Warriors Making a Difference — in Peru!
Daily Reflections from Peru
Our Mission Warriors, accompanied by Campus Minister Mr. Thane Hall, were boots on the ground in Lima, Peru, working alongside the Christian Brothers North America Immersion Program. This life-changing mission trip was more than service — it was transformation. Throughout their journey, our students encountered Christ in the faith-filled people they served and discovered the spirit of Blessed Edmund within themselves in new and profound ways.
We invite you to read the daily reflections from Mr. Hall and the boys below to witness how this experience shaped our students’ hearts, deepened their faith, and brought the spirit of service to life.
Day 1: Sunday, June 15, 2025:
After arriving at Casa Hendricken in the San Juan de Lurigancho section of Lima, Peru, early Sunday morning, the pilgrims finally made it to bed at 3:00 am. The young men were very tired. Morning reveille was at 9:30 am, so we could make 10:00 am Sunday Mass. The church was packed because it was their weekly children’s Mass, and many children and families were present. It was the feast of the Most Holy Trinity and Father’s Day. The young priest did a great job bringing the two together as he shared how the love between the three persons of the Trinity is an excellent example of the love of our fathers to us and the rest of our family. There was a joy that was present in the children and their parents, and it spread to all of us present.
When we returned to Casa Hendricken, we had a simple lunch of a ham and cheese sandwich and fruit. After a short siesta, Brother Stephen rallied the troops to go on a tour of the center of Lima. To get there, we had to ride a packed bus, which was likely something that most of the boys had never attempted before. Even on the bus ride, poverty was prevalent as they looked out at the hillside to find thousands of houses in various stages of disrepair and degradation.
Central Lima was bustling with many tourists and Peruvians out for Father’s Day; Brother Stephen brought us to the Convento de San Francisco, which was built in the 16th Century to house over 200 monks. Its history and beauty were remarkable, and the catacombs were breathtaking, with bones that were close to 500 years old. We had the opportunity to visit Plaza Nacional, which features the house of the president and the Cathedral. The plaza was packed with dads and their families enjoying a beautiful evening. Our tour of the city brought us to six more churches, each one more beautiful than the last.
Dinner was late, and spaghetti with a red sauce was the fare, accompanied by a delicious sauce created by Brother Robert. The dinner was delicious, the conversation was wonderful, and we got to know each other. After cleaning up the dinner meal, the boys were given thirty minutes to have their phones and contact their moms and dads.
The evening concluded with our evening reflection, during which we asked the questions, ‘Why am I here?’ and ‘What do I want to get out of this immersion experience?’ For the first night, the conversation was amazing as each young man shared the why and the how of how he made it to Lima and what he was looking forward to finding out.
Day 2: Monday, June 16, 2025:
Our day began early with our usual breakfast of freshly baked bread, butter, and strawberry jam, as well as bananas, mandarin oranges, and a variety of juices. Friendly banter ensued, and then Brother Stephen shared with us our day’s events. The day would begin with giving the boys a near and dear insight into what true poverty looks like in Peru. Our first task after breakfast was to visit two women, Tanya and Carmen. I met these two wonderful women 15 years ago as volunteers working with the Brothers, allowing immersion groups into their homes and lives to learn more about what life is like in Peru.
But this day took a sad turn; Brother Stephen received a call and video from Tanya canceling our visit because her 12-year-old son was in the middle of a seizure. There was nothing she could do for her son, and as a parent, it was heartbreaking. Tanya is poor, lives paycheck to paycheck, as most Peruvians do, and has no insurance, so no hospitals would take care of her son. All she could do was wipe his face with some essential oils and pray that the seizure would pass and he would survive. Her doctor has told her that there is nothing they can do, and eventually, he will not survive the seizure. So, to her, each seizure could be his last.
To provide some relief, Kevin, a staff member of the Brothers, and the boys went to the local market to buy Tanya some medicine for her son and also some food so her family would not have to worry about meals for that day.
The market was incredible, and most of the boys had never been in an open-air market with meat, chicken, and fish just sitting out with the flies. Also, all parts of the animals were for sale because nothing could be wasted and some parts of the animal are cheaper. The boys got to see cow heads, tails, and tongue all out in the open for purchase. They were also amazed at how crowded it was and by what you could purchase there. Something they also learned is most people do not have refrigerators and have to go to the market daily for their food.
