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Billy, Kate & Will in Perú

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Girasoles

A week in Puerto Alegria

Posted on Saturday, June 22, 2013 Leave a Comment

It’s summer volunteer season again!

Last week, Billy and I kicked off the summer season with a few different groups and have already made a few trips. This year, we have 17 volunteer groups coming to support our Girasoles boys homes from June to August. It will be a busy few months and with the exception of 1 group, Billy and I will be traveling apart, each with our own teams.

lima-airport

Billy has spent the last two weeks traveling to Kusi and Cusco with a Scottish school group, and will finish their time here with a trip to Puerto Alegria. He’s had quite the exciting trip with this group, from one of the volunteers spraining her ankle and requiring a cast, to being able to translate testimonies from a few of our older Girasoles boys from Kusi.

Last night, I returned from spending the week in the jungle at Puerto Alegria with a group of volunteers from North and South Carolina. The last time I was at the home was November 2012 and it wasn’t a very long visit, so I was anxious to return and see the familiar faces of the boys living at the home there – like Alexis…

pa-alexis

… and Ericson and Lenín.

pa-ericson-lenin

The volunteers had prepared a 2-day vacation Bible school program to share with the Girasoles and also in two different schools in Iquitos. The week was mostly spent at the home, spending time with the boys and spending 2 mornings visiting 2 different schools in the city. They were able to share their program with a first, third, fifth and sixth grade classes.

iquitos-school

One of the women on the team owns a salon in the US and offered to give all 42 of the boys haircuts. The youngest boy at the house, Job Neber (6) was not interested in getting his hair cut but eventually caved once he saw it wasn’t going to be painful.

pa-job

pa-charlie-group

We ended their week in Peru with a day in Lima to see a few sites and spend some time at Señales – the Scripture Union ministry to the deaf. We try to take most of our volunteers to Señales on their last day in Peru, but very few have the opportunity to spend a few hours at the center. Since this group had a long day and a late return flight to the United States, we were able to spend almost 3 hours with the deaf students and teachers at the program.

After introductions and a little background about the deaf ministry, the group was able to share an abbreviated part of their VBS program with the students before we all had lunch together.

senales-students-balloons

For me, the visit at the deaf center was a great way to end the week and I wish we could spend this much time there with more of our groups. The students were genuinely interested in the group and asked a lot of questions about what they during the trip and where they were from. While we had a language barrier between English, Spanish and Peruvian Sign Language (everything was taken from English, to Spanish and then finally to signs and vice versa), it did not matter to either group. Communication happened and ideas were shared.

senales

Early this morning Billy headed to Puerto Alegria for the final leg of his Scottish school group’s trip and tonight I board an overnight bus to Kusi, to meet the group from my home church in Michigan.

Pray for us these next few months, we’ll be covering a lot of kilometers, living out of suitcases, apart from each other and busy with long days. Pray that we remain safe and healthy, but also take time to connect with the familiar faces we will see along the way. Pray that our time at each home will help the Girasoles grow and that despite being tired from travel, our ministry to these boys and volunteers will be meaningful.

– Kate

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Girasoles, Iquitos, Peru, photos, Puerto Alegria

2 Years.

Posted on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 Leave a Comment

kawai

Saturday marked two years of living and working in Peru.

Two years ago I arrived in Lima with two suitcases and a backpack. It was a busy part of the year and I was ready to go. Two days later, I headed to the jungle for the summer.

Now 30,866 miles later (that’s 429 hours or 17.88 days of travel), I have met many people and have had the opportunity to work directly with all of the 6 ministries Scripture Union has here in Peru. I can’t say that it always has been easy, but it is my calling and something I love.

I can’t wait to see what the next few years bring.

The best is yet to come.

– Kate

kusi-augusto

pa-jacobo

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Girasoles, Peru, photos

January, part 1

Posted on Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Leave a Comment

January was a busy and big month for us here in Lima.

After spending a lazy New Years with a good friend at my apartment in Lima, Billy and I headed northeast again to Kusi. JUst a week after celebrating Christmas with the boys at our Girasoles home in Kusi, we were heading back through the curvy mountain roads to celebrate at graduation party for 5 of the boys.

Alex, Fredy and Rolando were the three high school graduates and we were their padrinos or mentors.

kusi-grad2

Before this trip, Billy and I wanted to do something special for the boys and to help get them ready for their graduation party at school. We invited the three boys came to Lima during a brief downtime in November and spent a couple days helping them get all outfitted with a new suit, shirt, tie, socks, shoes, and belt. We went to Gamarra (the garment district in Lima) to get everything they would need.

