Boys, boys, boys

I am like a monkey. I like to run. I talk really fast. I stand on my head. I hate shower time. I play with my friends. I don't like homework. I like to help out in the garden. What am I? A boy!

Fernando with the octopus on the pool

I have spent a lot of time with the boys these past two weeks. Do girls exist anymore? I miss playing outside with the girls or being in the houses braiding their hair. One of the volunteers has been in the Tesoros house (boys) for about a week and a half now. Each house has a casita assistant that helps clean, do laundry, and help out with homework. Since she is in the house I have become helper. I, with Kevin, go in the mornings and do laundry, sweep, mop, clean bathrooms, and many other things. In the afternoons I help out with more laundry and then homework and bath time. I think there was one day where all I did was laundry. It has been a challenge for sure.

Franklin and Piero they are so precious

This past weekend I was in the Amigo's house Saturday am - Sunday am. They are a much better house than the Tesoros, but they are still wild. They had visits in the morning and those who didn't couldn't go out to play. I had to put some kids in their rooms. Later after lunch I did more laundry and cleaned the house some. I tried to get them all outside to play because it was so warm and beautiful, but it is really hard to get 12 boys outside. One would think it wouldn't be, that they would jump right up and run at the opportunity to go out and play, but they are weird. Later that day two of the boys got into a fight so I sent one to his room and the other had to plant the rest of the seeds in the garden for me. I need to find another punishment because the boys enjoy gardening way to much! We had a good talk about family and why we do bad things. He told me that he was abused and so was him mom. I was so sad for him because I was so blessed to grow up in a good family situation. Before dinner I tried to get them to all take showers, but the water was too cold. Poor Sebastian and Paul had to take freezing cold showers, and I got soap in Paul's mouth. After dinner they didn't want to go to bed so they played with some toys and watched TV. A few others decided to play indoor basketball. I probably shouldn't have let them, but sometimes I just feel like things like that are ok because they were having so much fun and being boys. After what seemed like forever they finally were quiet and went to bed. It took some threatening to get another Tia but they fell asleep. All except Pedro. He wandered into my room and asked if he could read the Bible. Well of course I said yes. So he came in and sat on my bed and read and I let him listen to some Spanish Christian music on my iPod. He was so precious (let me tell you that he is a rambunctious, wild, crazy kid). He would read some from one book and flip to another and then tell me to read some. He asked me if I had ever read the book of Matthew and then proceeded to tell me that it was the most beautiful book ever. My heart was so touched. A little boy the age of 9 was sitting there wanting to read God's word. But also it was a stab in the heart. I felt God saying you should have faith like this child, you should yearn for me and want to learn so much more. I feel like children know so much more than we as adults do. I wonder what happens while we grow up. So he finally went to sleep and I couldn't sleep. I had that new mom feeling. Worried about all my kids and were they sleeping alright, and so on. I had to wake Paul up to go to the bathroom twice and then twice I had to pick Sebastian up off the floor when he rolled out of his bed. Then 5 am came. Time to get up and take showers because they didn't get done the night before. Oh it was a long morning, but we all made it to church nice and clean! I slept just about all afternoon! I think I would definitely cover that house again.

Samir playing with his trompo (top) it is a favorite pastime for most of the boys. I still haven't been able to conquer it.

Boys are such interesting beings. I do not think that girls will ever understand them. I thought that because I grew up with so many and have so many guys friends that I knew them pretty well..WRONG! I am not even close. They can be wild and crazy, mean and ugly, and then out of the blue they are sweet, loving, fun to play with. No entiendo. Hmmmm, I bet they think the same about girls. One thing I do know is that working with boys from the ages of 4-14 makes you really tired. I think it is time to go to bed. :)

Please pray for Samir. He is going through some really hard things right now that we don't understand. Pray that God would break him down and that he would want to cling to God. Pray for his heart that there would be a MAJOR change. Pray that he would listen, obey, and respect those in authority of him and also respect his housemates.

Love you all!

I cut a boy's hair for the first time tonight! They all asked to get theirs cut after I finished with his!

Finding myself

It is funny how you get to a place in your life and you stop and think, "What am I doing here? Where will I go next, and why am I doing these things?". It takes a while to answer those questions, but after time and much thought they all come together.

I remember back when I got home from my first trip from Peru and thinking why did I go? Did I really make an impact on the lives of those I worked with and served? Well I managed to get there by the grace of God and He had a plan for me. I didn't see it while I was there or even when I got back, it didn't come until just about now. I Got home and knew that for some reason He was pulling me back there. I had to get back to Peru, but why I didn't know. I do know now that He had me go there the first time so that I could come back and work now. Other wise I doubt I would have found out about it and would have gone on to do something else. I am here now to serve Him and his children but why else am I here?

