Our Last Hurrah! Final Days of the Mission to Peru

15 July 2018

Our time is growing short - just a few days are left until our time here will be just a memory.

We are grateful for the role we played in reducing suffering and helping the poor on the road to self-sufficiency.

Somebody's grandmother - among the poorest of the poor on the streets of Lima. Our Peruvian mission focused on helping those with the greatest needs.

Our projects here in Peru helped:

• restore better vision to the poor through eye surgeries and donations of glasses
• provide clean water to thousands in remote villages
• provide wheelchairs to the crippled and disabled poor throughout Peru
• save lives of mothers and babies through donations of life-saving equipment and training courses for doctors and nurses in remote clinics

We have met incredible people along the way, and we sorrow, knowing that we will never see them again in this life. We have traveled throughout this varied country, from the coast to the jungle and high into the Andes. We have witnessed some very difficult and sad situations and so much poverty. Yet, in the midst of that poverty, the people live, love, and raise families as best they can. They love their culture and are so proud of it. The living conditions are harsh, but the people's hearts are soft and they have shown nothing but kindness to us.

We are glad we are returning to our home, but tender memories of Peru will always tug at our hearts.

Transitioning to the Next Set of Missionaries

Since we are volunteers, we serve for a period of time, and we then return home and are replaced by the next set of missionaries. Our replacements (Floyd and Valene Rose from Utah) came in on Saturday at 12:30 a.m. We met them at the airport and made sure they got to their new apartment. We then served as their escorts to make sure they got a good start. The Roses will now pick up where we have left off - their adventure begins as ours draws to an end.

Arriving in Peru - the Roses now pick up the reigns from us. We served as their escorts for the first days of their mission - now is their turn to serve as we return to our home. 

We spend the next few days training the Roses on the many processes and projects we currently have in the works. They now get to "drink from the fire hose" just like we did when we arrived.

Last Celebration - Festival de Danza

We had one last memorable event before leaving - the Festival de Danza. Various church wards (or barrios) participate yearly in this cultural celebration. Our friend the area office, Miguel Hurtado, invited us to the event we saw last year, and we were pleased that on this last weekend in Peru that he called to invite us to attend this year's event.

These groups practice for months to get their dances and costumes ready for the event. In Peru, people love celebrating their cultural heritage through dance. These cultural dance events are designed by and for Peruvians - there are seldom tourists present.

Months of preparation culminate in an amazing cultural event.

Each group dance focused on a different region of Peru.

The Marinera Norteña is the best known of all Peruvian dances. 

Incredible colors - brighter than what the mind can absorb.

Dancing is one of the best ways Peruvians celebrate their culture

The next group is on the side, anxiously awaiting their performance.

The event included this traditional dance of the Quechua in the Andes regions, high in the mountains.

Peruvians - so happy to be celebrating through dance.

These are incredible cultural events, by Peruvians and for Peruvians. 

Remembering Friends

And so, as we prepare to leave Peru, we especially remember those who helped make our stay a more enjoyable experience. The people we have met here have been among our most precious memories.

We and the Roses shared a final meal with Michael Trejo and his wife Nadia. We have spent countless hours with Michael (who works with us in the Humanitarian Welfare Office) and his wife as they have shown us the true Peruvian spirit of compassion and love.

None of our work would have progressed without Miguel Hurtado, the senior purchasing agent who worked tirelessly to make sure our humanitarian donations and projects made it into the hands of our partners who, in turn, worked with the poor. He and his wife showed us sites all around Lima on nights and weekends as they taught us through their kind actions what it means to be Peruvian.

One last hug for our good friend, Lily Davalos, a Peruvian who served part-time with us during our mission. We carry sweet memories of time we spent together with this hard-working, incredible woman.

Farewell to Peru - the entire Humanitarian and Welfare Office had one last get together with atole (our own version of Mexican hot chocolate) and some paneton - a celebration that Peruvians call a 'Chocolatada'. This was a final happy and yet sad event.

And so now, at the end, we are grateful we had this chance of a lifetime to come and serve in Peru. We now return to our home and get ready for the next adventure the Lord has in store for us.