Well when we got back to Lima from our flight in the jungle, we went to the bus station right away to get some tickets up north. We were also waiting to meet up with one of Ryan's friends, Harold. He is from Peru and would go out tracting as a youth with Ryan. So while we were waiting, I made the biggest mistake of my life and bought some food without really asking Ryan if it was a good idea.... Who would have thought that a hamburger in a booth right next to McDonald's could rock my world in the worst possible way? Well after my first bite, I knew something was wrong and I mentioned it to Ryan. He promptly took a small bit and calmly told me as if he were talking about the weather, "You know that's probably either dog or horse meat, right?" Well no, I didn't. I didn't realize that I would be sick for the next 8 hours as my body and my mind rebelled against the foreign meat in my stomach. Let me tell you, that 2 hour bus ride without a bathroom on the bus was a terrible experience. I am just glad I had the plastic bag that came with my burger to make sure I wasn't sick all over the bus seats. So much fun.
When we got to Huacho, we saw a hotel right by where were dropped off and booked a room for the three of us. I was dying and wanted to sleep. So I took an overdose of my malaria meds to try and kill off any weird bacteria in my body and fell asleep. The next morning, that awful bus ride was forgotten after a delicious breakfast of toast, juice and fresh jam. Then we went and met some of the most life changing people in my entire life. I fell in love with this area. I could have bought a piece of land right by the sugarcane fields and never come back. I still pine for it. It was necesarily the land that was beautiful, it was the people.
We met with Ryan's pinchanista, Hermana Pilar, and she got us some delicious juice and empanadas. So began our day of eating :) She then took us over around the little town over to the Machiavello's house. Hermana Aurora is one of my favorite people in the whole world. She is hilarious and loving and such an example of love. She fed us some delicious food and we spent a while just talking with her and her family.
She then took us around to everyone in town that knew Ryan. We had so many reunions and so much food given to us. Luckily most of it was packaged so the boys would just give it to me and I would put it in my purse. I was a walking snack bar by the end of the day. We also took a taxi out to a very small little group of houses called Begetha. We saw a family that Ryan baptized and they were so in shock that he was there! It was so cool to see the young man that Ryan baptized preparing for a mission and still active in church. It was an amazing place.
We also got to visit with the Montes family. Hermano Montes is an amazing man who Ryan baptized. He reminded me of my father and grandfather. Just a soft spoken man who doesn't say much. But you can tell how much he loves his family and how he loves the gospel. I just love this man and his great family. I cried to much when we had to say goodbye.
The most touching moment was when we had a big gathering at the chapel and everyone from the ward came to see Ryan and to hear him give a little lesson. Again, like everywhere else, it was so moving and I just couldn't help but cry. We had some amazing dinner with the Espinozas afterward and then we left for our last day to be in Peru.
Basically, words cannot really describe how amazing this place is and the amount of my heart that I left there. I hope you can at least enjoy the pictures and maybe get even just a semblance of my love for these people
When we got to Huacho, we saw a hotel right by where were dropped off and booked a room for the three of us. I was dying and wanted to sleep. So I took an overdose of my malaria meds to try and kill off any weird bacteria in my body and fell asleep. The next morning, that awful bus ride was forgotten after a delicious breakfast of toast, juice and fresh jam. Then we went and met some of the most life changing people in my entire life. I fell in love with this area. I could have bought a piece of land right by the sugarcane fields and never come back. I still pine for it. It was necesarily the land that was beautiful, it was the people.
We met with Ryan's pinchanista, Hermana Pilar, and she got us some delicious juice and empanadas. So began our day of eating :) She then took us over around the little town over to the Machiavello's house. Hermana Aurora is one of my favorite people in the whole world. She is hilarious and loving and such an example of love. She fed us some delicious food and we spent a while just talking with her and her family.
She then took us around to everyone in town that knew Ryan. We had so many reunions and so much food given to us. Luckily most of it was packaged so the boys would just give it to me and I would put it in my purse. I was a walking snack bar by the end of the day. We also took a taxi out to a very small little group of houses called Begetha. We saw a family that Ryan baptized and they were so in shock that he was there! It was so cool to see the young man that Ryan baptized preparing for a mission and still active in church. It was an amazing place.
We also got to visit with the Montes family. Hermano Montes is an amazing man who Ryan baptized. He reminded me of my father and grandfather. Just a soft spoken man who doesn't say much. But you can tell how much he loves his family and how he loves the gospel. I just love this man and his great family. I cried to much when we had to say goodbye.
The most touching moment was when we had a big gathering at the chapel and everyone from the ward came to see Ryan and to hear him give a little lesson. Again, like everywhere else, it was so moving and I just couldn't help but cry. We had some amazing dinner with the Espinozas afterward and then we left for our last day to be in Peru.
The Montes Family
I love this ward :)
