Peru

Michigan Awesome.

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Ah Michigan… the land shaped like a hand.

But also, it is the land of drinking water straight from the tap, family, driving, longtime friends, four distinct seasons, Supino’s Pizza, Tigers baseball and so many familiarities.

And, it’s my first time back after almost a year in Peru (324 days to be exact). I know that at some point, I will accidentally greet somebody with a kiss on the cheek, or will forget and will put toilet paper in the bathroom trash (Peruvian plumbing typically can’t handle toilet paper), or I’ll mistakenly ask a shopkeeper or waiter for something in Spanish. But nevertheless, it is good to be back – even if it is just for a short 3 weeks.


Jhon, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

During these next few weeks, I’ll be traveling around, trying to spend quality time with as many friends as possible. I will also of course be sharing. If you’re interested in hearing me share about my experiences during the past 11 months in Lima, I invite you to join me on Sunday, May 6th during the education hour (9am) and worship service (10am) at First Presbyterian Church of Dearborn (600 N. Brady, Dearborn).

Michigan: where God painted the lakes and carved the land to remind us we’re always in the palm of his hand.

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Feel the same way I do about this great state? You will want to check out Michigan Awesome. It’s a celebration of hometown love, disguised as a t-shirt company. Both Billy and I sport our Michigan Awesome sweatshirts around Peru!

40 in Kusi

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8 days. 2 universities from Texas. 40 students. Kusi.

It was spring break a couple weeks ago for two Texas universities, and instead of heading home or the beach, 40 students from the RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) programs at Southern Methodist University and Texas Tech decided to spend a week helping at our Girasoles home for boys in Kusi.

They moved tons of rocks for the floor of the addition to the school and planted 1500 eucalyptus trees.

We visited the on-site school and the students performed a couple typical carnaval dances.

And we spent time playing with the Girasoles boys – like the other boys, Socimo, can entertain himself with anything.

Since it was a large group and I was there with them by myself, very few photos were taken during the 8 days… It was a busy week, but a great time with the Girasoles boys and getting to know the students and leaders.

The next group arrives this Sunday morning and we head north to the jungle – to Puerto Alegria and Iquitos!

Cusco & the Sacred Valley

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In an effort to get construction projects lined up for the summer work teams, Billy has been visiting a few of our Girasoles homes over the past few weeks to meet with the directors and figure out possible projects and budgets. Since I know nothing about this, and we have been busy with other things, he has typically made the trip on his own. But, when time came for him to go to our home in the Sacred Valley, we decided to take a few days to visit & stay with the Girasoles and see a few Incan ruins in the area – including Machu Picchu. It was the first time I was back in the Sacred Valley and at the home since 2009.

We spent the first day walking around colonial Cusco.

Since I’m a Peruvian resident now, we both were able to go to Machu Picchu on the “Peruvian price” – that’s just 20 soles roundtrip for the train, 36 soles for the bus from the train to the entrance and 65 soles entrance to Machu Picchu (regularly about $250). We arrived in Aguas Calientes at 6:30am and the return train didn’t leave til 9:30pm, which afforded us a lot of time to explore Machu Picchu and the town. We both had been to Machu Picchu before, but this was our first time together.

We walked to the Inca Bridge (within Machu Picchu) and thankfully we didn’t have to cross it.

We also walked all the way up to Intipunku – the Sun Gate. This is where the Inca Trail ends and the first look at Machu Picchu. In the right photo, Machu Picchu is the clearing on the top of the mountain I’m pointing to, and the brown path is the road from Aguas Calientes up to the main entrance.

The next day, We spent time with the Girasoles boys drawing pictures, and later went out to dinner with all of them.

We also visited their new home which should be completed by mid-March (and Billy figured out some potential projects with Hector, the home director).

The kitchen and large dining room.

On our last day, we visited Salinas salt mines just outside of Maras. Since pre-Inca times, salt has been obtained in Maras by evaporating salty water from a local subterranean stream. The highly salty water emerges at a spring, a natural outlet of the underground stream. The flow is directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs gradually down onto the several hundred ancient terraced ponds. Almost all the ponds are less than four meters square in area, and none exceeds thirty centimeters in depth.

And drove through the beautifully green Sacred Valley to visit Moray, the Incan “agricultural laboratory” which consists of various circular terraces. The depth and orientation of the terraces with respect to wind and sun creates a temperature difference of as much as 15 °C (27 °F) between the top and bottom. It is thought that the large temperature difference was possibly used by the Inca to study the effects of different climatic conditions on crops.