Yes, this store is called “makeover”.
kusi-lima1

During a trip to a department store, we saw an actor from a Peruvian telenovela, Al Fondo Hay Sitio.
kusi-lima2

kusi-lima3

In addition to the three high school graduates, the party was also for Ronald (who finished elementary school) and Andres (who graduated from preschool), seen here.

kusi-grad1

While the trip was very brief, it was great to be a part of the 5 boys’ party and to celebrate in their accomplishments over the past years.

kusi-grad3

kusi-grad4

A day after we returned from Kusi, my best friend and maid of honor, Katie, arrived in Lima. She had been planning a trip to visit me here in Peru for the past 6 months and it ended up coinciding with our wedding at the end of her trip. We started her time off here in Peru with a few days in Ica and a day trip to nearby Nasca to see the ancient Nasca lines.

katie1

katie4

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To end our few days in Ica, we took the boys from the home to the beach near Paracas. They loved the water and the afternoon at the beach. Some of the boys even turned Sabino’s daughters into sand mermaids.
katie2

katie3

After Ica, Katie and I headed south for the requisite trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu. We spent a few days in the colonial city of Cusco and then a day at Machu Picchu and another in the Sacred Valley. It was a great time to spend with a great friend and of course beautiful scenery.

katie7

katie8

katie9

Part 2 to come soon… 🙂

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Girasoles, Kusi, Machu Picchu, Peru, Sacred Valley

Spring Review

Posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2013 Leave a Comment

I can’t believe it is already January. Almost 2 weeks after Christmas. Even worse it has been almost 4 months since I have written something here and I don’t know where to begin. The whole spring season has passed… it is no longer winter here, but summer!

The busy work team season came and went. Unlike the previous three years where I basically set up my own room at Puerto Alegria (our boys home in the Amazon jungle) and lived there for 6-8 weeks, I spent almost every week at a different location this summer. To some the constant travel might be tiresome, but for me it meant a new experience each week and time with friends all over the country.

Things started to slow down in September, but just briefly. Billy and I accompanied a team from Nashville to our boys home in the Sacred Valley (just an hour outside of Cusco) for the week. Peru is a beautiful country, but I can’t think of a place that is any more beautiful here than the Sacred Valley. The valley used to be the backyard for Incan royalty, and they especially appreciated it for its special geographical and climatic qualities. It was one of the Incan empire’s main points for the extraction of natural wealth, and one of the most important areas for maize production in Peru. But apart from all of that, the valley, mountains, adobe buildings and rich colors are beautiful. Drive between the little towns about an hour before sunset and it is amazing.

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sacred-valley2

valle-sagrado-home

After the week in the Sacred Valley, we returned to Lima for a couple weeks to catch up on office work and prepare for the next 2 groups in October. Once October came, we hit the ground running with 2 very different teams and many hours on the road. Neither Billy or myself can really explain where the month of October went because it just flew by so fast. One minute we were meeting a group at the airport during the first week and the next, kids were roaming the neighborhood going trick or treating.

We started October by heading south to Ica for almost 2 weeks with a group from Scotland.

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ica-cupar2

And then headed north to Kusi for a few days with a team of medical volunteers from Health Bridges International. The HBI team comes to Peru about twice a year to work with Scripture Union – once in July and again usually in October. Typical HBI medical campaigns consist of setting up temporary, 1-day clinics in local schools, medical posts or even on SU property and offering free medical and dental services to the general public. On this trip, we divided the week between Kusi (about 8 hours east of Lima) and Ica (about 4.5 hours south of Lima) and the American and Peruvian medical volunteers gave personalized attention to the Girasoles boys and staff.

hbi-kusi

hbi-ica

November was a bit slower than October, but I managed to travel to Iquitos two separate times in the month. Billy and I spent a week helping a group from Living Waters for the World from a church in Nashville. The LWW team has installed a few different water filtration systems on SU properties and at a local church in Iquitos and they had come to check on the systems, perform maintenance as needed and scope out potential locations for another system.

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living-water2

I ended up going back to Iquitos just a few days later with a small group on a vision trip. Vision trips are comprised of people who are interested in the ministry of Scripture Union Peru and want to know how they can get involved either as leading a work team or supporting the ministry financially. The 4-person group from the Hilton Head, SC area spent about 10 days in Peru and covered more country than most Peruvians do in a lifetime. I joined them exclusively for the Iquitos leg of their trip and in just 48 hours we visited our 2 boys homes, went out on the Amazon Hope boat while it refueled and flew to and from Iquitos.

