4th of July!!

Wishing all of you a happy 4th of July, wheverever you may be! We're planning to spend the evening with a group of American friends we've become connected with over the year. I just made my first ever potato salad to add to the spread of traditional American food for the party and am also contributing my mothers infamous pink jello salad, with a small Peruvian twist!

We're so thankful for our home country and the many rights and privileges that are upheld for the citizens by the government. Nothing has made us appreciate the US government, its faults and criticisms included, than living in a country where those same rights and privileges are only a distant dream for most of its citizens. We're proud, and thankful, to be Americans. Happy 4th!

The Guest

Lucia came to New Hope in 2007 as a 13-year-old girl. She had been living alone with her father for 3 years, ever since her mother died of cancer. Her father struggled to make enough money to support the two of them so he would often keep Lucia home from school and send her to the streets to beg for money or sell candies on the sidewalks. When the police showed up and arrested her father one afternoon, Lucia was left by herself in the house where she stayed for 3 days until her neighbors came to help her. She was brought to New Hope and has been a part of our family ever since.

Not too long ago we had a group of girls from the children's home over to our house for a pizza party and movie night. After eating dinner, Tony took a group of the girls up to the roof where they could see the stars and the city lights. As the rest of the girls started to go back downstairs, Lucia pulled Tony aside.

"Did you know that I've been in your neighborhood before? When I was living with my dad, he used to drop me off here and send me door to door, asking for money and food. The first time I came to your house I couldn't believe it - I had knocked on the door of this same house before, begging. And now I get to come in and eat dinner here. I'm the guest!"

Ever since Tony told me that story I've been thinking about all of the implications tied up in that for her, and for us as human beings in our relationship with God. Lucia was filled with shame, knocking on doors and asking for handouts, searching for something to fulfill her needs. Now she's been brought into our family and she has free access to the goodness and safety of our home. She's celebrated and appreciated. She can partake of the good things offered to her - she no longer begs for leftovers.

I see myself, all of humankind, reflected in that story. Broken souls, separated from the loving goodness we were intended to have in God's original design. Searching to meet the need for love and a sense of wholeness, we so often go knocking on the doors of this world, asking for love, validation and value. Like beggars , we go searching for something to make us feel whole, and then we learn of God's love, the truth of who we are intended to be. We have the choice to accept that love, to become welcome guests in his kingdom, to partake of the good things he bestows upon us. And our sense of shame and unworthiness is wiped away - we get to walk into his presence, we are his guests, his beloved children.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
1 John 3:1

How does one lose a pair of glasses?

I was asking myself this question for days after Tony's first pair of glasses ever disappeared after only a month or so of having them. I couldn't understand how they could've been set down somewhere at the children's home and simply disappear without a trace. But the more I thought about it, the real surprise was that I was even surprised by the quick disappearance of any object in a place where over 50 pairs of hands are prone to touch any object within their grasp, almost without knowing it, it seems. From pens to coffee mugs, stuffed animals to tennis shoes, I never cease to be amazed that the number of items that show up in random places within the property of the children's home. Our dog, Davy, is the culprit for the relocation of most stuffed animals, but with the other items you just never know.

For example, the other day while I was out playing volleyball with some of the kids I heard someone inquiring on the whereabouts of a key on a black string. It had been left in a windowsill during music practice and was now missing. I reported that I had seen Lucia with a key on a string, and she then explained that she found it on the soccer court stands. She had left it hanging on the light post. Someone else chimed in that they'd seen Luis playing with a key on a string, swinging it around his arm again and again. Off to the little boys room we went to hear an interesting tale of how the key was passed from here to there, and was ultimately found in a desk drawer with a bunch of peeled and broken crayons. No one seems to wonder where an object comes from, nor where or to whom it belongs. Items are picked up and passed on into another set of hands before the owner has had a moment to realize it's been moved.

Anyhow, the last place Tony remembered having his glasses was at the children's home while working on the Jeep (an unfortunately common task for us...). Luis had been nearby, which led me to talk to Angelica, the leader of the little boys room. She hadn't seen them in their house, but she did remember seeing them on a table just after the pizza party for Tony's birthday, which happens to be the last day Tony had the glasses. Using my photographs from that day for evidence, we noticed that:

Here has them...

and now they're gone...

We talked to the guys who clean the room where the party was - they hadn't seen anything. We talked to the teens who study in there in the afternoon - same story. We asked all the staff members to look around in their respective rooms - still nothing. At this point, two weeks later, we're reluctant but willing to accept the fact that the stylish new glasses have apparently been sucked into the black hole of the New Hope galaxy. All those little hands passed the glasses along into an unknown location where they'll probably stay until someday they are discovered by someone looking for a missing item themselves. By then no one will even remember that Tony's glasses were missing!

My girl, Davy

I haven't posted many pictures of our dog, Davy, since she was a puppy - not for lack of photos, however, because my husband would tell you I document her life as if she were our first child! Davy is a Great Dane, but she seems to have been the runt of the litter or something because she's not quite as big as she should be for a 11 month old Dane. Even so, she's a big girl who still tries to cuddle like she's a small puppy. My family took some cute pictures of Davy while they were here and I thought I'd put a few on here for those who are interested.

Davy trying to share the front seat with me for the drive to the orphanage!