After the market, we traversed 233 steps to Tanya’s house. Upon reaching the top, we had the opportunity to visit with Tanya and drop off our food and supplies. We also presented her with a nice Brother Rice ¼ zip for her son. Hopefully, he will recover enough to wear it with pride one day. When we finished at Tanya’s, all the boys offered her their prayers and hugged her as they left.
Carmen’s house was our next stop, and she welcomed us into her house and into her life by sharing her story with us. Once you hear someone’s story, you can’t help but love them. Carmen is a seamstress and works 8-10 hours a day sewing and makes just enough to feed her family. The boys were captivated by her story about her hardships, her own sons, and her sadness at not being able to provide for their continuing education. The boys were grateful, and all hugged her as we made our way out.
Next, we returned to the Brothers’ house for a light lunch of ham and cheese and then took our siesta. After our siesta, we had a presentation by Brother Robert on Laudato Si, an encyclical letter by Pope Francis On Care for our Common Home. It examines the environmental crisis through a religious lens. The Brothers around the world are big into environmental justice and Laudato Si. Brother spoke of our responsibility to be good stewards of the earth. He challenged the boys with the questions, ‘What are we doing?’ and ‘What more can we do for the environment?’ The boys had great responses to Brother’s questions.
After his presentation, we visited the largest flower shop/nursery that I have ever seen. It services approximately one million people in the area and does a significant amount of business around funerals. We bought trees, plants, and flowers so we could put into practice what Brother Robert taught us in Laudato Si. When we returned to the Brothers’ house, we scurried about planting a tree, as well as a bunch of plants and flowers in their flower boxes. We purchased another tree to plant at our school, Fe Y Alegria #26. We are in a desert, and most of the environment consists of sand, but the Brothers and the boys have made significant inroads in greening their communities.
The evening closed again with our evening reflection, during which Brother Robert integrated Laudato Si, our relationship with God and the earth, and our actual planting to draw closer to God and the Earth.
Day 3: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Ah! The day begins with the fresh smell of warm bread! It is topped with butter and jelly and paired with bananas and mandarins. That sets the stage for our light-hearted conversations, which led Brother Stephen to share with us what we will be doing today. Today is a day of transition; we are moving from our comfortable home in the Las Flores section of Lima to Jicamarca, an hour away but also a world away. To follow the words of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and our founder, Blessed Edmund Rice, we are called to the margins to go out to the poorest of the poor, and so we go where we are called!
When we arrive in Jicamarca, it is truly otherworldly; the extreme poverty is evident as soon as you exit the bus, and Brother Stephen begins our initiation into the community and their hopes. Peruvians are a people of hope. They hope for a better future, and people are already planning out 25-30 years into the future when this part of Lima will be busting. The park is already central, and small stores that will eventually become supermercados are already set up, with the hope that they will be in the right place in the future.
The hope is there! You can tell by the rebar that tops everyone’s homes because the hope is that they will be able to build a second and third floor on their homes in the future. Hope is a powerful thing!
It always seems that you must always walk up the side of a mountain anywhere we go in Peru. Once you get to the top, there is always another hill to climb. That’s okay when you are 16 or 17, but at 61, that’s a different story! Brother Stephen stops and shows us the beautiful community center where our boys started laying the cement for the floor last year, which is now finished. It is beautiful, and we will be able to use it later to entertain the children of the community.
We now reach Jose’s house, who has been a long-time friend of the Brothers. He is the father of Kevin and Jose, who now work for the Brothers, helping bring 25 schools on this immersion experience throughout the year. This house, through the help of the Brothers, is now set up as the base of our operations while here in Jicamarca. It has a large community room on the second floor and a dorm on the third. Once we finished our orientation and prepared our rooms, we were off to work. The second and third floors do not have running water, so the boys began a bucket brigade so they could have clean water to bathe themselves and some gray water to flush the toilets. Once that was done and to keep with the water theme, the boys had the opportunity to water the plants around the park. The Brothers have made it their mission to help this community in many ways, and one of the ways is to help green the park with trees. When two of the boys were watering a couple of trees at the entrance to the community, two young boys asked them, ‘Why are you watering the trees? They are doing well by themselves?’ revealing just how much water is valued in this community. Water is very expensive when you are poor.
