Peru

Quinceñera

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This year I had the pleasure of joining the team from my home church in Dearborn as they spent a week at our home in Kusi and a long weekend in Ica. During the weekend in Ica, the group and I were invited to join Augusto and Nancy as they celebrated their eldest daughter, Sheyli’s fifteenth birthday. In Peru and much of Latin America, the quinceañera (or simply quince) is the celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday. It isn’t just any regular birthday as it marks the transition from childhood to young womanhood.

Wanting to make this a grand affair, Augusto and Nancy hosted a party for Sheyli at a reception hall next to the Girasoles home in Ica and invited many guests from their church, family, friends from Ica, and the group from Dearborn.

Since this was a formal affair, the guys were taken to rent suits. For 30 soles (about $11) they were able to rent a suit coat and pants for 2 nights to wear. It is really common and inexpensive to be able to rent formal wear (like suits, formal dresses – even wedding dresses!) since most Peruvians don’t own clothing like this because they rarely need to wear it.

Since the guys rented suits, the girls decided to get our hair styled before the party – another deal at just 30 soles (or $11).

And afterward, we all rushed back to the Girasoles house to change…

David (second from the left) with the Girasoles boys that were invited to the party.

The party was scheduled to begin at 8pm, but in typical Peruvian fashion, guests streamed in the doors for a few hours until Sheyli, Augusto and Nancy arrived at 10:30pm.

Typically, the party begins begins with the arrival of the birthday girl, wearing a special ball gown style dress and accompanied by her father. As the father and daughter make their way through the guests, the daughter receives 15 roses or extinguishes 15 candles from special, influential people in her life. Immediately after this, the waltz ceremony begins where the birthday girl dances with her father, brother, uncles, grandparents and other important male guests.

Sheyli dancing with her younger brother, Augustito.

Following the dancing, the parents and special guests give speeches about the birthday girl.

Sheyli

During the reception, the birthday girl usually performs a dance with her “chambelan de honor” (her chosen escort) and her court of honor. Usually this dance is previously practiced and choreographed weeks in advance, and sometimes with months of anticipation.

Sheyli decided to use this opportunity to dance with her Girasoles brothers and one special guest from the Dearborn group, David.

Afterward, a hora loca (where dance music is played for an hour) commenced. Balloons, whistles, noisemakers, masks and confetti were given out to the guests.

About 1:30am after the crazy hour of dancing, a full dinner was served to the guests.

And at about 3:30am after the guests had left, we had a little photo shoot with the birthday girl.

It was a long night (we didn’t get back to our bungalows until after 4am), but it was a lot of fun being able to celebrate with Augusto and Nancy and to be there for Sheyli’s big night!

Happy 191!

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Feliz Fiestas Patrias!

Today marks 191 years of Peru’s independence from Spain. Peruvians are very patriotic people who love their food, music, history and just culture in general. Flags have been flying all over the city of Lima since the beginning of July and people proudly wear their escarapelas and escudos on their chest. The country has literally been draped in red and white since the beginning of July.

Día de la Independencia (28th) and Fiestas Patrias (29th) is a time of parades and lots of patriotism. Last week, I went to a parade organized by a large supermarket chain.

And tomorrow, there is a huge military parade through the streets of downtown Lima that Billy and I are going to.

So today, as Peruvians celebrate a proclamation of independence made by José de San Martín 191 years ago (or more likely a day to celebrate how much they love their country), I say feliz día Perú!

Dance Steps

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We kicked off the summer of volunteer teams with a group of high school seniors from South Lake Christian Academy in North Carolina. Every year, a group of teachers and parents bring the members of the senior class on one final class trip to visit the country, work on our construction projects and to play with the boys. We spent the first part of the trip in Kusi, and then headed south to Ica for a couple days before the group returned home in time to graduate.

I had been to Kusi quite a few times this year since January, but had not been to Ica since Billy and I were there for New Year. Of course, no matter how long you are away, going to one of our homes is just like going home – you’re greeted with wide open arms and lots of smiles.

Augusto and Nancy, the house parents in Ica, are always very welcoming to any visitors to the home. For this first group in 2012, they had worked with the boys and prepared 2 different traditional dances to share. We pulled our chairs out into the patio of the home and the older and younger boys took turns presenting carnaval and festejo dances. After the presentations, the boys invited members of the group to join them and learn the steps.

I happened to be sitting next to one of the younger boys, Wilmer, and asked him if he wanted to dance. At 10 years old, Wilmer is one of the smallest boys at the Ica home – he actually looks like he is just 6 years old. Unfortunately for me, Wilmer did not want to get up in front of the others and teach me the steps. After a couple attempts to get him to say yes and being turned down each time, I finally gave up and just watched the others with him.

Later that evening, while the group and boys were all watching a movie, Wilmer came and found me and asked if I wanted to learn the dance. Taking him up on the offer, we went to the patio and he patiently showed me all the steps. Unfortunately, I’m not quite the dancer like these boys all seem to be, but I was moved by the patience Wilmer had with meticulously showing me each step – and then re-showing me every time I didn’t get it right. He showed me both dances two times and then came over and gave me a big hug.

Wilmer wanted to teach me the steps but he wanted to do it on his own terms. In those 20 minutes we were dancing around the patio, I saw a normally quiet child break out of his shell and be excited to share something.

It’s the little things like this that make me truly enjoy being here and being able to share in the lives of the children we work with. It’s because God has so richly loved me that I am able to share God’s love with people here, like Wilmer.

Puerto Alegria Update

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Since my post in the beginning of April about my week in Puerto Alegria during the rainy season, I have spoken with Jherry, the director, numerous times about the river & water situation at the home.

A few days after the group and I left the home, Jherry, his wife Veronica, the staff and all 40 boys packed up their belongings and moved into the city of Iquitos. The river level kept growing and it was encroaching on the house (which is built about 4 or 5 feet above ground, about 400 feet from the river bank). Jherry told me that when they left, the water was 20cm below the kitchen floor and the boat dock and steps up to the property were completely underwater. The serpents had moved into the buildings looking for dry ground making it very dangerous to be there.

This photo of the dining room is from 2009. The water was 20cm below the floor of the building.

Meanwhile the river had taken over the property, the 40 boys and staff were living in a house built for a family of about 6. They have been confined to a smaller space than usual and living in the busy city – as opposed to the “countryside” of Iquitos. It was tight and an unexpected adventure into the city, but thanks to the end of the rainy season and God’s provision for them, the boys and staff are back in Puerto Alegria.

The boys are back in school (since classes were temporarily stopped because of the floods, they go to school Monday through Saturday to recuperate the lost days) and life is somewhat back to normal at the house. Over the next month or so, they will be working on repairing any damage that was caused from the water and cleaning up the debris left from when the water receded.

Please join me in keeping the boys and staff at Puerto Alegria in your prayers as they transition back into life at the home and safety as they are cleaning up the property. I’ll be heading to Puerto Alegria in a month with a group and I absolutely cannot wait to see everybody there.

1 Year

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Today marks one year of living in Peru!

When I think about the past year, I think of the dozens of trips, hundreds of volunteers I have met and countless conversations, hugs and smiles shared. I have spent 202 hours on a bus/plane, and have traveled 20,803 kilometers (12,927 miles) on a total of 25 trips (I kept a record!) and during those trips, I’ve had the opportunity to see familiar faces, meet volunteers and help further the kingdom of God here in Peru.

Looking back on this past year, I can only thank my family, friends and supporters in the States that have stood beside me in this calling. Thank you for the prayers, financial support, phone calls, and emails throughout the last year. I would not be able to do this without your help.