The four of us planned a 7 day trip for July 2012. We did not have any specifics for the trip set in stone, but we had a tentative itinerary of things to do and see so as to get a good idea about the region and its culture. Our kids would stay with my wonderful mother-in-law and go to daycare during the day. It would be a long time away from the kids, certainly the longest we'd ever been away from them. We left home early (2:30 a.m.) for a 5:30 a.m. flight out of New Orleans. We had a connecting flight and layover in Miami and another in Lima, Peru; we expected to be in La Paz by 1:30 a.m. (and planned to sleep in that first day because of such a late arrival). We thought, after such a long travel itinerary, we would be in Bolivia for the night. But, God had different plans for us.
After a long 7+ hour layover in Miami, we arrived late in Lima, Peru. We were scheduled to fly from Lima to La Paz, Bolivia. With the late arrival, we, along with about a dozen others, missed our connecting flight. In the States, this would be no big deal. In Lima Peru, its sort of a big deal :-) The Lord helped us to be patient while the airline company tried to solve the problem. Erin, pregnant with her twin girls, was starving and exhausted. The others that missed their flight included a group of young people going on a mission trip to Santa Cruz and a father with his son (the father, Ray, was Bolivian by birth, but lives in New Jersey as an American.). We quickly made friends with all the others through the ordeal, and one of the college students offered Erin snacks. We waited, and waited, and waited (apparently a trend we'd learn to deal with in Latin America). Finally, around 1:30 a.m. We left the airport with a plan. We had vouchers to stay in a 5 star hotel in Lima for 3 nights (cutting our time in Bolivia by half), along with meal tickets for the hotel restaurant throughout the stay there, courtesy of the airline. Then, we'd leave for Bolivia. Not exactly the trip we expected, but we trusted the Lord's plans.
Lima, oh Lima, how I miss you! The middle of the night drive was a tad scary though, I'll be honest. Maybe more than once I saw someone urinating in the street. There was graffiti on the walls in the city. It was dark and our taxi did not stop at all the red lights or stop signs. But, when we awoke the next morning in our FINE hotel and super fluffy beds, we looked out to see a beautiful South American city. The hotel food was delicious, especially the breakfast. I wish I had a picture of the breakfast. We also explored the city's restaurants and were thoroughly impressed. I think I have more pictures of the food in Lima than I do of the four of us in Lima. It was that good!
With time to kill, we did a little sight seeing there as well. Lima is a very prosperous city in Peru, with some very wealthy residents in the heart of the city. We were in walking distance to a lot of things there, but with Erin being pregnant, we took advantage of the cheap taxis while there as well. The taxis in Lima (as well as La Paz) are TINY. Think early 90's Honda sedan. The four of us, none of us exactly tiny ourselves squeezing into those was kinda funny (and very uncomfortable.). Anyways, one day we decided to go to the movies, hearing that the price was half off on Tuesday's (which was only $2 in US currency).
Well, we got our tickets and were excited to go see Spiderman. The theater was very 1980's ish to American standards. Oh, and there was no air conditioning - or at least it didn't feel like there was. We settled into our seats, with not a seat available in our theater...the place was packed. After the previews, the movie began. It became clear pretty quickly we were in the wrong theater. (Some Johnny Depp movie with vampires) Must have read the receipt wrong...stupid Americans (that's how I felt at the moment.). We went in another theater...Ice Age. No seats there either. We finally found Spider Man, and the only seats available were scattered all over the theater. We ended up having to come back the next day (they understood our problem...) and found an empty theater! We got snacks and settled into our seats once again. There might have been 2-4 other people in the entire theater, when another couple walked into the dark room. Where did they choose to sit? Right smack next to me. I couldn't believe it! We couldn't stop giggling about it for a few minutes, because in the U.S. This would NEVER happen! 150 seats and they chose the two directly to my right!
Clearly, we were able to have some fun in Lima. We saw the presidential palace (gorgeous), we were begged to eat at restaurants, and got our first glimpses of the beautiful Andes. It was a great detour that ended up being a blessing, not only in that we missed an apparently large and possibly dangerous city-wide party in La Paz by having to stay in Lima, but also in the time that we were able to seek the Lord. God blessed us by providing a moment for us to simply be still and seek him without the pulls of the city of La Paz. Being in Lima, not the city we were planning to go to, allowed us to spend time in the word and in prayer. We were greatly encouraged and God gave us more clarity in the direction he was leading us.
Loving the Lord Always,
Ashley
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