Today was the day we came here for, all the obstacles we have overcome, the hours of traveling, and the prayers from family and friends brought us to this point. This would be our first day of clinic to serve the people Quenko, Peru, giving them medical care and sharing the faith and love of our Lord with these people. After a great night of much needed sleep we all gathered for worship together to start our journey, we shared a prayer and a few songs of worship to put everyone in that mindset that today we would be able to share the love of God. After a great breakfast we were given some time alone to just reflect on our day ahead and allow us to think about the reasons that brought us here. Regardless of where each one of us are in our spiritual faith, I can probably guarentee that each one of us felt as if this is where we were supposed to be and that we were called to be here. With an overwhelming energy and a great vibe the whole team loaded up and filled three tour buses with our bags and enough medical supplies to provide care to a decent size village ten times over. Our journey to this little village brought us from the asphalt paved roads to dirt roads barely large enough for one vehicle, around twisting and turning roads, and further and further up in altitude. We hit our first obstacle in a tiny village about halfway to Quenko. A small creek decided to make its new home across the road we needed to drive three tour buses and two trucks through. This creek in our way can be seen as any other obstacle put in our path as maybe a challenge by God to see if his people, his followers, his children are willing to overcome and still reach the goal of  sharing his word. So without missing a beat everyone jumped out and immediately started tossing rocks into this creek to provide that path needed to cross. After a line of team members stacking rocks and even all coming together and pushing these giant buses, we were able to cross. We finally arrived at the village we would serve, the excitement of the villagers to see us was so heartwarming and embracing. The village president spoke to us and just thanked us for coming and providing help to his community. Several readings were read in Spanish and they shared some of their worship songs with us and thanking us over and over for just being there. Our four room concrete floor and wall clinic that doubled as I'm sure several other things was set up as our pharmacy, two pediatric rooms, two adult medicine rooms, a women's clinic, and our triage area outside on the front steps. We all had so many different experiences in the areas we were helping out in but one experince we all had in common, we all had such satisfaction in what we were here doing and what we were providing these people. We were able to treat and diagnose patients but that was only a small reason what brought us there, we shared with them the love and faith of Jesus Christ. It was encouraging to see that from the pediatric patients to some of the elderly we saw, they knew that Jesus died for them and with the love and faith in God that this would lead them to an eternal life with God. As we all saw today our bodies will begin to breakdown but with that faith we will all be renewed one day. "For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands." 2 Corinthians 5:1. It was such a breath of fresh air to see our team serving God and providing these people with aid physically and spiritually. Everyone did such a great job from the ones in triage assessing what was wrong and faced with the task of getting vital signs in a loud hectic atmosphere, to the ones in the patient rooms making diagnoses of these people's health problems (which going through sometimes two translators for two different languages just to ask 'how they are doing today', is a challenge we never thought we would ever encounter) , and finally to the ones challenged with providing these people with medications needed to help them get better (and you think it's tough understanding medications in English, they had to dispense medications in Spanish). So far this has been such an amazing experience and really has changed my perceptions of life and has brought me personally closer to God. Reading a book earlier today I found something that really related to how I personally felt about today "don't accumulate possessions; accumulate experiences". I know we are all really looking forward to the remainder of this trip and the path in our faith it is taking us.

-Ryan