Morning- Day Four

 I woke up this morning with renewed energy, despite our long, active days.  I slept peacefully last night, especially if you consider how excited I am for this day.  Today we will meet our sponsored children and take them to a amusement park and pool. Probably all the children have never visited either and most of their parents haven't either. The father of my sponsored child asked if he could join his wife and son.  Normally it is just one parent escort.  I was thrilled.  That was one of my prayers, that I could meet both his parents.

I also get to meet the mother of Brenda, the little girl I sponsored yesterday. I have so much I would like to tell Elias and his parents, but I know because of translation time and that now I will be sharing my time with two families, I won't be able to say it all.  I just wish Josh and the kids could be with me!  Maybe someday we will come back as a family to visit both the kids. The sponsored children love to interact with us and I feel like these visits are happy times for all the kids, but I can see how much they all want to know their sponsors.

I just can't emphasize enough: If you are a sponsor - write, write, write!  Even if they don't always respond, they want your letters.  Many kids go to school for half the day, come to the Compassion program for half the day and then go home to help their families and do their school work.  Your letters are a gift to them.  And send pictures - of where you live, of yourself, your family members, pets, anything.  They love pictures.   They will go out of their way to see pictures and get in pictures because and they want to see pictures of you even more. I may have been disappointed in myself and the state of our world that creates poverty circumstances during this trip, but I have not once been disappointed with what I have seen Compassion and their partner churches doing here.  They truly are a sanctuary in every sense of the word and the way they manage each project according to the needs of the people around them, yet with the utmost care and efficiency, is even more impressive than I could have imagined.

Please, please, please, consider visiting your child.  I can't say it is not emotional, but it is very important to both you and your child and it will open your heart to your child ten fold, and probably open your child's heart as well.  I will never regret my decision to come here, even though I miss my family, had to miss the kids first days of school, and have riden a wave of emotion, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Day Three

This trip has sent me on a realm of emotions.  I have felt so many emotions so vividly, sometimes with only a minute separating them. 

By nature,  I am a person who seeks out justice, so to see the injustices that society places on the people  and especially the children, it just makes me want to stand up and scream at the top of my lungs that it just isn't right.  But then I see the smiles of these children and the hard work of the teenagers and I know that righting the wrong is what is going on in each of their lives.


We went on a home visit to a family who had two kids who went to the Child Development Program.  The dad greeted us warmly at the door and told us that we are always welcome at his home.  We visited with him and we learned that he was out of work, but had a job interview that afternoon, but he wanted to meet us, so he was glad he could be there.  Their house was so well-kept and the children were so well-behaved.  The mother made dresses.  There was such a peacefulness about them and their home.  They went on to say that they had heard about the Compassion program while attending the church.  The man had done a lot of work to their home, including installing a bathroom with septic and cementing the dirt floors.  It was great work and we told him so and he looked so pleased with the complement and he said he takes great care to be the head of the household, even though he isn´t working and it shows.

He reminded me so much of my father, in his looks, mannerisms, pride in his work and family, that it brought tears to my eyes and I didn´t make it out of their house before they started to fall.  I decided to sponsor another child at the program that we were visiting today.  Our other sponsored child, Elias, corresponds with our son, Elias, a lot, so we wanted to have a child for Isabella to form a relationship with.  When I met her, I gave her a sucker and she thought it was the most interesting object in the world.  The visit lasted for a while, but I could tell that she is a child with a lot of spunk!  I again wished with all my heart for my Spanish to be better! 

The group lead VBS in the afternoon and then we headed back.  I was so overwhelmed, I just sat and watched the scenery go by, deciding to process the day now versus later.  It was a good choice for me.
The last thing we did is have dinner with 5 LDP students.  These young adults are so talented and smart.  Cindi, who sat at our table was so excited to get to know us and by the end of the evening, we were all hugging and laughing like friends, because we are. These students are the ones who will really have awesome impact on their communities and I can't think of better choices than them and I am so glad it was the last thing we did for the evening.  This doesn´t do the day justice, but I have to get to bed.

The official Compassion blog had a blog about visiting your child that I felt was a good complement to my meager post if you would like to check it out.

Didn't Sleep Well

I didn't sleep well last night. I was up thinking all the thoughts that I didn't get to think during the day. I have now seen first-hand how far the line is between what we have and "enough" (the basic necessities of life that includes love and belonging)?  I rushed to buy the mother's hand crafts yesterday.  Did they feel that they really were earning an honest wage or did they feel like Americans who had extra soles in their pockets just wanted to give it to them because they could?  I know our hearts were all in the right place, but did that get translated properly?

