Day 1 & 2 - 7/22/2010 -7/23/2010

On Thursday, we arrived in Lima a 4:30 in the morning and proceeded through customs and an inspection. Everything went well except that April was stopped because on her extra bags had 4 new routers in it. They were going to make her pay a $100 tax, but thankfully, Brian was there to talk them out of it. The only other hang up was 1 lost bag which arrived safely on Friday at 4:00 pm. We had a very long bus drive to Trujillo with one stop for lunch at a very authentic Peruvian family restaurant. It was muy delicioso. After the very long 2 days of travel, we were greeted by the kids with a song. We received a tour of the orphanage, had dinner, a quick meeting, and then most of us were ready for bed.

Here are the team reports:

Painting Team Report:

About 10 people from our team worked on painting the outside of one of the casitas. This was a project started by 2 families that were here earlier, but were unable to finish. They painted most of the day, but there is still a little more to do.

VBS team report from April, Cindy, Lynn:

The VBS team spent the morning sorting our extra bags (affectionately known as our adopted bags) filled with supplies, crafts, clothes, etc for the orphanage we got everything organized and ready for the week to come. We met with Elizabeth (our coordinator) and ran through our schedule and plans for VBS. We had the opportunity to talk with four of the long term volunteers at the orphanage which was a huge blessing! We heard their stories of how they ended up here and the work God was doing in them. It was a great reminder to me of the sacrifice they are making to be here each and everyday.

Internet report from Tim:

Eric, Josh, Elijah and I worked on replacing the old CAT 5 wiring with newer CAT 6. We spent a good portion of the day pulling wires through small tubing within the walls. Unfortunately, we had to clip off the connector on one of the ends in order to to get it through the tubes. Fortunately, Alex (the administrator) and I were able to find a crimper and new connectors. By the end of the day, I had replaced 2 routers and 2 cables. I was able to set up a new bridge which connects the Rancho (a building outside the orphanage where we are staying and where they have a school) to the orphanage. So, for the first time the Rancho has internet connectivity. In fact, I'm writing this blog entry from the Rancho. We still have one more wire and router to replace.

Dental Clinic report from Jolene:

The dental clinic is all set up and ready to go. I will be starting on Monday morning with the dental work. It is exciting. A dentist from Lima will be here from 2-5 pm to work with me. I played with the kids today, and wow, I saw a lot of dental work that will need to be done! Please pray that the dental work goes well and the children are not scared.

Children's Activities report from Christine:

We had free time in the afternoon to play with the kids. There were some outdoor games. Face painting was a favorite along with a velcro catch game. We finished the night with a movie, "Facing the Giants" in Spanish, and popcorn with the kids.