Lima Work Day 4

Posted by Diane on Saturday, July 17, 2010. Tag: Peru

Hola,

I apologize for any typos.  I kept falling asleep while I was trying to type this,

Today has been quite a day.  We left the hotel a little late.  One of our young team members that choked yesterday still could not swallow this morning.  She was dehydrated and not saturating well.  After a trip to the ER and a dose of solu cortef along with IV fluids, oxygen, and 10 hours of sleep, she is finally better.  The children all came running down the hiil to meet us.  None of the new members had experienced this and many of them started to cry.  It is a bit overwhelming. 

We got to the job site and immediately started working on the last house.  The men all went to build some concrete steps up to one of the other ladies houses.  That left all the women to pass the sand and move all the walls.  Yes I said move all the wallls.  WE DID IT ALL BY OURSELVES!!!! You guys would have all been proud of us.  While doing the steps, Ryan got concrete in his eyes and had to be taken to the ER.  Thanks to the quick thinking of Cas, hid eye is okay.  We had a lull while we waited on some additional sand so we did a bible study and cross craft with the children.  They really enjoyed it.  We then took eveyone back to finish passing the sand.  Because we were expected at the mayors house at 2pm for lunch, we had to sneak out one by one.  None of us liked doing that. 

We arrived at the mayors house and had an enormous feast waiting on us.  We were quite surprised.  He was a very gracious host and we felt as though we were treated like royalty.  His house was incredible.  He was a business man prior to becoming mayor and seems to be very well liked.  He feeds 1500 -2000 kids every Saturday and Sunday from his own pocket and he asked if we would like to help tomorrow.  Of course we said yes.  Therefore we will be getting up to leave at 6:30 in the morning to go and serve the children and their families.  After that we are going to Flamingo Road Church, and then we are going to eat at the seafood restuarant.  Next, those that want to parasail will have a chance and then it is off to the Indian Market.  Finally we will return to the hotel and divide the clothes donation in order to leave them with Alfonzo to distribute later. 

Tonight the Fitzpatrick and English families went to Carla's house where her mother fixed us a wonderful dinner of Loma Saltado, pasta with this fabulous Huancaino sauce on it, wonderful potaoes and more.  It was a nice break.  I really do not like riding in cars through Lima though.  The bus is bad enough but at least the bus is bigger. 

Well, tomorrow is a very early day so I better get some sleep.

Love

Diane\

PS I hope everything is going well Ecuador team!!!!

LIMA WORK DAY 2

Posted by Paola on Friday, July 16, 2010. Tag: Peru

Day 2

Day 2 was another incredible day with our new friends in the Santa Rosita community of San Juan de Lurigancho!! We continued to work on the three homes and two community centers we are helping to build. It is amazing to me the effort that is involved in building these simple homes. We, along with our Peruvian friends, form an assembly line to move the sand up the mountain. One small bag at a time. Today we had more help than yesterday and I'm told that each day, more and more show up. Word travels quickly and everyone wants to see the foreignors who have come to help and play with them!

After lunch, the kids headed out to play soccer again. As the older Peruvian kids were coming home from school, one young man stopped by the soccer area and said, "Oh, mas gringos!" Poor kid left for school and came back to a neighborhood full of gringos!

Another funny...we were working when we all heard what sounded like a combination of fire alarm/car alarm. Suddenly, all the ninos came flying down the mountain carrying bags of trash. The alarm we heard was the garbage pick-up announcing its arrival!!

Before we left, we read a bible story and did a craft with the kids. Natalie, one of our team members read the story of the Three Kings in Spanish (beautifully, I might add!) and then the children decorated their own "coronas". You can see how proud they are of their wonderful crowns!

Dinner was our own choice tonight and Molly and I joined some other team members at a very nice restaurant called "Portafino". I had heard that Lima was famous for their ceviche, so Diane and I split an order. It was incredible! I also had Loma Saltado, which is a traditional dish and also delicious. Check out the rice "pyramid" in the picture! Che rico!

A wonderful end to a wonderful day!

