The ending of an amazing trip!

Friday evening we had to say goodbye to our friends who were only here for the first week, it was a sad night; however, Kaitlin and Liz, a PT from Cincinnati joined our team Saturday morning! One of our project leaders, Pastor Asdrubal, planned a lovely day for us touring the city of Lima. We started the day at Pachacamac, touring more Inca ruins. The day continued by making stops at various landmarks throughout the city. Pastor's in-laws cooked us a delicious Peruvian lunch. We even made a stop at the beach and the market for some more shopping! 

Sunday morning we were able to sleep in a bit before going to an English-speaking church. The members were extremely welcoming and invited us to coffee and tea before the service. After, we were invited to lunch at Kim and Pete's house, they are close friends of our project leader, Jodee. They made us delicious tacos and we enjoyed the afternoon playing games with them and their sons, Cameron and Asher. Late afternoon, we made the move to our place for the final week, which is in northern Lima. 

Throughout this week we treated at 3 different sites. Our eyes were opened to God's plan and how he knows what will happen long before we do. During last year's projects, measurements were taken on patients in need of wheelchairs. Throughout the year, the MMI team strives to find wheelchairs appropriate for the patients in need. We were amazed to see that some patients from last year did not show up, but their wheelchairs became a blessing to new patients in need of chairs. 

Unfortunately, majority of the team was struck with a stomach bug in our last week. Luckily, Liz served as our pharmacist throughout the week and took care of all of our needs. 

Last evening, we had to say our goodbyes. It was a sad night. Even though we only spent 2 weeks with this group, it feels as though we've known each other for a much longer time. We all have shared so many experiences that have truly bonded us together. 

We are currently in the Houston airport. Our next flight leaves for Chicago at 2:25 PM. We will have a 4 hour layover in Chicago and then will fly to Pittsburgh! We are scheduled to arrive in Pittsburgh at 11:49 PM! 

Although we are exhausted, we are beyond excited to be back in the states and can't wait to see our loved ones! Thank you for following our blog and we do apologize that posts were not made more often; wifi was hard to come by in Peru! 

God bless,

Alyssa Cirillo