I might be OCD

I had the oddest dream last night. Actually, now that I think about it, it's not that odd for me, but from the outside looking in it's a tad awkward. In my dream I was in Peru and a friend and I (faceless friend) were keeping an eye on these two men's little "stores." I put "stores" in quotation marks because they were really more like one of those booths that you see at the fair that have all of the stuffed animals/prizes on them. Oh and the only thing that the "stores" sold was candy . . . original. So my unknown friend and I are taking care of the "stores" and I all of a sudden get really frazzled because my "store" is just in shambles. Nothing was lined up correctly and candy was strewn every which way. Can you imagine?? So I proceeded, before I could sell anything, to tidy up my "store" so that everything had it's place and was nice and orderly. Then the "store" owner came back. Confused as to why I had changed everything he asked, "Do you like the labels to face forward or something." Yes, yes I do.

Also, my kitten has made a sport out of knocking the Christmas ornaments off of the tree. So I've made a game too . . . she gets a treat for every ornament she knocks off. I wonder if she'll start to notice the positive reinforcement.

Just As I Am

Currently I've been listening to a sermon series by Mark Driscoll on Philippians (The Rebel's Guide to Joy). The most recent that's really been a blessing to me is the section of scripture Philippians 1:12-18. Paul, pretty much rotting in prison, is moved to joy because his position of suffering for the gospel has given him great opportunity to spread the truth of Christ to the Imperial guard and others imprisoned with him. It is just such a beautiful picture to me. It's not so much that I'm suffering in any way even remotely equivalent to what Paul endured, but more so that my heart for the persecuted church has grown so much in the past few months that this joy that Paul continually proclaims throughout his letters moves me to joy that I have never experienced. "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice." Glory to God!

I can only hope that when suffering befalls me that I respond in the way that Paul did. Also looking upon the biography of Charlotte Elliott (I encourage you to read about it!), I desire for my reaction to be somewhat comparable to hers, that Christ be known and glorified in my suffering. She penned this wonderful hymn, rejoicing overall that just as we are, we are received by grace through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. I really just have meditated and loved this hymn in the past week and hope that it is beneficial and a blessing to others as well.

Just As I Am - by Charlotte Elliott

Just as I am, without one plea,

but that thy blood was shed for me,

and that thou bidst me come to thee,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not

to rid my soul of one dark blot,

to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about

with many a conflict, many a doubt,

fightings and fears within, without,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;

sight, riches, healing of the mind,

yea, all I need in thee to find,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thou wilt receive,

wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;

because thy promise I believe,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Welcome to the jungle!

Surprisingly, we made it out of the jungle with only a few scratches! We arrived in the very warm Iquitos Monday afternoon. We were really surprised by how different the jungle is than the rest of Perú. Peru has a very conservative culture, so it was weird to see women in tank tops and very short skirts and shorts. It was quite an adjustment! That night we had a tasty dinner of alligator nuggets and manioc/yucca and fell asleep pretty early. The next morning we met our guide, Magali, after breakfast and headed to Llanchama, the village in the jungle where we would be staying. After a combi ride and a 40 minute walk we arrived in Llanchama which was so beautiful and right on the river! They even have a discotech in their small town which we thought was hilarious. Then we arrived to our house which was so picturesque...flowers surrounding the gate and an open aired house with a thatched roof. We were so excited! We met the three "house moms" who are all so sweet and they immediately set up hammocks for us to rest from our walk. It was perfect! After a few hours we had a big lunch of fish with peppers and rice which was so flavorful and yummy. After another long rest we took a short walk around the jungle so that Señora María could show us all of the great plants that they use and their gardens. Not even half-way into the walk Emily got pretty sick and started throwing up...we're pretty sure that the heat made it worse, because she was sick the rest of the day :(. But the ladies took such great care of her! Señora María kept giving me the tour while Emily rested and I got to see so many great plants that they use for medicine and food. I even got to pick a pineapple! That night we fell asleep to all of the wonderful jungle sounds and were excited for the next day.

