We made it to Peru! I’m not even sure where to start on bringing everyone up to speed. It’s been so long since I last posted and so much has happened. I’ll do my best to add the details I remember.
The last week leading up to our travels was fairly hectic. Had it not been for family and friends pitching in to help, our hopes to travel would have been crushed. But as it was, we were able to get a lot done and all packed ready to go. We feel bad for the things that were left undone, though, that our family very kindly offered to deal with. But with my folks moving in to the place we were in, I can rest easy knowing everything will be taken care of.
We had a yard sale the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before we left, and were very happy with how it turned out. I ended up selling things I had know intention of selling. I was happy to let them take what they wanted though, just so I didn’t have to pack it away in storage. Even with all we sold we had a few tables full of odds and ends. We had thought we had someone interested in buying the whole lot once the sale had ended, but he decided he didn’t reallly need everything. Can’t say I blame him though. We obviously didn’t want it either, so I can’t fault him for not taking our junk. Some of our family said they would take the leftovers to a thrift store of some sort, and that was a big relief.
My Father-in-law selflessly offered to take care of my boat for me while I’m away. That made it possible for me to get a full nights sleep once again. Just knowing that it won’t just be sitting wasting away gives me great peace of mind. Thanks Dad! 🙂
The church group in Lake Butler had a celebratory meal, for us going away, after one Wednesday evening service. I say that only jokingly. They were all very supportive of our vision of the work here but different ones did try to convince us to change our minds. It is a blessing to have friends who wanted us to stay. But we still felt the pull to serve here in Peru and they decided it better not to hinder out departure. So we set out on Sunday, September 26, headed north.
Our first stop was Meigs, Goergia. We stopped in at Belinda’s folks place for some food, and coffee, of course. Sadly we weren’t able to stay very long and we all said our goodbyes. I am not one for long goodbyes and so I tried to get to the van ASAP so they wouldn’t see my tears. We miss them greatly, and our runs back and forth from Florida to Georgia.
From there we kept going north to Tennessee. We stayed in Crossville for a couple days while we guys changed out some garage doors for my a couple of my brothers. It was fun to be with them and work with them a bit before leaving. We had some great evenings sitting around singing and laughing. Sometimes we did both of those things at the same time. But as all good things do, it came to an end and we said goodbye to the family there too.
We made it to Virginia, where Shawn’s were awaiting our arrival, Wednesday afternoon. We had a little time to just sit and do nothing before our doctor’s appointment for our Covid test. After letting the doctor dig in our noses, we went to David’s house, where we stayed both nights we were in Virginia. (David Carr is family. He is not blood related, but we always refer to him as our brother. His children even call my folks Grandpa and Grandma.) It was fun, as always, to be with them again. Distance has kept us from being able to be together as much as we used to be.
Thursday we met up with Shawn’s at Andrew Crider’s house to weigh luggage and sort through things. We all felt that went fairly well until we realized that we were over our allowed bag limit. That evening we got some bigger suitcases so we could consolidate a few bags. Friday morning we, with the help of Shawns’, sorted through our bags once again. We ended up having to send the kitchen sink back with my folks. Apparently it wasn’t as needed as we thought. We actually did end up with a full tote and some loose items that were taken back home.At least we can’t be blamed for going under-packed.
Friday afternoon found us eating our last Taco Bell meal while driving down the express way toward Dulles airport. (There is only one Taco Bell in Peru that we know of, and it is around 30 or more hours away. Our family is very fond of Taco Bell.) At the airport we unloaded our 30 bags under the wide eyed gaze of onlookers. We then said goodbye to my parents and Sarah. They took off the whole week so they could drive us to the airport and then take our van, and extra luggage, back to Florida. Once again it was another tearful farewell as they drove away. We then checked our luggage in at a Kiosk with the help of a couple attendants. And then it was time to wait. A couple of our tickets were messed up but Shawn was able to get that taken care of fairly easily. Thank goodness Shawn was there! He was our hero the whole trip, making sure everthing went smoothly.
