6th Day - Monday, July 27th

After going to church and having some play time on Sunday, the group woke up ready to get back to work! The carport crew continued their project, working alongside the Peruvians and orphanage volunteers.

In VBS, we talked about how God changes lives, and demonstrated that to the kids by using magic. The kids were treated to another visit from Juan, the puppet, a fun art project, and lots of singing.

After noon activities included: scrubbing the walls in the kitchen and hallway; carport construction; replacing more screens; picking up garbage; sandboarding with the girls; working on the tie-dye shirts; and a trip to the market (which was quite an experience for 8 of our team members!).

One of the side projects I was tasked with was to fix the wiring for their internet. The cabling was quite a bit of spaghetti, and had been attached incorrectly. Also they had 3 wireless routers (1 for upstairs, 1 for the office, and 1 for the library), a DSL router and Voice over IP (VOIP) router all configured in correctly. This was causing connection to drop frequently. So, I spent most of the afternoon and evening on this project.

At 4 p.m., the team was honored at a farewell celebration (despedida) put on by the orphanage, featuring skits and songs by the kids, and a performance of Peruvian dances by two young students. The group was presented with a Trujillo clock to commemorate our work at the orphanage.

5th day - Sunday, July 26th

Sunday we went to church at Centro Biblico. Let's just say it was a bit lengthy if you don't know any Spanish.

After church, we went to Huanchaco which is an ocean side tourist city. We had lunch where they server Peruvian cuisine. Where Doug Miller tried the local delicacy, Cuy which is what we call Guinea Pig, mmmmmm, yummy. Unfortunately, some of us had to wait over an hour to be served while others were done in a half hour. Huanchaco is full of little tiendas where you can purchase various Peruvian stuff for cheap. Also, some of us got adventurous and decided to swim in the ocean that is Katy Rummery, I mean. Pete Larsen, managed to rent a wet suit and surf board for about $7.00 for 2 hours. I hear he managed to catch a couple waves.

Then we went back to Trujillo for dinner at a Peruvian Chifa restaurant which is basically Chinese with a Peruvian twist. By this time, we were well fed and sleepy.

Tomorrow we get back to work.

4th Day - Saturday, July 25th

Well, apparently, I can't upload any pictures anymore. I have tried over and over to add pictures from 2 days ago, but it just isn't going to happen. So, I will try to add them perhaps in Lima if there is a connection.

So, on to what we've been up to...

On Saturday, we got up as usual, and continued work on the garage and fixing screens in the morning. We made some major progress getting the header board of the long wall put in place. These boards are about 6 1/2 meters, very heavy, and very warped. At one point we had about 10 people trying to pull the bend out of the board which was hanging 20 feet above them while simultaneously trying to drill a hole through both ends of each header. It was a major feat.

After lunch, we took a large group of the kids to the Huacas del sol y de la luna. The idea was to go together so we could watch the kids, but they divided us into English speakers and Spanish speakers which meant the long term volunteers who were with us had to go with the kids without us. We were quite a large group.

We brought the kids back to the orphanage, and then the volunteers and our group went out to dinner in Trujillo at Roky's. Roky's is a restaurant I had been taken to a couple times on my previous trips to Peru. They serve a Brazilian style meat selection which works well for a group our size. After dinner, Alan Gleghorn bought the most enormous, gigantic, super huge, lemon meringue pie you have ever seen in your life!

After Roky's, we went to the Plaza de Armas in Trujillo. It is a gorgeous city all lit up at night. We saw several wedding parties. While walking around the plaza, we came across some Peruvian break dancers. After gathering up some courage, Drew decided to challenge them to a dance off. I'll try to get a video of the event soon. But let's just say, the competition was fierce.

A handful of us finished the evening learning how to dance the Salsa from our very own Shannon Hunt and David (one of the night watchmen here). One of the highlights was Drew and I dancing the Tango together.

It was a very busy day, and full of fun.

P.S. Now that I'm back in the states, here are the pictures...