An Update.

Since we left the mid-summer retreat, we have embarked on a 14 hour bus ride from 1:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. where I may have slept for an hour. Along for the journey was Jared, Ginny, and Hannah of the Ancahuasi/Barnabus Team, Jourdan, Penny Jo, and Jared of the Ayaviri Team, and Claudia, Kelly, and myself of the Oruillo/Barnabus Team. Beth had to leave for Lima for dental work after the horseback accident. She is hopefully coming back, but she has to stay in Lima until Tuesday, at least. So, when we arrived in Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incan Empire, I was exhausted. So, we went to a restaurant called Jack's Cafe and it was pretty good. The cool thing about Cusco is that it is one of the biggest tourists attractions in the World and there are Europeans and some Americans, but along with that, normal food! Anyway, after dinner, I went to sleep around 6:30 P.M. and woke up at 8:30 A.M. so I got my sleep back.

The next day, we met for breakfast/lunch and I got French Toast, Bacon, and a freshly squeezed orange juice...yep, it was awesome. Then, we went shopping and I bought a lot of random stuff, but it was tons of fun. I was able to hang out with Jourdan and Penny Jo of the Ayaviri Team for most of the day, because Jared and Claudia were getting Jared squared away after leaving his passport at a restaurant in Nazca, never to be seen again. I had a great time hanging out with those amazing girls, they even helped me shop a little. The coolest thing about the day for me was that I found lacoste polos for 35 soles (around 12 dollars) with the tags still on them that say 92 dollars...so I bought every one of them in my size! We also bought North Face jackets for 45 soles (around 15 dollars).

In the evening, we went to McDonalds for dinner and I ate 3 hamburgers...its weird because I don't really go to McDonalds back home, it just felt right! Anyway, peruvian ketchup is different than american ketchup (its sweeter/gross) but McDonalds had REAL KETCHUP! We met up with Hannah (from the Barnabus team near Cusco), Kelly (newest member of my team), and Jared (Ayaviri Team) at McDonalds completely by accident and ate together. Claudia was not feeling well and had a fever, so she went back to the hostel to lay down. Our plans were to leave that night, but Claudia was too sick for that, so we stayed last night. However, Jared, Penny Jo, Jordan and myself decided to stay in a nicer hostel for the night, so we moved our stuff down the hill, then hit the town. It was more shopping, followed by dessert at this restaurant in the plaza, then just hanging out. It was nice to spend so much time with one of the teams that my Barnabus Team is ministering to and I am going to miss them so much when we drop them off in Ayaviri tonight.

Today, we are meeting for breakfast/lunch again, then going to some Incan Ruins and shopping more, then we will eat dinner and get on a bus for Ayaviri, as long as Claudia is feeling better. The last thing we need is to leave the city for the "boondocks" if Claudia is sick, so it is really up to how she feels today.

Just in case you were wondering, we are not going to Macchu Picchu, it is really expensive to get there! Anyway, they are shooting fireworks outside and have been since before 8 this morning, so pray that I do not lose my mind! Apparently there is a festival in town soon. We should be headed back to the village tonight, it is about 5 hours in Ayaviri, then 1 1/2 hours to Oruillo, so more traveling...yay.

Prayer Requests:
Beth (Dental Work)
Claudia (Sick)
Ayaviri Team (Penny Jo, Jourdan, Jared)
Barnabus Teams (Ginny, Kelly, Hannah, Beth, Claudia, Jared, Me)
Chupa Team (John and Lidman)
Research Team (Phillip, Jess, and Lydia) (They travel on some terrible roads, pray for safe travels)
ESL Arequipa (Sarah, Stacey, Nathaniel)
Creative Ministries Team (John, Ashley, Brittney, Hayes, Hannah, Brandon and Arturo)(They are traveling north of us for the rest of the summer, pray for safety)
*John is doing much better, by the way.
The Soccer Team (They are headed to our village next week)
Oruillo, Puno, Peru...its a dark place.
Coping with the Freezing Cold (as it gets warmer in the States, it gets colder here, it is wintertime, so coooooooooold)
Getting re-adjusted to 12,000 + feet elevation.

We have a little less than a month before leaving our villages and heading back to Lima for final debriefing, so we have to DO WORK! Well, off to my last hot shower indoors for a while...

I WILL GO
Chase Culbertson