On Wednesday we woke up early in the morning and headed out onto the river in a canoe to go catch some fish with our rods made out of wood! Emily and I are both horrible fishers, so we didn't expect much, but the river is so beautiful in the morning. There was fog everywhere, so you couldn't see 10 feet in front of you, and the stillness/quietness was just awesome. We kept going to random coves because we weren't really catching anything, but I think it's because the fish are a lot smarter than the ones back home...they're sneaky and eat the bait off of the hook without getting caught...it's amazing. Finally we found a cove where we caught some really ugly looking fish that are apparently bait fish. Needless to say, we weren't proud of our first fishing experience. Then we had breakfast with my tasty pineapple from the day before and took long naps in our hammocks. After lunch, we headed back out onto the river to have hopefully more success than our previous attempt. We were out on the river for a while before any fish even started biting, but we got to see a pink dolphin which was awesome! We only caught one fish on our second attempt, but apparently it was the biggest fish in the amazon! Only the one I caught was a baby haha. So we headed back for dinner and planned to take a nightly stroll to find tarantulas! We usually go to bed around 7 or 8, so we stayed up way past our bedtime that night. We were walking for about 45 minutes and hadn't found and tarantulas, so Señora María decided to look for snakes instead. We were both thinking "Oh even better!" But after an hour and a half we hadn't found anything, so headed back to go to bed.

Yesterday we were hoping for a relaxed day because we would only be there until lunch, but our relaxed day quickly turned into one of the longest days ever. After breakfast, Magali asked if we wanted to go for a walk. Thinking it would be around an hour to an hour and a half, we said yes...Señora María had other plans. We started climbing through the jungle about 45 minutes in and the mosquitos didn't make it easy. Then we came to a small lake that was too deep to walk across, so Señora María started fixing a small balsa raft which basically looked like 4 twigs roped together. I was pretty set on not getting wet because I knew we had a flight later and I had no other shoes and I didn't want my camera to get wet, so I said a big no to the sinking raft. So we started walking to find another way which led us to another balsa raft with huge logs that still managed to be submerged in the water when someone was on it. We decided to take that one and hope for the best. Emily went first and quickly found that the center was not really the best place to be...she got soaked on one side up to her thigh but strategically made it across without falling off. I was a little more fortunate, because only my shoes got soaked. After our lake rafting we traipsed through the jungle some more and stumbled upon some squirrel monkies high in the trees. Apparently when they saw us they were planning an attack, so we left pretty quickly. By the time we started going back to the house we were about 2 hours into our hike and exhausted from the heat and no water. We just kept stumbling everywhere and hoped to get back to the house in one piece. I was almost certain that a snake was going to attack my ankles at some point along our journey, but we made it back to the house just in time for lunch, unscathed less a couple of scratches.

We left our sweet house moms after lunch with a sad good-bye and headed to the airport where we were certainly the smelliest people on the plane. We felt really bad for anyone sitting near us. So we REALLY enjoyed our warm showers this morning :). We're back in Lima and sad that our journey is almost over. Today we're going to visit the market in Lima and spend some time with our family here that we love. I guess since this will most likely be the last post of our trip, we'd like to say thank all of you who have been reading along and praying for us. We've had such a wonderful experience here and can't wait to return one day. We love the peruvian people and culture and are so blessed to have had the time and experience that we've had. So our last prayer request is that you would pray for the Peruvian people and nation as a whole, that God would move mightily here and that the nation would rise to glorify Jesus. We love you and we'll see you soon!

P.S. We're trying to change our flight on Sunday from Miami to Atlanta to 9:10 AM so that we'll get home earlier, and if that one is full we'll be getting on the 11:25 AM flight.

