El Viaje a Peru...the Beginning

Duffel bags stuffed with jump ropes and Spanish children's books have overtaken the den. A big red suitcase sits on my bed stuffed with long underwear, jeans, and sunscreen. Spanish translation guides, travel books, and boxes of imodium litter the kitchen table. It is nearly time for a journey to Peru.

As many of you know, my brother Ben and I will be spending about a month in and around Cusco, Peru volunteering with local missions and learning more about this place and the people who live there. After months of preparation, we will begin our journey tomorrow at 1 o'clock. Tomorrow, my family and I will be flying to Lima, Peru and, then continuing on to Cusco on Sunday. Upon arriving in Cusco, we are planning on driving out of the city a bit to La Casa del Aguila, a farm and orphanage. For several days we will volunteer there, playing with the kids, running a medical clinic, and basically doing anything else we can to be a blessing to the people living there. Then after a trip to Machu Pichu, my parents and younger brother Nathan will fly back home and Ben and I will return to Cusco where we will stay for the next three weeks. While in Cusco, Ben and I plan to work in a coffee shop run by local missionaries, volunteer with an after school program for local homeless children, and attend language school.

So that is basically what we are planning for our trip. But, as it will ultimately be God and not us who charts the final itinerary of our journey, I am sure that the actual events of our trip may be quite different than these initial plans. I am also sure that this trip will be more right than anything I could have planned. As the story of our journey unfolds, I plan to document it with pictures and posts here on my blog. I hope that you will join us in Cusco by reading about the people and places we encounter there and by praying for us. As we begin our journey I have a few specific prayer requests:

• That we would be able to genuinely show God's love to the children we will be working with.
• That the local missionaries we are visiting would be encouraged and blessed.
• That my family and I would be safe and that we would get along well while we are traveling together.
• And ultimately that God would direct our paths and teach us what we need to learn.

Well I think that's all I have to say on this side of the hemisphere. I will write again from Cusco, Peru. Hasta luego!