When we planned this trip I had no idea how well organized the mission experience was in Piura. The church has an entire campus surrounded by four large brick walls with night guards patrolling to ensure everyone's safety. The campus is located in the heart of Piura, a town about the size of Wichita, near the city's square. When you leave the campus someone comes with you to ensure your safety as well. It amazing to me the number of high school and college students from the US who are here on mission trips alone and not part of any youth group.
The church campus has apartments that house up to 50 people on mission trips. Like most churches in Peru it's Catholic but many of the people doing mission trips were not Catholic but seemed completely at home at nightly Mass. Eddy was a high school kid from LA that quickly became good friends with our boys. He was here by himself but had been here twice before with his Methodist youth group.
Mass is the main social event for the people here. They said it is the equivalent of people at home going out to a movie or a football game. Speaking of football, Jim Harbaugh Stanford's football coach and former NFL quarterback was here last month staying at the same church where we were and doing the same daily mission activities. Colt McCoy was also at a town near here last summer doing the same thing.
The day is organized with breakfast at 8am. At nine you leave for your mission work. Activities are posted by morning and afternoon activities along with the number of mission workers needed. The social workers here do a tremendous job of matching people on mission trips with the needs of the people here. There are things for any age or ability to do. You can visit orphanages or hospice patients for support. Yesterday Reese said he shaved the face of an 80 year old man with dementia in a hospice. There are construction projects like building or remodeling homes going on daily. You can deliver or arrange food packets. The jobs are limitless. Everyone leaves at nine to go out to the villages to work. You come back for lunch and siesta then leave for work again at 3. Everyone comes back for 7pm mass followed by dinner. All of the meals are prepared for you.
I had times where they had clinics arranged with patients to be seen and other times I could work construction or choose any activity. An internist was here for a month and scheduled a ton of patients for me. The patients were unbelievably appreciative
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The clinic built here is part of the church campus and is attached to the church. It's amazing it's here surrounded by neighborhoods with bamboo huts.
The boys all said this was the best vacation ever. As we leave they are begging to come back next year. Tomorrow a medical mission with 28 doctors,nurses,and others arrives. They have general surgeons and primary care docs. It would be fun to organize a group for next year.
Thanks for following along!
JR
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