I think this partially answers the question I get asked all the time, "Why don't you help the people in America who need it?"  My answer is that I should and I am or at least I try to.  But helping people near me is more automatic-it is responsive to people and situations I encounter every day.  I understand more how to care for those around me, because I am in their environment.  That is why it is a good thing that the hard-working people who live here in Peru are the ones who are better equipped to lead the projects, because they understand the people, their environment, and what needs to be done. The love they share comes from mutual understanding and with that understanding trust is formed. It really is an amazing thing to watch the kids with the workers.  It feels almost like you are visiting a home with lots of relatives!

I think sometimes people who are from influential countries think that those who live in poverty are two sets of people: First, saints who are especially equipped by God with the ability to withstand conditions that those in the developed world can't possess.  Second, lazy charity seekers who don't want to make the effort to improve themselves. There may be some of the billions in poverty who fit into these categories, but it is by far the rule.  When I was growing up and when I was newly married, we lived on the low end of the median income.  Now we live on the higher end.  I have more now than I ever thought I could have and don't necessarily desire to have it all taken away, but if it was, would I not still be the same person inside? Could I not find that same ability I once had to be comfortable with having enough.  Honestly, after being on both sides, I think having enough versus plenty is sometimes less complicated. There are less choices to make, less options, less ability for greed to develop.

I once heard an LDP student say that one of the hardest things to adjust to when he came to America for study was the amount of options Americans have.  He related a story about buying toothpaste & being so overwhelmed by the choices, he just left the store.  I also once asked a friend who is a missionary while they were on furlough what was most surprising about how she felt about America when they returned.  She said that she had forgotten about how prevalent the proliferation that anyone can be anything - the "American dream". She said that is not encouraged in their ministry country and that paths are set for people before their even old enough to really think about what they want.  We are given so much in America, but it can all be taken away so quickly, but would it really be always a negative if it were?  Just as a side note, the pastor of the church spoke to us at the program we visited Monday and said they have planted two churches in the outer provinces of Lima, one of which is completely lead by formerly sponsored children who are now adults.  It is amazing to see how one act of giving provides for another, and so on.  Planting churches is not part of Compassion's ministry, it is just the fruit of the labor shared by the sponsors, church staff, and Compassion staff.

We visit another program today.  I decided I am going to sponsor a little girl from there who has yet to be sponsored and I will get to meet her today.  I know it will again be an emotional day and I will probably have more thoughts to think, but I know coming here and allowing God to teach me through these experiences was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  I can't wait to post pictures.  I may try to figure that out if we get back early enough.

Day Two

I started the morning off by throwing up...just a little, but enough to tell me I need to cut back on partaking so much of the Peruvian spicy food.  It was not travel sickness, just diet imbalance.  I ate a very mild breakfast and then we headed out to a Child Survival Program and Child Development Program that is located in the desert region, one hour from Lima.

We were greeted with preschoolers dressed in festive costumes.  People who live in the desert mountain region love color, because there land is all dark gray sand.  Their entire community, which hold over 1 million people is essentially a squatter community and most of the houses are made from materials as they can find or afford them. The air there is very cool and there is a breeze from the ocean always blowing.  Since the area is so steep and sandy we had to park and walk to the student center.

A little girl named Jocilyn greeted us as soon as we got there and walked with us up the hill smiling and wanting hugs (which we were all happy to give).  I then handed her a silly band and she got the biggest smile and started skipping up the hill. Then she stopped and said, "Uno photo" and I figured out she wanted her picture with me.  She then ran on up the hill.  When we neared the top, she emerged from her little home carrying her little sister, who was almost as big as her.  When she got to me, I found out her sister was Annabella and she said, "Uno mas photo" and she quickly grabbed the camera, so she could look at the picture we took of her.  She hung around the entire day.  She is one of 10 children and longs to be at the student center, but the mother has unfortunately chosen not to let her be registered.  The church continues to love on her when she comes around, but she is not able to enjoy the program like the other kids do.

We met the staff and the children and then we divided and went on a visit to a mother and her baby who are part of the child survival program.  We had to climb an extremely high hill that was made of fine silty sand. When we reached the top, Julie and Gabriel met us at the door.  She welcomed us so lovingly and the Compassion staff member from the local church like she was family.  There is so much I would like to say about our visit with her, but my heart went out to her so much because she has to stay home with her children and her 10 year old cousin, who she also cares for while her husband and aunt work every day of the week.  Her husband leaves at 8 am and doesn't return until 10 pm, because he stays at the market all day to be available to unload trucks, help people to their taxis or buses with goods purchased, etc.

