Peru is a very diverse and interesting country. All along its coast there is only desolate desert that gets only one inch of rain a year. I had never seen anything like it before, it is a different kind of beauty and definitely worth seeing. As you go inland towards the gigantic Andes Mountains you start to see the mountain lifestyle and culture: cooler temperatures, higher elevations, llamas, sheep, Ginea pigs and the famous “coca culture.” People chew the leaf they make cocaine from and also put it in tea. It helps with altitude sickness and works as an energy booster very similar to caffeine.
After a grueling 18 hour all night bus ride through the windy Andes roads with landslides and torrential rain, I made it from coastal Nazca to mountainous Cusco. I didn’t have any contacts here so I decided to try a different approach. I contacted a missionary in the area after coming across his blog online. Scott Dillon and his family have been in Peru for around 3 years and had recently moved to the Cusco area. They have helped start an orphanage and he is sharing some pastoral responsibilities and is very involved with the youth from his church. It was really fun meeting him for lunch and chatting about missions and the ministry in Cusco. He was as excited as I was to have a sports ministry clinic and we decided the best timing would be after I got back from my hike up to Machupicchu the famous Inka ruins.
It also gave me some time to explore the beautiful colonial city of Cusco. Before it was taken over by the Spanish, this city was the “mecca” for the powerful Inka civilization. The history here is really cool. It seems that everywhere you turn, the cobblestone streets tell a different story. For instance, on the outside of the Qorikancha catholic church you see just another typical massive Spanish church. But when you go inside you find out that the Spanish built this church over a sacred Inka site and the Inka ruins are still inside!
The trek to Machupicchu was a lot of fun as I took a path through the jungle, over rivers and huge mountains.
When I returned from the trek I connected with Scott and we hammered down the time and place for the clinic. Next to the orphanage there is a covered basketball/indoor soccer field. We ended up using the cement court and had an awesome time. We played my favorite games shooters/keepers, steal the bacon and then scrimmaged. A lot of these kids in the orphanage come from really bad homes. Scott was telling me about how the found out about one mother who would lock her 1 and 2 year old kids in the house while she was gone working all day. A neighbor discovered them and would put food under the door for them to eat until they were able to get the government involved and place the kids in an orphanage. So the women that carry their kids on their back in a blanket are a lot more responsible and loving than you would think. It was really great to give the kids a fun afternoon, share the gospel with them and have them walk away with a bracelet.
After a grueling 18 hour all night bus ride through the windy Andes roads with landslides and torrential rain, I made it from coastal Nazca to mountainous Cusco. I didn’t have any contacts here so I decided to try a different approach. I contacted a missionary in the area after coming across his blog online. Scott Dillon and his family have been in Peru for around 3 years and had recently moved to the Cusco area. They have helped start an orphanage and he is sharing some pastoral responsibilities and is very involved with the youth from his church. It was really fun meeting him for lunch and chatting about missions and the ministry in Cusco. He was as excited as I was to have a sports ministry clinic and we decided the best timing would be after I got back from my hike up to Machupicchu the famous Inka ruins.
It also gave me some time to explore the beautiful colonial city of Cusco. Before it was taken over by the Spanish, this city was the “mecca” for the powerful Inka civilization. The history here is really cool. It seems that everywhere you turn, the cobblestone streets tell a different story. For instance, on the outside of the Qorikancha catholic church you see just another typical massive Spanish church. But when you go inside you find out that the Spanish built this church over a sacred Inka site and the Inka ruins are still inside!
The trek to Machupicchu was a lot of fun as I took a path through the jungle, over rivers and huge mountains.
When I returned from the trek I connected with Scott and we hammered down the time and place for the clinic. Next to the orphanage there is a covered basketball/indoor soccer field. We ended up using the cement court and had an awesome time. We played my favorite games shooters/keepers, steal the bacon and then scrimmaged. A lot of these kids in the orphanage come from really bad homes. Scott was telling me about how the found out about one mother who would lock her 1 and 2 year old kids in the house while she was gone working all day. A neighbor discovered them and would put food under the door for them to eat until they were able to get the government involved and place the kids in an orphanage. So the women that carry their kids on their back in a blanket are a lot more responsible and loving than you would think. It was really great to give the kids a fun afternoon, share the gospel with them and have them walk away with a bracelet.
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