Abundance of joy

If we had to name a theme for today, it would be abundance. Abundance of food, abundance of hard work, abundance of history, and most importantly an abundance of laughter.

Your kids are officially in the zone. The shy group from the Madrid airport feels like a distant memory; today, they functioned as a well oiled machine, a tight knit community, and a family. Here is how our third day went.

The staff at our casa de retiro took our feedback from yesterday very seriously. When the kids walked into the dining hall this morning, their eyes lit up.

Not only were the butter and jam portions doubled and the eggs tripled, but the tables were overflowing with fresh avocados, cereal, and yogurt! It was an absolute feast. Watching 26 teenagers happily stuffing their faces with healthy, hearty food before a long day of work is a beautiful sight. They left the house with full stomachs and incredibly high spirits.

By 8:30 AM, we were all packed onto the bus, energized and ready to hit the Casa de Abuelos.

As the bus pulled up to the care home, a collective gasp echoed through the vehicle. Sitting right outside the gate was a literal mountain of piedra chancada (crushed stones used for mixing cement). The volunteers knew immediately: that mountain is ours to move.

Without a single complaint, they rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Today, the tasks were beautifully varied: The stone chain: a massive crew formed a line to rapidly haul the heavy stones inside; The carpentry team: worked on prepping the wood for the scaffolding and the encofrado (the wooden formwork/molds that give shape to the poured cement); the warehouse warriors: bravely dove back into the chaotic storage rooms to continue organizing; the sous-chefs: A small group was recruited into the kitchen, chopping a mountain of vegetables for the elders' lunch.

The morning flew by. But the absolute highlight of the construction shift happened during their scheduled break.

Instead of sitting resting or just chatting amongst themselves, the kids chose to go out into the patio to be with the elderly. The residents were playing with games tailored to their cognitive and motor skills: Legos, building tubes, and colorful beads.

Our volunteers sat right down at the tables next to them. Watching them patiently guide the elders' hands, laugh at shared jokes, and treat them with the tenderness of loving grandchildren was incredibly moving.

After that beautiful morning, we sat down for lunch: rice, potatoes, and... yep, the chicken was back! (Pollo, arroz y papas the true fuel of Peru).

As we mentioned yesterday, the orphanage plans fell through due to bureaucracy. On top of that, today marked the beginning of Fiestas Patrias (Peru's massive national holiday celebrations), meaning our construction workers had the afternoon off. We decided to turn this into the perfect opportunity to give the kids a cultural break and show them the breathtaking city of Arequipa.

Our local guide met us and took us on a tour of the historic center. We walked through the magnificent Plaza de Armas and visited the stunning San Francisco Church.

Now, while Arequipa is a gorgeous UNESCO World Heritage site, we have to be completely honest with you: the absolute climax of the city tour for a group of 16-year-olds was shopping time.

They completely descended upon the local markets! The afternoon turned into a flurry of buying cozy alpaca hoodies, traditional souvenirs, footballs, and local snacks. They are teenagers, after all.

We wrapped up our afternoon at the famous Santa Catalina Monastery. As the sun began to set, the citadel's iconic white, vibrant blue, and deep red walls seemed to glow. It was a magical, peaceful end to a busy afternoon.

Back at the house, after the mandatory shower marathon and a quick briefing for tomorrow, the kids did something surprising: they explicitly asked for more time to finish the personal reflection they started yesterday.

Being in this environment is opening up a craving in them to write, discover, and truly look inside themselves. We pushed them a bit deeper tonight with simple but heavy questions. The core prompt of the evening was:

"Why is it beautiful to be you?"

As adults, we often forget to ask ourselves this, or we think we already know the answer. But at 16, a question like that causes beautiful internal earthquakes. It shakes up their insecurities and forces them to see their own unique worth.

To wrap up today’s update: your kids are working exceptionally hard, they are taking care of one another, and every single hour, the laughter in this group gets a little bit louder. It is a truly beautiful spectacle to witness.