"Ascend Alliance" and Peru...

***side note. i LOATH this pic. lol. ok
Now that that's over, this is my little brother Elder Michael Terry and he is serving an LDS mission in Peru. He is currently in the Missionary Training Center in Lima, Peru. On my flight home, I had a 10 hour layover in Lima so I took a taxi to hand deliver a letter to him. They are strongly against visitors and want to keep them focused on what they are there to do. Before I left, it started a huge family debate whether or not I should use my skillzzzzz and "break in". I was convinced that I could do it since when I want something done, it gets done. Anyway, I made my way there and pulled up to the convent like looking building. There was a dark window with a security guard as well as an iron door leading inside. So the true story begins here (and since I KNOW that my parents will not read this, the only way I know that they will EVER discover the truth is if one of my rat siblings rats me out soooooo we'll see***the rat has squeaked and she is right over here) The security guard said no. "NO? I am here from America. Can you call someone to ask if I can personally drop off this letter to him. It would mean so much?" He agreed and handed me the phone. Again I plead my case and she told me that she would have an answer for me in 5 and could I wait? Uh. Yeah. I think I can handle waiting for this answer. So 15 minutes later (Latino time remember) she called back, telling me that I could come in but that I could only have 5 minutes. YEAH!!! Now if you are LDS, you know how impossible it is to visit a missionary while in an MTC so you know how awesome this story is but if you don't know? IT'S IMPOSSIBLE and WAS AMAZING!!! The KT skillzzzz come through again. I said thank you a million times, heard them call his name over the intercom, and waited. The minute I saw him coming across the lawn I screamed and grinned from ear to ear. He gave me his signature arm maneuver of what the and looked so confused like how are these 2 worlds of mine, home and mission life, colliding??? It made the trip awesome! I grabbed him for a hug, gave him his letter, told him I loved him very much, gave him some interaction pointers with the people of Peru, and told him to get back to his studies. I just wanted to tell him how proud of him I am, that he will love his time in Peru, and to have fun! WOW! What a great day...and yes of course....the minute I got to the airport, I had to call my family and rub it in that once again, I had succeeded!!! (though I told them that they had just politely invited me in...lol...hehehe!) Anyway...just something that most don't get to do :)
I have a million, MILLION pictures of my little adventure, my service mission to Peru. It was impossible to load them all up in perfect order so yes...they are a bit scattered.
So let's start from the beginning. I flew from SLC to Dallas and then to Miami. On my Dallas flight I fell asleep on the plane. I was so annoyed because I woke up to such loudness and opened my eyes to find the cabin filled with smoke. As the pilot announced that we were making an emergency landing in New Orleans, the oxygen masks dropped. YEAH....
I can honestly say that for the first time in my life, I really thought that I might die. Really. My first thought of course was about my kids. Did I tell them enough how much I love them. I immediately thought about the conversation I had just had with Trevor earlier that day. He never likes talking about this stuff but I had said "if anything happens to me this ... is what I want to have happen and how it needs to be. You need to make sure that Carter does.......and that Kindra does........" I am telling you. I was scared.
Well obviously they landed and hurried us off the plane (before it blew up...lol) and tried to get us all on new flights to Miami. Ok. Disaster. Missed all of my connections. I won't even start on Miami buuuut there was the nicest agent who helped me out and booo-yyaaaa got me on the red eye...first class...into Lima. I was so relieved. So yeah. I did have to question if the rest of the trip was going to be as dramatic and it did not help when someone said "See. It's a sign. You should not go on this trip. Just fly home". Grrrrrr!!!! wink wink Anyway, finally made it to Cusc0, Peru...minus my luggage. Wait? What??? Thankfully I had everything that I "needed" on my carry on plus a change of clothes and a thin jacket. They assured me that my luggage would be delivered to the hotel in the morning. That was before I learned about "Latino Time" and what "tomorrow" really means.
But back to the plane ride in. So funny. It was straight out of a sitcom. So for me to get off of the plane, I need the use of an aisle chair that takes me out and to my own wheelchair. Easy enough...but not in Peru. So they enter the plane with the widest falling apart wheelchair I have ever seen that of course will not go down the aisle. The agent comes to my seat and just grabs me, under my arms, and drags me, yes drags me, down the aisle and plops me on the wheelchair. OK. I am dying at this point. Then I see that they have to take me down a million stairs to get me to ground level. So they think they need the whole brigade to get me down these stairs so they call over anyone and everyone. I promise you, I thought FOR SURE that I was going to get dropped. Again I wondered why it was that I was doing this?!?
Obviously they did not drop me...phew...and I met up with our driver who took us to the hotel. Um, have you ever driven in a country that does not obey lights, lanes, signs, or pedestrians??? I saw traffic like this when I was in Rome but it was not even close to as life threatening as it is in Peru. Soooo funny....


