Sorry for the delay in blogging. Wi-fi has been inaccessible
the past few days. So, this blog will catch you up on our adventures from this
past Saturday and Sunday.
As I am sitting here typing this blog, I cannot believe we
are starting another work week here in Peru tomorrow. This weekend, our team
got some much needed rest and relaxation, but also had the opportunity to go
sightseeing around Lima! After sleeping in on Saturday morning, we woke up with
a few less people as they left early in the morning. Our professor, Dr. HJ and
her son, Jack, left for Cusco; and the three volunteers from Stand With Me, a
nonprofit organization that makes pediatric standers for children in need, left
to go home. We will definitely miss the comedic relief we received from Emily,
Riley, and Scott, and getting to know them this past week. We will also miss
the expertise we received from Dr. HJ when working with adult patients and the
willingness from Jack to assist us with everything from wheelchairs to foam
cutting to photography.
A few of us…okay, one of us may have woken up full from
dinner the night before. Ben successfully finished a plate for 2 people, as
well as finished the meals of roughly 3 people, by himself. We were quite
impressed to say the least.
Saturday morning, we met our van driver, Willy, who was
going to take us from place to place. Luckily, Willy speaks English quite well,
and we were able to interact with him as it was just the 6 team members, whose
longest Spanish phrase might be, “Donde está el baῆo?.” I will let you google that one. However, we
are learning more and more Spanish each day, and are trying to speak with the
locals as much as possible.
Our first stop was Pachacamac, the ancient ruins of 4 native
tribes. One of the structures, Mamacona, housed women who were dedicated to the
sun god. Also on the premise were temples that housed the ruler of each tribe.
At the top of the ruins was the Templo del Sun (Temple of the Sun). At this
temple, the most beautiful women from Mamacona were sacrificed as an offering
to the sun god. It was a great honor to be chosen as a sacrifice. The location
of Pachacamac was very different than anything we have ever seen. These desert
ruins were surrounded by lush grass along the coastline of the Pacific.
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| Temple of the Sun |
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| View from the top of Temple of the Sun |
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| Central Lima |
Following our tour, we headed back to Chalet, where some
napped, others ran, and a few walked around for some more sightseeing in
Chorillos, the district in Lima where we have been staying.
On Sunday morning, we woke up refreshed and ready to go to
an English-speaking church. We enjoyed singing familiar songs and hearing an
excellent message from a missionary Pastor from the States. After church and lunch,
a few of us stopped one last time at the Inka market for a few more souvenirs
(let’s just say, we are now pros at bargaining in Spanish!). Around 4pm, we
packed up our belongings at the Chalet, and left to go to our new home for this
next week. We are staying at another Catholic retreat center located in Betania,
a district in Lima, just a few miles from the airport. As I type this, I am listening
to jets take off and land, and the guard dogs barking. Yes, we were warned that
if we would like to leave our retreat center with all limbs intact, we should
not venture out of our rooms past 11pm when the guard dogs are released for the
night!
Time to put in the ear plugs and get a good night of sleep
before we start our second week of physical therapy service.
**If you would like to pray for our team, please pray that
we would allow ourselves to fix our eyes on God so that our eyes would be open
to the suffering and needs of those whom we are treating, both now in Peru and
future patients in the States. This past week as been an emotional
rollercoaster. We are having the time of our lives, but are also reminded
everyday of how blessed we are to have the support and love of our friends and
families, and access to healthcare to meet our needs. Many of us have treated patients
who traveled hundreds of miles for their children to receive medical care, or waited
years to receive a functional wheelchair. Our eyes have been opened to the healthcare
needs of those in a third-world country, but we need to remember that our
patients in the States need the same physical, emotional, and spiritual support
as those we are treating in Lima.**
Que Dios te bendiga,
(God Bless You)
Connor Sheriff
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