Peru Project

Joe – Right now I write to you from the comfort of my own living room.  We have Elmo on the t.v., both my kiddies next to me, and the familiar sounds of fans, mowers, and non-diesel fueled cars.  The last day in Peru was fairly uneventful.  That doesn’t mean it wasn’t enjoyable.  Quite the contrary, actually.  We had a lazy morning where we ate, packed, and roamed the beach looking for shells and wondering who did what with the seal carcass that appeared on the beach a few days before.  We found lots of interesting shells, some dead sea gulls and lots of jellies.

After we packed up the van (okay, after Ricky – the real one – packed the van) we took of for Hogar de Ninos – the orphanage across the street from Hannah’s Home.  The kids did some dances for us, each one was introduced to us by name, and yes, I had the chance to play soccer one more time.  It was good fun.  I’m not sure who was more sad that we were leaving – the kids or us!

Then it was pb & j time at Hannah’s Home.  We said our goodbyes to Lynn, Melissa, Aaron, and Vicki – the overseers/managers of Hannah’s Home/Hope.  From there we went to a market in Lima.  I don’t remember the name, but it was pretty cool.  They had all sorts of stuff that tourists want to spend money on and take home to their families.  There was one thing I wanted – a soccer scarf from the Peruvian soccer team.  I found all sorts of other things – Alpaca stuffed animals, blankets, t-shirts, wallets, tourists, etc.  But, no soccer scarves.  Bummer.  But, I was able to find a few things for the kids.  I bought some little pieces of wood that had crayons inserted inside of them and a couple of jackets that have PERU written on the front.  I also brought the meal bag from the airplane and a spoon and fork from that meal for my kids.  I think the fork went over the best.  Hey, we all know that the kids like the cardboard box the best.  Why do we ever get them anything else?

Nellie probably did the most damage at the market, not necessarily because of how much she bought, but rather what she bought. You’ll have to ask her yourself.  Others bought plenty of stuff, too.  Karin got Scott a t-shirt of guinea pigs jumping through a hoop and into a pot of boiling water (guinea pigs are eaten in Peru and Scott made us lunch – hence the reason for the shirt).  I don’t think Scotty used ground hog, but he did have a mischievous grin on his face as we were all eating.

From the market, we headed to the top of the city to pray over the people.  There was a huge, metal cross and a large statue of Mary.  We hung out there for a bit and talked and prayed.  Then we were off to eat our last meal in Peru.  Scotty, Paula and I had a real Peruvian treat.  I mean it was our last night there so we did it right.  Our Chili’s server spoke a little English and there was a soccer game on so we were set.  We were also late meeting up with the rest of the group because it took so long to get our food and bill.  The time delay wasn’t because of the busy restaurant.  It may be a culture thing; I’m not sure.

We said goodbye to Dina which was kind of sad.  She’s very nice and has a good sense of humor.  Unfortunately, she waited until Saturday to start dishing out some of the punishment that she had been subjected to all week.  I can’t imagine what it was like for her to listen to all of the stuff we talked about.  That must have been rather surprising.  Imagine it – experiencing culture shock while still in your own country.  Weird, don’t you think?

Now we were headed to the airport.  Ricky’s wife, Kelsey I think her name is, and his son, Sammy, joined us.  Sammy is only 15 months and they didn’t put him in a car seat.  As the only rear-of-the-car seat belt wearer, I was kind of fearful of this.  But, it seems to be par for the course.  Eventually, they did strap him down and he and I had a good time playing with whatever objects we could find that might entertain a 15 month old.

It was a mad rush to re-pack all of the items purchased at the market when we arrived at the airport.  We did this standing in a median in the lot outside.  I had to tell Nellie and Paula to scoot in a little or they may get their back-ends clipped by a passing taxi.  I mean, I was pretty sure that the drivers would attempt to avoid hitting the girls.

We had a long line to check in for our flight, but we made it through.  After some duty free shopping, we hunkered down to wait for the flight.  I slept most of the time from Lima to Atlanta; much more than I anticipated.  Thankfully, Darla didn’t snore, but she did admit to a bit of drool.  Graciously, she drooled from her right side and I was on her left.  Breakfast was a little gross, but that didn’t stop me from eating Nellie’s.

