Goodbye Cusco, Hello Lima!

We saw God do big things while we were in the lovely city of Cusco! While we were there we felt at home and blessed every single day by seeing God at work in His precious children. Working alongside the Red Dot construction team was amazing as well! Their hearts for seeing God receive glory while serving the "least of these" was something our whole team was able to learn from and be encouraged by. They were passionate in everything they did, whether they were laying tile in the girl's dorms or doing crafts during VBS at the boy's home, they always gave everything they had. Red Dot we hope you are enjoying your time back at home with your families and are forever changed by your week in Cusco. We are enjoying our books, CD's and candy!

The children at Buen Pastor and Jesus Mi Luz were full of joy, hope, innocence, laughter, hugs, kisses and love. The most exciting thing we were able to witness was how hungry they were for

God's Word and for truth in their lives. The boys literally begged us for Bibles every single day, thank goodness we were able to leave enough for them on the last day we were there!!! One reason for their intense hunger for hearing about God and His plan for their life, is Giugliana Mendoza Fry, aka Julie. God has given her many, many gifts, one of them being a passion for drama and storytelling. She told a story from the life of Joseph everyday and also two Max Lucado stories. She doesn't just tell the stories though, she makes them come alive! All the children anxiously await their time to hear Julie teach and they become completely mesmorzied when she begins to speak. It is beautiful! The main idea we wanted the children to know in their hearts was that God has a big, huge, grand, master plan for their lives. It doesn't matter if we can't understand or see why everything in our lives has happened, whether the events bring us joy or sadness, but that God will use it for His purpose and glory as He did in Joseph's life. We talked lots about the importance of having an open heart and be willing to let God use you in big ways as well. Our time at the boy's home and the girl's home showed us just how important these orphans were in God's eyes and the ability to experiance true joy in serving in the name of Jesus.

I think it can all be agreed upon that the last two days of our time in Cusco were the best days! On Friday we had the priveledge of throwing a huge pizza party at the girl's home! We had a band, way too much pizza, and a cake! We ate under a huge green

tent and then danced. Some of the girls had never had pizza before and they loved it! After that we took the girl's to see their renovated dorms, there were lots of oooohhhsss and aaahhhhhhhhssssss and mucho gracias. The new tile floor and painted walls looked wonderful. The girl's were so thankful for all of the hard work the men had done. Next, we loaded up five girls into our bus who attend the University in Cusco. They are highly motivated, extremely intelligent, beautiful girls who were now too old to actually be staying at the orphanage. When Red Dot was notified about this they worked with Buckner to create a transitional home for them where they could continue to pursue their dreams and be cared for. We drove them to this gorgeous house that is located very close to the Univeristy and got to witness the first time they walked into their new home!!! They were so excited, overwhelmed and thankful that they began to shake and cry. We had a big time praising God and exploring their house. There is no doubt that the girls know that people believe in them and that our God is a big God.

Then came the best day ever! On Saturday we threw a huge carnival at the boy's home and invited the girl's home over! The carnival had game booths with prizes, popcorn, candy, two jump houses, rides, candy apples, hot dogs, cotton candy, a trampoline and birthday cakes. The children ran around to all the games throwing pies, playing putt-putt, getting their faces painted, getting their picture taken at the photo booth, and eating yummy treats! There was so much for them to do and experiance. At the end, each child was called by name and received a gift bag filled with some pretty neat things, including the book, You are Mine by Max Lucado. The children were prayed over and reminded that they have a Heavenly Father who does not view them as orphans but as His children. A God who loves them enough to send Jesus to walk among us, to love us, and to redeem us. Our day was bittersweet as we had to say goodbye after the carnival. While many tears were shed, we praised God for our time serving, loving and learning from His children.

We are now in Lima on the next leg of our journey. This week we are working at a community center in a poverty-stricken area. Again, we are amazed at the joy, hope and innocence we see in the faces of the children. Please pray for health, energy and the gospel to be presented clearly while we are here. Much love to all family and friends!!!