After organizing our supplies and meeting together for the first time, we were ready to head to the Chorrilos Community. But first we went to eat lunch at Rustica. This was our first taste of Peruvian food. Also, there was musical entertainment. We all really enjoyed ourselves. But then it was back to serious business. We got back on the bus and headed to our destination. We arrived there mid-afternoon and looked for the place where we were to meet the children. This community is on a hillside, so we slowly went up street by street. We parked in front of the small building and unloaded the supplies and the shoes.
The El Buen Pastor Community Center had 2 side by side open rooms and one small room in the back where we put all the boxes of shoes.
We soon found out that what Rachel had told us was going to be true this day; be flexible. We took about 20 minutes to discuss the plan and here came the children, ready or not. They had gathered at the local church and their leaders brought them up to us in age groups, starting with the youngest. They greeted us in a single file line, giving us all a kiss on the cheek. Once the room was packed, Julie began with leading the children in several songs. This kids loved the songs and Julie was so good with them. In order to be seen, Julie, Rachel, and one of the interns all stood on a bench. And the kids kept coming. Julie seated the kids, and Jacquie began reading the story about Hermie the Caterpillar with Julie interpreting. They all loved the story and Julie had them actively participating. Once the story was done, we seperated the children by age taking the older ones outside. We began doing the craft activity while taking small groups at a time to fit them with shoes. By the time it was all said and done, we had given over 200 pairs of shoes to the children.
At the end, it was dark and there was only 1 or 2 light bulbs for us to see by. We loaded back on the bus, very tired, but with the knowledge that we had shared shoes and the gospel with a lot of children. We were not done, yet, as when we got back to the hotel, we needed to make sure that the materials for the next day were all ready. It was at least 11pm before we got in bed ready for some very much needed rest.
The El Buen Pastor Community Center had 2 side by side open rooms and one small room in the back where we put all the boxes of shoes.
We soon found out that what Rachel had told us was going to be true this day; be flexible. We took about 20 minutes to discuss the plan and here came the children, ready or not. They had gathered at the local church and their leaders brought them up to us in age groups, starting with the youngest. They greeted us in a single file line, giving us all a kiss on the cheek. Once the room was packed, Julie began with leading the children in several songs. This kids loved the songs and Julie was so good with them. In order to be seen, Julie, Rachel, and one of the interns all stood on a bench. And the kids kept coming. Julie seated the kids, and Jacquie began reading the story about Hermie the Caterpillar with Julie interpreting. They all loved the story and Julie had them actively participating. Once the story was done, we seperated the children by age taking the older ones outside. We began doing the craft activity while taking small groups at a time to fit them with shoes. By the time it was all said and done, we had given over 200 pairs of shoes to the children.
At the end, it was dark and there was only 1 or 2 light bulbs for us to see by. We loaded back on the bus, very tired, but with the knowledge that we had shared shoes and the gospel with a lot of children. We were not done, yet, as when we got back to the hotel, we needed to make sure that the materials for the next day were all ready. It was at least 11pm before we got in bed ready for some very much needed rest.
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