Peru

A Return to the Jungle

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After many days of travel and delay, I have finally returned to the legendary Puerto Alegria where I will be living for the next three months.

Upon arrival to Peru, I spent a three days in Lima before flying north to Iquitos. I spent another night in the city at La Lampara, Scripture Union’s home base for the medical program, because of issues with the boat’s motor. It was not until Wednesday afternoon that I finally reached Puerto Alegria.

I arrived to the home with Gene and Patty, the former house parents, to meet the new parents, Moises and Mery.

It has been very nice to become re-acclimated with the boys – many of which are still here from 2009. I always find it interesting to see what they did during the past year, and learn some of the new games, jokes, and stories – all the things boys like.

But, before all of that, a conversation with a boy from last year usually begins with “recuerdas cuando…” (Remember when…) about a particular event from last summer. Joel asked me if I remembered when there was a huge billboard that had fallen across the road in front of us in Iquitos. Junior asked me if I remembered a particular afternoon we spent lounging in a hammock down by the river. And Marcelo asked me if I remember being his “protectora” during an intense thunderstorm boat ride from Iquitos. It was raining so hard that we all were soaked, cold and tired. Marcelo, who was sitting next to me, huddled under my arm to evade the rain as we sang songs together.

From Wednesday until today, I have been getting back into the routine of living with the Girasoles and at Puerto Alegria. Mornings start at 5:45 with straightening of rooms, a devotional led by Moises, and breakfast before the boys are out the door to school at 7:30. After they are off to school, I spent the next few hours working on some projects, getting to know the other SU staff here, and reading.

This Sunday morning (tomorrow) the non-profit group The Not Forgotten (based in Birmingham, Alabama) will arrive. While a handful of the people in the group are from Birmingham/Huntsville, it is a mixed group of people from all over the States – basically, they all knew somebody who knows somebody who has been to Peru (including a friend of Billy who used to come with Ward in Northville). The Not Forgotten partners with Scripture Union Peru to bring work teams exclusively to Puerto Alegria 3 to 4 times a year and works to raise awareness about the plight of street boys in Peru.

It all begins tomorrow.

The Amazing Race

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After an eventful journey from Detroit to Lima, I finally made it to a bed around 3am on Saturday morning.

My first flight from Detroit to Atlanta was slightly delayed, which left a very short layover in Atlanta. Thankfully, for me my second flight from Atlanta to Lima was going to be delayed because of some big weather problems in Atlanta. We were supposed to be taking off at 5pm, but did not end up leaving the ground until almost 7:30pm.

When I arrived in Lima, the plan was to be met by Billy Clark, my boss, at the airport and be taken to his house. Thankfully, I was able to quickly check my email before leaving the States and noticed a change in plans: I was to meet a taxi driver at the little café outside of customs/immigration who would take me to my final destination. He would have a letter for me with instructions for the next few days before I fly up to Iquitos for the summer. I felt like I was a contestant on The Amazing Race – just without the partner and challenges.

“Tonight when I arrive in Lima, a taxi driver will meet me with a letter with instructions for the next few days… This is so Amazing Race.”

I successfully met up with the taxi driver and after being delayed for so long, I finally made it to a bed around 3am. With all the excitement of being back in Peru, I just couldn’t fall asleep.

On Saturday afternoon, I met up with a group of high school seniors from Southlake Christian in North Carolina who were on their senior class trip. They had just returned from spending a week in Kusi with Rachel, a fellow SU worker and Billy. After trading emails back and forth with Rachel for the past few months, it was nice to finally meet her. And it is always nice to be in the same time zone as Billy!

So for the next few days I’ll be here in Lima. The plan is that I will fly up to Iquitos with Billy Clark on Tuesday morning to meet the new house parents and get settled into Puerto Alegria before my first team arrives.

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.

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.

Conversation Sermon

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During the week after Easter, I was blessed with the opportunity to speak to the congregation at First Presbyterian about my calling to work with Scripture Union in Peru.

Through the Chancel Chat for children and a conversation sermon with our pastor during both the contemporary and traditional services, I was able to share about how I was called to this work and what I am doing to get to Peru. It was great to share about my future and answer many questions my congregation had, in addition to hear and see all the support and joy that they have for what I am doing!

Here’s a video of what I talked about during the first service.


(Thanks to my brother Randy for recording this video, since I was busy sharing!)