Greetings from Peru!!
Wow, there is so much that has happened here in Pucallpa, Peru since the last time I posted. For one we did mobil clinics at our Adventist Churches for a period of two weeks, bringing these amazing people of Peru free medical attention. Thank you to Dr. Mathews, our on-site doctor at AMOR Projects, and Dr. Gow-Lee who dropped on by from the US with a team of dentists and other awesome doctors, we were able to help hundreds of people with all their symptoms. These moments helping out the community through medical work was simply amazing. You can see how wonderful God is; how he can recruite a number of brilliant doctors and dedicated missionaries that will go out and dedicate their time to helping others. It is such a blessing to be a part of such an amazing project. Not only have we been doing mobil clinics but we also have had the clinic running. At first it was running Monday through Friday since 8 am up until the last patient was seen and tended to, but now we are at the point in which we are running clinic three days a week in the afternoon due to the doctor's schedule. I have been able to indulge myself in every aspect of the medical area. From registration to pharmacy, which I have come to very much enjoy, to injections, and finally shadowing. Every moment has been a blessing. I have been given the opportunity to learn new things from the doctors and my fellow missionary friends.
With the departure of an amazing doctor whom I am honored to have to able to meet, we started a series of rotations involving the clinic and work out at Km 38. This past week was my first week out at Km 38 doing some manual labor. First day we arrived, Allie (an awesome friend and fellow missionary) and I, helped Molly and Jeremy (the two main missionaries out at Km 38) with the construction of a fence that goes along the property dividing our part of the jungle with that of the neighbor's. This work was really hard, having to carry wooden posts from point a (our stack near the house) to point b (in the jungle, ah I don't know how far into but seems far when carrying a wooden post). Holes were dug, posts were placed, adjusted, and filled, and the jungle was cleared out with a machete. This was my first time at manual labor and even though it was rough and very much tiring, I enjoyed it up until the end of my week there. A feeling of success ran thoughout my body with the thought that I was able to help out in such a way and that part of our goal was accomplished. The fence is not 100% complete but is a work in progress. Great change has occured since the last group has been out there the previous week prior to mine but I know this project will soon be able to be fully completed. The following day, we received notice that the rest of the missionaries back at Km 8 would be joining us for two days. Their task or job was a whee bit different than ours. They were to go out into the yucca fields to harvest all the yucca to be able to sell. Without knowing this little detail, Allie and I went with the rest of the group and helped in pulling out yucca. Wow oh wow was this fun for the first few hours before lunch time came around! Man, we had about 4 to 5 people with machetes cutting the yucca trees so that we would easily be able to pull them out from within the earth. The rest of us were harvesting the yucca and making piles of it all over the place. This was fun! Pictures after pictures were taken all day by everyone who had a phone on them at the moment. Laughs were shared and stories were told within our working teams in order to lose track of time and keep our spirits high, especially after our lunch time when all we wanted to do was nap. These moments spent together was very much used to bond as much as possible.
There have been many bonding moments within the missionaries... Moments that I am sure we will never be able to forget... 'Dance Parties' with Ariana are the best and at the most random moments such as in the middle of filling a prescription for a patient or when we walk into the room together... It is amazing to have someone whom you can simply dance the stress away or dance just because you are happy!! Other moments would include the time spent with the guys simply chilling in their room's and talking about the most random things or watching a movie.... Kicking it with the guys is the best because they are all so laid back that you can simply enjoy life and your free time... The guys blasting my phone with pictures they have taken of themselves simply because they feel like it and know I will only laugh and very much enjoy their silliness... Awesome moments that I have been able to live during my time here in Peru... Yeah there has been difficulties,misunderstandings and challenges but nothing that awesome adults such as ourselves can not handle...
It is such a great blessing to be in Pucallpa serving as a missionary. Even though things may get tough; patients will drive you insane and push your buttons, I am glad to be a missionary with a group of awesome individuals. I know things won't always be full of smiles and laughter, which we have all experienced at one point in time here or there, but I know that with God's help we will be able to overcome anything that is placed in our paths. We simply have to turn over those problem, those difficulties to God and he will handle them. We have to trust in Him; we have to trust that he knows what we can and can't do and that he will always give us a lending hand. I thank God for all the missionaries present in Peru as well as for all those whom He placed in my path to help me accomplish my goal in getting to Peru. It is a huge blessing to be here and I will be making the most out of this experience.
YOLO = You Only Live Once -> Has been my moto throughout the time I have spent here because honestly, you do only live once and only once in your lifetime (at least for me and my career choice) will you be able to take a year off from school and life to go out and serve. Only once may you have this opportunity to expose yourself to a new perspective, to a new world, to the possibility of growing just a tiny bit more.
Thank you all for reading this... Hope to post soon!! Take care ya'll and God Bless YOU!!! :D
