Home, Lark on the Move

Welcome!!

Hi! I’m Lara K (or Lark), and welcome to my blog about my various adventures around the world!

I’m currently serving in Peru at a ministry called Esperanza de Ana, a family preservation and restoration center that walks alongside families in crisis. We’re in the process of designing and constructing a new building to accommodate their expanding educational programs!

Below, you’ll find updates about what’s happening in Peru, plus other posts about my various travels over the past few years.

For more details about what I’ve been up to since the start of my journey, check out the “About Me” section.

Welcome!!

Hi! I’m Lara K (or Lark), and welcome to my blog about my various adventures around the world!

Below, you’ll find updates about what’s happening in Peru, plus other posts about my various travels over the past few years.

For more details about what I’ve been up to since the start of my journey, check out the “About Me” section.

Peru Missions Updates

Let There Be Lights!

Remember how excited I was months ago when they started installing electrical tubes? My designs were being put into action, and it was the coolest thing. WELL. That’s nothing compared to what’s happening now. They...
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Too Many Things/I’m Tired

I think I’ve maybe had half a second to catch my breath since I last wrote. My gosh, the last four weeks have been insane. I don’t even know where to begin… The first two...
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Stucco, Staff Day, and Bamboo Fun

I know what you’re thinking. “Lara, it’s only been a week and you’re writing again? What, is the world ending?” I know, I haven’t been very consistent with this, but my original intention was to...
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Zoo-ming Through September

Can you believe September is over??!! I can’t, and I also can’t say that I’m very happy about it. It was a great month! Everything was normal – no crazy modifications to the schedule or...
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“Birthday” Weekend and Another Floor!

It’s been a fun couple of weeks! Ever since I got back from the States, I’ve been feeling so much more at ease and like I have some sort of control over what happens each...
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Back in the Groove and a Weekend Adventure

I’m back in Peru! I got in late last Monday night and spent Tuesday wrapping my head around the fact that they poured another floor while I was gone. That’s right, we have a 2-story...
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Us with an American flag at the beach volleyball court

Another Team Week… and a CEILING!

Whew! It’s been a while since we last talked, but for once, it’s not because I’m just super far behind on updating you. This time, the delay is because of a much-needed vacation! I’m actually...
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Rebar for the beams and the beginnings of the ceiling formwork

We Have Floors!!!

I feel like a broken record, but I'm going to say it anyway. Even after the team from Hudson left, the following two weeks were still chaotic. I'm sure you’re not surprised. More surprising would...
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We Have Walls!!!

I barely had a chance to settle back in after coming back from the States. My first day back at work was a Tuesday, and by the next Sunday, the next team was here. Talk...
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Me and a team member working on the fence

June in a Nutshell

Remember when I said that I was going to post weekly blogs? Well, if you don’t, then please, continue to not remember. If you do, whoops. As you can see, things aren’t exactly going as...
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One of the team members and me working on the fence

All of the Things, All at Once

Are you tired of reading updates where nothing has changed? WELL, then today is your lucky day. Things are happening! My gosh, and it’s such chaos that part of me wishes FEWER things were happening,...
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Same Old, Same Old

There’s a reason why I haven’t been posting every week. Well, there are two reasons, and they’re rooted in the same thing. First, I’ve been so busy that every moment not occupied by work is...
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Ready or Not, Here May Comes…

The last couple of weeks have been overwhelming, hence why I haven’t been posting recently. Last time, I wrote about trying to maintain a work-life balance. It wasn’t going very well then, and it hasn’t...
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Work-Life Balance

The weeks keep flying by, and if all of my drawings were ready and we didn’t have a deadline, that would be okay… but of course, my drawings aren’t ready, and the construction start date...
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Selfie with the neighborhood in the background

Return to Office Life

This week was rough. I know I said that the team week was hard, but I think I’m going to update my previous statement to say that the week after might be worse. At least...
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The First of Many Team Weeks

What. A. Week. Practically every evening last week ended the same way. The other girls went to their rooms/to bed at 9:15PM. I tried to stay up to get things done (like my journal or...
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Power Outages and Earthquakes

This was quite the eventful week! Work-wise, it wasn’t much different than last week. I spent more time hunched over my computer and slightly less time pulling my hair out. At least that’s an improvement,...
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Down to Business

Does anyone have brain re-forming tips? Because my brain has turned into a pile of mush and I kind of need it to be functional instead of mushy. Last week was my first full week...
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Welcome Back to Peru!

Hooray! Welcome to Peru (again)! I've been here for about a week now, and I'm already feeling settled in which is good. It is a little strange to think about the fact that I'm going...
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Life Update

Hi friends! If you’re thinking it’s been a while since you last heard from me… yes, it has. It’s been a crazy time for me! As you know (though from my much-delayed blog posts, you’d...
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Patagonia

The blue/cloudy sky reflecting on the river

Chorillo del Salto and Strolling Around El Chaltén

Our final day in El Chaltén was also our final day of hiking... our seventh in a row. The fun wasn’t completely over - we had a flight to Buenos Aires the following day, but the nature...
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Laguna de los Tres

Our only full day in El Chaltén was dedicated to the hike to Laguna de los Tres. It’s the most popular hike in the area, is listed as “difficult”, and is supposed to take 8 hours, so...
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Me and Mike with the glacier in the background

El Chaltén and Laguna Torre

Our stay in El Calafate was especially short the second time around. We arrived at about 10:30PM, went to sleep at 3:30AM because we apparently love to self-sabotage, and caught a bus to El Chaltén at 8AM....
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The W Trek, Day 4 – Mirador Las Torres

Our final day in Torres del Paine started bright and early… if by bright you mean dark because the sun wasn’t up yet. We had about 9.5 hours of hiking ahead, and we needed to finish by...
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Beautiful view of the lake with sky blue water

The W Trek, Day 3 – Lake Nordenskjöld

Our third day of the W trek started out much better than the second. There was no wind in the forest where we were camping. I didn’t wake up terrified of blowing away. Nothing disturbed us until...
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The W Trek, Day 2 – French Valley

I had possibly the worst sleep of my life after our first day of hiking in Torres del Paine. The day was windy enough to make you feel like you were going to blow away, and the...
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The W Trek, Day 1 – Grey Glacier

Torres del Paine National Park is well-known for two major treks. One is called the W, and the other is the O… very creatively named for the approximate shapes of the trails. Based on our time constraints...
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The Road to Torres del Paine

My alarm jolted me awake at 5:15AM, and it didn’t take long for the feelings of soreness and tiredness to sink in. Ugh. Mornings are the worst. Especially early mornings after long days of hiking on glaciers...
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Perito Moreno Glacier Trekking

Our first full day started out bright and early with a 7AM bus pickup from our hostel. In writing that, I realize that 7AM isn’t actually that early, but on vacation after a day of travelling… just...
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Welcome to Patagonia!

I know, I know. I practically just welcomed you to Peru, and now we’re in Patagonia? What is this? Confusing, that’s what. But here we are, and if you ever want to hear about Patagonia (trust me,...
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