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iquitos2

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We were in Lima long enough to celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. While the services, classes and events at our church, Camino de Vida, are in Spanish, the lead/founding pastors are Americans. Each year for Thanksgiving, the couple invites the Americans who attend the church to join them for dinner at their home.

thanksgiving2012

In December, we didn’t travel with work teams but still managed to get out of Lima for various events. A weekend was spent on the beach at Kawai for a leadership training for SU staff and later in the month we ventured to Kusi for the week to celebrate Christmas with the boys there.

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kusi-christmas2

It has been a busy but fulfilling and fun last few months. Each of this trips is worthy of an entry on its own – each has plenty of stories and photos to share – but time got the best of me.

Since I didn’t get to say it before, Merry (belated) Christmas and Happy 2013. As Billy and I look forward to a wedding, a well-anticipated visit of friends and family from the States, many trips with work teams, and our own trip to the States in the spring, we wish that your next year be happy, healthy, and prosperous.

*And I promise to not let another 4 months go by!

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Girasoles, Ica, Iquitos, Kawai, Kusi, Peru, photo, Puerto Alegria, Scripture Union, Valle Sagrado

Summer 2012

Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 Leave a Comment

It’s been a busy past few months traveling around the country with numerous volunteer teams. I went to Kusi three times, Ica twice, Puerto Alegria for a week, and led about 7 Lima day activities for various work teams I didn’t travel with. While the constant travel can be weary, it is well worth it when I get to spend time with some pretty amazing kids and get to work with some caring and loving volunteers.

Here are some photos from a busy summer starting with 2 back to back trips to Kusi…

Afternoon soccer game at the foot of Huascarán.

Zócimo

Eloy

Andres

Two boys both named Abdias.

 

Delivering free water to people in Ica.

Luis Angel

Abel

Celebrating at Sheyli’s quinceñera party

 

Carlos, a boy who lives on the riverbank of the Itaya River in Iquitos.

A week was spent at Puerto Alegria in the Amazon jungle.

Blessing and christening the new big boat at Puerto Alegria.

Marcelo and Wellingher

Waldair and Marcelo

Maximo and Lexon

Alexis

 

And back to Kusi one more time for the summer.

Abdias

Tigger made an appearance at the 3 day Vacation Bible School.

Andres

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Girasoles, Ica, Iquitos, Kusi, Peru, photo, Puerto Alegria, Scripture Union
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katebruder

Traveler. Spanish speaker. Michigan native✋🏻. Peruvian citizen 🇵🇪. 📍Lima, Perú

[late post] May have been chastised for taking a p [late post] May have been chastised for taking a photo on the sidewalk in front of the embassy last month but thankful for the opportunity to participate in free and fair elections while overseas. I only wish the ballot drop off hours had been longer so Will could have come with us 🗳️✉️
Thankful for a church that loves its kids, generou Thankful for a church that loves its kids, generously invests in them and shares that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

@caminodevida @kidscdv #fundayfestcdv
A visit to the Palacio de la Moneda in Santiago 🇨🇱 

#littlewilliamnoah
Spring break trip to Santiago, Chile 🇨🇱 A de Spring break trip to Santiago, Chile 🇨🇱 A dear friend has been working in Santiago and thanks to some great points redemptions for flights and hotel, we made the trip to see her and explore a new city and country. We were amazed at the differences between Santiago and Lima (amazing public transportation! open spaces and greenery!) and loved spending time with @minazavala 😘
Spent the morning in Callao for a track meet. Will Spent the morning in Callao for a track meet. Will competed with the San Borja team in 4 races in the U8 group (50 meters, 200 meters, 4x50 meter mixed relay and 5x50 meter boys relay) and earned a medal in every race. We love watching him have fun and see how his hard work in practice pays off! 🥇🥈🥉🥉 #littlewilliamnoah
Slow days and late summer evenings on the water wi Slow days and late summer evenings on the water with family 🐟☀️ 

#littlewilliamnoah
After 3 years, we finally enjoyed a glorious Michi After 3 years, we finally enjoyed a glorious Michigan summer for a few weeks doing all the outside things possible. Spent way too much time delayed at the Atlanta airport and not nearly enough time with family. 

#littlewilliamnoah
Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God m Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do but someone you raise. - Andy Stanley

Happy Father’s Day, Billy! The legacy you are creating for Will and the example you show him daily of how to be a father and husband is our greatest blessing. We love you. 

#littlewilliamnoah
Last night Will went to his first professional soc Last night Will went to his first professional soccer game, a friendly match between Perú 🇵🇪 and Paraguay 🇵🇾. Even though the game started after he normally goes to bed and ended in 0-0, he was so excited to cheer for @labicolor and loved it ☺️⚽️ #littlewilliamnoah
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