Children

As always, I haven't wrote in a while. The last few weeks have been filled with many wonderful things. A week ago I went camping with some of the guys from the Church here. We took a five hour bus ride out of Lima into the mountains. Rumor had it that we could find waterfalls near a town called Matucana.

Apparently, the rumors were true

After arriving to town we went to a small shop for lunch. I was immensely grateful that the soup with chicken feet went to David and not myself. Immediately after lunch, we hiked into the mountains to search for the waterfalls. Before making it to the waterfalls I met a really cute foreign girl, pictured below.

Seriously, she's pretty cute.

Davids delicious soup.

After an hour long hike we made it to the waterfall. After deciding that we didn't want to camp around other people, we hiked farther into the woods looking for a more isolated area. The best area we could find was a rocky beach next to a stream and ten foot waterfall.

The stars were absolutely beautiful. I had forgotten how much I missed staring at the stars. Everything about camping reminded me how small we are and how beautiful the Earth can be. I was so happy to be there sharing it with a bunch of great guys. The mountains also reminded me of how much I have missed/how much I'm looking forward to going snowboarding.

We spent the night talking and cooking chorizos. I didn't sleep much that night due to the uncomfortable nature of sharp rocks. The next morning we went hiking before heading back to Lima. 

Notice the extremely comfortable ground.

Fast forward to the next Friday. The school I work at took a trip to the beach. It was hard to push around the wheelchairs because they immediately became stuck in the sand. Still, the students had a great day which is what matters most.

Immediately after coming back from the beach, I left for a town called San Bartolo for a three day retreat. I wish I had pictures from San Bartolo because the sunset over the water was breathtaking. This weekend was spent with a focus of understanding my vocation in life. Trying to understand what God is calling me to do with my life. I can feel myself becoming more accepting of my religious views, which will likely come across to others as being extreme since I don't see a point in hiding who I am anymore. There was a great goodness in spending so much time in prayer and thought this weekend and although I am not aware of my path in life, I feel like the fog is lifting.

This Sunday we woke up and went to Mass and then went to the beach. After winning a game of ultimate frisbee due to some teammates who were far superior to me, I went swimming in the ocean. Last year in Costa Rica, I almost drowned trying to surf in some huge waves. I'd forgotten how powerful the ocean can be. Mother nature decided to reteach my a life lesson by dragging me across the bottom of the ocean with a giant wave. After what seemed like forever, I surfaced only to face another huge wave crashing over me. This one pushed me towards the beach where I was happy to stay closer to the shore. Although it wasn't as bad as Costa Rica, just the thought of those memories upset me enough to quit swimming. It was a great reminder that I'm not invincible.

In the coming week I'm leaving for a small town called Ayaviri where I will be going on medical missions with a bunch of Americans, including a family I know from Boulder. I'm really excited! Now I'm going to finish listening to this Taylor Swift song and hopefully Skype my parents.

Miss everyone!