Halfway musings

Well my system is well and thoroughly detoxed and i may even be a little slimmer thus allowing my brain to beign musing on some of what we´ve been experiencing here in Peru. One thing that´s been very noticeable in churches is how often people say ´gracias´ when praying. After listening to a Tim Keller sermon on the bus on the way home today (that´s the sort of christian geek i am) i was pondering is the thankfulness and generosity shown by christians here as compared to how we live at home related to how much we actually believe the gospel. In wealthy countires we have everything we need and do we really acknowledge how much we need God or do we just do religion - good stuff? More to follow....

Its been interesting how easy it has been to go without things, like the two days without our luggage, and even for a coffee snob like myself who has 3 cups a day, i've only had 3 my whole time here. Peru produces some really good coffee - the cafedirect beans from macchu picchu are pretty good yet people here don't seem to get to enjpy some of the really good stuff they produice because its all exported. One of the women in Caraballyo, when asked if she uses vegetables (given there are fields of vegetables around the community) replied tellingly 'no, the good ones all go to you' meaning overseas. The world is so small and connected, frightening to think our demand for vegetables and coffee actually deprives the people in the countires that produce them from enjoying the good fruits of their land...

After some more painting the last couple of dayswe're off for an English camp this week and we are actually camping. A few English lessons and some Irish culture are being hastily prepared. For those of you who have been to Slovakia - sound familiar?

We return on Sunday night and get a 6am flight to Cusco for our team holiday - a few days at one of the new 7 wonders of the world - Macchu Picchu which should be stunning - as long as no-one gets altitude sickness. We've done pretty well on the sickness front and hope it stays that way...