OK. So in my "other life" I would have been a photographer...lol
This is when we went to a community and helped them with both a medical lesson and helped them to plant new trees. They have this "magical mixture" made of guinea pig manure. Yeah.



The ladies all have long hair that is braided and some of them have decorations woven into their hair that looks like this...

I was the "fluoride nurse" and had such a great time making it fun and not scary...


Everyone helps. Everyone. It does not matter how old or what gender you are. They all have their parts. The older children carry around the younger children wrapped up like this...
Teaching the kids about teeth brushing...







Different regions have their "own" style of hat...
Quenko...my favorite village that we did the most work at. This is when we were helping them to build a recycling post and teaching them about what is garbage. They have just been throwing the garbage anywhere and especially down in their little river which is their main source of water. They have been ignorant because they are so remote. They don't even speak Spanish. It is an ancient dialect which is specific to their village.
These children were darling and my heart broke for them. They live in the same clothes 24/7. They don't know what a warm bath is. They don't know what their own bed is. They all had snotty, runny noses and were soooo dirty....but I was in love with them!


They thought the wheelchair was the coolest thing ever and they all wanted turns riding it around...

The way to our "hotel"...hahaha...and this became our morning and nightly tradition. Notice the "backpack carry" of me? Yeah. Kyle was my official "man scout"!
This is back in Cusco at one of the ancient walls. Look at how exact the lines are. The question still remains..."How did they cut and install them so perfect"?
Yep. The taxis...
Machu Picchu...


The view from my hotel balcony in Machu Picchu...


Yep. I did it!!! Of course there were parts that I needed help but it is built on levels. It was amazing and impossible to describe in words. One of those "have to see it yourself" things. We got to the base and it was sunny. Went in and had lunch. It began raining for about 15 minutes. Then it was overcast and freezing. Then it was sunny. It was so weird how the weather would change so quickly.


This was believed to have been built around 1100 and was not even the "main" castle or fort of their civilization. This was more a sacred temple and only a select few hundred lived here. It was also where they kept their main food storage. I was blown away when I heard some of these facts. They built it on circular "roller" rocks to prevent destruction during an earthquake. Their water system was exact. The sun was a huge factor in the locations that they built the alters and the windows. HOW DID THEY KNOW HOW TO DO THIS AND BUILD LIKE THIS??? The intelligence that they had amazed me!

Look how high we are...

More ancient ruins...
Look up high on the mountain...
This is Kyle, (remember he is my "man scout"), entertaining the kids of Quenko...
Emma, another one of the interns, showing them the recycling baskets that we painted...

So when I said that the airlines would get me my luggage the next day, they were lying. They lost my luggage for 5, yes 5 days. So for 5 days, I lived in 2 pairs of clothes. I had to borrow shirts, jackets, socks, and literally my mental sanity. This was the bedroom that I shared with Karen, who was heaven sent, and she kept me from going crazy this night. All I wanted was my family, my house, my car, my life, and anything else that had anything to do with my OWN independence. Serious. I was so frustrated and so sick of feeling "trapped". What you don't see is that this room had a step out to a step out to a little patch of grass out to a creek and that was just out to the bathroom. Point is that I needed help to do everything and I had to learn that it was OK to ask for help, that I can ask for help. Lesson learned. And most of all, I needed the "life detox". The detox of things that really don't need to be a part of my life and a detox of other negative aspects of my life. Again, lesson learned. ;)
Katie, the floride nurse, was back and this day was the best one ever! I had soooo much fun with these kids! When we first got to the school, the kids just stared at me with blank expressions. I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated but the minute I just smiled and said "Hola!" they were all smiles! The wheelchair didn't hurt either with their curiousity....
They welcomed us with one of their ceremonial dances...
He stayed right by my side all day and was the sweetest little boy ever! His poor cheeks were so wind-blown and all I wanted to do was pull out my bottle of mentholatum and heal them.