Arriving in Atlanta was great!  I’m not the most patriotic person in the world, but man, I love it when the immigration officers say, “Welcome home”.  It’s worth traveling internationally just to hear them say that.  When we went through a security checkpoint to get to our gate to come to Akron/Canton, Scotty and I had to recheck some baggage which put us about an hour behind the rest of the group.  We then went to the concourse that was written on our ticket only to find out that it had been switched to another concourse.  On our way to that one, Scotty decided that he might want to do some more shopping.  Really?  You really want to buy more stuff instead of getting to our gate?  Sure.  We arrived to much applause and back slapping.  Everyone was very excited to see us.  Actually, we just got some fingers pointed at us accompanied by, “Where have you been?” and “What happened to you guys?”.  I thought about telling them I had fallen victim to having more than just my bags searched, but decided at this late point of the trip that it might be better just to hold my tongue.  You might be wondering why I should start keeping quiet at this point, but I figured better late than never.

We arrived in CAK and I saw my kids and my wife.  Once my daughter recognized me, she ran to me with a big smile and latched on tight.  Who could ask for a better greeting than that?

So the trip is over.  We’ll meet up again soon for a family meal.  And who knows, maybe we’ll even meet up again for another trip – Peru 2010: The search for the Real Ricky.  I don’t think I was affected by this trip as I had hoped.  I was hoping to be moved in an earth-shattering kind of way.  Instead, I was moved in a much more subtle way.  God reinforced what I’ve always known but haven’t yet perfected – He wants us to serve.  It doesn’t have to be on an international scale.  It doesn’t have to be fancy.  It can be something that few people will ever know about.  We are not all called to be a Mother Teresa or a Bono (which is good because with my small kids, all of the funky sunglasses I would have to wear wouldn’t last very long).  No, instead, most of us are called to something much more simple; not insignificant, just less complicated maybe.  What I learned on this trip is equally simple – We are all called to the same thing – service.  It just happens in different ways.

I tend to be a nickname kind of person so below you will find nicknames of some of the participants of this mission trip. Nicknames need to be spontaneous, but everyone wants one.  Because of this, I have thought of some that seem appropriate based on what I know about each person, but they didn’t necessarily come up during the trip.  No nickname is meant to be derogatory.  Also, I am not going to explain the nicknames.  You will either have to figure them out or sit through the explanations from someone who knows already.  Thank you.

Ricky – Sleepy

Dina – Pebbles

Brenda – Mon Capitain

Howard – Richie, Ricky

Karin – Mama K

Scotty – Terminator, Ahnold, Muscles (from Brussels), Bam, Ricky

Paula – Earth Mother,

Nellie – Cricket

Darla – Zippy, Carrrrla

Joe – Ricky Joe

Lynn – Ricky Lynn

Dave – Ricky D

Juancito/Juanito – Speedy Gonzales, Chick Magnet

Joe – Well, today was kind of a quiet day.  We went to Hogar de Hannah (Hannah’s Home) and continued construction on the orphanage (called Hannah’s Hope).  I messed up one piece of drywall twice.  I finally got it on the third try.  I should know better by now.  I’m a guy and because of this, I am close to being incapable of doing more than one thing at a time.  Instead of talking to Nellie and Paula, I should have been focusing on my work.  To prove this point, I will direct  you to the last room where I worked.  I was able to do an entire wall in about the same time it took me to do one panel all because I wasn’t conversing with other people.  It was entirely my own fault.  It was frustrating, but I was able to bounce back and finish on a good note.

We ate a great lunch.  Scotty and Karin made spaghetti and garlic bread and we all sat down for a nice, long lunch.  And man, can those Peruvians eat their pasta.  They piled it high and took it all down.  It was good.  Being Italian, there are a few things that I can tell you that will definitely happen when there is pasta on the table.  If it’s good, you sop up with bread what you can’t catch with your fork and you go back for seconds.  I did both.  If it’s not good, you fire the chef…at least.

