Goodbye despedida for our Lima families

Thursday, Oct. 6

Josh and Maddie sing an Andean folk song.
Josh and Maddie sing an Andean folk song.

To mark the end of the study portion of their SST the students hosted a goodbye (despedida) and thank-you party for their host families.  Instead of a regular afternoon lecture on Thursday, the students prepared a large room for the evening gala.

When the families arrived, the students waited on the tables for their host families, dined together, performed entertainment that they had learned in their language classes, and closed the evening with a dance.

Several students remarked how anxious they had been when they first arrived in unfamiliar Peru and nervously anticipated meeting their new families.  Now, five weeks later, as they anticipate moving to new locations and new families for service, it is genuinely hard to leave behind the Lima families they have come to love.