Final Note and Request for Prayer

Candice (3/30/11)  This is the final blog from me. Perhaps Mike & Gary can respond with their updates accordingly. We finished our last work day on Friday and Gary was able to let us know how impacting it was to visit Rosa's "house". On Saturday, we loaded up luggage on the top of a van and ventured out on a 5-hour bus ride to Cusco along the winding mountain roads- our last ride of this kind for the trip, which was good news to all with motion sickness. Once in Cusco, we had our own adventures as reservations we thought had been made for our overnight accommodations had not been, so thankfully we were able to stay in a hotel right downtown for $15/person. The afternoon was spent getting our bearings in Cusco and exploring the city. We found a pizza place for supper and got ready for our trip to Manchu Picchu.

Sunday morning, we all boarded a bus in the rain at 7 a.m. and took another 2-hour bus ride to a train station, then a 2-hour train ride to a shuttle bus, then a 20-minute shuttle ride up to the entrance of Manchu Picchu. It was quite an experience to see the beauty around us and the tremendous work of laborers who had originally created this expansive site. Most of the day was cool and rainy, then it was foggy, then windy, then nice and sunny right at the end. Our English-speaking guide was very thorough, but unfortunately had a very strong accent. We took all the same forms of transportation back to Cusco and arrived back at the hotel after 11 p.m. The train rides provided the most team-bonding and comfort of all the transportation methods, as we were able to play cards and talk with one-another.

We left our hotel at 9 a.m. Monday morning and made our way to the airport in Cusco for our flight to Lima. There are lots of stories that were created from our adventures on this final day including no running water in the airport, a delayed flight to Lima, our city tour of Lima, and the connecting flight in Atlanta. God was very good and provided us with many visible blessings and answers to prayer on this day- too many to list, but thanks for your prayers!

We are now home safe and sound (except Mike & Gary, who are staying in Abancay for the presentation of the Jesus Film) and excited to apply our experiences to our daily lives. It is a hard adjustment after having lived in a "bubble" for 2 weeks, and we would all appreciate your prayers as we figure out where to go from here and how to best explain the experience we've had and deal with the life-changing things we've seen and learned. Please continue to pray for us. We look forward to sharing more with you in our church presentation!