Our big task for the day is to begin to clear a path for a new communal kitchen for the women of the community. It is for a communal lunch program to help the local poor families. It is easier to cook 25 meals for five families than it is to cook five meals for one family. It has to do with everyone not having to buy all the ingredients, but instead, they can all go in together.
We were tasked with clearing the ground, which meant removing a large number of rocks and the cement floor of an older dwelling. It was a tough job for the boys, but by the grace of God, there happened to be a bulldozer that Brother Stephen was able to rent for a few hours to help us move the rocks. The boys of Brother Rice started the project, and the moms of Brother Rice will complete the project when they come down here in late July. It took a few hours for us to clear the floor so that a new cement floor could be laid for the kitchen next week.
The Brothers have made a significant impact in this desolate community, and so has Brother Rice High School. We have already built two houses in the community, put the floor in for the new community center, and now helped clear the ground for a kitchen. Mission accomplished with rocks and cement cleared, and for good measure, the boys watered the trees and swept the court/pitch for the community to be able to play on. Dinner was welcomed as the boys were hungry after a long day moving rocks. Rice, beans, eggs, and plantains. Muy deliciosa.
Brother Stephen led our evening reflection and used “A Beautiful City” from Godspell as the opening song. The focus was whether we could give up bitter and battered or we could build a beautiful city. He focused on when we have been bitter and battered, and how that affected us, and how we got through it. He related that to all the struggling and suffering that is here in Jicamarca and the rest of Peru. Second, he focused on the idea that life begins when we step out of our comfort zone, and when have you done that? Third was a quote from Sr. Clair, a beautiful Irish nun who works in the Via El Salvador community in Lima who said, “You look at my pueblo as falling down, they look at it as rising up” and what the boys thought of that. The reflections by the boys are amazing as they spoke of personal challenges and how they persevered, how coming to Peru was leaving their comfort zones, and how their perspectives are changing about a beautiful city with beautiful people rising up!
Reflection from Caden Hong:
Day 3 in this sad country with people living in straight poverty, and I complain about things I don’t need. But I look at these people who don’t have any plumbing, no cops, no ambulance, every man for themselves literally. It’s so sad that you start tearing up… Today, we took rocks and cement apart. We broke everything up to make a new community kitchen so families can make food for five families in one. We had a little break in between and had some crackers and Inca Cola. Near the end of the day, we swept the court from all the dust that was there. Lastly, I cannot wait to continue this journey and strive to help these poor people in need, and I pray that God has these people in His hands, protecting them in their journey. Everything we have is a gift so we can help the poor people who can’t help themselves. So “us” as privileged people have to help to provide for the homeless and poor people.
Reflection from Jaylen Jarbo:
The day began with the usual breakfast at 8:00 am with very fresh chibata bread and jam and butter. The boys were getting ready for a hard day of work, insinuated by Brother Casey. For the next few days, we will all be moving to Jicamarca to be closer to the community we are serving. The bus ride was an hour long, and we learned so much about the surrounding people. To us, not having running water is crazy to think about. To the community, it is their everyday life. We all learned that just by observing. Then we got to Jicamarca and got to work. We cleared rubble and got all dirty, but deep down, we had a blast serving and growing close as brothers in Jesus’ mission. We finally ended the day with a great meal as we prepared for the next day. Kevin showed us around his house, and he and his family are great examples of a true Christian dedicated to others.
Day 4: Wednesday, June 18, 2025:
The smell of warm bread fills the room as we come down to breakfast. Today, we see our essentials, butter and jelly, bananas, and mandarins, but today, something special, something more: fresh avocado! It made our day and our conversations more special as we chatted and then got our directions for the day from Brother Stephen.
But, of course, being in Peru, you have to be ready to pivot, ready to change, and go with the flow. We were supposed to go to our school, Fe Y Alegria #26, this afternoon, but there is a major bus strike in Lima. They are striking because 34 drivers have been murdered in the past 6 months by various gangs looking for money for protection. Because of the strike, all schools and universities are closed today, so we pivot.
Being in the present moment and rolling with the changes brings its own sense of grace. Brother Stephen decided that in the morning, we would go to Senor Jorge’s casa, dismantle it, and build a new one in the afternoon. I was a bit skeptical that we would be able to do this all in one day! But off we went, up and down and few hills until we got to Senor Jorge’s house.
