From One Home to the Next

These past few weeks in Peru have been incredible and I am by no means ready to leave this place that has become my home. I am still teaching at the high school and enjoying that age more than I thought I ever would. Our last day before winter vacation is Tuesday and that night I will be getting on a bus to Lima to begin my travels home.

This week was full of excitement in so many ways. I somehow found myself in our school play dressed as a typical Peruvian from Cusco and was the only Gringo in the whole production. It was a total riot and and really enjoyed seeing my students display their culture.

Another surprise of this week was a new ministry opportunity that has come up. I have been doing after-school tutoring for a college-aged student this summer and through the mother of the student I found out about the mines here in Trujillo. I was able to go out and visit the families that live out in a very poor neighborhood near the strip mines. The majority of the children I met have no education or opportunity for it. They work in people's homes from age eight and by age thirteen they go to work out in the rock mines. The kids are known as the 'Children of the Salt' because of the rock dust they are always covered in. Very little has been done for these people and few people even know these families live like this. IncaLink has been able to donate some warm clothes to these children who live in a very cold area up in the mountains. I was able to make some connections and hopefully in the future we can have clean water, a Bible study, more clothes, and food provided for these people and eventually a way for them to attend school and not work!

Last week we were able to throw a birthday part for our friend Ruth who just turned thirteen and works in the garbage dump. The party was a blast and it was great to give them a rest from their hard work and share a beautiful experience with them. It broke my heart when she had to leave her own party to sort through more trash. It blows my mind to think how much we believe we are entitled to for our birthdays even if it is just a day off.

Every day I see how the Lord is at work here and I feel his presents everywhere I go. It is not easy working among situations like these, but I see the joy of the Lord in the people here. Like I said before, I am not ready to leave this home, but I know I have great things ahead of me. I am beyond blessed to have my family that I live with here and I will miss them greatly.

Now I must prepare for my next few weeks of travel. I leave here Tuesday for Lima and by Thursday I will be in New Hampshire for my friend's wedding then off to Chicago for ten short days. On August 13th I will be moving to Port-au-Prince, Haiti to teach second grade and really can't answer the question if I am ready or not, but I know that I am in the good hands of the Lord no matter where I go.

Peru '10

First off, I apologize for the delay on the blog post. I have been very busy since finishing up teaching in Chicago and coming back here to Trujillo, Peru but am throughly enjoying everything!

My time here started off with my mom and aunt joining me and getting an inside view into my life here. They both enjoyed their time and it was great to finally have them see my other home. My days here are occupied with teaching English at a high school, working with the teams, and working with the ministries of the churches and garbage dump. My days start early and end late but I feel more connected than ever here and feel very much at home. I am living with a Peruvian family this summer and it has been one of the best experiences of my life. My Spanish improves daily and I get a deeper insight and connection to the culture here in Peru. I love how my relationships have strengthen over the years with the people here and being able to see the ministries progress is such a blessing.

Teaching here is a world away from my teaching experiences in Chicago. The age difference, resources, and classroom setting are among some of the vast differences that have presented both challenges and rewarding experiences. The students are energetic about learning English but have a very different classroom structure that I am adjusting to.

My heart is still right here where I left it in the poor areas of Trujillo where people live and work in the garbage dumps. At times it feels like there is no hope left for the situation that these people live in, but after every visit I am left with just a bit more hope as I see the joy of the Lord shine through the people there. My friends there show the greatest extent of love I have ever found and I feel that the toothbrush and fruit I provide for them does not compare. Please keep these people in your prayers as they bring up families in the midst of garbage and rejection.

I get up in the mornings at 6am and still need to iron my clothes for tomorrow so for now here are some pictures I was able to take with someones camera after mine was stolen in Lima. I hope you enjoy them and please know that my prayers are with you. Thank you for all of your support and I promise to write again soon.

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