"Jesus is sneaky...He wears sneakers."

I'm in Peru! I'm in a hostel in Lima now watching what seems to be the Chilean version of Sesame Street. (Much funnier than Sesame Street!). I got in last night at 1:30am. The plane ride was smooth, I just wish I had slept more. My flight was about 10 hours (7 hours to Bogata, Colombia, and 3 hours to Lima). I sat next to a Christian guy, Jhonathan, for the first leg of the flight. He was from Ontario and goes to a Spanish-language Calvary Chapel. I say Jesus is sneaky because Jhonathan too was on a ministry-focused trip as well--to see his family and share the Gospel with them. Our conversations about the Lord, movies, and music made the 7-hour flight go by much faster! It was like God telling us both, "You're doing the right thing." In your prayers for me, throw out a prayer for my friend and fellow believer Jhonathan and his family in Colombia.

I sat next to a precious 7-year-old Peruvian girl at the beginning of my flight from Bogata to Lima. She was so talkative and her sister and her were excited to learn I was from Los Angeles. "Do you see movie stars there?" I proceeded to list the few celebrities I have seen, or met, in L.A. but she didn't know most of their names. I guess most Peruvian 7-year-olds don't watch John C. Riley movies. Unfortunately, the flight attendant asked me to switch seats with the little girl's young cousin because he was sitting alone further up in the plane. I was happy to help him out, though I would miss my conversation with the little girl.

The change of seats was good because I sat next to a Peruvian man who didn't know English so I practiced my castellano (what they call Spanish in most of Latin America). I was terrible but he was patient. I was proud to step out of my box and I could tell he appreciated my efforts.

I also met some other young Americans on my flight, Megan, Mike, and Amanda. Megan is volunteering at an orphanage in Lima so it was cool to talk about orphanage stuff with her.

The hostel I'm staying at, Pay Purix, picked me up from the airport. The two girls who picked me up, one a Peruvian and another an Argentinian, were so friendly and kind it was ridiculous! And everyone at the hostel has been really kind and helpful. I met a Brazilian lawyer, Nicky, who's doing a presentation for Congress. He apologized for his "bad" English, but his English far exceeds my knowledge of Spanish!

So you know, Peru is only a 2 hour difference from L.A. so it's almost 10:30am here. I'm taking a taxi to the bus station at 11am. The bus leaves at 12:30 and it will be a 8-hour ride to Trujillo, so I should arrive around 9pm. I'm so happy to finally be here and I can't wait until I get to the orphanage! I'll post some pictures when I actually start taking some and get a chance to upload them.

Praise the Lord for a safe and smooth trip so far!