Birthday Celebration

"I'll never forget this birthday,” Brian said Wednesday after the Ayacucho translation team threw him a birthday party. The translation team had been working all morning on Paratext 7 training, and it was time for their morning break. Ricardo, the translation coordinator, had invited Rachel and me to spend the morning at the Bible Society office so that we could enjoy the festivities. His wife bought a birthday cake and prepared a typical Peruvian coconut-flavored hot beverage. The day before was the birthday of German, one of the other translators, so the party was for both him and Brian. After a birthday song in Spanish, the guys got to blow out the candles and open presents. Brian received a beautiful and colorful Ayacucho wall-hanging. We then had a great time of fellowship around the table, enjoying not only the cake and drink, but even more so the fellowship of these believers. They commented that instead of getting older, the guys were that much closer to heaven. What a great visual for a Christian!
The team finished work for the day around 12:45, and we went to a typical Peruvian restaurant for lunch. For less than $2, we had a bowl of quinua soup, rice, salad, meat and juice. (After such expensive meals on other parts of our trip, we're loving these prices!)
With our stomachs full, our adventures for the day continued. One of the translators had hired a man from his church to take us sight-seeing in his van. So the driver, his wife and two daughters, Ricardo and his wife and daughter, 3 of the translators, Brian, Rachel and I set out. For almost an hour we steadily climbed to a small town called Quinua. Outside of the town there was an obelisk commemorating the Battle of Ayacucho. It was fascinating hearing the
history of the battle that claimed thousands of lives and ensured the freedom for all of South America. The obelisk, built in 1974 on the 150th anniversary of the battle, sits on a pampa or plateau. We were told that on the anniversary of the battle in December, thousands of people come to visit the pampa and see the battle recreated. On this day, however, we were practically the only tourists. Several times we were approached by local kids saying that they would sing for us. The translators had a great time asking the kids to sing certain songs in Quechua, then explaining the songs to us.
After seeing the obelisk, we drove into the town of Quinua, which is famous for its ceramics. We did some shopping, then stopped at the Wari Archaeological Complex. It really was closed for the day, but the gentleman let us into the museum to see the various artifacts of the ancient Wari culture. We didn't get a chance to visit the archaeological site because of the time, but instead headed back down to Ayacucho. It was gorgeous scenery, and as always, so interesting traveling with the translators and learning from them.
Brian ended his special day with a delicious trout dinner, then back to the hotel to read birthday greetings and make some phone calls. He appreciated so much all of your thoughts and prayers to make this a very memorable birthday! Donna