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Billy, Kate & Will in Perú

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Andes

Hello Kusi!

Posted on Friday, August 6, 2010 Leave a Comment

The Small Ones, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

After a few months of the jungle in Puerto Alegria/Iquitos, a couple weeks in the desert Ica, and some random days in the city of Lima, I have finally made it to the Andes – in Kusi!

I first visited Kusi in 2006 with the group from my home church, First Presbyterian. At the time, there was not much on the property. We stayed in a nearby city – Caraz – and spent all of our time making hundreds, if not thousands of adobe bricks that would be used to build the city of Kusi.

It was not until 2008 that I was able to return to Kusi. I was fortunate to spend a month at the home. At this time, more buildings had been completed and there were approximately 35 Girasoles boys living in Kusi, along with the house family. The city had begun to grow and now included a functioning elementary school, bungalows, and foundations for future buildings. During the month I was in Kusi leading and translating for work teams, I was able to get to know the house family and Girasoles boys – something that has made Kusi one of my favorite places.

Thankfully, I have been able to spend more time in Kusi over the past year and a half – both with work teams and simply vacation.

This year, I have returned to Kusi with a team from Virginia. They will be here for about 10 days before returning to Lima. I will be able to stay here for a few days after the group to meet the next (and final) summer work team.

The photo, which is one of my favorites, was taken in 2008 when I took some of the youngest boys with one of my teams to Llanganuco, a national park near Kusi. I am happy to say that all 6 of these boys are still living in Kusi – they are just much taller and a few years older!

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Andes, Girasoles, Kusi, Peru, Scripture Union

Goodbye Amazon, Hello Andes

Posted on Sunday, August 16, 2009 2 Comments

This morning was my last little bit to spend time with the boys at Puerto Alegria. Out of anticipation of leaving and wanting to take advantage of the little time I had before departing the house at 8:30, I woke up at 5:45 to shower and pack the few things I still needed, like my tent. If everything had worked perfectly, 5:45 would have been a perfect time to wake up. On my way to the shower, I ran into Lilia, one of the cooks, who informed me that there was no water – somebody forgot to fill the tank with water from the river the night before – and I would have to wait for him to get up and do it. So, I returned to my room and finished packing.

At about 7:30, the boys were all up (I also forgot that they sleep in on Sundays and don´t wake up at the normal 6am!) and ready for breakfast. Since it is Sunday, they didn´t have their typical morning devotional since they were to meet later on in the day and we proceeded to have breakfast – my favorite Puerto ALegria breakfast, pancakes! But before we ate, Willy, the caregiver spoke to the boys about the team from Nebraska that left the day before, about how they had come from such a long way away to share God’s love with them. Atfer mentioning the team, he changed topics and started talking about how thankful the boys should be for me – for the 2 months I spent playing, dancing, hugging, singing, and supporting them in their lives. (Me?! I was only doing what I thought I should be doing.) This made me realize that these were my last moments with them and, of course, made me cry. Things did not get better when they started to sing one of my favorite songs, La Niña de Tus Ojos, a song I woke up and fell asleep to every night while in Puerto Alegria.

When it was time to go, I carried my bags down to the maloca (the gazebo by the river) where all 43 boys were waiting for me. The littlest, Luis (who I have written about before), ran up to me and asked where I was going. I explained that I had to go to my home, that I loved him very much, and that I would miss him. He said that it was okay because he was going to come with me. After telling me this, he ran over to his Papi Willy and told him that he was going to go with me, wherever I was going. After loading my bags into the chalupa (boat), I returned up to the maloca for the final goodbyes. They charged me and one by one, I said goodbye to each boy. Some came multiple times and the whole time I was hugging them, Luis was standing at my feet with his arms around my knees and his head buried in my legs. Of course by this time I was crying and he asked me over and over again, “Why are you crying? Why are you sad?”

At some point it was time to go, time to make the last trip into Iquitos, time to leave Puerto Alegria for the last time on this trip.

(As I write this, I´m sitting in Billy’s apartment in Lima, waiting for our 11pm bus to head up to Huaraz, where we´ll take a little van to Yungay and a taxi up to our Girasoles home in Kusi. Today I will have traveled by boat, plane, bus and car to go from the Amazon jungle to the Andean highlands – all in 24 hours.)

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Amazon, Andes, Billy, Gene, Iquitos, Kusi, Lima, Luis, Peru, Puerto Alegria, Scripture Union

Dearborn to Lima to Caraz in 36 hours

Posted on Sunday, June 18, 2006 Leave a Comment

Hola desde Caraz!

Boy was I right, yesterday was a long long day of traveling – starting at 3:30am in Detroit all the way until 11 when we finally made it into Lima.

We spent the night in Lima and rose early this morning to have breakfast with the boys in Lima and then make the 9 hour trek through the Andes to our northern site, Kusi. The trip was just beautiful and I am very excited to look as my photos when we return. The little town of Caraz is quaint, and very uneventful, but the weather so far is just beautiful.

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Andes, Caraz, Dearborn, Lima, Peru, Scripture Union

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katebruder

When your uncle comes to visit, you wear your matc When your uncle comes to visit, you wear your matching shirts together (with a flashback to his last visit in January 2020) #littlewilliamnoah
Explored Arequipa, the white city, for the first t Explored Arequipa, the white city, for the first time all together and spent many hours outside under the blue sky. #littlewilliamnoah
The @monasteriodesantacatalina is one of my favori The @monasteriodesantacatalina is one of my favorite places in Peru. There is beauty around every corner and the colors, sillar streets and potted geraniums along the walls are just amazing. This trip we were able to visit as the sun was setting and see the former monastery in a new way. #littlewilliamnoah
Spent a few days outside under blue skies in the C Spent a few days outside under blue skies in the Colca Canyon #littlewilliamnoah
Just a small glimpse into what we did during July Just a small glimpse into what we did during July in 60 seconds #littlewilliamnoah
Celebrating Fiestas Patrias with dancing los capor Celebrating Fiestas Patrias with dancing los caporales 🇵🇪 #littlewilliamnoah
Ready to perform la danza de los caporales with hi Ready to perform la danza de los caporales with his classmates at @coloringdreamsperu to celebrate Fiestas Patrias 🇵🇪 #littlewilliamnoah
All of the people in these photos are now Peruvian All of the people in these photos are now Peruvian! When I first traveled to Peru in 2001 at 15 years old, I never expected that one day I would be a living here as a citizen. After 11 years of living in Lima, I have joined @wngreenman and @greenmanbilly with dual citizenship! 🇵🇪 🎉 🇵🇪 #littlewilliamnoah
We spent the morning with the llamas of @llamapack We spent the morning with the llamas of @llamapackproject and community partners from Cancha Cancha learning about how llamas are used for social development within local communities and to conserve and protect the environment in the Andes. #llamapackproject #littlewilliamnoah
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