Dearborn

Dearborn Comes to the Jungle

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This past week, I have been joined by my own friends and family from First Presbyterian in Dearborn, Michigan.

Because of the flooding in the Cusco/Sacred Valley region earlier this year, the original plans for the 2010 trip had to be changed. Instead of spending a week again at the Girasoles home in the Sacred Valley, the team was rerouted to the jungle city of Iquitos and our Girasoles home at Puerto Alegria.

This was the first time that the group had ventured north to the jungle, and I was extremely excited to show them the place I had spent a few months at during 2009, and introduce them to the people I had come to work with.

While the heat, humidity and large bugs are not what the group was accustomed to dealing with, the week went smoothly and provided a new experience, completely different than anything they had ever seen or done in their 11 years of trips Peru.

Thursday we head to Lima to spend a few days in the city, before heading south to the desert city, Ica.

Since photos are much better than words, and my mother brought me a new camera lens, here are some photos from the week in Puerto Alegria.

Replacing the screens of the dining room.
team_work

Sarah sanding a piece of the wood trim.
sarah_sanding

My brother, Randy, on the boat to Iquitos.
randy_boat

Markers for an art project.
markers

Hox, one of the older boys at Puerto Alegria.
hox_hat

Alvaro (7) and Luis (5), two of the younger boys at Puerto Alegria.
alvaro_luis

Alvaro and Luis playing with bubbles.
alvaro_bubbles1

Emily and Luis at Quistococha.
emily_luis

Just playing around with the new lens, a shot of the team sitting on the balcony of the dining room.
team_leaves

Just 2 days.

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In just 2 days, I’ll be back in Peru for the 3rd summer working for Scripture Union as a translator and team guide. When I returned to Michigan in September ’09, I agreed to return in 2010 – not knowing that God would be seriously moving mountains for me to go full time for 3 years as a LAM missionary working with Scripture Union (you can read all about that here).

I will be leaving this Friday, May 28th and returning to Michigan on August 19th to finish raising support so I can work full-time with SU. The decision to become a full-time LAM missionary wasn’t an overnight decision for me. I have been feeling “the call” for the past few years (which I talked about in this conversation sermon at First Dearborn), but didn’t take it seriously until recently. God has been working in my life in various ways preparing me for this calling – by giving me a love for helping others, a love of travel, the gift of learning Spanish and the confidence, ability and experience during the 2008 and 2009 2 summers in serving Him with Scripture Union in Peru.

For this summer, I will spend a majority of my time at the same home as 2009, the jungle home of Puerto Alegria. Puerto Alegria is located about 45 minutes down the river from the city of Iquitos. We’ll have electricity from a generator each night for a few hours and all of our water comes from the river. There are about 40 boys living at the home, and I’ll be working as a translator and team guide for the groups that come, including my own group from Dearborn, who will be volunteering at the home for the first time.

In preparation to head down to Peru for the summer, I have been getting things ready. This means, airing out my bug tent, gathering clothing, making little piles around the house of the absolute essential things to take, wearing my Chacos to get them appropriately sized, and picking up 3 months of malaria medication. I went out to Costco this afternoon to pick up the preventative pills and was reading through the enclosed paperwork, which includes a very comprehensive list of side effects. The side effects include, but are not limited to: stomach upset, stomach pain, nausea, fever, hair loss, ringing in the ears, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, insomnia, strange dreams, lightheadedness, unexplained anxiety, mood changes, depression, hallucinations, restlessness, and confusion.

This is the third year that I will have used the medication for a few months and thank God the only side effect I have ever had was an occasional strange dream.

So, I encourage you to follow my 2010 summer here at A Life in the World as I return for another summer in Peru, and as I transition from volunteer to full-time LAM missionary working with Scripture Union!

See you in August.

Neighbor

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The youth group I help lead, CREW has entered a video contest through the Presbyterian Church USA and we need your help.

Our video, “Neighbor”, which was written and directed by Randy, is about becoming a missional youth group and serving those in our community. The video was made to be entered in a contest by ymiLIVE for Presbyterian Church USA youth groups from all around the country. ymiLIVE is dedicated to providing a voice to the youth members of the PC(USA) and its video challenge was created to allow the youth members of the denomination to express their creativity and faith.

Every youth group video submitted to the competition is an interpretation of the scripture verse, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living waters.” (John 7:38), which is the theme for this year’s 219th PC(USA) General Assembly.

The 10 finalists (based on the number of votes received) will be announced on June 9. From among the 10 videos with the most votes, the Youth Advisory Delegates will be invited to cast the final votes to determine the two winning videos. The winners will be announced at the 2010 General Assembly during the first week in July.

The Presbyterian Foundation Group will establish two $25,000 endowment funds to support youth ministry at the churches with the winning videos.

With the endowment, we can continue our monthly ministry of Feeding the Hungry in Detroit’s Cass Corridor, provide scholarships to events like Acquire the Fire, Youth Week during the summer and many of our other programs and ministries.

If you would like to help us win an endowment, or watch our video, please go to: www.bit.ly/fpcvideo. You will need to register at the site to vote, but it’s quite easy.

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CREW attempts to team up ordinary teens, college students, and adults to do extraordinary things. Join us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/crewyouthgroup

Sunflowers

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(This post is originally appeared in the Photo365 Project. See more photos from my project online at 365.katherinebruder.com)


Sunflower (67 / 365), originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

Every year the Ford Motor Company plants hundreds of sunflowers in the fields they own in Dearborn.

Last year, while the flowers were in bloom, I took these two photos that were a part of my collection at the Fall into Dearborn art fair in October. Usually, the flowers are mowed down before it snows but this year they remained up throughout the entire winter.


Sunflower Petals, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

Sunflower, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

It wasn’t until a few days ago that I had the idea to take photos of these dead and formerly beautiful and colorful flowers. I told my mother that when I took the photos, I would be using the photos as one of my 365 days. She was puzzled by why I would want to take and share such an unappealing image, something so dark and gloomy.

Sunflowers have become something of a special flower within my family and church family at First Presbyterian. Through our volunteer work and support of Scripture Union Peru’s abandoned boys program, Programa Girasoles (the Sunflower Program), the sunflower has become somewhat of a symbol of change, rebirth, and hope.

Applying this idea to the two photos and the work that Scripture Union is doing with the formerly abandoned boys in Peru, these two photos show the same thing – both photos are of a sunflower at two different stages in life. Or, are they photos of one of the many formerly abandoned boys that were “dead in life” and now are thriving and flourishing in life with Jesus?

It’s up to you.