Sunday

The Peru Team arrived safely this morning in Puerto Maldonado! We are grateful. The HFH teams will begin camps on Monday; one team holding morning and afternoon camps in two gyms, and the other team traveling around to schools and making connections there. The construction crew will partner with the host there for work.

Please remember them as they get settled into a routine for the next week, for connections to be made quickly with the kids they are there to serve, and for everyone to remain healthy.

HFH Team: Paul & Kelly Thomas (leaders), Brennan Turner and son Chase Joiner, Britt Williams, Camey Gonzalez, Jason Maks and son Dillon Maks, JT Froese, Jonah Fox, Kelsey Taylor, Lynnsay Macey, Matt Caskey, Matt Dickey, Meagan Johnston, Paige Hoellen, Sarah Hosman, Suzie Wible, and Tracey Moore
Construction Team: Edger Vega, Grant Yawn, Greg Baucom, Joseph Bender, Luis Gonzalez, Ron Clay, and Shane Johnston

Monday

Kelly reports: What an incredible day! The HFH team running the traditional 4-day camps had a great first day. All the coaches brought so much energy and excitement, and our camps were filled with lots of chanting and cheers! The coaches noticed that several kids who came to camp today brought their basketball from last year’s camp, worn out and faded…meaning they have been used a lot! The coaches were able to make great connections with many of the campers on the court and during team time.

The traveling HFH team is going into multiple schools this week to teach a 3 hour camp at each one. Today our team interacted with about 110 kids. At one of the schools, we were invited to sit in on an English class to give the kids an opportunity to speak English with our team members, an unexpected but welcome addition to our time!

The Construction Team was up early & ready to get to work on the orphanage. They all did great, worked very hard, and feel honored to be working on this special project. Thankfully most of the day had cloud cover & a breeze. Such a great blessing!

We end each day at dinner with all 25 of us together. We talk about our day and are grateful.

Tuesday

The traditional HFH camp team had another wonderful day! There were about 40 kids in the morning camp who were all similar in age and basketball skill level. That allowed the coaches to go more in depth during mass ball handling and station time, and to have deeper discussions during team time. There were about 85 kids in the afternoon. With the larger number of kids the camp was full of energy and excitement!! We are grateful we have enough coaches on our team to pour into these kids. Every coach has an important part and is making an impact.

The traveling basketball team continues to love the opportunity to go into schools. Jason shared that they went into a school that has over 1,000 kids! In the morning, they had 230 kids come in 1 1/2 hour rotations. The afternoon time was with older and fewer kids, but this allowed them to go more in depth with basketball and conversation.

The construction team continues to work hard in the heat & humidity to get the orphanage completely wired and ready for electricity. They are hoping to have the electricity fully functioning by the end of Wednesday. Each of the men on the construction team has an important role and is going above and beyond to do their part. There is tangible evidence every day of the progress they have made.

As a whole team of 25, we are learning more about each other, showing vulnerability, and creating deeper and deeper bonds.

Wednesday

Today was another awesome day for all 3 of our teams! The traditional HFH team is humbled each day by the kids’ excitement as they arrive at camp. They look for their coaches to give a big hug, high five and do their team chant. The kids know their chants well by now and scream them at the top of their lungs! The teams compete to see who can be the loudest and have the most energy. The basketball stations are running smoothly and each coach is executing their station with excellence.

A tambourine somehow showed up at camp today, and I wish you could see how a tambourine can make the ladder station and other stations much more energy filled and exciting. There was lots of chanting and tambourine music happening at camp today.

The traveling basketball team continued to rock it! The coaches, teachers and principals love having the team come into their schools. It’s humbling to be so warmly welcomed into so many public and private schools here.

The construction team had a wonderful moment today…light! Fully functioning electricity!! This team of 8 men has worked so hard and with a great attitude despite the intense heat and humidity. They have been able to complete projects and each team member has used their skills and talents to be a blessing. They are drained at the end of each day but have smiles on their faces, grateful to be a part of this work.

Thursday

The traditional HFH team had a great last day of camp. The kids were excited to get their very own basketball and certificate of completion. Many of them wanted autographs from the coaches!

The traveling team had a good last day as well, but with heavy hearts knowing it was their last time to meet kids in the local schools, teaching basketball skills with a message of hope.

The construction team was able to finish up multiple projects they worked on at the orphanage all week.

Each member of the 3 teams here in Peru used their gifts and talents this week to impact the kids and the community and feel blessed to be a part of this special work.

On Friday, the whole team was able to go to the orphanage where the construction team worked all week. It was a wonderful time of celebrating together!