Day One in Peru

Well we made it here safely and had no problems with peanut allergies or anything else! They served us peanuts on the LAN flight to Cusco but everyone was either sleeping at that point or very aware to be careful :). A prayer point before I go over our day, 1 thing; the importance of unity (Corinthians) which is so important for our team of 16, 10 having never been here before, so that is the main thing to pray for. So to start out we boarded in Edmonton with ten minutes remaining to check-in, so that was exciting. Made it through security and had time to get some breakfast before boarding our flight to Toronto. There was some nervousness, excitement and questions asked about what to expect. The differences in personality really do come out in travel and among us was a first time flier (hasn't flown since he was six), many seasoned travelers, as well as those who have never been on a missions trip before. The flights went well and the lay overs really didn't give us much time other than to eat and get to our next flight which is pretty positive. 24 hours of traveling could have ended with grouchiness but everyone is in good spirits and the 55 min flight from Lima to Cusco was filled with snoring. So far no one has altitude sickness and the ride to ATEK was relatively safe despite the difference in driving methods here. Definitely no right of way for pedestrians. Aggressive driving is what gets you places! Today was our day of rest literally and biblically speaking, we had lunch and supper together as a team, explored 'Lemony Fresh' and slept the day away. It's nice having a new team in Peru as their observations give a new perspective to the city. The women are still arriving for the conference and their children are already working their way into our hearts. Some of the team members are more diligent in their learning of spanish but those who are end up passing it onto the others. Dish duty has been the only chore so far which everyone is very willing to volunteer for. Just proves that God has been at work preparing our hearts to serve and will continue to do so. Tomorrow we start off the conference before heading to Wonka Wonka to see the work that the agriculturalist has been doing. Their goal is to be involved with a village for five years, teaching the people and equipping them to grow other crops than potatoes and then pulling out leaving it self sustaining. This is part of what ATEK is involved in so we will head there tomorrow afternoon (3-4 hr bus ride)after devotions with the women. After spending the night there we will be heading back to ATEk to be involved with the conference again as well as get ready for the first village camp. Prayer Points: Pastor Bills' voice as he is in charge of the majority of speaking; Energy for the team and continued willingness to serve; love for the people of Peru and safety in travel. We will write more updates soon. Blessings~! B