We then took a prayer walk.  Well, it was supposed to be a prayer walk.  We went around the neighborhood looking at the yards and houses and discussing what the condition of the area is and has been.  We were supposed to be open to being moved by the Holy Spirit to pray for the area and the different spots that are being considered for purchase.  Instead, we had our usual boisterously good time.  We looked at the landscaping of some of the yards and paid special attention to the vibrant colors of the flowers.  I’ve never seen colors like this before.  They are pretty amazing. 

We stopped by a dairy farm where we saw a possessed cow and his tongue that wouldn’t stop wagging.  It was one of those types of events that could win you money if you get it on the right t.v. show.  Scott and I did our version of playing cowboy and the Peruvian workers had to have thought we were nuts.  We might be. 

A little ways up, we saw swarms of flies all over food scraps for the cows.  Dave and Scotty showed no fear as they approached the swarms and stood amongst them.  I thought Nellie (aka Cricket) was going to pass out.  She didn’t.  Right after that we watched a worker pull a dead calf up over the fence.  It was sad and gross, but we couldn’t look away.  Train wrecks – why do we like to watch?

We then happened upon what appeared to be an old work area where they may have mined things.  There were some rusty things, old stone steps, and remnants of a structure long since broken down.  I told Scott that I would give him a buck if he climbed inside of the old, rusty cylinder or if he jumped the stone column, but he declined.  I did my best fountain impression sans water on top of the column, but without water, really, how good can a fountain impression be?

There is a little, little place that sells food right across the street from Hogar de Hannah and we stopped in there to get a few Cokes and this is when Nellie, Darla, and Scott decided they should do their own beverage advertisement head shots.  All I can say is that I never did not want a Coke more than after those three finished doing their shoot.

After we got back to Hogar de Hannah, we took off for some out door markets.  There wasn’t much to see, really.  It was late in the day so some of the vendors weren’t even open and others only had lots of little toys and some snacks to sell.  In fact, many of them were exactly the same.  We saw some interesting fruits and vegetables and even some gutted, hanging chickens, but that’s about all.

It was back to Hola Grande (the hotel) for dinner where Lynn, Melissa, and their two kids Aaron and Vicki joined us.  We had chicken in a barrel, fries, and rice.  The chicken, I think, is cooked in a barrel, but served on a plate.  It was very good.  It would have been neat to see exactly how they cooked it but I was satisfied with being able to eat it.

Debrief time tonight was actually quite fun.  This is the time of day when we sit around and talk about the day and what we thought about it, how did it impact us, etc.  We debriefed for quite a long time.  We laughed a lot.  It’s kind of sad that the week is just about over.  I wasn’t expecting to actually miss the people from the trip.  I never expected to get along so well with so many strangers.  We’ve had several people comment on how surprised they are that we didn’t all know each other before the trip.  I’m one of those people and I’m glad that this is one time I was wrong.

KARIN:  Great day meeting our compassion children. Met with our Ruben who is 8 years old. He came with mother and they traveled  by bus 16 hours to meet us. Compassion International arranged for this. Three of us met with children but all 8 of us had a super fun day. Lots of smiles and hugs. Some tough good byes.   Had a little bit rainy mist tonight. It never rains in Coastal Peru.  Continue to be amazed at the poverty level all around us.  Tomorrow more work at Hannahs home and then perhaps a walk around the surrounding area. Can’t imagine any vacation that was more exciting and fulfilling than this trip.

Joe – Today was a GREAT day!  We started early – 7:00 a.m. breakfast and we left to go to the zoo to meet Compassion children. Darla (aka Zippy), Howard and Karin, and Paula each have a Compassion child that they met for the first time.  Before we arrived at the zoo, we stopped for a real Peruvian cultural experience.  As we entered the Starbucks, we wondered if it would be any different than the Starbucks here.  It wasn’t.

The kids were already at the zoo when we arrived.  There were smiles all around as the translators helped both Peruvians and North Americans introduce and get to know each other.  As we broke off into our own, little groups, Scott, Nellie and I realized that we were going to have to adopt each other as our Compassion children were not present (they are not Peruvian).  This suited us just fine as we strode off in search of local animals and fun times. 