Our flights were from D.C. to Miami, Miami to Lima, and Lima to Cusco. We had some time at each location, but the least amount of time was in Lima, where we needed the most time. We only had a two hour layover there and we had to go through Migraciones, collect all our luggage, check in again and then board our flight in time. There were 6 adults and 8 children in tow. Just as we got in line at Migraciones they decided it was a good time to update their computers. Our legs did not approve of this cruel and unusual punishment of standing for hours, but we survived. We missed our flight, which came as a relief. It meant we could relax for a bit. Thankfullly we were able to get a flight for later that evening and we landed in Cusco around 10.00 p.m.
Rafael, Elisabet, and Percy met us at the airport in Shawn’s pickup and Rafael’s big truck. We toted all our luggage up a long hill while trying to figure out where they were storing their oxygen here. They deffinitely don’t keep it outside. Maybe that would be too wasteful. Once we were all loaded we started the ride home.
The traffic here is very different from the States. They paint lines on the road and install the same signal lights on cars as back home, but I believe it is only for looks. They completely ignore lines, the use of turn signals, traffic lights, and pedestrians. They do however have an entire language with their car horns. I havn’t learned what it all means yet, but if I hear a horn I just wait for the car (or bus) to zip around us while nearly colliding with oncoming traffic. Somehow, when I open my eyes, all the vehicles are still intact. Every car passing is a reminder of the parting of the Red Sea. Traffic just seems to make a space for passing cars on an already narrow road. It can be quite nerve racking but intruiging.
Rafael drove the truck I rode from the airport in. He managed to keep a conversation going while dodging dogs, cars, and most of the people. They have quite the assortment of streetside markets and they have decided the best way to advertise their goods is to run at the vehicles while madly waving a flag, of sorts. You just have to ignore them and pray you don’t feel a bump as you go by. And Rafael is a master at this, and so we made it to our abode safe and mostly sound.
That brings us almost up to date. The time between arriving and now has been filled with town trips and market and panting for breath, and then town again and yet more panting. Our trip back to Cusco was probaly a highlight. That’s when we were able to get our SIM cards, refrigerator, and so much food! China and I still don’t have the best grasp of the language but we decided we wanted to look around the mall while Shawn took care of our phone cards. That’s when things got even more interesting. The store we chose was on the second story and had a couple guards standing there making sure you were double masked and had a face shield. But when we tried to enter they stopped us and said some things that I nicely smiled to and told them thank you. Even after I was nice they wouldn’t let us in. They kept pointing at a sign that said “solo salida” and that’s when it hit me that the cappacity was probably at it’s limit. So we went and stood by the railing to await our turn. We patiently waited while more and more people filed out, but we never got the ok to enter the store. Finally they had all they could take and a guard came and escorted us out of the mall. I was throughly convinced that he was going to take us outside and try to get a bribe out of us to let us back in. I tried to tell him that we have people in the store still but he didn’t seem fazed. He just led the way down some erie halls and showed us to the elevator, telling us to go down. We did as we were instructed, I think, and re-entered the mall on the first floor. That’s when we realized that the entrace to the store we wanted was on the first floor and “solo salida” means exit only. We just stood and stared nicely at the guards and random people exiting the store for 10 minutes or so. We ended up not having two face masks or the courage to face the exit guards so we just went back up to the second floor, doing our best to avoid being seen by the same men again, and sat outside of where Shawn was. We were more than content to wait till he was done before exploring again. Most of the rest of the day went fairly well apart from me telling the lady at the KFC that she didn’t understand instead of “I don’t understand”. She didn’t appreciate that very much and snatched the sauces for my food and held them up in emphatically. I got the point. Now I allow Shawn to do the talking and I just stand there like a mute. But even that doesn’t seem to please them. They still will talk about how they can only talk to the one man, “the others just stand there” they say. I just can’t win.
Most everything has been going smoothly. We lost water for a couple days, but it returned then. Now it seems we are out again. We wonder if it may be a leaky toilet draining our tank. Lord willing we will locate the perpetrator soon.
All in all it has been great fun so far. We are very much looking forward to the upcoming years and the many mistakes I’m sure will come.Thanks to each of you for your prayers and support.
Trying to stay warm. 
Cusco mall. 
Fridge shopping in Cusco. 
The ride home because the truck was full. 
Collecting creek water waiting on the plumbed water to return.
Benji AKA Me 