Saturday, October 30, 2010
Not too much to report
Thursday we painted our final wall for now. It was teal; the older girls at the home helped a lot. They really enjoy helping us! In the afternoon we decided to buy the kids some toys! We got 2 jump ropes, 2 balls, and 2 hula hoops for about 5 dollars! The kids loved them! We also bought new toothbrushes for all of them, that we need to label with their names before we give them to them! Also that afternoon, a friend needed us to be judges for some plays that were being put on by her English classes. They were plays in English, and they were very amusing! We really enjoyed it! Thursday was also a huge feast day for Peruvians. As the story goes, an African slave painted a picture of Jesus crucified on a wall somewhere in Lima a long time ago. After a few earthquakes, that caused everything else to collapse, the wall remained. It was then named Senor de los Milagros. (Lord of the Miracles). To celebrate this feast they had a huge procession! We really enjoyed it. It is always nice to participate in cultural things like that. Yesterday we spent most of the day in because Andrea was very sick from some cotton candy she ate from a vendor the day before. In the afternoon we went again to see if we could speak to Sister Margarita about the health situation at the home. Yet again she wasn't there so we left another note.
First thing this morning we were woken up by a call from Sister Margarita, she was finally able to speak with us! It turns out that there are about 40 or so Americans here on a medical mission! We made kind of an unspoken deal, because they need help and so do we. We worked with them this afternoon to sort medicine and supplies, and will be translators for the OR doctors and pre and post operation nurses this week. In return they will have a team put together to come visit the kids at the home, to check on their medical needs. We are very excited and grateful for this opportunity especially since nursing is still a possibility for both of us. We are also thrilled that the doctors who will be examining the children can speak English, and probably have better training than the Peruvian ones.
Please keep us in your prayers.
Andrea and Kelli
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The things you would never think....
1. Fruit is served for breakfast, lunch and dinner, cake is served maybe once a week, therefore we eat at least 2 bananas each, a day.
2. When walking down the street, not only do people stare, but they yell out random words that they know in english!
3. In this particular town, it is very possible to go a day without seeing a car.
4. People take siestas. Everything shuts down from 12pm to like 330pm.
5. A ride from one end of the town to the other costs less than an ice cream bar.
6. The lowest bill they have is a 10, everything else is coins.
7. We had goat today for lunch.
8. Its so common to eat guinea pigs here, that they farm them.
9. It is more common to buy one or two cigarettes than a whole pack, and they will sell them to anyone.
10. Everyone is always late, because here, time is not money. Time is friendship.
11. Our primary source of entertainment here in the bishops home is a British priest, who we eat with. He is constantly making strange noises, and faces. And his accent in Spanish...is so funny.
12. In the market, when you walk past the meat section, people shout at you to buy their meat, as they wave it in your face!...Sometimes, we just wish we could say..."What in the world am I going to do with a chicken???"
13. It doesn't matter if you're taking a taxi 1 block down the road or 20 blocks, it always will cost 1 sol. (35 cents)
14. Days WITHOUT diarrhea are rare.
15. Kelli has eaten rice, every single day we've been in Peru....63 days.
16. We've never appreciated dryers more. Clothes lines stretch clothes, and your clothes don't end up smelling good.
17. Air conditioning or heating, absolutely does not exist in Chulucanas.
18. Power and water will randomly shut off. We've been advised to always know where a flashlight is. So far we've experienced this once.
19. It is very dusty and dirty here, because of this, if you wake up early enough, you will see many people sweeping the streets.
20. People have tiny monkeys as pets.
21. The nearest grocery store is 45 minutes away.
22. There are more donkeys here than cars.
23. There is only one ATM machine in the whole town.
24. There are no set prices except for ice cream and taxi rides...everything else is whatever the seller feels like. We have been charged two very different prices for the same exact thing, at the same exact place, by the same person!
