5 hour ride to 12,000 feet

It is late Thursday night and we are discussing how we have only been here for a couple of days, but it seems that we have done so much. Wednesday afternoon, we went to the clinic in Arequipa and Leticia and Sarah assisted with a few patient treatments while Bev and Janie helped organize the large equipment room upstairs. We have hopes of organizing the supply room while we are here in order to make it a more efficient resource. Wednesday evening, we visited the beautiful downtown in Arequippa to exchange some dollars for soles and buy some coffee. Downtown Arequippa is very beautiful and they call it the "white city" because many of the buildings are built out of white lava stone. It is really neat. Today (Thursday) we took a five hour bus ride across the Peruvian countryside to Juliaca which is a city that sits at 12,000 feet. After arriving, we attended a night Bible study at the church where we will be working at tomorrow. Everyone is very welcoming and hospitable. It is quite cold and dry here, but we are adapting well. We also took a "taxi" ride on a motorcycle pulled taxi. It was a first for most of us! Praise the Lord that we have arrived safely and have many supplies to share with people here. We do have a few things that you can be praying for! 1) Tomorrow's clinic (friday); that we may be able to overcome the language barrier and provide PT to many people here. 2) Ministry at the school tomorrow; Janie is teaching a lesson on nutrition to pre-schoolers. 3) Health; we are all fairly healthy right now, but sleep deprivaiton at high-altitude can take a toll quickly. We hope to post pictures soon, but we are problem-solving that right now.