We then served lunch to the children and got to spend the rest of the day talking to them, asking questions, letting them ask us questions, and laughing at all the poor Español being spoken!  There was one girl who knew several English words.  She was so bright and personable.  When we asked them questions, she said her sponsor never wrote to her.  It made me so sad, because she seemed like a girl who would really thrive and possible be an LDP student.  I asked if I could be a correspondent with her.  Ian, our trip leader, is going to check into it.  We got to see the hydroponics garden that the teenagers are learning to grow, so they can make an income raising and selling vegetables.  They also learn to do silk screening, to make shirts and other clothing and the girls make other handicrafts.  The mothers of the CSP program also make handicrafts and we were able to buy some things they made.  I bought a picture frame that has shells and sand decoupage on it.  So I got to take home a little bit of the Pacific Ocean! I have again been hugged and have held so many kids and everything I have known about Compassion and the awesome church partners we have here, I am seeing with my own eyes.

I have so many faces swimming in my mind and we have another center to visit tomorrow.  My heart is so full of emotion right now, I feel choked most of the time from it and I feel like a tear and a smile is always intermixed.  I do not feel sorry for the people I am seeing.  They are so much like me in all the fundamental ways - the way they love, interact, doubt, hope.  They are not here for us to pat on the head and walk away feeling pleased with our attention to them.  They are people who want people to know them and hope with them and care that they are on this little piece of earth called Peru, which is what we all want really.

The boys remind me of boys and the girls like the girls I would meet anywhere. They pick on one another, tell inside jokes, and drive their teachers crazy with chattering. I feel sorry for myself that I require so much to be happy and feel safe and, yet I often am left dissatisfied.  When we walked out of the church after spending the day in the church building, which is one of the few solid structures in the community, both physically and emotionally for the children, it felt like we were leaving a sanctuary where we truly had forgotten about the trash, sickly dogs, and harsh elements outside.

Day One Update

We didn´t get in until 2:30 Peru time, 3:30 our time because of weather delays in Miami, so I am exhausted, but wanted to send an update.
We visited our first child development sponsorship center today for church services. They greeted us so lovingly - singing, confetti, balloons, whistles, etc. - and the kids! Oh, I can´t tell you how many kisses on my cheeks I received today or how many genuine hugs. I got so emotional at how unworthy we were to receive such a grand reception.

We sat through their youth service, which is completely lead by the high schoolers for the children, before they have Sunday school. They had singing, a sermon, human videos, dancing. The teenagers really touched my heart, because I see their lives in the lives of the teens we work with. Even though it is a different culture, we are all so the same.

The little boys were joking with one another, the little girls were using their noisemakers and had to be quieted during the sermon. My first young friend I made was Marco who was 8. I wish my Spanish was better. I get frustrated not being to communicate without a translator. The kids come up to me and just start talking a mile a minute! I must have said "No Entiendo" (I don´t understand) 25 times! But a smile and a hug goes a long way with my broken (very broken) Spanish. We left and were told that we had to stop waving because the kids would just keep running after the bus and it would not be safe. It has been an emotional day. I feel like I have to fight back tears even thinking of it now. It is a good thing that the Peruvians are very comfortable with hugs and other displays of affection, because that was the only way we could communicate and we all wanted to tell them just how much they all meant to us.

We also got to meet all the staff. They are all such dedicated workers and they were so loving as well. One of the advocates ended up sponsoring a boy there today, even though she has another child at another project she will meet later in the week. He was able to sit on her lap the rest of the morning and the sweetness of the moment with them matched permeated the group.

We then went and toured the city and the Catacombs and the St. Francis monastery and Basilica, ending at the "Garden of Love" on the Pacific Ocean and then a market place. We only had a half hour and I was freezing and between bartering and figuring out the exchange rate, etc., all I ended up getting was an Alpaca sweater. We are supposed to be able to go back to the market on another day. If I don´t get the kids something, they won´t be very happy. It is just so hard to choose and we always have to travel in pairs, which slows each of us down. And we have eaten - way too much. Peruvians show love through food and we have felt much love. It is still tricky knowing what is okay and what is not. So far, none of us have gotten sick.

There are so many other things I want to talk about, but we will soon meet to put gift packages together for the programs we will visit in the next few days. Please keep us in your prayers. I am tired and mentally fried, but I definitely made the right decision coming. BUT, we are supposed to try to control our emotions when we meet our sponsored children, so we don´t freak them out. With as emotional as I got today, I think that will be next to impossible for me - so please pray for a miracle! Jill, a team member, has the same problem, though, so I am not alone.