After spending three wonderful days with the Thompsons in Shelbyville, TN, our team (minus the Yoakums, Tara, Kellan, & Parker) finished the trip on a high note. After helping lead the services at the Fairlane Church of Christ, most of the congregation headed to the Fellowship Hall to encounter some Peruvian culture. Following several weeks of planning, preparation, and promoting, the Thompsons had created a veritable smorgasbord of Peruvian culture, complete with music, food (that you had to buy with fake Peruvian money), passports, cultural facts, pictures, a 30-foot map of South America, and even two Alpacas. The “Peruvian Market” was a hit, giving the people from the church a taste of Peru, while also helping our team get more and more excited about the “big move” (30 days, but who’s counting?).

When you combine this success with the other events of the weekend, it all adds up to a spectacular time in Tennessee. There were three highlights and one realization that I’d like to mention. First, the people in Shelbyville are amazing. After several meals and numerous conversations, the kindness, love, and hospitality of these brothers and sisters became very obvious. Second, our lunch with the Iglesia de Cristo here was fantastic. The hermanos y hermanas are incredible; they embraced our team and helped tremendously with the Peruvian market. ¡Gracias a todos! Third, dinner at the Bell Buckle Cafe was quite an experience: home-cooking, great cobbler, and live country music. And through this great weekend, we realized that there was a huge hole without the presence of the rest of the team. While we had lots of fun and great experiences, Tara, Kellan, Parker, Wes, Stacy, Jakob, and Derek were severely missed. Three positives, one negative. Thankfully, we will all be together soon enough in the beautiful country of Costa Rica. Until then, we pack!

Here are a few of the pictures we captured from our time at the Mercado Peruano.