Senor Jorge’s house was in a horrible state of disrepair; it was 3 meters by 3 meters and falling apart. Brother Stephen introduced Senor Jorge to us, and that we were an Edmund Rice Christian Brother High School from Michigan, and why we were doing what we were doing.
Senor Jorge is a son of the most high God and deserving of dignity and respect. He then started to tell us his story of bitterness and batteredness, with losing his wife and a son and then being injured in a construction accident and not being able to work. Again, the poor and health care in Peru, he has no insurance, and social security starts at 80. He is a senior and can receive medical care, but he is on a waiting list that has been over 8 months since his accident. He is on crutches and still must traverse the hills of this community. He does get some help from a friend, but it is not much. His family is gone and not in contact with him. So, for Brother Stephen and the community, he is the perfect candidate for a new house.
Then we began, and from the photos, you can see what we were dismantling. If you noticed, there is no indoor plumbing, and the whole area smelled of urine. We began by taking his old home down, ceiling first and then the walls. We used them to create a little hut for him to live in for a couple of days because, as part of this project, we are going to put in a cement floor, and that will take a few days to dry. We made quick work of the old structure and then spent a couple of hours cleaning the lot and leveling it out as best as possible. The boys even got to pic axe the side of the mountain so we could have some rocks to level the land. It also gave the boys a reality check of what each family has to do to build their homes, first is to pic axe the mountain for space. It is hard work; it took our host, Kevin, and his family 7 years to pic axe the mountain for his space.
The boys worked hard and made easy work of the morning and had everything ready for the afternoon, so we went back to the house for lunch. Lunch was a Peruvian dish, salchepapa, and it is basically French fries and hot dogs smeared with ketchup, mustard, and mayo. Again, it was delicious, especially for a group of hungry boys.
A change in our daily schedule – no one-hour siesta today; it was right back to work. We got back to Senor Jorge’s at 1:00 pm and worked straight through to 5:30 pm. We completed roughly 95% of the house today. We carried the materials off the truck, set them down, and brought them up by number, and Vilad, our contractor, assembled the pieces together. We carried, held the walls, and carried again. 10 walls by the time we were done, and then we also brought the tin roof up as well. It was a lot of hard work again, but the boys could see little by little that Senor Jorge was getting a new house. Once the walls were joined together by nuts and bolts, we got to painting. The boys really have no clue how to paint, but in the end, and with two coats, it looks decent. So, they all had the opportunity to carry, build, and paint the house. I don’t think they really realize that they really made a huge difference in Senor Jorge’s life today by providing him with a new home that they purchased, assembled, and painted. His new house will last around 15 years.
It truly is amazing what Blessed Edmund started over 200 years ago will lead us to this little town of Jicamarca, in a nowhere barrio of Lima, and into Senor Jorge’s life. We truly are blessed!
It was time to say goodbye to Senor Jorge and return to the house for dinner. What a smell and what a taste. Aji de Gallena, rice, chicken, and potatoes. It was mouth-watering and tasty.
The night was not over; after dinner, we gathered to go to the community center, where we had the opportunity to play with over 20 children in our new community. Checkers, chess, coloring, ping pong, and a bunch of other games gave the children of the community somewhere to go and something different to do tonight. It’s amazing how God works when we let him!
Reflection by Owen Zidar:
Sleep wasn’t the best tonight. I woke up kind of restless, thinking about the day. I wanted to build houses so bad I couldn’t sleep. Breakfast was even better today, and I had some fresh avocado with my bread. Everyone was in a good mood at breakfast. We were all excited for the day’s tasks. The weather wasn’t looking too promising at the start. Heavy fog was still rolling in. After breakfast, we walked on over to where the man whose house we were building lived. What he was living in originally was a simple one-room small shack. Seeing the condition of the walls, the little light from one measly lightbulb (no windows), and the crampedness of the place was truly shocking. It’s so hard to understand how I got so lucky in life while others are not. Why do I get to have a room that is twice as big as this man’s whole home? How come someone who needs the work can’t because his broken leg prevents him from doing so? It’s situations like Jorge’s that give me doubts about God. How can people live such cruel lives? But then I try to remember what we talked about in our reflection the night before, everything is about perspective. We must understand people by walking a day in their shoes. Today was amazing because I saw what he saw. At one point during our building his house, I saw the man begin to tear up. He was looking around at everyone building his house, seeing how big and spacious it was with tons of light, brought him to tears. It was beautiful to see. I understand how he was feeling watching not only his house transform but now his life.