And fun times we had.  We saw weird squirrels, lots of monkeys, noisy birds, umpteen million types of rodents, and an AWESOME playground.  In this playground they had a maze that was made of concrete walls that are about 4 feet tall.  We played an alternate version of “Find the Gringo”.  I was only able to find Nellie.  Scott wouldn’t stay still so we gave up. 

Nellie had an interesting time in the bathroom.  First we had to find one.  Once we found a bathroom, we had to figure out what the price list included.  We knew that we had to pay for toilet paper if we wanted any, but we weren’t sure if we had to pay just to use the bathroom.  We left that bathroom and then walked around for quite a while until we found Dina.  She told us that we would have to pay to use it.  So, now we had to find another one.  This was no small task, especially since we were all just about incapacited by our need for what we were in search of.  We found it, Scott treated us to our visit to the potty, and then Nellie told us all about her experience.  She said that all of the women would press their bodies right up against the stall doors until the person using the toilet comes out.  There were no lines, no waiting your turn.  You just stand up agains the stall door and the scramble when one of them opens.  Nellie finally learned the local method of public urination and was able to muscle her way into a stall.  Whoah, Nellie.

After the zoo, we went to a KFC/Burger King food court and had lunch.  One of the mothers had never used a straw before and it was interesting to see her try to use it.  It made me wonder what it would be like to experience something like that for the first time and then be able to remember it.  I don’t remember the first time I used a straw.  Small things like that would be interesting to remember. 

We stayed at the food court for several hours as they had a play area outside.  We played in the balls, went down the slide, handed out gifts, and Scott and I climbed the jungle gym and tried to entertain at least ourselves.  I don’t know if it worked, but we had a great time playing air frisbee, air baseball, air catch, and air soccer (think, air guitar).  I even bet Scott a dollar that he couldn’t jump over the dragon’s hump.  I have to remember to give him his buck. 

The kids loved their gifts, loved playing on the playground, and seemed to love the entire day.  It was great to see them have so much fun.  I can’t speak too much for the people in our group, but I think it’s safe to say that they enjoyed it as well.

We then parted ways and went to a mall to walk around and see what we could see.  Scott (aka Bam, aka Ahnold, aka Terminator), Zippy and I became separated from the group when we stopped in the Mac store.  It was cool.  We made fun of advertising techniques and were surprised when we happened upon a store that we thought sold chocolate and tea.  The lady behind the counter wouldn’t return Zippy’s cheerful, “hola”.  We wondered about what was actually sold in the store and questioned each other on the subject for several minutes.  I tried reading the sign on the counter to see if I could find out what “tejas” is (we thought it was tea).  My face was about a foot away from the lady’s face as I was wondering aloud what I was reading and then eventually she fessed up and started speaking English.  Bam and Zippy split their purchase and we were off to wonder more about modern advertising.

Pizza Hut was dinner and we had ice cream for dessert across the street from the Hut.  It was good.  At least, the ice cream that Nellie (aka Cricket) got and then gave to Bam who then traded to me for what I got, was good.  It was chocolate and orange mixed together.  I felt too much pressure to pick out something that I had never had before and would probably never have again.  I chose poorly, but Bam liked it. 

Now we’re just sitting around shooting the breeze.  It’s nice to hang out, get to know each other, and just soak up what we’ve experienced.  It’s not over yet, though.  We’ve lots more to do.  Until then…same bat time, same….oh, you know the rest.

Scott–Today was about coming together. Three Compassion sponsers within the group met their children, some kids were driven up to ten hours to get here. It pulled our heart strings to watch one of the children ride an elevator, visit the Peruvian zoo and use a straw for her soft drink for the very first time–at nine years old!

It was also a day of coming together as a group. Since its such a small group, its easier to become closer with each other, creating a laid back, yet inspiring time to be able to open up to how our time here has really touched our hearts and opened up our minds.

