Scripture Union

Last Day in Ica

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Dearborn & Girasoles Ica, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

Today is my last day in Ica for the next 7 weeks since I’ll be up in the Amazon jungle in Iquitos and Puerto Alegria working with teams.

This morning we were greeted by the boys with a “Happy 4th of July” – many of which learned this greeting in English. They had hung the American and Michigan flag we brought last year on the doors of the dining room and were very happy to be able to share the day with us as we celebrated our patriotism.

Today the team from Dearborn passed out Beanie Babies and delicious chocolate chip/M&M cookies that were both donated by women from our church. This is the second year we have brought Beanie Babies for the boys and it amazes me each time we pass them out. You would not think that a boy who is 16 would enjoy receiving a stuffed animal, but they loved it. The boys that were at the home last year all had taken pretty good care of their animals from 2008, and quickly ran to go get them to show us that they really loved them.

Later this afternoon we’ll leave Ica and make the 4.5 hour journey on PerúBus, north on the Panamerican Highway to Lima and head to the airport for the group to return to the States.

Happy 4th of July to those in the States.

Being silly

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Augusto & David, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

This is from an afternoon of playing with the three littlest boys at Girasoles Ica while the older ones who are in elementary through high school were off at school.

David is in the blue and Augustito, the son of the house parents in Ica, is in the black. Sanchez, the little boy from my previous post, was busy playing with somebody else.

Sanchez

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Sanchez, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

The youngest boy at the Casa Girasoles Ica home is named Jesús Sanchez. I do not know much about his story before coming to Girasoles, but at just 5 years old, he was abandoned by his family and is now living at the home in Ica.

Sanchez has been living at the house for the past 6 months, but before coming to Girasoles, he was surrounded by people that taught him how to fight and horrible words that nobody should ever say, let alone a 5 year old.

Because of his ways, instead of calling him by his first name, Jesús, the boys, educators and house parents of the Girasoles Ica all refer to him as Sanchez. According to Augusto, the house father, he will be Sanchez until he attempts to live up to his name, Jesús, and not act like he does now.

Despite his sometimes bad temper and mouthy words, he is one of the most adorable little boys I have met in the Girasoles program. Since he is so tiny, when he runs up to greet me his arms only wrap around my legs, just above my knees. He loves to have his photo taken, run around in the grassy area of the home, and frequently, I would find him climbing up my legs like a little monkey to be held upside down or just at the height of adults – just like any other 5 year old boy.

Little by little this boy is changing by through the work of God.

Si Tuvieras Fe

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One of my favorite songs that the Girasoles boys sing is called Si Tuvieras Fe. It says:

Si tuvieras fe como un grano de mostaza, eso lo dice el Señor.
Tu le dirias a las montañas, muevense, muevense.
Y las montañas se moverán, se moverán, se moverán.

(If you have faith the size of the mustard seed, says the Lord, tell the mountains to move and they will move.)

Last night, I was talking with Augusto and Nancy, who are the house parents at the Casa Girasoles Ica home. We were talking about what has been going on at the house and in our lives during the past 9 months since I stayed with them in September. They told me how the house has grown from 22 boys last year to now being full at 43, about how they took all the boys to the movie theater in December, and the new, positive relationships they have formed with the Ica courts and police. I told them about my unsuccessful attempts at looking for a job, the calendar I created with my photographs, and how I had an interview for an internship within the White House Photo Office for the fall when I return.

In the middle of the conversation and without notice, Nancy got up and returned to their house. She returned a few minutes later with a little green box that had 6 little mustard seeds inside it. She explained to me that their church gave these boxes to all of the families as a way to remind them that they only needed to have faith the size of a mustard seed for God to do things in their life.

Nancy told me to put the little box on my dresser back home so that every time I look at it, I will be reminded that there are 40 Girasoles, Augusto, Nancy and their children in Ica praying for me.

Si tuvieras fe.

To listen to the song by Salvador, click on the link:  Montaña (Si Tuvieras Fe)

Quick Update from the Lima Airport

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I’m sitting in the Lima airport with Elissa from the Dearborn team waiting for a work team from North Carolina arriving tonight. They should be landing in a few minutes, but it will still take almost an hour for the 18 people to pass through customs, immigration and collect their luggage. The group was supposed to arrive on last night’s flight, but were delayed due to plane issues.

As for the Dearborn group, we are spending the night at the Scripture Union offices in downtown Lima tonight before heading out to Kawai tomorrow morning. Kawai is SU’s Pacific Ocean site located 1.5 hours south of Lima. We’ll spend two days visiting the boys that live at the site, many of which I have watched grow up over the years.

Sunday afternoon, we’ll depart from Kawai and head further south to the desert city of Ica where we will spend 1 week at the Casa Girasoles home located there. I am definitely looking forward to seeing some familiar faces at the home!

Time to go meet the North Carolinians!