love! Lauren

Canyon de Colca

Last Wednesday we left for our trek in the Colca Canyon. We left around 5am and headed on a local bus to Chivay on the rim of the canyon. After Chivay we took a 4 hour bus ride to Cabanaconde. After lunch, we began our trek down the steep walls of the second deepest canyon in the world. Our guide Angél was really wonderful and did a good job allowing us to set our own pace and stop to take lots of pictures. The canyon is absolutely beautiful. The first day we ended up trekking around 16km. It was all downhill and therefore very painful on our knees, back and joints. Luckily we only took one pack, so Lauren and I switched off every few hours. We discovered Lauren is really good at carrying the pack downhill, while Im better at lugging the pack uphill. After five hours we arrived at our lodge for the night. We had a rustic bamboo hut and enjoyed the natural hot springs. Upon awakening Thursday morning we discovered we had definitely over-done it the previous day...our legs were in pain. The first part of the second day included trekking straight uphill for three hours. This was exceptionally difficult. Due to the altitude, frigid air, exhaustion etc. we couldnt breathe and it was difficult to will our legs to keep moving. As we climbed we were silently re-evaluating why in the world we thought a three day trek was a good idea. After the three hour climb up, we rested and then began the "flat part". We soon discovered there are no flat paths in the canyon...we were always hiking up or down. There was never a break. After a few more hours we stopped at a small town for lunch. We were amazed that people have lived in the canyon for centuries. There are no roads, so the only way to get there is to hike in (this takes at least three hours, 2 if you ride a mule). It is a very isolated place, but we enjoyed admiring the detailed embroidery of the womens traditional skirts and vests. After a two hour rest, we hiked down into the bottom of the canyon. All together, the second day we trekked around six and a half hours. We could barely walk as we arrived at the camp. I like fell down the canyon the last hour. My knees kept collapsing and I kept slipping down the steep rocky paths. On Friday morning we woke up at 3am. However, we were really excited about our mule ride to the top of the canyon. At 4am we mounted our mules and began the trek up. We were greatly thankful that it was pitch black for the majority of the ride because the mules love to walk next the edge. Due to the soreness in our legs we enjoyed being off our feet. However, the route up is extremely steep. The mules were literally climbing stairs of rocks for an hour, and Lauren's mule was not a fan of being up that early, stopping every 5 or 10 minutes. As a result, we had to use our legs, abs and arms to keep balanced and not fall off. At sunset and after a two hour ride we arrived at the rim of the canyon. Greatly releived we climbed off our exhausted mules. We then realized every part of our bodies ached. It was difficult to walk to the hostel in Cabanaconde for breakfast. It was around 30 degress in Cabanaconde, and we were absolutely freezing, so we climbed in my sleeping bag during breakfast. Next, we went to see the condors. We were really exhasuted, but were excited to see so many condors gliding on the thermals in the canyon. A very majestic sight. Then we took a bus to Chivay to enjoy the very hot thermal pools and have lunch. The end of our trek was a 3 hr bus ride back to Arequipa. We had a few hours to re-pack and buy snacks and then we hopped on a night bus for Lima. Due to all of our uncomfortable and terrifying bus rides, we decided to splurge on a luxury bus for the 15 hour ride to Lima. It was definitely worth it. We had leather seats that reclined into a semi-bed. We cuddled in our sleeping bags and were served dinner and breakfast. We watched Madagascar and ConAir and slept a little bit...there were a lot of loud snorers around us. Anyways, we're excited to be back in Lima with the family at the hostel. We are off to find some food for dinner. We have been living off of candy, chips, wafers and water. So, we are ready for something of substance. Tomorrow the Mom is cooking us panchamanca and we're so excited! Ciao!

20 hours, 30 degrees, and minimal hours of sleep

We have had some of the most interesting days of our entire trip this weekend! So, if you don't know, the government system of Peru is pretty corrupt, and there have been a lot of protests among the people about many various things. On Thursday or Friday one of the laws that was restricting indigenous tribes of using their own land was revoked, which was a big step for the country. Another big issue around Puno is the water rights. In America we pay for our water and it's not a big deal, but here, Peruvians haven't had to pay for water in the rural communities and are now being forced to pay for the water that comes from their own land. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but apparently it is. We found out on Friday night that most bus companies weren't running from Cusco to Puno (the route we needed to take) because the communities are creating road blocks on all of the roads getting into Puno to protest the government/water issue. A girl at the hostel told us a great story of how she left at night (not smart) and had to cross this bridge that had been burned and all of the boards had been pulled up and then proceeded to walk for 8-11 hours into Puno. Needless to say, we were worried, especially since our packs are pretty heavy. But since we had to get to Puno, we decided to see what we could find in the morning since most companies were probably running alternate routes. So in the morning we found that most companies aren't running to Puno, but we found a pretty decent company and got the last two tickets on the 10 AM bus. The man selling us the tickets seemed pretty confident, so we felt pretty good that we would get to Puno in 8 hours. About an hour and a half into the ride the bus stopped because of a road block and we all got off, grabbed our bags, and walked for about 5 minutes to a bridge...without very few boards and it had obviously been burned. So basically, with our packs on, we had to walk across the metal beams of the bridge that were about the size of a railroad track rod. It wasn't so bad, but it was really nerve-wrecking with our packs on...we were praying the whole time that we wouldn't fall, and God was definitely faithful. On the other side of the bridge, another bus was waiting (that was a lot smaller and clearly did not have enough seats for everyone) , and we were sure that the worst was behind us and praying that we wouldn't have to walk more than 2 hours.