25. We think people try to over charge us because they think we're rich Americans.
26. Here everyone seems to know everyone.
27. The bishop is like a celebrity.
28. It is hard to find candy or ice cream that isn't made by Nestle.
29. Apparently there is a large pool here, we have been told to avoid it, because most people use it for bathing.
30. At the home, there is always someone screaming, crying or clinging to us.
2. When walking down the street, not only do people stare, but they yell out random words that they know in english!
3. In this particular town, it is very possible to go a day without seeing a car.
4. People take siestas. Everything shuts down from 12pm to like 330pm.
5. A ride from one end of the town to the other costs less than an ice cream bar.
6. The lowest bill they have is a 10, everything else is coins.
7. We had goat today for lunch.
8. Its so common to eat guinea pigs here, that they farm them.
9. It is more common to buy one or two cigarettes than a whole pack, and they will sell them to anyone.
10. Everyone is always late, because here, time is not money. Time is friendship.
11. Our primary source of entertainment here in the bishops home is a British priest, who we eat with. He is constantly making strange noises, and faces. And his accent in Spanish...is so funny.
12. In the market, when you walk past the meat section, people shout at you to buy their meat, as they wave it in your face!...Sometimes, we just wish we could say..."What in the world am I going to do with a chicken???"
13. It doesn't matter if you're taking a taxi 1 block down the road or 20 blocks, it always will cost 1 sol. (35 cents)
14. Days WITHOUT diarrhea are rare.
15. Kelli has eaten rice, every single day we've been in Peru....63 days.
16. We've never appreciated dryers more. Clothes lines stretch clothes, and your clothes don't end up smelling good.
17. Air conditioning or heating, absolutely does not exist in Chulucanas.
18. Power and water will randomly shut off. We've been advised to always know where a flashlight is. So far we've experienced this once.
19. It is very dusty and dirty here, because of this, if you wake up early enough, you will see many people sweeping the streets.
20. People have tiny monkeys as pets.
21. The nearest grocery store is 45 minutes away.
22. There are more donkeys here than cars.
23. There is only one ATM machine in the whole town.
24. There are no set prices except for ice cream and taxi rides...everything else is whatever the seller feels like. We have been charged two very different prices for the same exact thing, at the same exact place, by the same person!
25. We think people try to over charge us because they think we're rich Americans.
26. Here everyone seems to know everyone.
27. The bishop is like a celebrity.
28. It is hard to find candy or ice cream that isn't made by Nestle.
29. Apparently there is a large pool here, we have been told to avoid it, because most people use it for bathing.
30. At the home, there is always someone screaming, crying or clinging to us.
Quick Post before Dinner!
Well today, first thing, like we said we met with the carpenter to see if he could fix the broken bunk beds and add the railings that they need. He was very helpful and had everything fixed by the end of the day! He fixed 5 beds, which means 10 kids no longer have to share a bed! He basically gave us 5 beds for 80 soles, 30 dollars! Everyone is so excited to not have to share a bed from now on!
Also, by popular demand we started to paint a pink wall today, and spent a lot of the day preparing the other walls for painting, because our friend Sarah is coming in a week to paint the murals!!!! We're really excited to see her! And the kids are excited for the murals! Tomorrow we will finish the pink wall and paint a wall teal!
We still haven't heard back from the head of the health department, and Maria Luisa hasn't mentioned anything about the therapy that Tulio and Maria Fernanda need. We will ask her tomorrow if she has found out anything.
First thing tomorrow morning we will see about the religious education for the kids, and then continue painting. Tomorrow at some point we will buy another mattress, because the carpenter fixed a bed that does not yet have one!
Time for dinner!
-Andrea and Kelli
Also, by popular demand we started to paint a pink wall today, and spent a lot of the day preparing the other walls for painting, because our friend Sarah is coming in a week to paint the murals!!!! We're really excited to see her! And the kids are excited for the murals! Tomorrow we will finish the pink wall and paint a wall teal!
We still haven't heard back from the head of the health department, and Maria Luisa hasn't mentioned anything about the therapy that Tulio and Maria Fernanda need. We will ask her tomorrow if she has found out anything.