I came with the expectations of being involved in some of the daily programs like jewelry making, arts and crafts, physical education, and games. When I got here Sam told me I was going to be doing jewelry, good I expected that, then she said working in the kitchen and working with Kevin and helping out with homework. Wait what? I was not expecting that at all. But with a new found love of being flexible I smiled and said I would do those things. But then my scheduled changed again and I wouldn't be in jewelery but in the garden and not tutoring but working with Julie. Aah, so again my life has been rearranged. But I again smiled and said I could do those things. As time goes by I get placed in different spots, helping cover houses and helping with laundry and cleaning the houses. I am getting more and more used to change and am learning that God is placing me in these different situations because one day they will be useful and right now I can learn to serve in many areas instead of just one.

I was working in the garden today, preparing the soil so I could plant vegetables, and I had a lot of time to think. I thought about Mrs. Sarah Ellen and how I would love to have her help me out digging and stirring the soil around on our knees and with our hands, getting dirty and laughing or having a good conversation. I also thought about how at first I was sceptical about working in the garden and how I knew nothing about seeds and growing them. I looked around and saw the many stages of growth. Hard soil in need of tilling, freshly planted rows, rows that had tiny sprouts coming out of them, and lastly the sprouts that had grown just over the weekend. How fulfilling these things were to see. That I with my own two hands, plus the help of some kids and tools, did this. It was so cool! I then was thinking about why God had me working in the garden, the kitchen and with two of our needy adolescents.

As I was working thoughts of my future were racing through my head. I have thought about teaching, being an artist of some sort, going to grad school for design or ceramics, when it hit me. Maybe I should write, but not just anything something to make an impact on those that mean the most to me...children. I could take pictures and then make them into children's books. This is just a thought. I have been writing more and I realized that the thoughts in my head become stories when I work alone. Just another thought. I still have a year ahead of me and I know that God will place me where He wants me.

So maybe I am not only here in Peru to serve God but to get to the next place in my life. My life is full of journey's and I am finding that each of them is very different. Where will He take me next and what will He do with me? Only He knows for know, but I know that with time and prayer He will make it clear for me. For now I will enjoy my time in the dirt, hand washing clothes, helping in the kitchen, and where ever else I am needed!

Here are some pictures from this afternoon I hope you enjoy!

Love you all!

Family

Ok so I have been playing with my blog. Got tired of the old boring one I had. Let me know what you think!

This past week I have noticed one major thing here at the alburgue. FAMILY. What a great thing to notice. There are so many different aspects of family here. I see first the family of the individual casitas. Each casita has about 12 kids and one mom. They are most always helping each other out with chores, homework, and just playing with each other.

Next there is the actually family between the kids. Some of them have lots of brothers and sisters here with them. It is really interesting to see them interact. Sometimes they act like they aren't friends and never hangout. Other times they are always playing with each other. The other day I saw a brother and sister playing tag together. They were havng so much fun and it was so good to see them like that. We have a 2 yr old Marecielo and she has an older brother Enrique. The other day I saw here out on the playground with one of the older girls and he was riding his bike near by. He saw her, dropped his bike and they started running towards one another. As they reached the point of contact, they both extended their arms for a great embracment! They then started to play together on the swings and in the playhouse. My heart was so happy. What a great thing to see. Even when sometimes these families cannot live in the same house, they still have that bond. It made me long for my family, my brother and my sisters. How I love you guys!

Thirdly, there are Saturdays. This means family visits. The kids biological families come in the mornings form 9-12 to visit their children. Today is Saturday. For me this time is one of the hardest. Now you have to understand that not every child here is an orphan, even when up for adoption they have family. The kids parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters come to see them. I find it so hard to watch the kids all dressed up running to their families, spending the morning with them and then having to go back to normal alburgue life. Some kids have many visitors while some have none. Some kids get lots of new things, food, and clothes, while some just are content spending the time cuddled up in the arms of their mother. My heart at this time aches for them. For all of them, the crying child beacause the mom keeps promising that "next week is the week you will come back home to me", the mother who is holding her chld and truly wants her back but cannot afford to even keep herself together, the grandmother who wants to be the mother again and take care of her loved ones, but is too old to take in all of her grandkids, for the father who didn't run out on the family and has two or three jobs just so he can bring nice things to his little one and one day get them out. My heart aches. I wish I could magically take glue and never ending love and money and paste all of the families back together again.

Family is such a big part of our lives and without one we feel homeless, left out, and we are always looking to other things for acceptance.

I thank the Lord for my family, for the families that are good and wish good things for their children, for the parents who put their children here because they knew that was the only way to keep them safe for the time being, I thank Him for the many familys here betwwen the children and how strong their bonds are. Thank You Lord for being our Father, escpecially when our own fathers cannot be with us. You are the one and only Father we will ever truly need, and You are always with us. I praise You for being a great and loving Father!