About 2 hours later, while were driving along small dirt roads (clearly not made for a large bus) we came to a small town that had rocks blocking the road and lots of people waiting. So we all got off and attempted to talk the people into letting us pass. After about 30 minutes, they said that a commission was meeting in an hour or two and they would decide then. After waiting an hour and a half they came to the decision that we needed to take another route around the town because they weren't letting us through. We weren't sure why we waited an hour and a half for that, but it happens. We then proceeded to turn the bus around and wind around small dirt roads and travel along the "alternate route." We were pretty certain that the bus driver had no idea where he was going since we stopped at least 3 times to ask for directions. Then it started to get dark, which made it all more exciting. I think our favorite part was when the bus went over bridges that seemed too small (but were really not a big deal) and everyone would freak out yelling "Vamos bajar!" (Let's get off!), run to the front of the bus, and demand to be let off while on the bridge...we weren't traveling with the smartest people. We figured out that it was more like a game haha. We only had to walk through one more road block which took about 5 minutes which was such a blessing. We were certain that we would have to walk 11 hours, so we were so grateful. It took us about 20 hours in total before we reached Puno and the lack of room and cold temperature really didn't allow for much sleep. By the time we reached our hostel, we had about 45 minutes to get our stuff ready and head to our homestay at 7AM. It was a loooong day/night.

Our homestay in Capachica was so great! It was a really small town on the coast of Lake Titicaca and it was so gorgeous. Mr. Emiliano, the husband of the family we were staying with, had breakfast ready for us when we arrived and it was so great since we pretty much didn't eat the day before. Then after breakfast, he took us on a hike to the highest mountain to see all around Capachica all the way to Bolivia! It was pretty rough because we were so tired and we were at 12,000 feet, but the view was definitely worth it! We loved hearing about all of the things Mr. Emiliano knew about his town. We even got to go down to this wonderful pebble beach where we just wanted to sleep all day, but we had to go eat lunch. After lunch we took a little nap and then wrote in our journals some while looking at the great view. Then 3 girls showed up out of nowhere! They were so cute: Noemi, Sylvia, and Maritza. Then about 10 minutes later some little boys showed up with a soccer ball ready to play! We warned them that we were horrible, but joined in anyways. It was so fun! We were running all over the place, trying to kick the ball in the right direction and laughing with the kids. Emily almost knocked over the kids because she was so tall, and I just continued to kick the ball in the wrong direction...it was great. Somehow we won though!!! I think it was my amazing goalie skills and Emily's great scoring skills :). We hung out with the kids a little longer before they had to go home, ate dinner, and immediately fell asleep afterwards. We woke up early this morning, took a little walk down to the beach, at some yummy trout and papas fritas for lunch before heading back to Puno. All in all we've had a very interesting weekend and are really excited for our trip to Arequipa tomorrow! Hopefully our bus ride won't be as exciting as the last one :) Be praying that we have lots of energy for our Colca Canyon trek and that God would make himself known through us to the people that we encounter. We'll post again when we're in Lima!

Love! Lauren

Back to Machu Picchu

We got back to Cusco today from our trip to Machu Picchu. We really enjoyed the cute town of Ollantaytambo. We´ve been saving a ton of money by taking the local combi´s and buses. We get a lot of stares as we are the only white ppl on the bus, but it´s way more fun and exciting to travel with the locals. Everyone has been super nice too. The bus drivers always make sure we get off at the right spots and one even hand lead us to the correct combi to the town we were attempting to get to. It´s fun to stop every 20 min. or so and let ppl, on and off. We frequently have old men and women sitting on our arms and leaning against us. There´s absolutely no sense of personal space. So, we took a local bus to Urabamba from Cusco, then a combi to Ollantaytambo. The next morning we woke up at 4:30 am and hopped on the train to Aguas Calientes (which is in the valley below Machu Picchu). This train ride was absolutely freezing. We thought we were on the Siberian railway. For the past four days we´ve been wearing the exact same outfit. We didn´t bring much else except a camera and deodorant. Anyways, we arrived in Aguas Calientes wearing everything we brought and absolutely freezing our bones. We pretty much wandered around all day. AC is ridiculously expensive and the people are really rude, I guess because of the plethora of tourists. We had a hard time finding a hostel. all the ones in our guidebook were closed or under construction, so we ended up at a hotel with a private room, private bathroom and even a TV! Needless to say, after visiting the hot springs, we crawled into our beds and watched movies in spanish for the remainder of the day.

