When the day to depart for Peru finally came, the reality still had not sunk in for most of us. As we finished packing our over-filled coach in the biting Michigan cold, Peru seemed a long way away. Months of planning and praying had not prepared us for all God had planned. We were excited, though not many showed it at five in the morning.

Thirteen adults and thirty-four students left on December 27 for Andrews Academy’s biennial SOW (Service, Outreach, Witnessing) Safari mission trip. Our goals were to build a church for an already-thriving Adventist community, hold evening student-led evangelistic meetings, and conduct children's Bible school programs.

Arriving in Lima in the late evening, we could still feel the residual heat of the summer sun. On our bus ride to the Universidad Peruana Union, the Adventist university there, we drove by dirt and gravel alleyways, half-finished homes with REBAR sticking out, and stray dogs rummaging through piles of trash strewn along the road. With very little green, everything was different shades of brown.

Though our living conditions were comfortable, we still had to adjust to new conditions. The water had to be avoided because of foreign contaminants, and the toilets had no seats. Everyone went to bed as soon as we arrived to get ready for the next day’s work.

When we arrived at the job site in Huaycan, the foundation and metal framing were completed and ready for us to begin laying block. After a crash course on laying block, we got busy.

Each of us was assigned a job—laying block, mixing mortar and grout, tending mortar, preparing REBAR, and wiring. Without the important contribution of each, the entire project would stop functioning. Before taking a short sightseeing trip, we laid the last block. In just six days we had raised the walls and the new church was ready for a roof.

Our first sightseeing day was spent touring the ancient city of Cuzco at 13,000 feet above sea level. But the real treat was our visit to Machu Picchu the next day. We marveled at the ancient engineering feat sitting on top of a blanket of green, the sun scorching the ancient rock. Returning to the church site, we quickly finished the roof in time for the first service in the new sanctuary.

The church family held an all-day celebration on Sabbath, not just thanking us, but rejoicing with the nine people who were baptized. To make the day even more special, Stephen Gardner, an Andrews Academy student, was one of those baptized. It was very rewarding to have a concrete example of our witness there.

After emotional goodbyes we left for home, leaving a place so full of love and life that we will not soon forget it.

Jonathan Pichot is a junior at Andrews Academy and the editor of Sanjo, the school newspaper.