Day 3

Hi Everyone,

We are doing great!  Our congregation should be very proud of the work these students are doing!  Great job parents!!!  Today we worked hard at Alburgesa, the future children's home and vocational school.  We then went to the fruit market to buy fruit to hand out the workers of the garbage dump...  Here are some reactions from the day from Carolyn, Robin and Kevin...

Pray for...
Rest
Continued health and safety
Tomorrow we will work construction all day

"The garbage dump was a life changing experience for me.  I went in knowing that the people were in poverty, and at first I felt sad for them.  They were in desperate need of food and clean water, and I couldn't help but  feel helpless.  I had wanted to help all of the people at the dump, and when I ran out of fruit within the first fifteen minutes at the dump, I wasn't sure how else I could help the people living in the dump.  However, as I spent more time at the dump, I realized that despite their hunger and thirst, these people were truly happy and grateful for what we were doing.  After meeting with each of the people, I couldn't help but feel happy.  The people living there had each given me the biggest smiles I've seen in a long time.  I realized that even though I couldn't give these people everything that they needed by myself, I had helped them get through this afternoon.  I also realized that besides the fact that I was born to a family in the USA and they were born to a poor family that lived in the dump, they weren't any different from me... we all need to love and be loved."  - Carolyn C.

"Today we did 4 hours of construction, it was probably the dirtiest and hardest work I've done in my whole life. I came out covered head to toe in cement and dirt, but it was awesome seeing everyone working their hardest and not complaining. Right after we went to eat lunch and then to the garbage dump to give out fruit to the workers. I was not even close to be prepared for the amount of need of the people there, yet despite all that everyone still seems to be so happy and joyful to see us. No matter where we go people are constantly smiling and waving at us. At the dump I had the awesome opportunity to talk to a lady whose name was Mercedes. She worked at the dump every day with her son and husband, and she asked if we could pray that God would touch her heart. I couldn't believe that she didn't ask that God would provide her food or water. I left the garbage dump feeling helpless. Yes we helped all of those people today and gave them a couple of bananas and oranges, but tomorrow they're going to be back in that dump scavenging just to survive. I just wanted to give each of them like a bag of all the fruit they could eat. On the bus I couldn't help, but realize that no matter how hard I tried or how much resources I had I could never meet the amount of need I saw there today, but God could. He not only could meet their physical needs, but he can fulfill them more than any food or water. I love the relationships I've been building with people like Mercedes and some of the people at Inca link and the churches despite my terrible Spanish, and I can feel my heart starting to soften. I can't wait to see everything that God has in store for us this trip because it has just started yet it seems like we've done so much. We're moving so fast and have only so many chances to make a difference. We can't take any moment for granted. Please pray for our strength and rest, we're going to need it." - Kevin N.

"Yea, so today we did about 4 hrs of construction; It was very hard work, and it made me very tired very fast, but I kept thinking about what I was working for. All of those children... just seeing their smiling faces and just their energy, and innocence. I couldn't believe that I was actually building a place for these children to live in. It was the first time I was ever building something where someone was actually going to be living in it, some people were actually depending on me, this was actually important; this really mattered. it kept me going. After about 20 minutes of rolling wet cement around on wheel boroughs, I couldn't feel my arms. But nevertheless I kept going. I just had so much to motivate me. I kept thinking about what I was working for, and I knew that the harder I worked, the better lunch would taste, and OHH MAN did lunch taste good.  We had mashed potatoes, vegetables and one small piece of chicken for lunch. I scooped up the mashed potatoes with my spoon and just ate it all in about 5 seconds and I just ate the chicken in one bite...but enough about that. After lunch, we went to the fruit market to go buy some fruit so we could give some to the people at the garbage dump. It's actually quite rare for the people working at the fruit market to see people like us "Gringos" if you will, so everybody looked at us wide eyed, smiling. I bought a few baby bananas and oranges, and then we went to the garbage dump. At the dump, when I got off the bus, I couldn't believe where I was... how people lived there. It was just unreal; I started handing out the fruit to people, and started conversations with them. I couldn't believe the expressions these people had on their faces....smiles! everyone was just smiling, and everyone seemed happy, even as I spoke with them, they always had an upbeat voice and were very polite. These people weren't crying out for help, but they seemed to be content with where they were. It was truly an emotional experience just seeing people living in these conditions, just getting by. So I prayed with them, that God would watch over them and provide for them their needs, and keep them healthy and safe. And I know that YOU who is reading this may have not met these people here in Trujillo, at the Garbage dumps, but please pray for these people, pray for their health and safety. Today was a very long day, but it truly was amazing. It's only been 2 days since i've been here in Peru, so I can't imagine what God has in store for me for the rest of this trip; I really think it's going to be a life changing experience."                   -Robin H.