Peru 2007

Now that I've had some time to rest and reconnect with my family, here are some pictures of my wonderful trip to Peru. Olive Branch ministries out of Austin did a fantastic job of organizing this trip. Thank you Scott and Malena!

We set up a clinic in Viviate (medical, dental, eye glasses and pharmacy) and saw over 2300 patients in 5 days. I met with some Christians there and some seekers for three of those days. When I wasn't with them, I had the pleasure of assisting my dad in the dental clinic. The team Olive Branch put together was so much fun to work with. Everyone worked together well and we laughed a lot. I can't imagine how the trip could have been better.


Dad and me with a happy patient.


Three beautiful ladies waiting to see the dentist.
A good example of why foot washing is such a humbling job.

This is not the line to get in at the beginning of the day. This is the line forming for the next day as we are leaving for the night. People waited all night to get in and see a doctor.

I really enjoyed meeting with the small group of Christians in Viviate. I especially enjoyed the singing. They sang songs I was familiar with, so even though it was in Spanish, I could keep up. This is a shot of the worship leader. She did an outstanding job!

Our interpreters were the best! Most of them were college students from Piura where we stayed during the clinic week. These two sisters, Adrianna and Andrea, showed us their neighborhood and took us out to eat one night. They were very smart and funny. Very cool people.

On our last night in Piura we had a dinner with some of the Christians there, our team and our interpreters. The interpreters got together and gave us all "I Love Peru" T-shirts. One of our team doctors (he's also our family doctor) Cody Mihills models his.

Once the clinic week was over, we headed for some R & R in Cusco. Everywhere we went, the Peruvian people proved to be as beautiful as their country.

We saw a lot of llama and alpaca. This woman is hand weaving with alpaca wool. She can weave up to 4 inches in a day. It was amazing to watch. I wish Stephanie had been with me.

I tried some interesting food in Peru. Here I am feeding an alpaca. I felt it was the least I could do considering the fact I had eaten his cousin the llama for dinner the night before.

And yes, I did try the guinea pig. It was a bit gamy for my taste. The Peruvians keep guinea pigs as pets, but do eat them on special occasions.

In Cusco I walked out of the hotel and ran into this guy. He wasn't sure why I was taking his picture, but hey, how often do you run into a die hard Idaho Vandals fan? I thought my in-laws would appreciate this.

I met this mother and child in a market in Cusco. Every child I saw made me miss my girls.

On our next to last day in Peru we went up to Machu Picchu. It was fascinating, spectacular and amazing!

Our guide in Machu Picchu was named Ruben. He was very knowledgeable and understandably proud of his heritage. It was his people who built Machu Picchu.

What a blessing it was to get to make this trip with my dad. This was his 8th trip this year to help hurting people around the world. He is working harder in "retirement" than ever before and loving every minute of it. He embodies the undeniable truth that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I'm proud of him and so thankful that we were able to make this trip together.

I'm sure I'll have more to say about this experience as I have time to process it. I have A LOT more pictures if anyone is interested. Thank you for your prayers while I was away. God truly blessed our trip!