The next morning we woke up at 4:30 am again and rushed to the bus station to try to be one of the first ppl at MP. There were about 100 ppl already in line at 5am. we got on the 3rd bus up though. Machu Picchu was pretty incredible, just super mind-boggling. We hiked over to Wayna Picchu. Which is a large mountain with ruins at the top. They only allow like 200 ppl up each day, so we waited in line till 7am. we were number 59 and 60 to be let up. I think we way underestimated the hike. It was rather intense and long...straight up with at least 30 sets of stairs. However, some of the steps came up to Lauren´s thigh. So it was really more like climbing. At one point you pull yourself up with a rope. Another section you scale a vertical rock face. Near the top you have to crawl through a cave. I got stuck cause my backpack was on my back, so i had to crawl on my stomach. Then at the top we had to climb up a ladder. Then slide down a rock and shimmy down lots and lots of tiny steps built into the side of a cliff. It was a little precarious because there were a lot of ppl on the way down. You had to be careful someone didn´t accidently hit you and you lose your balance. The hike down was rough with all the steep stairs... A killer on our knees. Once we were at the bottom of the mounatin of Wayna Picchu , theres a short hike back up and over to get back to the site. We took a nice nap at Machu Picchu after that. Then we explored the ruins some more. In the afternoon we hiked down to Aguas Calientes to save us some money. Which was kind of crazy...straight down. Another killer on our knees. That took another hour. Then a 20 min. walk back to town. Then we walked up another hill to eat. So we were pretty exhausted. We took a train back to Ollantaytambo and crashed at a family run hostel that served us some awesome pancakes this morning. We visited the Ollantaytambo ruins today and then took a combi and a bus back to Cusco. We are pretty sore today. We´ve been walking a ton lately. Now we are resting and re-packing to get ready to go to Puno tomorrow. We hear the ride to Puno may be a rough one. Please pray for a safe and easy travel tomorrow. Healthwise we´re doing pretty well. No more stomach woes. However my left knee is giving me a lot of pain when I go down stairs. So, hopefully it will get better before our trek. Much love, Emly :)

Amaru and Our Long Trek

Hola everyone! We just got back yesterday from our weekend in Pisac and Amaru and had such a great time! Our bus ride to Pisac was pretty interesting. On this particular bus, there are different fares if you want a seat or want to stand. We opted to pay the extra sole to sit. A couple blocks later this clearly Andean mountain woman got on the bus and started trying to get people to give her their seats. We stopped along a few villages on the way to Pisac and once enough people had gotten off she approached us saying, 'Oh I have a bad back please let me sit!' To which we responded 'No we paid for these seats.' She then proceeded to lean against me the entire rest of the ride...and I mean lean against me intensely. She was probably taking up half of my seat, and she did not smell like anything close to roses. It was pretty funny. Then the people in front of us got off and she immediately dove into their seats. What we couldn't figure out was why she was attacking us when there were plenty of free seats in the back...funny lady. So once we got into Pisac we met our guide Adrian and had to wait for another four women who were coming along on the trip as well. We took a seat next to the road with a family that seemed to own the entire corner...they operated the bathrooms (because you have to pay) and had a little food stand going. We waited around an hour and a half before the other gringos (white people) arrived, but we were very content just watching the family and the kids :). Once the other people arrived we headed up to Amaru where they greeted us by dropping rose petals on our heads. We then took a walk around the village, enjoying the view and all of the people that we saw. In the mountains usually everyone speaks Quechua which is similar to a tribal language, but more widely spread throughout South America. Only the men and children speak Spanish so it was more difficult to converse with the women.

After our walk we headed to a field where a man and some children were making little stoves out of rocks. It looked like a little mound of rocks with a hole in the front for the fire. Little did we know that they were cooking potatoes for us! After about 15 minutes they collapsed the stoves so that the potatoes cooked in the dirt. Then after about 10 more minutes they dug out the potatoes and we started peeling and eating them with our hands! It was so fun! They even brought some salad and cheese for us to have with them! Our hands were so dirty afterwards, but it was so worth it. Then we headed to our host family's house where we set down our things, met our family and had some tea. It was freezing where we were, so the tea was very tasty. Then we got all dressed up in authentic Andean outfits and headed to dance! My outfit was a beautifully woven skirt with a shawl and a really fun hat and Emily got the guys outfit (we're still not sure why) of a poncho and awesome hat! Our walk in the dark was pretty interesting, but you can see pretty much all of the stars here and it was so beautiful and magnificent! I just love seeing the heavens declare the Glory of God, so I was so happy. Then we danced while the men played music on a flute and a drum :). It was so much fun, especially when the little girls joined in!

In the morning the plan was to catch a combi back to town. However, Sunday is market day and the first combi we saw was absolutely filled to the brim. So we ended up hiking down the mountain from Amaru. After a 30 min. descent, we hopped on a combi at the nearest town. We sat in the back of the van and wached as the combi filled with colorfully dressed women and chidren going to buy and sell goods in the Pisac market. We placed the pack across our legs and were so wedged in we couldn´t get our hands down to our pockets to get out the coins needed to pay for the ride. It was a vibrant experience.