Reflection by Owen Stropoli:
Today was the day we finally got to build a house for someone. There is a man named Jorge who is loved by the community. Until last year, he worked a job that he loved in construction, but a fall down the mountain fractured his hip. Though he needs care and rehabilitation so he can return to work, he has not received any medical attention due to the reality that in Peru, if you possess no insurance or are not able to pay a larger amount of money for an appointment, you are put on a long list where you have to wait upwards of years to receive the attention you need. Thus, he has been out of work for a year with no family to help him, he must hobble up the mountains in his crutches to reach his home. Mountains, as many of our Brother Rice students have learned today, are very steep and beginning to crumble. This man has dreams.
He has attempted to rehabilitate himself so that he can return to doing the work he loves. He plants shrubbery in an attempt to create beauty and give back to the earth, as we have learned this week through a reflection on Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si.” He collects wood, expands his land in the mountains by removing rocks, and collects broken electronics, like TVs, because he dreams of one day expanding his house, a house that barely has enough space for his bed and the trays of bottles next to it. Initially, not much went through my mind when we entered the man’s house, but when Mr. Hall reminded us to actually see what we encountered, and I think about it, its vision took on new implications. I tried to imagine my whole life being confined to such a small room, with half my belongings being a toilet inside, and no source of income, I couldn’t. However, because of the kindness of a friend, he is given a little food to eat every day. And because of the kindness of the Christian Brothers, he was given a brand new house, one more than double the size of his old one. It reminds me of something that we learned earlier in the week. When someone gets injured, and the family doesn’t have insurance, they will sell meals to people to help raise money for the hospital bills. Though overpriced, usually 20 Soles, everyone is usually ready to drop that amount of money, because one day they might need the same. Helping others, though many are living paycheck to paycheck, is embedded in the Peruvian culture. I often lose sight of the important factors when I’ve been called to generosity. Such as questioning the validity of peoples’ pleas or believing I was being tricked. But generosity is an act of gratitude, not only gratitude or expectations of what we will receive but what we have and are receiving. And life, in ourselves and the world around us, is the most momentous gift, and we must feel grateful.
Day 5: Thursday, June 19, 2025
Lo siento, olvide incluir la reflexion de anoche! I forgot to include last night’s reflection, so I will quickly begin there because the boys are really getting what they should out of this immersion. The reflection I led focused on Blessed Edmund Rice and the idea of seeing. We began our prayer with a song called “Where to Now, Edmund?”
I asked the boys a couple of nights ago to start paying attention to what they see. I said that it’s not only with your eyes but also your heart. I had them write down some of the things they saw. I reflected with the boys on a moment in the life of Blessed Edmund where he was encouraged to look out the window. He was going to join the Augustinians and become a priest, but in a conversation with a confidant one night when he was anxiously trying to figure his life out, a commotion happened out his window in Waterford, Ireland. His friend said to him, ‘Why are you going to lock yourself away, Edmund? Can’t you do something for these boys in Waterford?’ And then he “saw,”‘ and his life was changed, and his legacy began. That moment is why we are here in Peru today. The boys then spoke about what they saw, and all of them began to say a couple of things they physically saw, but then they went deeper and shared what they “saw” with their hearts, and I was moved to tears. They “saw” they are getting it!
What a day! It begins again with the warm smell of bread and avocado, which, to a bunch of hungry boys in the morning, goes down quickly! Conversations turn to the plan for the day, and we find out we will put in Senor Jorge’s floor and then go to our school, Fe Y Alegria #26, in the afternoon.
We began soon after breakfast and went to Senor Jorge’s house and began to carry a fine rock and sand mix up to the house so we could begin the floor. There were no cement trucks, just eight young men with buckets, shovels, and muscles! As the mix is being carried up, the floor is being leveled as much as possible. The mix is dumped into a huge pile and then covered with bags of cement.
The young men then shoveled the mixture into a new pile and then back again into a second pile, mixing the sand and cement together to be ready for water. Before we can pour the water, the guys make a large basin in the pile and begin to pour water in. Once the buckets are poured in, we wait!
Once the waiting is over, the water, sand, and cement are mixed and then spread across the floor. The guys were great at moving the cement around the room. Very messy, but the job got done, and then the professionals came in to level and smooth the floor so it can dry in a couple of days. They worked hard and then were released for lunch and a quick shower before going to our school.