My family recycles and I occasionlly buy cage-free eggs at the grocery store. I thought of this at Starbucks today using the air dryer–instead of wasting paper. Then I thought of the villages we’ve visited and prayed for, thinking of how such small, petty things I’ve been proud of means nothing to someone who’s water supply comes once a week at 4am. If they don’t have they’re barrels ready, this truck from the government will pass them by until the following week. …I defenitely want to make some changes in my life once I return home. I hope you all are doing well, God Bless.

Joe – Today was a day of mixed feelings.  We started off working at Hannah’s Home and Hannah’s Hope.  Scott and I were continuing our dominance of drywalling while Paula and Brenda worked on the mudding.  We boys had a heck of a time.  Lyn told us that the wall we were working on would give us troubles and he is a man who doesn’t lie.  It’s amazing how long a little bit of cutting and snipping and measuring can take (especially if you do it in that order!).  We were able to end the day in a good spot, but we didn’t get anywhere near the amount done as we had expected. 

I’m learning that Scott is a funny guy.  At one point he said that he had to go to the bathroom.  The nearest bathroom that flushes things down takes a minute or two to walk to so I knew he wouldn’t be back for a few minutes.  Well, I finished measuring and cutting the drywall we were working on, put it up against the wall, and then began what turned into about 10 minutes of waiting for Scott.  I spent this entire time thinking that he must be building the bathroom before he uses it.  As soon as I leave the room to go and see if he would like some help in the construction of his new master bathroom, I turn around and see his head poking out of the window of the room where we were working.  Apparently, he waited on the other side of the room until I walked out and then snuck in.  Cheeky.

We finished up not too long after lunch and then headed out to do another VBS – this time much closer than yesterday’s trip.  About a 15 minute car ride away, we soon found out that this trip was going to be very different.  The car ride itself was interesting as there were no seat belts, I could see daylight creeping its way in between the frame of the van and the door and I was sitting facing the back of the van so that if something bad happened, I wouldn’t see it coming.

A s soon as we arrived, Paula noted how there were already so many more people out in the streets than yesterday.  It was as if they were waiting for us.  We  later learned, as we were getting ready to leave, that they were waiting for us.  As we got out of the van, they swarmed us.  They were literally crowding around us with expectant faces.  I considered telling a joke, but the only joke would have been on me – my Spanish is worse than my Swahili.  I tried juggling some whiffle balls.  I thought that this would be pretty cool and it was one of my better juggling performances.  However, after I started, there was no reaction.  No oohhh, no ahhh, nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  Niente.  So I tried to juggle and then throw the balls to Scott so he could catch them in my hat.  Anything?  Nope, still nothing.  Because nothing was really working well on the kids, we decided to entertain ourselves.  We took a classic game of “Where’s Waldo” and made it our own.  Although playing “Where’s the Gringo” wasn’t very challenging and didn’t last very long, we enjoyed it.  About the only thing that did seem to interest them was the video camera I used to show the kids themselves on the monitor.  This got their attention but my arm started getting tired.  Thankfully we were able to start the VBS songs and skit soon after. 

The songs and skit went well.  The kids liked me “picking” stuff out of Darla’s hair and scratching behind Howard’s ears.  Chasing the little, lost lamb (Scott) was good fun.  However, the fun didn’t really begin until we started the stations.  Nellie and I were on coloring duty again and the kids mobbed us…literally.  I had to grab the bag of crayons and hold them above my head until we had some kind of order, which never really came.  Dina (our translator) got about half of them to sit down, but that only lasted so long.  I was frantically handing out crayons, some of them only the size of a chocolate chip.  Brenda and I were being pushed up against the wall.  Thankfully we ran out of crayons (and the wall held)  and things calmed down.  Similar things happened to some of the other stations.  Darla created her own chaos when she gave one little girl a kiss.  After that, kids started swarming to her just for kisses.  It was a bright spot and I’m thankful that Darla reacted in love to the craziness around her. 

We weren’t really prepared for the what we experienced at today’s VBS.  But, you know, we haven’t been prepared for anything we’ve experienced.  It all happens for the first time, some time.