We found a nice hostel in Pisac to stay for the night. After a quick nap we wandered around the market purchasing gifts for our dear friends and family and warm sweaters, mittens and leg warmers to help keep us warm. At night after all the tourist leave, there´s not much to do in Pisac. However, we found a wonderful restaurant on the plaza that served brownies and icecream! Needless to say we ate a wonderful meal and played all sorts of games at the cafe. It was interesting to observe and easedrop on the conversations of the local ¨gringos¨who actually live in Pisac.

After a good night´s sleep in Pisac (complete with our new kitty friend ¨Lechuga¨ meowing and scratching at our door all night) we awoke and at a scrumptious breakfast at a hotel on the plaza. Then we started our climb to the top of a mountain to see the Pisac ruins. We didn´t have a map so we ended up on the original Inca trail to the top. We found at this trail was excessively more difficult than the normal trail. What made the hike so grueling were the thousands of stairs etched into the mountainside. There were no flat paths the whole way up. Just stairs and more stairs. Some steps so big you had to climb your way up. We kept getting to what we thought was the top, but then realized the Pisac ruins were scattered among this mountain top. We hiked around the ruins at the top purposefully trying to stay away from the massive groups of tourists marching around the ruins. Needless to say, we took the easy trail back down the mountain. All in all, that hike was around 4 miles (up and around and down). After fresh baked bread for lunch we hopped on a local bus to take us half way back to Cusco. We planned on getting off and then walking back to Cusco while visiting the ruins on the way. The ruins were mildly exciting. However, we enjoyed our scenic walk back to town. We passed lots of cows and small villages. The whole way was down hill (but no steps) so we were happy. However our knees and feet took the brunt of the weight and are very sore today. We spent the majority of the afteroon walking and arrived back at our hostel in Cusco around 4 pm. We felt our small 8 mile trek was good practice for our Colca Canyon trek coming up. It was a long day, but we rewarded ourselves with a hot and yummy dinner at our favorite restaurant near our hostel in San Blas.

This morning (Tuesday) we finally got a hot shower! We need to run a few errands around town then we are going to take another local bus to Ollataytambo where we will spend the night. Tomorrow we take the train to Aguas Calientes where we vill visit Macchu Pichu on Thursday. We should be back in Cusco on Friday :)

Cuscotopia

We're in the middle of our second week in Perú and loving it! We were so sad to say good-bye to Huancayo and Iscos on Wednesday and both agree that will probably be our favorite part of the trip. Being able to spend time with the generous people or Iscos was such a blessing and hopefully we'll be able to go back soon. Since our last post we took a tour on Saturday to Tarma and la selva (the jungle). In the jungle we took a hike to Catarata El Tiro, which is this ginormous and beautiful waterfall! After our hike we visited an indigenous tribe and got to dress up and dance one of their dances. It was really interesting because only recently have they allowed outside people into the community because they do all of their trade/business within the village. We were really excited to try a new meal for lunch, but unfortunately our meal turned out a little inedible, so we just ate the rice and cooked bananas. We made a few more stops at a butterfly house and a coffee plantation, but by that time we were so tired that we weren´t really paying attention.

Sunday we got to visit the market that Huancayo has every Sunday. It was muy largo! It seemed to stretch for miles and miles! All of the crafts were really cool though. We´re holding out until Puno to buy our alpaca gear, so we didn´t buy much in Huancayo. After the market, Plinio´s brother Leo took us to eat a traditional Peruvian dish called Panchamanca. It´s very similar to barbeque. They dig a big hole and build a fire and cook all of the meat and vegetables in the hole. It was definitely the best meal we've had since we've been here! There was also something cooked in a corn husk that tasted a lot like banana bread and it was sooo tasty :).

Monday we packed a few things because we spent the night in the village with one of the families. We taught a class in the morning and then spent the rest of the day spending time with Plinio´s family and cleaning out the cuoy (guinea pig) cages. One of the family´s main source of income are the cuoy that they raise and sell to a larger organization. We then ate a yummy dinner of papas fritas (french fries) and rice before heading to bed...at 7:30. The house that we were staying in was so nice! They had tons of animals, and we woke up to the sound of a donkey, geese, cows, and someone chopping wood :). On Tuesday we spent the morning teaching computer classes, graded a drawing competition for the kids in the afternoon and after lunch built another stove. I think the highlight of the day was where we ate cuoy for lunch! It wasn´t bad, but I think the combination of cleaning the cages out the day before and knowing what we were eating didn´t really make the meal appetizing. It definitely was not our favorite. But it was fun to try it!