First thing tomorrow morning we will see about the religious education for the kids, and then continue painting. Tomorrow at some point we will buy another mattress, because the carpenter fixed a bed that does not yet have one!
Time for dinner!
-Andrea and Kelli
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
10/26/10
Today right after breakfast we went to see Sister Margarita, a nurse, who is charge of the health department of the diocese of Chulucanas. She wasn't there so we left a message to have her contact us as soon as she could. We will be speaking to her about the health situations of the children, and how to improve them, especially those who seem malnourished. Although she is Australian, she speaks Spanish very well, and will be able to help with our communication with Maria Luisa.
After this we bought some more thinner, and then began to prepare the next wall for the paint. While we were there we discovered that there were many top bunks at the home that were not being used. The reason is because they do not have a railing and the child would fall off in their sleep. If the beds were fixed something like 5 or 6 more beds could be in use. Since we can't go out and buy a drill, we spoke with a friend about meeting with a carpenter who could fix them! We will be meeting him first thing tomorrow morning.
Since yesterday we took out money we were finally able to replace this one mattress that was absolutely destroyed. It belonged to a fifteen year old girl Antonella who shares it with Tulio, the one and a half year old. We asked her if Tulio would sleep in a crib, if we were to buy one for the babies. She said that she would not want him too, because at night she is afraid, and feels safe with him there. As for the other babies, Maria Fernanda sleep with Ingrid, 17, who truely does not mind her. And Ana Cristina sleeps with her 16 year old mother, Sylvia. Since they said cribs really wouldn't be used we decided to spend the money we would have used on cribs on high chairs for the babies! We bought 3. Before the older girls would just sit them on a regular chair, which is quite difficult to use for kids so young. They were all very excited, and the chairs are beautiful. Also we bought pillows for all of the kids, before they had none.
Just to give you an idea we bought 12 nice pillows, a mattress and 3 very nice high chairs for under about 180 dollars. So your generous donations are going a long way! Thank you all so much!
Andrea and Kelli
Monday, October 25, 2010
Today...
So after buying the tables...we didn't have anymore cash, so this morning we took a trip to the nearest big city, Piura, to take some out. Its about 45 minutes away, and we went with a group from the bishops house so it took all morning, and until a little bit past lunch. This afternoon we went to the home to speak with the women in charge about the health of the two youngest children. Because of our language barrier we aren't completely clear about what is being done for them, but she did say they are being helped some how. Apparently they have very thin limbs and a huge stomach because they were at one point malnourished, but when they were refed, they didn't form muscle like they should have. She said that they are eating plenty now, and simply need therapy to help them build muscle. She also said that she still needs to look into therapy, but we would really like to get the kids blood tested to make sure that they don't have parasites or any other problems.
Fortunately we found out which parish zone the home is in, so tomorrow we plan to visit and speak with the person in charge of catechetics for the parish. We hope to have a cathecetics team come out and teach the kids once a week or so. They go to Mass every week but they need more formal teaching in our faith.
We did some looking around at furniture prices and have some good ideas. Also not sure if we mentioned that the tables we had made for the home have arrived and they are gorgeous! Nothing special really, they are very simple, but made a huge improvement!
Thanks again to everyone who is helping us help these kids!
Andrea and Kelli
Fortunately we found out which parish zone the home is in, so tomorrow we plan to visit and speak with the person in charge of catechetics for the parish. We hope to have a cathecetics team come out and teach the kids once a week or so. They go to Mass every week but they need more formal teaching in our faith.
We did some looking around at furniture prices and have some good ideas. Also not sure if we mentioned that the tables we had made for the home have arrived and they are gorgeous! Nothing special really, they are very simple, but made a huge improvement!
Thanks again to everyone who is helping us help these kids!
