Final Days In Peru
10:49 am January 17th, 2010
More entries from Dena’s journal…
Christmas morning we slept in and enjoyed a quiet morning at the hotel. The server at the hotel’s restaurant, Victor, gave us all a big smile and hug, exclaiming Feliz Navidad! It was wonderful to share the joy of Christmas with him. In the early afternoon we visited, played and enjoyed more craft time with the children. We served them their evening meal (take-out from a local restaurant, delicious where you buy whole chicken and french fries… they love french fries) and after cleaning up said a very tearful goodbye. There were five teenage girls and two tween girls in our group…did I mention it was a TEARFUL goodbye?
The children of Casa Luz
Upon our return to the hotel, John shared a story about Zane. They had returned to the room to get the boy ready for bed, so missed some of the final hours with the orphans. But John hooked his camera up to the hotel room’s TV and they watched a slide show of the pictures John had taken on the trip thus far: Casa Luz, the children, the food, etc. When it was over, Zane who seemed to be thinking about his status as an adopted orphan from Russia all through the trip, said, “Dad, thank you for bringing me home from the orphanage and into our family.” It was a tearful moment for John, and when he told me the story, after already crying about leaving the kids at Casa Luz, I cried some more!
Saturday we were up quite early to fly back to Lima. After a very early check in, and some late breakfast at the hotel, we went out to see some sights of Lima. We enjoyed a very Peruvian meal at a local restaurant (buffet – made the kids happy to eat so much!). Sunday morning some families slept in (we Fullers don’t do that so much). Seth and Saige joined some others and went to a Spanish-speaking church. Dakota and I went to an English-language Anglican church. Ask me sometime about the Christmas decor that almost caught on fire! We then packed and cleared the rooms, then…out to see more of Lima.
A darling young lady.
Eventually we made our way to the Lima airport, through security and customs and to our gate, where we waited for our red-eye flight back to Miami. We were all exhausted, and some of us slept as we could, Fortunately, the flights to Miami, Dallas and finally to Colorado Springs were on time, and we pulled into our driveway happy and tired Monday late afternoon.
This was an experience we are deeply grateful for. The story of Casa Luz and orphans worldwide is arresting and overwhelming. But the body of Christ is called “to arms” on behalf of these helpless ones and collectively we are making a difference! The precious children and teens at Casa Luz testify to that. There is a great deal they lack: they possess very little in the way of material things. But “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). At a caring Christian orphanage, God has given the fatherless a family, of sorts, and even more, a spiritual heritage to dwarf anything they could attain on earth. What a privilege and delight to share our lives with them!
Already I am planning to go back to Casa Luz, and I am sure some of our children will want to join me. Thanks to all who prayed for us – God answered your petitions! John says that all we traveled 8,000 miles, so the eight of us put on 64,000 miles collectively – and without lost luggage, lost wallets or lost kids! Your support was invaluable as we made this trip, and we hope that through these posts and the pictures (remember you can see more here) you feel a part of the work in Peru.