Yesterday we left Huancayo early and got to Lima around 3PM. After buying a few necessities we headed back to the hostel to cook our mac and cheese dinner :). We left early this morning on a flight to Cusco and are now relaxing in our hostel, enjoying our view, and looking forward to the day! Since we acclimated pretty well to Huancayo, Cusco isn´t bad, but our hostel is up a bunch of steps on a hill, so we almost passed out carrying our packs up the steps. Luckily our taxi driver helped carry one of our bags for us! It´s pretty cold here in the morning, but apparently it´s supposed to get pretty warm during the day. We're really looking forward to our homestay in the Andes this weekend and for Machu Picchu next week! We miss everyone a lot and can't wait to fill you all in on the little details of our trip!

-Lauren

Welcome to Huancayo

Hola chicos! We are in Huancayo and enjoying the local life. We easily found our volunteer coordinator Plinio. However, he thought Lauren was a boy´s name. :) We have quickly been immersed in the local culture. We shop in the central market, live in a typical courtyard style house in the city and take local taxi´s and small vans (combi´s) to the village we are working in named Iscos.
We´ve fallen in love with the rural community of Iscos. In the morning we helped out at the school teaching an art class and a P.E. class. There are four other volunteers here and we´ve really enjoyed spending time with them. Melanie and Melissa are from New York, David is from Canada and Juliea is from France. We have been spending time with Plinio´s parents in their rustic and traditional home in Iscos. Today we helped build a shower (Lauren was a pro) and I helped sort the corn. There are lots of animals- guinea pigs, cows, a rabbit, sheep a pig and a cute kitten at the house.

Plinio´s mom cooked us wonderful meals. Lunch was rice and vegetables and tonight we had chicken soup. This afternoon we hiked up to the top of the hill and watched the sun set over the village. Tomorrow we will help teach computer classes in the morning. Then,we hope to be able to build a stove for a family. This weekend, all of us plan to travel to the jungle.

Lauren and I are adjusting to the altitude better than expected. We ascended 8,000 ft. in one day, so we should probably be feeling worse. However our only symptoms have been Lauren throwing up on the bus on the way here and I get winded climbing a set of small stairs. We occassionally feel a little dizzy. Thankfully, we have been able to sleep and eat well.

We are absolutely loving every minute here! We don´t want to leave next week. It is pretty cold though. Plinio´s mom gave me her woolen sweater to wear today because the temperature dropped quickly when the sun set. We are working on our Spanish. The kids, other volunteers, and Plinio are constantly teaching us new words. Hopefully, it will all come together and we will be able to communicate better before we leave.

We have felt so welcomed, safe and comfortable here. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers! We will keep in touch! Much love, Emily :)

First Day in Peru

Hello everyone! I am writing to you from our hostel! The family that owns the hostel is so nice and we've enjoyed getting to know them through little tid-bits...since they don't really speak English. We arrived in Lima around 5ish and then headed to our hostel and fell asleep quickly. This morning we woke up around 9 and got things together, booked our bus tickets with the help of our hostel madre, and headed out to see the town. We had some errands to run, ate some chifa cuisine (Peruvian-Chinese) and hit up the grocery for some water and snacks. Somehow we managed to get our phone all set up (our español is rough), which is such a blessing! Tonight we plan to go to bed early after spending some time with our wonderful hostel family, and then we head to Huancayo at 7:45 AM! We thank you all so much for your prayers! We'll leave you with some facts about Esperanza Peru, the organization we'll be working with to help build a family a stove. We most likely won't be able to post while we're in Huancayo, so until then, adios!

More info about Esperanza Peru and the Clean Stove Project

(www.esperanzaperu.org)

In many of the high-altitude communities in Iscos village, food is prepared over an open fire in the home. Ventilation usually consists of a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape. This however, is not a very efficient way to avoid smoke filled living conditions. The result is a very unhealthy atmosphere for people to be cooking and living in because improper ventilation leads to a host of respiratory illnesses as well as eye maladies. In addition, much of the wood used to fuel the fire is from native trees which are rapidly decreasing in number. The cleaner burning stove project is the implementation of a stove that provides proper ventilation and burns wood more efficiently.

In order to address the issue of deforestation for fuel and health issues related to inadequate ventilation, Esperanza Peru started the Clean Burning Stove Project. By installing fuel-efficient wood stoves with proper ventilation, Esperanza Peru staff and volunteers help reduce the amount of wood consumed by community members while simultaneously reducing illnesses related to smoke inhalation. An additional option is to work with local school children on Environmental Education fieldtrip, and the benefits are astounding:

• 20%-60% reduction of firewood and other fuel consumption
• Reduction in indoor smoke inhalation
• 12% increase in lung capacity after three months
• Higher fuel efficiency provides faster cooking times
• Cost-effective and efficient method of cooking helps families to work against the cycle of poverty (savings of approximately 220 nuevos soles per year)

¡Vamos a Perú!

