PERU MISSION TRIP: Last Day

Friday, July 15, 2011

Last Day

We've hit our last day in Peru. The playground equipment is completely finished and we have said our good-byes. We got lots of hugs and "gracias". To hear the laughter while they played is like music to our ears. They really liked the "underdogs" on the swings from Harv. They liked it all! The house parents, Himey and Nelly, were so appreciative. Even though they spoke no English, we knew how they felt. They also fed us very well at noon every day! But now we are ready to come home. It will be good to enjoy some of the conveniences that we did not have here, but I think there will not be any of us that will not think of these and take these for granted for a long time! Please pray for our safety on the way home. We have to change planes at least 3 times, maybe 4. Thank you for your prayers while we were in Peru. This trip was very special to all of us!

Sent from Mary's iPad- Have a good day!

1 comment:

KIds Alive Playground MinistryJuly 17, 2011 at 11:55 PM
Well done team!!! Thanks for your hard work. And thank you for the beautiful pictures and descriptive commentary. You have left a legacy that will bless kids for years and years to come. -Rich Anderson
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What We're Doing In Peru

On July 7th a group from our area headed to Andahuaylas, Peru to install a playground and share our faith in Christ with residents of this mountainous area! Team members are Bruce Mejeur, Pastor Jake and Linda Weeda, Tim Scheffers, Harvey and Deb Leep, Doug and Mary VanDerMeulen, Harold Wykstra and Dave Misner.

Kids Alive team have been removing donated playground equipment from several sites in SW Michigan and refurbishing them for installation in Peru. It’s quite a process to refurbish the equipment before they can be packed in a cargo container. First the equipment is placed on a trailer and taken to Plainwell where volunteers assemble in groups to start the process of tagging the parts so the correct parts end up at the intended site! We are working with multiple sets of equipment from several different sites! Once tagged the sandblasting process starts which takes several nights to complete. After sandblasting is complete the equipment is loaded back on trailers to be transported to Kalamazoo to be powder coated to the original colors (have to have it colored up pretty for the kids). Once powder coated the process of wrapping the pieces in protective wrap starts and again marking the location on each piece for shipment. Once loaded in a container with a shoe horn it is transported by truck to the cargo ship then off to Peru.
On the 7th we fly out of Chicago and head for Guatemala City the first leg of the trip. Then fly on to Lima, Peru. Lima is located in Western Peru along the Pacific Ocean. We board a smaller plane in Guatemala City and fly on toAndahuaylas where we will be staying. Once settled into our quarters and we get our land legs back, we will start the job of playground construction and evangelism! Andahuaylas is in the Andes Mountains with an elevation around 3000m above sea level. Peru is known for pioneering Potato farming.
On the 16th of July we start the trip back to Michigan.