It was a short 4 days in the rich, green Sacred Valley which left me wanting more time looking at the beautiful mountains, exploring the intriguing ruins, walking through the little pueblos throughout the valley and spending time with our Girasoles boys.

Girasoles Kawai

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Over the past few years, I haven’t spent much time at our home for abandoned boys in Kawai. Since there isn’t any new construction going on on the property, work teams don’t spend a week there, and if they do stop at Kawai, they typically don’t spend more than a day or two. I think last time I spent a considerable amount of time in Kawai was my first time volunteering as an intern in 2008.

Lots of things can change over 4 years, the most noticeable being the boys living at Girasoles. Without spending time at the house, it is hard to develop relationships and get to know more about the Girasoles boys than just their name and maybe age.

Last week I was able to spend some quality time in with Girasoles Kawai and a group from New York City. The group had activities planned for the 35 boys for morning, afternoon and evening, since the boys were still on vacation from school making it a different than the typical work team experience which involves a construction/maintenance project.

But, instead of telling you about the week, I’ll let my photographs show you what I did…

We painted and colored…

…spent time with best friends (Ricardo and Jonathan).

…played Apples to Apples (or, better said Manzanas con Manzanas)

…made silly faces and smiled for the camera.

…went to the Huachipa Zoo

…went to the movies in Asia

… we had a soup for dinner with really loooong noodles and chopsticks.

… And, we made new friends. (with Gonzalo)

 

 

Also while in Kawai, I spent some time with Sabino, our schools worker for the area, and his two little girls. Here are a couple photographs I took of his beautiful daughters.

Summer Camp

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It’s summer in Lima.

You might have seen my numerous tweets about sunny days in Lima, or the beautifully blue sky reflected in Facebook photos. While students in the States are in the middle of their second semester, Peruvian schools have just a few more weeks of summer vacation and people are enjoying the hot, sunny weather to go to the beach. And with summer vacation in full force, the Scripture Union camping ministry has been busy putting on weekend and 4-day camps at Kawai.

Earlier this week, I was able to help with a summer camp organized by Carmen, one of our schools workers in Lima. During the school year, she goes into classrooms and leads values education discussions with students – teaching them values such as honesty, respect, and integrity through Bible stories, skits, songs and activities. This ministry is then complemented by camping program during the summer months.

In addition to visiting various classrooms, Carmen also works with an organization called Aldeas Infantiles SOS, bringing values education to the children and teens that are part of their program. Similar to our Girasoles abandoned boys ministry, Aldeas SOS works with disadvantaged families and operates homes around Peru (and the world) providing a home life for children who for certain circumstances cannot live with their own family. This past week, Carmen hosted a camp in Kawai for the teens she works with at Aldeas SOS.

There were 27 campers and 6 guias (guides) helping lead the camp. Since this was my first Scripture Union camp, I didn’t have my own campers, but rather was entrusted with the task of documenting the activities and events of the 4 days with my camera and video camera so each camper could receive a CD of photographs and videos from the week.

Since Kawai is located right on the Pacific Ocean (our property ends at the public beach) and being summer, the campers wanted to spend as much time as possible in the water, whether it be the beach or the pool. Between trips to the beach or pool, we had time for games, team building activities, and morning and afternoon devotionals. With the exception of 2 campers who I had briefly met over lunch a few months ago, all of the campers were new faces. I spent the 4 days getting to know the girls in the group, sharing a part of my life in Lima and the States and learning a bit about their families and life in Aldeas SOS. Once they discovered I also speak English, I found myself teaching phrases and words here and there.

One of the best activities of the week was the bonfire on the final night of the camp. By this point, I had gotten to know most of the campers and they had bonded within themselves. During the bonfire, we sang songs and listened to a handful of campers and guias share their experiences from the previous days. Listening to the campers share funny stories and “remember when” comments helped realize the importance of the camping ministry. While these and thousands of other students are reached on a weekly basis in school, a camp gives them 4 days of fun, laughter, encounters with God, games, and fellowship with other students their own age.

Here are some of the photos I took during the week.

One of the tents the campers stayed in.

One of Kawai’s beautiful summer sunsets.

The Aldeas SOS campers and guias before heading home.