Andrea and Kelli
Friday, October 22, 2010
Trip with the Bishop
Well our trip to the mountains with the bishop of Chulucanas, turned out to be alot more than we expected! It was really great. We left Monday around 130pm and went straight east, right into the mountains. It was a pretty eventful ride up! We passed every kind of wild farm animal imaginable, and had to wait for them all to get out of the road! The mountains were gorgeous! The first hour and a half or so of the trip was on a paved road the last 4 hours were on an extremely windy dirt road. It was incredible! The windshields needed to be on because we were driving in the clouds! We drove forever in the clouds and then suddenly they disappeared! We had crossed the Continental Divide! It was so beautiful! We rose to about 10,500 feet, about 2 miles high. We didn't see any llamas but plenty of mountain goats, donkeys, wild horses, piglets!, cows, bulls, and plenty of mountain people! It was a really great ride, besides a little car sickness...
Once we were there we had a nice dinner at the parish house, which included wild chicken! It was amazing! Completely different from any other kind of chicken we've ever had. Then we were shown the house that we were to have all to ourselves! It was tiny and so cute! Kitchen, bathroom, dinning room, and 2 bedrooms that all fit into the size of a good sized master bed room back in the states! We loved it! Then we went out to the plaza (town central square) and watched some traditional Peruvian celebrations! They were celebrating 25 years of a specific Franciscan order of nuns' presence in the town.
The town was tiny! About 1400 people lived there! When we woke up the next morning and headed to the convent for breakfast people really started to stare. All of them had black hair and have dark skin and in such a small remote town, we stood out a lot. Literally people stopped what they were doing just to stare at us for as long as they could. After breakfast we walked around the town a little before the celebration Mass, and again we felt like celebrities because of the way people stared. When it was time for Mass and we entered the church, everyone sitting turned and stared at us. Then they would whisper and tell their friends to look! Besides the awkwardness, the Mass was very nice! And afterwards we went briefly to a celebration in the hall, before eating lunch and getting back on the road. We tried to sleep on the way back, to avoid getting sick and it worked!
But it was back to work the next morning! Thank you so much to all of you who contributed to our efforts here. We are now able to take out the money and can really get going on everything now! Keep us in your prayers.
-Andrea and Kelli
Once we were there we had a nice dinner at the parish house, which included wild chicken! It was amazing! Completely different from any other kind of chicken we've ever had. Then we were shown the house that we were to have all to ourselves! It was tiny and so cute! Kitchen, bathroom, dinning room, and 2 bedrooms that all fit into the size of a good sized master bed room back in the states! We loved it! Then we went out to the plaza (town central square) and watched some traditional Peruvian celebrations! They were celebrating 25 years of a specific Franciscan order of nuns' presence in the town.
The town was tiny! About 1400 people lived there! When we woke up the next morning and headed to the convent for breakfast people really started to stare. All of them had black hair and have dark skin and in such a small remote town, we stood out a lot. Literally people stopped what they were doing just to stare at us for as long as they could. After breakfast we walked around the town a little before the celebration Mass, and again we felt like celebrities because of the way people stared. When it was time for Mass and we entered the church, everyone sitting turned and stared at us. Then they would whisper and tell their friends to look! Besides the awkwardness, the Mass was very nice! And afterwards we went briefly to a celebration in the hall, before eating lunch and getting back on the road. We tried to sleep on the way back, to avoid getting sick and it worked!
But it was back to work the next morning! Thank you so much to all of you who contributed to our efforts here. We are now able to take out the money and can really get going on everything now! Keep us in your prayers.
-Andrea and Kelli
Monday, October 18, 2010
Quick post before we leave
We are about to head up to the mountains with the bishop!! We are very excited, everyone says its really beautiful there! We get back tomorrow night! Today we prepared some more walls for painting, and just hung out with the kids! Some good news is that as soon as we walked in we noticed Maria sitting at the table. Thats the girl that ran away. Not sure what happened or how they found her but she seemed more friendly and talkative than normal... strange. Anyways we're praying for all of you!
-Kelli and Andrea!
-Kelli and Andrea!
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