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Billy, Kate & Will in Perú

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Gene and Patty

23 mosquito bites and counting…

Posted on Thursday, July 9, 2009 2 Comments

I have finally made it to the jungle – to Puerto Alegria and the city of Iquitos!

Instead of traveling between all the Girasoles homes with different work teams as I did last year, it was decided to send three site coordinators to the three  SU sites where most of the work teams will be visiting – Kusi, Cusco and Puerto Alegria. Due to differing schedules and me wanting/needing to travel with the group from Dearborn, I was delayed in making it up to Puerto Alegria until last Monday when I arrived with a team from Philadelphia.

The Puerto Alegria site is 40 minutes from the city of Iquitos down the Itaya River. Because we are so far out from the city, there is no constant electricity (the generator is turned on every night around dinner and runs until 10pm), cell phone service is pretty low and all our water comes from the river. It shall be a test in keeping myself busy and a very slow lifestyle!

There are approximately 37 boys at the home in Puerto Alegria that live with the house parents Gene and Patty, and their two children Kanny and Josue. When the boys are not in school, they entertain themselves with games, soccer, swimming in the river and playing soccer.

Since we are in the Amazon jungle, the weather is mostly hot and humid, with lots of rain. Yesterday alone it rained over 5 times throughout the day, which made for an interesting and muddy afternoon soccer game!

Not only is it hot, there are tons of mosquitos, cockroaches and every other type of bug possible. Thankfully, I only ever see the mosquitos around dusk time, and the cucarachas only at night. Despite this, I have still have plenty of mosquito bites!

Since I´ll be here in Puerto Alegria for the next 6 weeks, I´ll have plenty of time to get to know the Girasoles boys, Gene and Patty, the three educators that live at Puerto Alegria and assist Gene and Patty with the boys and a little bit of the city of Iquitos.

Posted in: Peru | Tagged: Gene and Patty, Girasoles, Peru, Puerto Alegria, Scripture Union

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katebruder

Traveler. Spanish speaker. Michigan native✋🏻. Peruvian citizen 🇵🇪. 📍Lima, Perú

[late post] May have been chastised for taking a p [late post] May have been chastised for taking a photo on the sidewalk in front of the embassy last month but thankful for the opportunity to participate in free and fair elections while overseas. I only wish the ballot drop off hours had been longer so Will could have come with us 🗳️✉️
Thankful for a church that loves its kids, generou Thankful for a church that loves its kids, generously invests in them and shares that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

@caminodevida @kidscdv #fundayfestcdv
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#littlewilliamnoah
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Spent the morning in Callao for a track meet. Will Spent the morning in Callao for a track meet. Will competed with the San Borja team in 4 races in the U8 group (50 meters, 200 meters, 4x50 meter mixed relay and 5x50 meter boys relay) and earned a medal in every race. We love watching him have fun and see how his hard work in practice pays off! 🥇🥈🥉🥉 #littlewilliamnoah
Slow days and late summer evenings on the water wi Slow days and late summer evenings on the water with family 🐟☀️ 

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Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God m Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do but someone you raise. - Andy Stanley

Happy Father’s Day, Billy! The legacy you are creating for Will and the example you show him daily of how to be a father and husband is our greatest blessing. We love you. 

#littlewilliamnoah
Last night Will went to his first professional soc Last night Will went to his first professional soccer game, a friendly match between Perú 🇵🇪 and Paraguay 🇵🇾. Even though the game started after he normally goes to bed and ended in 0-0, he was so excited to cheer for @labicolor and loved it ☺️⚽️ #littlewilliamnoah
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