If it weren't for the sign over an entrance one could easily miss this church. Unlike in this country, all of the churches we visited were just normal city buildings that had been transformed into churches. None of them were stand alone structures and none of them were the size of small football stadiums.
We were greeted by a flag ceremony that we walked though to get to our seats. The older university students had prepared several numbers for us. "El Presidente" led them in two or three dance routines to worship music in Spanish while the translators attempted to tell us what the words meant in English. These performances had been thoroughly planned out and practiced for us and involved a lot of steps. The kids did this for probably 10 - 15 minutes at Huancayo's 11,000 feet in elevation.
After the performances four of the pre-university and university students (many if the same kids that had joined us at dinner the night before) talked to us about themselves, what they wanted to study or were studying, and what they wanted to be when they grew up. A lot of them were studying either engineering or architecture at the local university. One student told us that when was older he wanted to be able to sponsor his own child in Peru through Compassion.
We took a quick bathroom break and I snapped a few pictures of the church courtyard and the area from the upper level of the church. When I went back in some of the other ladies at the church has prepared for us a special local dance and song. The local costumes they wore were pretty dazzling - the highland areas of Peru are known for their very bright and festive colors. Later on you may see a picture with a rainbow flag in it. That flag is associated with something much different in Peru and surrounding countries than our country. It's actually used to represent the legacy or territory of the old Inca empire.
When the show began I stood up against the wall to take some pictures. My timing was impeccable, as a few seconds later they grabbed everyone else from our group and danced with them in a big circle. Don't worry, I will have (and participated in) many other opportunities to dance with the locals in the coming days. After "So You Think You Can Dance" Peruvian style was finished we all were able to take some pictures with them.
At the end of the church performances we grabbed some snacks and then all broke up into several groups for another home visit. The only problem was that our bus driver had disappeared. After about 30 minutes of waiting and phone calls he showed up again. While we waited some of the other group members bought some cactus fruit from a local woman who was nearby. It was an odd combo of a cactus with an inside that looked like watermelon but that was the consistency of a kiwi fruit.
After we had finished our cactumeloniwi fruit and found our bus driver our smaller group headed off to visit Jan Pierre's house. Jan Pierre is in his first year of college and is studying to be a Civil Engineer. He is the oldest of eight children. His Dad works as a handy man and was able to join us. His Mom couldn't take the time off from work, but we were still able to meet three of his siblings, his aunt and his grandfather. They all lived together in this house as well as an uncle who stayed in another room since he wasn't feeling well. It appeared to me that most of the extended family lived together. I'd also like to mention the two dogs - the part golden retriever pictured gave me several "smiles" and I pet his head while it rested in my lap for most of the visit. The entire family was very thankful to meet us and have us in their home. My hope is that Jan Pierre can graduate, become a successful engineer, and help his entire family in the future.
As I was leaving the house I turned around and took a picture of the front door. It's one of my favorite pictures I took on the trip. I think you should all use it for your desktop wallpaper.
