Full Day Number One! - 2/24/08
Kailyn Reesman reporting on full day number one! Yay! I’m excited to be among the first to post on the blog. Everyone has been telling me things to post so this should be interesting!
Bad weather and redirections resulted in me BARELY getting to Miami to meet the team in time. On the opposite end of the spectrum, our Texas five-some arrived in Miami five hours early. Apparently they traipsed around the airport in search of food and the like, and didn’t end up receiving their tickets until the final call! God certainly showed that He NEVER leaves us nor forsakes us. I have yet to see my bags, though, so keep that in your prayers! Daniel and Pastor Salazar were going to try to go pick them up for me tonight before bed, but no one at the airport is answering the phone, so it looks like I may not see them until tomorrow. Everyone has been good about sharing their stuff with me though.
We attended the 3rd service at the church in Callao. Even though the majority of it was in Spanish, I think we all enjoyed it anyway. Daniel gave a good testimony (translated by Pastor Salazar), and Amy actually had the opportunity to do a wonderful chalk drawing while Pastor Salazar was preaching. I actually recognized a couple of the songs we sang and was able to sing along here and there in English. THAT was fun! We had an interesting introduction to some of Peruvian culture before and after the service as well. Often instead of handshakes or hugs, the people will give you one of those “cheek to cheek kisses” (we couldn’t figure out how else to describe it!) We were pretty much unprepared for that!
Charlie took advantage of the opportunity and stood along the sidewalk handing out tracts to passersby. Most of the people here are so receptive to anything you offer them. They wave at us when our bus goes by, and one girl even approached me to have her picture taken with me. I took that as a chance to give out a tract, and Elizabeth prayed with them as well (she’s better at Spanish!).
For lunch we went to Roky’s and had some very good Peruvian baked chicken. For a lot of us, this was our first chance at tasting the famous Inca Cola. It is very good, and the 4 people at my end of the table drank three big bottles between us, I think!After some training for the kids programs this week we headed to Larcomar for a double scoop of Peruvian ice cream along the
Pacific coast (it was VERY GOOD, I might add). We got the chance to play around in the ocean after dark, which was very refreshing with as hot and humid as it is around our hotel. The guys entertained themselves by running towards the waves and then yelling and running away as they came near. It was quite entertaining to watch! As for us girls, we enjoyed walking down the beach and then running back toward the rest of the group. There’s something special about walking the beach at night.We are back at our hotel now, doing well, although we’re all tired. We called off the Ventanilla program in the morning because of how tired we all still are. They didn’t know we were coming, so we’re not disappointing them or anything. Tomorrow evening will begin our kids program in Callao, and then we will begin the Ventanilla ministry Tuesday morning. This gives us some more preparation time, too.Let me sign off by saying “God is good, ALL the time.”Kailyn, for the Team
The beach near Larcomar.
How many bottles of Inka Cola did you drink, Kailyn? :-)