The Elliott Family Blog: Day 1: 6/18/2015 Travel Day

Thursday

I left for Peru on Thursday June 28th, 2015. We took a flight from Wichita, KS to Houston, TX which was about an hour and a half flight, then flew from Houston, TX to Lima, Peru which was about a six and half hour flight. The first flight we flew was United Express. It was a very tiny little plane and my ears hurt so bad. Even when we got off the plane it felt like a pencil was stabbed into my ear. (Now, I have never had a pencil stuck in my ear, but you can imagine right?!) The second flight was easier on the ears. We flew United again but it was a much larger plane. Each seat had its own tv and free movies to watch. I being a mom of 2 and watch other kids during the day, never get to watch what I want to watch, it is usually Paw Patrol or Star Wars...So I caught up on all the movies I wanted to see. Exodus Gods and Kings, American Sniper, The Good Lie. All good movies!

Once we landed in Lima, Peru it was about 12:30 am. We went through immigration, picked up our luggage and started to look for the group of people from Inca Link who were going to pick us up. We found them with a big sign! There were 2 drivers and 2 vans for us. Since there were 11 of us we had to take 2 seperate "taxis" luckily, these drivers are part Inca Link and we didn't have to take a random taxi. There were so many people at the airport who would ask you if you wanted a ride....

"Taxi" "Taxi" "Taxi" Nobody on our team spoke spanish at all. Besides the obvious words like Gracious, Por Favor, etc. and from what I hear, it is a good thing we didn't take a regular taxi. They do a lot of negotiating on the price as you are on your way to where you are going.

The drivers drove us to our hostel. The hostel was called "Friends House" The drive there was interesting to say the least! They have lanes like we do but they do not drive in them like we do. You could be in the right lane, someone else could be in the left lane at the same time and you just honk your horn and turn left right in front of them like it is no big deal. They have one way streets that they drive down the opposite way...and it is normal for them to do that. Jonna, one of our team members took a video of the driving! I will have to get it from her and post it!

When we pulled up, the outside looked like a storage unit. They had the garage looking door on it and a much skinnier walk thru door right beside it. That led us to an outdoor space and then the living/dining room. They had 3 levels to the hostel, 3 bedrooms and 2 or 3 bathrooms. 5 of us stayed on the 1st level with a room that had 5 beds, 3 of us stayed on the 2nd level with 3 beds and 2 stayed on the 3rd level that had 2 beds. Each room had at least 3 beds in it, I stayed on the 2nd level in the bed that was closest to the wall. it had a maroon, designed, flat comforter and the sheets were off-white with flowers on it. We needed to get up and be ready to leave at 6:30 that morning, and by the time we got there it was 2:30, so we had our group debrief, brushed our teeth, and went to bed.

Inca Link gave us a short term missions journal that we started filling out 10 days before we left. It gave us a word for the day and scriptures to read according to that word to help us all be on the samw page as a team before we left and while we were there and to prepare us for each day along our journey. I am going to share those with you and type out the verses. I am reading from the New International Version (NIV)

Today our word was: Wait

Reading: Psalm 27:14, Proverbs 8:34, Lamentations 3:25-27, Luke 10:38-42

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Proverbs 8:34 Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.

Lam 3:25-27 25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. 27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.

Luke 10:38-42 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tel her to help me!"41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.

My Team: