Chalky, cherry, minty

Some missionary friends in Lima are including us in the deparasitization program that they've been advocating and organization here in Peru. Parasites are fairly common here due to poor sanitation habits, particularly in rural and poor areas. Parasites can deprive their host of up to 30% of their nutrition, which is particularly damaging for children. We're so thankful for the provision of these pills that we can distribute to the kids and to the members of our community. While the results can be quite disturbing if indeed you are harboring a serious parasite, it is worth the process of getting rid of it in order to maintain proper health and nutrition.

Today we administered the first pill to all of the kids at the children's home. Tony went room to room distributing pills, making sure that each child dutifully chewed their pink tablet. Tony took his first to set a good example for the kids, while I stayed in the office still feeling a bit nervous about the potential of a parasite passing through my body. I have an aversion to the chalky nature of chewable pills to begin with, so I was doubly motivated to hold off on my dosage.

As we walked out to our taxi at the end of the day, Tony handed me my pill. I asked what the taste was like and he described it as a "cherry, mint flavor." Tony then added, "Considering that it's a flavored, chewable parasite killing medication, the taste is actually pretty impressive." Laughing, I responded, "You make a good point - here we go." Chalky, cherry, minty - but all in all not bad for a parasite treatment.

A few sweet pictures...

This is my dear little Luis, sporting a new haircut at his school Mother's Day program. His house parent, Angelica, attended the program with him - can't you just see the amount of love she has for this little boy? She is a treasure to us, and a dear friend here in Peru.

Another lost parrot in the news

After our own parrot experience, we had to laugh when one of this morning's headlines on FOX News online reported "Lost Parrot Returned Home After Telling Veterinarian His Address"!! I guess we should have at least asked our own green visitor for his address! The following story was reported:

TOKYO — When Yosuke the parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught — recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help.

Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor's roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said.

He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.

"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.

"We checked the address, and what do you know, a Nakamura family really lived there. So we told them we've found Yosuke," Uemura said.

The Nakamura family told police they had been teaching the bird its name and address for about two years.

But Yosuke apparently wasn't keen on opening up to police officials. "I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me," Uemura said.

A little green visitor...

On Saturday afternoon our dog, Davy, was in the front yard observing the activities of the neighborhood - a favorite pastime of hers. She started barking persistently so I looked out the window to see what the problem was only to find a beautiful green parrot perched on our garage door. The bird was looking curiously at Davy while maintaining a safe distance at the top of the gate. We left later that evening and had to open the garage door - but little Polly Parrot hung on for the ride! When we came back later that night she was still perched on the door, and she stayed until the next afternoon. Davy never got used to her, so perhaps she grew tired of the incessant barking and decided to move on. She was a fun addition for the 36 hours she was here!

More on Mother's Day...

My last post failed to reflect the lighter side of Mother's Day weekend that was celebrated here in Peru, and I decided it needed to be reflected as well! Mother's Day is a very special holiday here in Peru and is widely and well celebrated. In addition to the significance of honoring one's mother, this holiday is a time to honor the Virgin Mary, which is a very big deal in a Catholic country like Peru. Peruvians don't let an opportunity pass by to party with fireworks, so for three days we heard explosions going off throughout the day and night. Local churches led marches through their surrounding neighborhoods to honor the virgin and shrines were covered with flowers and candles.
The men of our church did a wonderful job planning a special Mother's Day weekend for the ladies. They reserved a restaurant downtown for Saturday night and treated the women of the church to a wonderful dinner. We have quite a few single mothers in our church and each of them received a special invitation from the church elders to come to the dinner as special guests of the church. One of the elders gave a short devotion and then the men took turns expressing their thanks to their wives and the women of the church. The next morning we had a special Mother's Day church service and the men presented each woman with a gift they had prepared - a mug filled with candy and other goodies. I was impressed with the planning that the men had put into the weekend and I think each woman left feeling honored and appreciated. An interesting note - here all women are celebrated on Mother's Day because they have the potential of becoming mothers! So I was included on the festivities of the weekend, but not without being asked about 50 times when a baby Bolos may join us... My response was that for now we're just focusing on the 50 kids that have been entrusted to us. : )
A belated Happy Mother's Day to all of you mother's and mother's-to-be!

Dia del Madre

Last weekend I had the privilege of celebrating my first Mother's Day with the kids at the home and the people in the church. The festivities started off with a special program at the kids' school. Each grade had prepared a special song or skit to perform on the special stage that had been set-up in the recreation courtyard. As we were walking to our seats, the usher asked which grade my child was in. I smiled and said I had a child in every grade level in the school. He probably thought I either didn't understand the question or that my Spanish isn't very good and I misspoke in my reply. : )

It was a delight to watch our kids perform and to see the end result of the hard work they had put into practicing for their performances. I felt honored to stand up with them and receive their flowers and cards that they'd made in their classes. But there was a sense of sadness that I couldn't shake throughout the program as well as I listened to the themes of the songs and performances that the kids put on. The songs expressed deep gratitude to mothers for the sacrifices they make to provide for their children, for being an example of love and patience to their children, for teaching them about the love and Christ and being an example of what it means to follow him. As I listened to them sing I had to wonder about the emotions they experienced during their weeks of preparation and during their performance. While the kids have hopefully found at New Hope the kind of love they sang about that morning, the lyrics couldn't have been farther off from describing their own mothers. Their own mothers have left them on buses and street corners, they subjected them to abuse and neglect out of desperation to survive themselves. Most of our kids have deep wounds from their mothers, not deep levels of love or appreciation. I wondered as I watched them sing if days like Mother's Day feel like salt in a wound. They smiled. They sang beautifully. They gave no hint of any turmoil that may have been churning inside, but my own heart ached for them as I snapped photos and clapped for each one of them.

While I was home in Denver, I spent a great deal of time enjoying my 10-month old niece Nora. Without trying she becomes the center of attention anytime we're together as we watch her toddle around behind her walking toy, explore the world around her, and reveal her emotions through the most darling and hilarious facial expressions. One night as we were all gathered together, someone commented on the way that babies steal the love and attention of everyone around them. My cousin Erika, who works with inner city children, quietly commented that this is true for us but unfortunately not true for many children in less privileged circumstances. I can't recall her exact words, but as I sat there watching these kids perform for the many mothers in the crowd that day, I was reminded of what she'd said. A desire that I have for myself is to become a woman who can enjoy the joys of life that I had as a child, have now as a young adult, and will have in the future, all the while remembering those who are less fortunate, trying to be an active part of meeting their needs, and upholding them in prayer before the only one who can truly meet their needs.

To the US and back again...

I had a to-do list of several things I wanted to accomplish before I left for my visit to the US two weeks ago, one of which was updating the blog with a message that I'd be leaving, but sadly very few of those items were checked off before we flew out the door to the Arequipa airport to catch my flight out. I'm now back in the Lima airport on an overnight layover, awaiting my flight to Arequipa tomorrow morning at 4:50am. Four hours to go until boarding begins!

I had a wonderful visit and feel refreshed and ready to come back. At the time of booking my flight, two weeks didn't seem like a really long time but it was felt like an eternity of time to be separated from Tony! Poor Tony suffered a soccer injury, taxi accident and car breakdown while I was gone and had no one to look after him, aside from our sweet puppy Davy who was more smothering than helpful it seems. : )

Here are a few photos of general highlights of the trip:

That's snow you see there - yep, snow on May 1 in Denver! I was one of few happy people to see the snow - I have missed it this year and was glad to see a few flakes fall!

This is 10-month old Nora Elizabeth, my sweet niece, sporting pig-tails (or antenna according to some!) for the first time. I absolutely loved seeing how much she's grown up and has learned in recent months. It's so fun to see my sister and brother-in-law as parents.

This is my dear friend Krista on her wedding day. This is a classic Krista shot - can you tell we had too much fun together?? It was good for my soul just to be with her for 5 days.

Some realizations I had during the trip:

- I really miss the ability to casually joke around and laugh with friends on a regular basis. My language abilities have come a long way, but I can't laugh and joke in Spanish the way I do in English. It was so refreshing to just laugh over small things with friends and family while I was home.

- I have developed a strong tolerance for things not going as planned in Peru, but have apparently developed high expectations for things to go smoothly in the US. I was reminded that things aren't as flawless in the US as they are in my memory!

- One of the biggest differences between life in Peru and life in the US can be summed up in one word: convenience. Most things in Peru take a lot of time - cooking, preparing produce, going to the bank...even placing a to-go order in a restaurant! I was strolling through Costco and the grocery store just amazed by the level of customer-convenience that has overtaken the marketing world. Did you know they make Jif Peanut Butter in individual on-the-go containers? Bagged salad, peeled carrots, Rice-a-Roni - all familiar products that struck me this time around with their convenient appeal!

- Speaking of Costco, my mom and I had a good laugh together when we went to Costco the afternoon that I got home. We were strolling around the bread department when I commented on how relaxing it was to be in such a calm and orderly environment. My mom laughed that I considered Costco on a Saturday afternoon to be a peaceful environment and I realized that I had never before equated Costco with anything near to calm or peaceful! But after living in a culture where traffic on the streets and shoppers in the markets weave back and forth between the masses, just trying to get ahead, Costco suddenly seemed like a calm and orderly haven to me!

Lastly, I am realizing that the term "home" is a very fluid concept at this stage of life. I feel so at home in Peru and can't wait to get back, but when I slipped into bed at my parent's house and enjoyed the safe, comforting feeling of being tucked in for a good night's sleep I realized that I still consider that my home in many ways. I suppose being "home" is much more about the people and circumstances than any physical location, so it makes sense that two so totally different places can both feel like home at the same time. So off I go to finish my journey from one home to the other...