Love, Paola

Lima Work Day 3

Posted by Diane on Friday, July 16, 2010. Tag: Peru

Hola,

It has been a great but rough day.  We worked hard and have had a couple of illnesses along the way.  Esther and Alex stayed behind today because Alex had a stomach virus.  She is feeling better now.  We had another young team member that choked on some medication and ended up having to go to the clinic by ambulance because her airway was constricted from the gagging trauma.  She is doing a little better tonight but she is still having difficulty swallowing.  Today we were able to finish the other community center and Linda was not kidding when she said it was up high.  We had a praise and worship service with the community today.  It was awesome.  Tomorrow we hope to finsh the last house so we can concentrate on the dediction on Monday.  Sunday we are taking the day off to go to church and the Indian market.  Please continue to pray for us.

Love

Diane

Day 1 and 2 Lima

Posted by Paola on Thursday, July 15, 2010. Tag: Peru

Day 1

I can't tell you what an amazing experience this has been so far. I'm a day behind, due to technical difficulties and a VERY long day and late night!

Day 1 started with a stop at the the District of San Juan de Lurigancho district offices. We were met by the alcalde (mayor) and it was this big production. I'm told that they have never done this before and it is a wonderful thing as the government previously seemed to wash their hands of these poverty stricken community. The local news was there and filmed us, so I think we were on the news Wednesday evening! Each team member received a special pin from the mayor and we got a tour of their district offices. They also served us yummy empanadas and cookies and Inca soda, which is a local favorite and I think tastes like bubblegum!

We continued on to the work site in the Santa Rosita community. My heart just broke when I saw the conditions, but exploded with joy and love for these people! The ninos especially!! We immediately set to work forming an assembly line to pass the sand in bags up the mountain to where the first home will be built. Most of the children were in school, but their mammas helped. Even the ones with little bebes...they would wrap up their baby in a blanket and tie them to their back! I tried to take some pictures to give an idea of the steepness of these "hills".

I have to laugh at what the team members call "Peruvian time". We all stopped for lunch which I expected to be about an hour or less. But after lunch the American kids went to play soccer. As they were playing, several children, who were coming home from school, joined them. It was fun to watch the Peruvian kids playing with the American kids! Games are definitely borderless!

Molly has several chicas that follow her around. She has taught them games and songs and she has fallen in love with all of them! They call her "Mahlee".

Josh has been working extremely hard! There are seven "boys" (ages 15 - 20ish) and they all get along so well! They work hard and have fun with the kids and adults alike!

While I was watching the kids play, I pulled out my camera to take some pictures and suddenly I was surrounded by ninos wanting their picture taken and wanting to take pictures! Some of the picture I'm posting were not taken by me!

So yesterday was a very long, but fun day! I have to say, though, that I was cranky and frustrated by day's end. Everything just kind of piled up on me! First, the bus ride from the work site to the hotel is about an hour. But because we got a late start (due to the visit with Alcalde Burgos), we had to stay later to get the work done. This put us in the middle of rush hour...ugh. Then we had to stop at the grocery store to shop supplies and lunch items (we bring our lunches to the work site), and we only had 30 minutes to shop. Now I don't know about you, but it takes me 30 minutes just to figure out my list. Add to that the fact that I didn't know where a thing was AND everything is in Spanish...do you know how many varieties of Jamon (ham) there are?? When we got back to the hotel, we had 30 minutes to clean up (we were FILTHY!!) before dinner. That's 30 minutes for ALL THREE of us!! One shower...one hair dryer! After dinner (which was delicious, by the way) we returned to our rooms...exhausted!! Only to find that I could not get wi-fi in my room! I was missing David, I was missing Maggie and Jack and had no way to communicate! So you can imagine my crankiness!! But as I laid down in my bed, I started to pray (and cry!) and I felt God give me a bit of a slap upside the back of the head. I heard Him say, "Your disomfort is NOTHING! Remember why you are here and remember the people you are here to serve! What discomfort would I suffer for you?" Yeah, I'm such a baby. But I'm listening, Lord. Give me your eyes so I can see.

Love, Paola

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