Today seemed to be what I’ve been waiting for. We drove roughly two hours to a village hit by an earthquake. A church and several other buildings had fallen down and it was hard to imagine surviving so far out from civilization. Many of them had gardens, but as far as protein consumption, it would be hard to come by.
Within this village, however, was a school consisting of 80-90 kids. Our mission team led a vacation bible school program for the kids, painting faces, singing songs and coloring. We also gave away ALOT of clothes to the parents and medicine to the local clinic.
Personally, it felt really good to hang out with the kids. After the program I played volleyball with many of the families. Although not knowing the language, it brought me to establish relationships and see myself in their shoes.  I start to think how would I live? What would I eat?? I think of my preconditions at home on my diet, on the type food I spend money on.

I think back to earlier today to a family walking down a deserted road. All they had to eat were pomagranate fruits. At home thats almost a delicacy–yet thats all they’re able to eat for an entire day! Think about that.

Joe – Well, today was AWESOME!  I needn’t have worried about a thing because it was AWESOME!  We were on the road this morning by 7:30.  The trip to the first town took about 2 hours, plus some stops to pick up a couple of people, go to the bathroom, and pick up a couple more people.  We did some yoga-esque moves on the side of the highway as we were waiting for one of our people to arrive by bus and practicing our VBS skit (from Matthew 18 – the Lost Sheep).

The , other than the main highway, were interesting.  They are so bumpy that they added loads of time to our trip.  We never would have found these towns without someone who had been there before.  They were way out there.  The first town, whose name shall remain….well, nameless (entirely because I don’t remember it) was a little like a Scooby-Doo ghost town.  We arrived at the school but the teachers were apparently away at some type of training so we handed out some clothes to a family of four or five people.  Then we moved on to a town that we passed on the way to the first village.  We saw another family on the way and we gave them some clothing as well.  Finally we arrived at Cuallyo (or, according to Scott, Konnichiwa).  This is where we spent the majority of the day.  I played soccer with some of the kids while everybody else worked.  Hey, they twisted my arm, so I obliged.  One of the kids challenged me to some one on one and I think I held my own.  He was less than half my age and I was able to keep up with him.  Of course, it’s also important for you to know that I had on shoes and he was wearing flip flops. 

We then moved on to the school where we set up the remainder of the clothes, set up stations for VBS (face painting, coloring, side-walk chalk) and did our story.  For the story, we did the lost sheep from Matthew 18.  I was fortunate enough to play the shepherd while everyone else had the pleasure of wearing sheep masks.  Scott was the lost sheep and once I found him, I threw him over my shoulders and brought him back, unscathed.

After more soccer, some volleyball, and lots of face painting, we depleted the clothing (and there was lots of it!) and started heading home.  There were many kids that we wanted to bring with us, but, according to Peruvian law, we aren’t allowed to just take whichever kids we want so we left them there.  It was nice meeting Mark, a Spanish-speaking Peace Corps volunteer who has been in Peru for nine months and has one and half years left (he’s developing a water and sanitation system for this community – AWESOME stuff).  We decided to leave him there as well.

Juanito, our do-all guy here at the hotel, had dinner waiting for us when we returned after 8 pm tonight.  French fries, rice, and chicken were smelling good and tasting better just minutes after we arrived.  Thankfully, Paula and I did not suffer nearly as much when we put the hot sauce on our dinners tonight as we did last night.  I was in a bad spot last night and Paula was feeling it too, but did we learn, no.  We went ahead and put some more on and loved every bit of it.

Okay, I think I have to go to bed now.  Tomorrow is some more construction work and maybe some more VBS.  I’m looking forward to it, but not to how sore I am bound to be.  That’s okay, though – it lets me know that I did something.  Good night.

Scott-

Sunday and today were two full days of observing different way of life. We’ve driven hours seeing deserted neighborhoods with adults and children who seem to wonder without a purpose. We’ve met the orphans who recieve food, clean hygiene and clothing from Childreach. As I hear each child’s story, it’s hard to imagine where they would be without us.

So its been a continual learning experience. Although I haven’t established relationships with anyone striving to live through poverty, tomorrow we venture hours away to give medicine and clothing to a neighborhood hit hard by an earthquake. We’re told there is nothing to prepare us for what we’ll see. And thats what I’m here for.