We're off! Our contingent of 8 had a virtually flawless journey to Lima. We hoped the same applied to our team-mates. Another 27 were bound for Lima via Miami on American Airlines; 25 were also flying by American Airlines to Santa Cruz and beyond to Cochabamba in Bolivia.
Those of you who know David will not be surprised to hear that his camera gear was overweight and we had to re-distribute his equipment amongst other bags. In life as in packing, I was luckily underweight so was able to accommodate. Our airplane was one of the oldest in the system. And Audrey chuckled at the equivalent of duct tape over ancient now un-used ashtrays. Ruth's spate of bad luck continued. Last week her dog ate her passport - a new take on the homework version. She was madly able to replace it the morning of our flight. Then she was the only one of our team to be hauled off to customs when we landed. The friendly, welcome face of Canon Kim towered above the greeting crowd of the clean and modern airport. And after a dash for the Starbucks or ice cream, we boarded a bus for the trek to our accommodation.
Our team-mates flying American Airlines to Lima were not so lucky. Storms in Miama delayed their flight by 4 hours and our colleagues arrived bleary-eyed just before 2 a.m.
We are staying in an historic convent that sits high atop a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The richness of our surroundings is found more in the hospitality, the view and the sound of the crashing surf. The hibiscus are out in beautiful bloom. Our group was met by Uli and Kai who arrived here two days ago. We had to tiptoe in as the elderly nuns were fast asleep. We sleep in small and simple single beds with washrooms down the hall. Pashmir blankets keep us warm. The temperature is like a cool, wet spring day in Ontario - or maybe more like Vancouver. Sister Garciela is our host. Susan Delgado-Park, a missionary with the Good Shepherd Angilican Cathedral in Lima, is representing the diocese as our team's coordinator.
On Saturday we will spend the morning planning for our first intervention on Sunday. There will be no day of rest for us as it is the primary day off for Peruvians and we hope to attract hundreds to a combined dental and eye clinic. This clinic will be an hour and half away in the northern and less prosperous area of Lima. Our children's ministry team will entertain those in the waiting line with songs and games. We will charge the equivalent of 60 cents for each visit. As Susan explains we don't want to create a missionary dependency; rather Peruvians must share in the responsibility for their health and well being.
We begin our adventure with three warnings. Firstly, tap markings in Spanish are the reverse. So turning the fawcett marked "H" to the maximum will produce an invigorating shower guaranteed to kickstart the faintest heart. Secondly, keep your shoes by the bed as we're in an earthquake zone. Thirdly, as Susan cautions, "blessed are the flexible for they shall not get bent out of shape."
Note to my mom: the convent is said to be seizmically sound.
Here is a link that you can click to a see a mission photo gallery. http://gallery.me.com/davidhillock
If able, we will upload a few photos each day. For the first set, here is the in Toronto airport, then another photo, meeting with Canon Kim in the Lima airport. If you like hibiscus'...we have included two photos from the convent.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
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