Pray for the families here at the alburgue, that they would continue to be strong and care for one another. Pray for the volunteer's families back at home, that they would know that God is doing good here and taking care of them. Pray specifically for the Hanson family here. That Robyn and Joel and their kids would be able to return to the states very soon!

Love to you all!

Where is the sun?

The sun likes to play games. Weekends are warm and sunny, and it is such a joy to have beautiful days off. This past weekend it was nice most of Saturday, but Sunday it was sooo cold. Monday was warm but the past days have been cold. I am so ready for winter to be over. Funny I am actually listening to The Beatles song "Here comes the sun" right now! Here is comes...I sure hope it comes soon!

This morning was my first day back working with Kevin. He was sick for about a week, and was so excited to be working with me again. Or that was until I told him we would be pulling weeds in the fruit orchard. He did a good job and I helped him a lot. It can get boring just supervising him and telling him to constantly work, so I worked along-side of him. He told me that my spanish is improving greatly. I was thrilled to hear that. Although I cannot say the word hear in spanish. I have a hard time with that one. We talked about a lot. He wants to grow up and live in Moche which is right down the road from where we are. He also wants to work washing dishes and cleaning. Those will be very good jobs for him. I am glad he is thinking about his future and is trying to figure out what he can do and what is best for him. He told me after he saves up money he wants to move to Lima. He has family there I think. He told me about his family. Broke my heart. He said he has 7 brothers and sisters. He said they used to be in other orphanages around Trujillo but now live in Moche with his mother (maybe his aunt). I am not entirely sure about this because he has been here for about 5 years and told me he had only been here 1 year. He also thinks he is leaving to be with his family this December. Many of the kids think that they are leaving soon and end up here for much longer, possibly until they are 18. But nonetheless, it was really good to talk about families and our goals in life. I also asked him why his brothers and sisters where living with family and he was still here. He told me he didn't know why, but that only God knows. We talked about the graciousness of God and who He was and why he does things. He told me he was so thankful for the alburgue because it has been such a good place for him to live and God has blessed it and everyone inside of it so much. WOW!!!! What a testimony! I am seeing him grow up and I have only been here 6 weeks. Amazing!

Pray for Kevin. Pray that he gets a good family, whether his own or an adopted one. Pray that he will continue to learn how to work and think on his own. Pray that he one day will also be able to share his life experiences with those who need and can benefit from it, so that they can grow in God. Pray for me as I work with him. For patience, a loving heart, that we can have more talks about God, and for creativity in our jobs.

Love to you all!

-Susanna

La Fantasma y Senor Pollo

I have recently been watching "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" on youtube. I thought of that movie the other day and thought to myself, "self...I bet you can find it online." And I did. I always loved that movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VffXZ44_LQ

This week has been a very weird and strange week. It started off warm and sunny and only a few kids were home sick with a fever and cough. Now Thursday, it is cold and damp and I think over 20 kids are home sick. In the mornings like I said earlier, I have been helping Becca clean, wash clothes and take care of sick children. Today we went to a new level of cleaning and disinfected every house, door, bed, even some children. We bought them masks...they look rather ridiculous, but I think they are working! So because everyone has been sick, no one is outside playing. Which makes for a quiet orphanage. I don't like it!

This is Italo wearing his mask at Anthony's Despedida.

So things were really weird around here, and still are, but at 3 today we had Anthony's Despedida (his going away party). He had served here at the albergue for 8 months. It was sad but it was good. It lifted all of our spirits. Miss Alli was the master planner. She is the teacher of the Miller School here on campus. Anthony was here assistant. She had everyone plan a skit, song, dance, or speech to give to him. Everyone did a great job! We made him a slide show that consisted of his volunteer despedida and his trip to the police station (it was a horrible joke!). For his despedida Sunday we all dressed up as superheroes and had a party on a micro bus. We passed out cake and drinks, danced, and made the Peruvians think we were ridiculous gringos! So after many tears and laughs all the kids said goodbye to their Tio Anthony. It was a good interruption from this weird week.

These are some of the kids during the different performances. The guy taking the pictures in the first picture is Anthony.

After the despedida, I went to talk to Alex, who is in charge of maintenance and the garden, and I was actually able to communicate with him! I didn't understand everything that he said but it is definitely improvement! I went to see if Jonathan could help me plant some of the cilantro today because he was causing trouble earlier, but because everyone was sick we decided he better not go out in the cold. So Becca decided to come help me and get out of the house. It was nice to talk and spend some time working in the garden by ourselves. Later I did some more laundry and punk little Josue came over to bug me. I realized today that he really doesn't dislike me, I am just fun to bother. He kind of reminds me of my dear friend Armando, who likes to bother me. I guess I react better than most people. It has become his little joke or rather I should say I am not it. But I think that in a few months we will be friends.

So I pray that the rest of the week goes better, pray for wellness among the kids and the staff. Also please pray for the director Liz's mother. I do not know all the details but I do know that she isn't doing well and financially they need help.

Love to you all!