Just a note: the boys have been doing some really hard manual labor that truly has tired them out, but they did not quit, and they did not complain because I think they truly knew what a gift they were giving to Senor Jorge and what a gift he is to us. It is amazing to see love and compassion in the eyes of high school young men.
Lunch: a simple ham and cheese sandwich and some fruit were consumed quickly, and once we were cleaned up, we jumped on public transportation to get to our school. Forty minutes later, we were walking in the front door of our school, Fe Y Alegria #26. It is an amazing oasis in the middle of Canto Grande. It truly is a school set on a hill, a beacon, much of it due to our mission collections!
Señor Jose, their Campus Minister, and his pastoral ministry team welcomed us and led us through a series of activities. A couple of icebreakers, some classroom activities with younger students, and outside games, began our interaction with our students there. The joy on the faces of their students and our boys was amazing! Next, in keeping with our Laudato Si theme, we planted a tree that we purchased and brought with us. After, we relaxed and played futbol and volleyball. Our boys were so moved by the love that they were welcomed with that one was brought to tears. A few of the guys now have more followers on their social media because of this encounter! We helped to bring the world to our school, and they, in turn, brought the world to us.
The five hours went so quickly, and the goodbyes lasted a while, but we were finally back on the public bus so we could make it back to our house for dinner. Dinner was a gastronomic feast and spiritual experience for the boys. The meal we had was called Pachamanca, referencing the Incas and their connection to Mother Earth. Spices for the meal were brought in from 18 hours away. The boys sat in silence and watched as our meal was raised up out of the ashes of a wood and hot rock fire.
The boys stuffed themselves with chicken, chorizo, pork, two types of potatoes, and beans. It was very delicious again, and they kept going back.
Once dinner was completed, Brother Stephen called us to our nightly reflection, which began with Brother saying, “Immersion isn’t about what you are doing but about who you are becoming, especially in relationship with those made poor.” It was a reference to the people in our community who are living on about $2.00 a day. Our first reflection was on community and how we have encountered community so far. The second reflection was on, ‘How does my poverty make me the best that I can be, the beautiful person I am?’
The boys’ reflections just keep getting better and better as they go deeper and deeper into their souls. One reflection was that the love that we were welcomed with at the school has only been matched by his parent’s love and then tears!
Reflection by Miles Heming:
Today was a day of reward! We woke up at 7:30 and ate breakfast. The first thing we did today was lay the concrete floor of the house of Senor Jose. All the build-up and work we put in was worth it; the feeling was truly amazing. After laying the floor, we headed back to wash up and eat a simple lunch: ham and cheese sandwiches! After lunch, we had time to ourselves to nap, read, or play games. Then we headed to the Christian Brothers school in Peru; Fe Y Alegria #26. Then we sang, played games, futbol, volleyball and gardened with the younger students. Their hearts were so big, and they welcomed and loved all of us. It was special. For dinner, we had a traditional Peruvian celebration feast cooked in a fire underground. It contained chicken, pork, chorizo, beans, sweet and yellow potatoes. We ended the night with a reflection focused on community and our poverty.
Reflection by Reece Roland:
Today was a very eventful day. We started off by heading over to the house we built yesterday. Today, we did the concrete floor. We first shoveled buckets of the concrete into each room. We then started mixing the concrete and dirt by making a small pile and then moving the pile back to mix it well. Then, in the mixed mountain, we made a big hole and started pouring buckets of water one at a time into the hole, making sure it wouldn’t collapse. We let it sit a bit to soak in and then got to work mixing the water and the sand, spreading the concrete around the floor. Now that we were done working, we headed back and ate a filling meal of a ham and cheese sandwich and a few other things. Eating a good meal after a few hours of hard work is always very rewarding. We then headed to Fe Y Alegria #26, but not before a siesta.
We had a great time playing with the children and having fun with them. We had a tough time communicating with them, but we managed to get through. We connected and formed deep relationships with each of them. After a long day, we hopped on the bus, half asleep at only 7:00 pm. We then watched the pachamanca ceremony of cooking our food in wood and hot rocks in the ground. We absolutely destroyed our meals of chicken, potatoes, beans, and corn. Overall, today was very productive and eventful.
