This past week, I have been joined by my own friends and family from First Presbyterian in Dearborn, Michigan.

Because of the flooding in the Cusco/Sacred Valley region earlier this year, the original plans for the 2010 trip had to be changed. Instead of spending a week again at the Girasoles home in the Sacred Valley, the team was rerouted to the jungle city of Iquitos and our Girasoles home at Puerto Alegria.

This was the first time that the group had ventured north to the jungle, and I was extremely excited to show them the place I had spent a few months at during 2009, and introduce them to the people I had come to work with.

While the heat, humidity and large bugs are not what the group was accustomed to dealing with, the week went smoothly and provided a new experience, completely different than anything they had ever seen or done in their 11 years of trips Peru.

Thursday we head to Lima to spend a few days in the city, before heading south to the desert city, Ica.

Since photos are much better than words, and my mother brought me a new camera lens, here are some photos from the week in Puerto Alegria.

Replacing the screens of the dining room.

Sarah sanding a piece of the wood trim.

My brother, Randy, on the boat to Iquitos.

Markers for an art project.

Hox, one of the older boys at Puerto Alegria.

Alvaro (7) and Luis (5), two of the younger boys at Puerto Alegria.

Alvaro and Luis playing with bubbles.

Emily and Luis at Quistococha.

Just playing around with the new lens, a shot of the team sitting on the balcony of the dining room.