Scripture Union

Spring Review

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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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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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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.

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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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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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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.

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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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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!

Summer 2012

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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

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And back to Kusi one more time for the summer.

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

Andres

Three videos

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Just wanted to share a few videos from the past few months…

In January, the boys from Girasoles Kusi came to Lima for vacation and Billy and I were able to help keep an eye on 40 boys in a city of 10 million. On one of the first nights in the city, we went to the beach to watch the sunset. It was a big first for many of the boys and they just couldn’t help getting in the water (notice Zócimo who wasn’t expecting the waves and got caught in the water 20 seconds into the video).

In February, Billy and I spent a week in Kawai with a group from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. They wanted to prepare a Korean dinner for the boys which included wantons and a very spicy noodle soup – even spicy for the Peruvian boys who regularly pour ají pepper over their food. Really long noodles and spicy soup made for a fun dinner. Jonathan (who was sitting to my right) was brave enough to get more broth, but then proceeded to sweat after eating a few spoonfuls.

The students at the primary school in Kusi are experts in traditional Peruvian dances from the sierra. Here, two of the students perform a traditional huayno peruano for a visiting group.

Dance Steps

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We kicked off the summer of volunteer teams with a group of high school seniors from South Lake Christian Academy in North Carolina. Every year, a group of teachers and parents bring the members of the senior class on one final class trip to visit the country, work on our construction projects and to play with the boys. We spent the first part of the trip in Kusi, and then headed south to Ica for a couple days before the group returned home in time to graduate.

I had been to Kusi quite a few times this year since January, but had not been to Ica since Billy and I were there for New Year. Of course, no matter how long you are away, going to one of our homes is just like going home – you’re greeted with wide open arms and lots of smiles.

Augusto and Nancy, the house parents in Ica, are always very welcoming to any visitors to the home. For this first group in 2012, they had worked with the boys and prepared 2 different traditional dances to share. We pulled our chairs out into the patio of the home and the older and younger boys took turns presenting carnaval and festejo dances. After the presentations, the boys invited members of the group to join them and learn the steps.

I happened to be sitting next to one of the younger boys, Wilmer, and asked him if he wanted to dance. At 10 years old, Wilmer is one of the smallest boys at the Ica home – he actually looks like he is just 6 years old. Unfortunately for me, Wilmer did not want to get up in front of the others and teach me the steps. After a couple attempts to get him to say yes and being turned down each time, I finally gave up and just watched the others with him.

Later that evening, while the group and boys were all watching a movie, Wilmer came and found me and asked if I wanted to learn the dance. Taking him up on the offer, we went to the patio and he patiently showed me all the steps. Unfortunately, I’m not quite the dancer like these boys all seem to be, but I was moved by the patience Wilmer had with meticulously showing me each step – and then re-showing me every time I didn’t get it right. He showed me both dances two times and then came over and gave me a big hug.

Wilmer wanted to teach me the steps but he wanted to do it on his own terms. In those 20 minutes we were dancing around the patio, I saw a normally quiet child break out of his shell and be excited to share something.

It’s the little things like this that make me truly enjoy being here and being able to share in the lives of the children we work with. It’s because God has so richly loved me that I am able to share God’s love with people here, like Wilmer.

Puerto Alegria Update

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Since my post in the beginning of April about my week in Puerto Alegria during the rainy season, I have spoken with Jherry, the director, numerous times about the river & water situation at the home.

A few days after the group and I left the home, Jherry, his wife Veronica, the staff and all 40 boys packed up their belongings and moved into the city of Iquitos. The river level kept growing and it was encroaching on the house (which is built about 4 or 5 feet above ground, about 400 feet from the river bank). Jherry told me that when they left, the water was 20cm below the kitchen floor and the boat dock and steps up to the property were completely underwater. The serpents had moved into the buildings looking for dry ground making it very dangerous to be there.

This photo of the dining room is from 2009. The water was 20cm below the floor of the building.

Meanwhile the river had taken over the property, the 40 boys and staff were living in a house built for a family of about 6. They have been confined to a smaller space than usual and living in the busy city – as opposed to the “countryside” of Iquitos. It was tight and an unexpected adventure into the city, but thanks to the end of the rainy season and God’s provision for them, the boys and staff are back in Puerto Alegria.

The boys are back in school (since classes were temporarily stopped because of the floods, they go to school Monday through Saturday to recuperate the lost days) and life is somewhat back to normal at the house. Over the next month or so, they will be working on repairing any damage that was caused from the water and cleaning up the debris left from when the water receded.

Please join me in keeping the boys and staff at Puerto Alegria in your prayers as they transition back into life at the home and safety as they are cleaning up the property. I’ll be heading to Puerto Alegria in a month with a group and I absolutely cannot wait to see everybody there.