Hola la familia y los amigos! Emily and I are so eager to begin our journey in Peru! We definitely want to keep you all updated as much as possible while we're gone, so this is our first post!

Emily and Lauren's Great Adventure to Peru

Some fun Peruvian facts:

• The country of Peru covers 1,285,220 sq. kilometers, which is about the size of Alaska.
• Indigenous peoples in Peru form about 45% of the total population.
• The indigenous populations of Peru continue to suffer serious marginalization due to their social, economic, and cultural differences.
• 53% of the population live below the poverty line earning just $14 per week.
• 24% of the population live in extreme poverty, living off of $8 per week.
• 37% of young Peruvian children are chronically malnourished.
• More than 600,000 Peruvians still have no access to water, electricity, or sewage infrastructure.
• Peru is famous for pisco sours, ceviche, ponchos, pan pipes, and the Inca ruins.

Why we are going:

Our Almighty God has created a beautiful earth, full of majestic landscapes and unique people that display His Glory. We feel led to explore the earth that God has created in order to know more of Him. By placing ourselves out of our comfort zones, we are able to learn from other people and cultures, embrace diversity, share the life-changing love and grace of Christ and the Cross, and draw closer to our Father. As the Lord goes before us, we are eager to share the Gospel with those that we'll meet. We travel to deepen our understanding of ourselves, others, the world, and Christ, always seeking to bring Him glory.

Our Itinerary:

June 1 - Leave Atlanta 7:10 PM (American Airlines Flight 1945 - Atlanta to Miami; LAN Flight 2511 -Miami to Lima) 

June 2 - Arrive in Lima, Peru 4:35 AM

June 3 - Bus to Huancayo, Peru

June 4-9 - Volunteer with Esperanza Peru. We will be helping to build clean stoves for families living in a rural community.

June 10 - Bus back to Lima, Peru

June 11 - Fly to Cuzco

June 12-17 - Hang out in Cuzco

June 18 - Visit Machu Picchu

June 19 - Back to Cuzco

June 20 - Bus to Puno

June 21-22 - Stay with family on Lake Titikaka

June 23 - Bus to Arequipa

June 24-26 - Trek into and out of the Colca Canyon (It's more than 2x's deeper than the Grand Canyon - Wish us luck and lots of energy :))

June 27 - Bus to Lima

June 28 - Hang out in Lima

June 29 - Fly to Iquitos (It's in the middle of the Amazon Jungle and considered the largest city that cannot be reached by road)

June 30-July 2 - Live with an Indigenous community in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest.

July 3-4 - Relax in Lima

July 5 - Arrive in Atlanta 5:40 PM (LAN Flight 2514 - Lima to Miami; American Airlines Flight 1610 - Miami to Atlanta)

Prayer Requests:

Please pray that we would remain in good health, for our safety as we travel and for opportunities to invest in the lives of others. Most importantly, pray that Jesus Christ would be glorified as we seek to make much of Him.

Thank you for all of your support! We are so blessed to have such wonderful people that care for us and rejoice with us in the opportunities that God has laid before us!

- Lauren and Emily

My most scatterbrained post ever.

Although I've taken a brief recess from my blogging days, I thought it would be a good idea to write a few things to remember my last semester of college by.  So...3 months in I'm finally sitting down to do it.  Actually I'm doing it during my day of classes, but nevertheless, it will be done.  I have mixed feelings about what these next few months will bring, but I do know with overwhelming certainty that God is and will continue to be faithful to me.  This one truth is what keeps me so joyful when the job market (that I will soon be entering into) seems dismal and my future seems unclear.

All in all I'm trying to enjoy these last few months before I enter "the real world" as some tend to call it.  A little more than half way into the semester I've learned a few things that I feel will thoroughly equip me for what lies ahead:

1. It's pointless to attempt to take notes from a foreign professor's lecture.

2. Not having a TV doesn't necessarily reduce the amount of distractions.

3. The ratio of coffee to sleep deprivation is low (aka not enough coffee, not enough sleep)

4. Although I'm sure I would enjoy the country of Germany, I might forever have contempt for the German language because of my Strategic Management professor.

5. Poetry can convey so many horrible horrible things...along with some really good and useless things too.

Funny story: My grandmother called last night but I didn't answer. Her message said, "I just now saw that you called and am calling you back, blah blah, i loooooove you." I had never called her. I called her back today just in case she needed to talk and she answered the phone with, "So how crazy do you think your grandmother is now." I love her more than ever :).