Wrapped In Love

Several years ago, my sister and her husband spent 6 months in Ethiopia on a short-term missions trip. As they shared their experiences and told about the needs of the children there, my Aunt Nachaele decided to get involved in raising funds to help support a children's home there. She is a fantastic knitter and decided to start a non-profit called Stitches for Britches that allowed her to sell her knitted goods to make money to support the kids there. Since we've been here in Peru, she's been incredibly supportive and has done several special things for the kids here.
When Luis was left here alone after his pals were adopted out in February, Nachaele decided to make a special blanket for him to send along with my parents when they came to visit. When Julio came to the home just before my parents came to visit, she quickly put together a fleece-tie blanket to send along for him. It was so much fun to bring Luis and Julio up to the office, show them the picture of my aunt and uncle, tell them how special they are to all of us and give them each their blankets. I told them that whenever they are cold, or just feeling lonely, they can wrap themselves up in their blankets and remember that they are loved.
As we were pulling out of the orphanage later that afternoon, we looked out and saw Luis and Julio standing on the soccer court, wrapped in their warm blankets, watching us as we were leaving to take my parents to the airport. The sight of these two standing there was one of the sweetest things I'd seen in a long time. Thank you, Nachaele, for your gift of love for these boys!

Family Vacation in Peru!

Tony and I had been looking forward to June 9 for a long time - the day that my parents, sister, brother-in-law and niece would arrive in Arequipa! The day finally came and just last night we said our last goodbyes after a wonderful time together. The time went far too quickly, as it always seems to do, but we're so grateful for the chance we had to share our life here in Peru with my family. We traveled by car (9 hours each way!) to Cusco to see Machu Picchu and then spent the remainder of our time here in Arequipa. Baby Nora, now 11 months old, was a trooper and has earned a reputation as a good traveler. I started coming down with a cold two days before everyone arrived and effectively spread it to everyone but my brother-in-law before the trip was done. But despite the coughing, sneezing, and general aches and pains, we managed to have a wonderful time together! Here are a few highlights of the trip in photos:

Lindsey and Nora greeting two baby alpacas

Introducing the family to choclo, giant Peruvian corn, eaten with a slice of cheese

Nora doing sign language for "water" while Tony holds her over a small stream
(Tony and I were amazed to see her doing sign language!! Yes, we think she's a genius!!)
Nora made a Peruvian friend during our stop in Ollantaytambo, en route to Machu Picchu

Tony and I in front of the famous 12-sided Inca stone in Cuzco

Tony, my dad and Jon climbed to the top of Wayna Picchu early in the morning -
they did the 1-2 hour climb up in 35 minutes!
Nora managed to get her morning nap in while riding on Jon's back around Machu Picchu!

Here we are at Machu Picchu! The peak behind us is the one the boys climbed in the morning.

We soaked in the hot springs (more like lukewarm springs, actually!) in Aguas Calientes, the town just below Machu Picchu. Nora had the best time of all of us!

We stayed in this hostel, "El Rosal", in Cuzco. It is on the property of a children's home similar to New Hope that is run by a group of nuns. The proceeds go to help the home, and many of the girls who grew up there now work in the hostel. We were very impressed with the place, particularly the friendliness of all the workers and girls we interacted with.

Nora finally got to meet another Peruvian friend, Camilla, the daughter of our friends and coworkers here. They were so cute together!
We celebrated Tony's 28th birthday together with all the staff at New Hope by ordering in Domino's Pizza. There's no better birthday lunch for an upstate NY boy than pizza!

Nora enjoyed testing out the zip-line after Jon tested it out first.

Here we are in the Plaza de Armas in Arequipa, well known for several things including the massive numbers of pigeons that congregate there. Tony bought some food and lured them up onto his hands for Nora's entertainment!

Here we are in front of our house with Jon, Lin and Nora (and a neighborhood dog we call "Whitey", for obvious reasons) just before they left to go back to the US. The time flew by way too quickly, and we were grateful to have my parents around for a few more days before the trip ended.

Jorge & Julio

Julio - 4 years old

As many of you read in my email update, we received two new boys into the children's home this week. They arrived on Wednesday afternoon and are settling into life at New Hope as we speak. Anytime you disturb an existing system, there is bound to be disruption so the Little Boys Room has been readjusting and incorporating Jorge and Julio into their family group. The two brothers have an obviously close relationship and I've enjoyed standing back and watching Jorge protect, guide and play with his younger brother.

Jorge - 10 years old

Yesterday I had a chance to sit and talk with the two house mothers who watch after the little boys at the home. We talked a bit about Jorge and Julio's background and their observation of how quickly both of the boys could switch from a playful spirit into a violent and aggressive attitude. We started talking about learned behaviors and collectively tried to imagine what these two young boys have learned by living in a home where violence and addictive behaviors were far more prevalent than verbal communication. We talked about the importance of teaching and modeling alternative ways of handling frustration, fear and anger - the importance of using words to express emotions rather than lashing out at those around you as they saw their relatives do for years.

I have a dear friend who I met in graduate school who introduced the idea of "default settings" to me. Default settings are essentially the ways of being that we learn from our families and early life experiences, for better or worse. These ways of thinking, acting and feeling are essentially programmed into us and while we are capable of making changes to our default settings, we are prone to revert back to the default settings in times of stress and frustration. I love this idea of default settings because I have found it to be quite true in my life and the lives of those around me.

It has provided me with a helpful framework for thinking about the radical changes that the kids at New Hope go through when they leave one type of environment - whether it be life alone on the streets, living in violent and addiction ridden homes, or watching a parent suffer from physical illness and eventually pass away - and try to adapt to a new environment at the children's home. There are a lot of default behaviors that are challenged and a lot of expectations that are intended to become the new settings. I'd say the primary battle we fight in our work here is against the old default settings that rear their ugly heads for reasons we often don't understand. My, how difficult it is to change our settings - but the good news is that it can be done. That's the hope we each have for the future.

Here are a few fun pictures of several of the boys who have welcomed Jorge and Julio into their family group. They have my heart completely captured!!

Jhon, Moises, Jorge, Julio and Luis piled on Jorge's new bed

Guillermo, Jorge, Julio and Luis, putting on a show for the camera!