..I think was called Bigui. But we ate some of the best chicken, fries and salad I have ever tasted, we also got to try Inka Cola (which Jeff never stops talking about) and I really liked it (I can't describe the taste, but if I could I would say it's a mix of Cream Soda and Bubble Gum). By this time it was about midnight, our time (in Peru) so most of us were falling asleep. So we packed up and walked back to the Alliance church.

While walking I noticed just how different Peru is from Canada, the houses are so open and close together (if that makes any sense). And the traffic is INSANE!  Cars everywhere, and all you could hear was people honking! When we got to the Alliance church we got to talk to the Peruvians more, I honestly can't even find words to describe how generous and kind they are! The girls got lead down to where we were sleeping and we settled in (we slept in 2 seperate rooms and the boys all had their own room) when we walked into the room we saw a bare floor, we were so tired and greatful for the hospitality of the church that we were totally willing to grab some clothes and use those for beds and pillows. But once we put our suitcases down, our new friends arrived with mattresses for all of us! It was so nice! I loved my room of girls, and we quickly adjusted and got into our pj's, went to our bathroom, wrote in our journals, found our light switch (after about 15 minutes of looking) and talked until the early hours of the morning, because no matter how hard we tried we couldn't fall asleep!

Our first day was a tiring one, that's for sure, but it was also really exciting, it really set a good tone for the trip and I'm super excited to see how the rest of it goes! We made lots of new friends and lots of new memories and that was after flying all day! So I can only imagine what it's going to be like when we're out and about! 

Hasta luego!

Jacqueline :)