Building the recycling post...
Karen and I painting the recycling baskets...

The minute the sun went down, the temperature would drop and it was FREEZING!!! I did not even realize that it is Peru's winter right now.
There were alot of things that Peru helped me to realize, to grasp, and to understand. I mean I came in, knew I had more "knowledge" than they did, wanted to "save" them, do some awesome service, and ride off into the sunset a hero. Uh. No. I mean we did teach them some "knowledge" and we did do some great service but it was their community that was "my hero". Their simpler life ended up making me feel so free. It allowed me to have a clear mind which gave me the "simple" answers to the hard questions. It allowed me to really see what is important.
I love, love, LOVE that they love and respect each other for what is in their hearts. Not by what they dress like, homes are like, or what they drive. It's not about appearance and it's real. I love that they all help together and each other as one. Old, young, men, woman, kids, strangers...it does not matter. They all pull their weight and they all have a deep love and concern for one another.





Getting the soccer balls ready for the big game....






Back to Cusco...



This is for you "It's Always Sunny In Philidelphia" fans...lol
The main square in Cusco...







Outside view of my hotel in Cusco...

My guilty pleasure while in Peru...

Back in Quenko and our daily routine to the "hotel"...



Xavier the architect. My Latino knight in shining armor who solved the "how's the simplist way to get me inside the bathroom" question the night of my breakdown. lol


A dinner out...
More ancient ruins...





About to board the train to Machu Picchu...




I know. I warned you that some of these pics are scattered but this was the big soccer game back in Quenko.
Xavier (my Latino knight in shining armor"...lol)
The dining room...
The materials used to build their home meaning mud and grass/straw.



So this is Dr. Chris Rousse and he was the dentist who came along with us. The last day that we were in Quenko, he was seeing those who had definite mouth issues. This cute woman came in with her family and had 8 teeth pulled because they were so diseased. Her sweet husband stood by her side, so worried and concerned for her, and whispered encouragement the entire time. It was so sincere and real and exactly what love should be.









A basket of dead and cleanly shaven guinea pigs=dinner. Uh. NO!




Look how perfect and precise...
LOL. Enough said. Ha Ha Ha...







Going home and saying goodbye to my "man scout" :(
At the airport in Cusco with the Peru "Ascend" contacts...
First day there and look at their staring and grim faces...

Laundry day...
They are ALWAYS doing something and their hands are NEVER empty!

Lunch is served...





The one bathroom in Peru that I could be in, in my wheelchair. NO LIE! Except for my hotel in Cusco, this was the ONLY bathroom or stall that I could be in, in my wheelchair. EVERY ONE I was "delivered" to by Kyle. I am so serious. He would have to "backpack" lift me up, come in the bathrooms with me, plop me on the toilet seat, leave, shut the door, shimmy clothes off, do my business, shimmy clothes on, open stall door, yell for Kyle, lift me up, wash my hands, and back out to my chair. Believe me that by day 9, I was sooooooo ready to be home, in America, and with a bathroom stall that I could manage myself!











Colton and I (Chris's son)





Experiencing some of Cusco's nightlife listening to Xavier's band play...

Chris, Colton, Matt, and I on our last day in Peru, which was bitter sweet. Sad to be leaving my new random friends but soooo excited and ready to be home. It was one of the most mentally challenging experiences yet one that gave me back some of the best rewards, lessons, answers, and peace. I experienced things that will forever be imprinted in me for the rest of my life and things that I hope to never forget or ever again take for granted. I love the people of Peru and I'd go back in a heart beat and do it again. The service truly filled my heart with joy and compassion. Things happen for a reason and I know that I was meant to go on this great adventure in Peru.