Mi Jhoncito

"J-H-O-N, jota-hache-o-ene, jota-hache-o-ene, J-H-O-N". Jhon. Let me tell you a bit about my favorite job here. I babysit Jhon (2yrs) every afternoon 4-6. We have so much fun together. We do laundry, play outside, count to 10 and spell his name (which he can do by himself!), go to the library (he says biboteca) to read and do puzzles, watch his favorite tv show at 6 Chavo, and cuddle. His face lights up when we run into each other during the day and recently he as started to run towards me with his arm wide open! Then I run to himand scoop him up and tickle him as he laughs and laughs. My heart is full when I am with this little one. He will be the hardest person to leave when I go. Yuck, I don't wish to talk about that yet. Yesterday we spent not only the morning but also the afternoon together. Here are two funnys fromt the day. 1st we went to do my laundry, when we were in my room he saw a photo of my nephew Parker, who is the same age as Jhon, and my sister Elizabeth, Jhon saw it and said, "Jhon, tia, Jhon, tia Susana". I told him, "no that's Parker and Elizabeth." He refused to think it was anyone other than us. Later while we were talking to Becca who was hanging laundry I was holdin him and he was playing with my face when he grabbed my cheeks and kissed me on the lips! I was so surprised. Most kissing I have had in years hahahah!

We also have been matchy matchy lately, wierd. Yesterday it was orange and grey, today it is overalls.

What I believe.

Ready for it?

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight,
 Red sky in morning, sailors take warning"

And there you have it!

-ps i found this cool verse to go along with it Matthew 16:23

Grace

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound!


What a beautiful song! We sang this sunday and what a wonderful one it is. We also sing it in spanish and let me tell you that the words are still just as strong! I love that God saved us, gave us grace the very frst hour we believed. God takes us in and comforts us when we are in danger and in touble, he has promised good to me and not only does that cover what I get on earth, but much more in heaven and the new earth! When we get to heaven it will be glorious and we will keep singing these praises to him not only for ten thousand years but for ever to come! God's goodness and grace is sometimes infathomable to me, how could he possibly want me, this wretch of a person, to sing praises to him for eternity? Well he does and I sure am happy about it! I am so excited about his love, grace, and mercy for me and that I, yes ME, I get to praise him for ever to come!

-Love you all!

Newest update letter

May 12, 2010

Dear friends and family,

I hope this letter finds you well as you finish up the school year and start your summer activities. I pray that God will bless you all this summer and give you good fellowship with family and friends as well as that much needed rest! Summer is far from our minds here in Peru as the kids have been in school for the past two months and the cool fall weather is creeping upon us.

God has blessed me so much here at Hogar de Esperanza. I have been through many job changes, which has given me different perspectives of all sides of this ministry. I am currently a "casita assistant." I help clean two houses as well as help out in the afternoons when the kids are home from school. This job has been one of my favorites. I have had the chance to become much closer to the kids in my two houses. Our relationships have grown and gotten deeper and more real. I have gone from the fun volunteer who only plays with the kids to the volunteer who fills in when the house mother is out for the day. We have shared many hard but also many exciting times together.

I want to share with you a little bit about Mother's Day here. Unlike at home, Mother's Day here is very extravagant, filled with lots of special events at schools, here at the orphanage and also in churches. A lot of our kids have mothers who are not active in their lives, some have mothers who have died, and a few have mothers they get to see on a weekly basis. The two weeks before Mother's Day were filled with crafts and preparation of skits for the "big" day. Along with those activities came stories and lots of questions. Most of the stories were sad ones. I heard little girls telling one another why they got left here, a little boy in class saying "no mama, no mama," and a little orphaned girl crying longingly for her mother. It was very emotional for all of us here--the kids looking back on their old lives with their mothers or focusing on their current lives without their mothers, and of course we volunteers who have mothers and don’t know at all how these children were feeling.

Sunday during the church program one of the classes did a singing/thanking moms act, and the main speaker was one of our girls whose mother had died a little over a year ago. I thought I was going to lose it right there in church. Later that day I talked to my own mother, and we cried and prayed as I told her that I have started to see how much God has blessed me--more than I will probably ever realize. I only pray that God will bless these little ones much, much more than He has me.

So as my time here quickly comes to an end, please be in prayer for these relationships and all the emotions that are involved. Pray that God will continue to use and change my life in a way that will bless others that I come in contact with. And lastly, pray for these little children, God's children, that they will be comforted, loved, and hopefully adopted!

Thank you so much for supporting me and praying for me on this journey! It means so much. I cannot wait to see you all when I get back in July, Lord willing!

God bless,
Susanna Davenport

-if you or someone you know are interested in adopting a Peruvian orphan, check out our website at http://www.perukids.com

La Campina

Yesterday was John's birthday (the volunteer not to be confused with the 2 yr old I babysit), and we took him on a surprise trip to the Campina! This is a little piece of countryside near Salaverry and Moche, a small peice of heaven here in the Trujillo area. The Huacas are located here as well, making it a popular place for the tourists. However, our trips to "la campina" or "Javier's" are never, may I repeat, never touristy. We are now dear friends to this rather large family of brothers, nieces, nephews, throw in a grandmother and a few wives! So we spent this birthday night listening and dancing to the guys play some newer but a lot of older traditional music, eating good sudado and chicharron, and salsa dancing well past our appropriate bedtimes (9pm haha!). As we were saying our goodbyes and see you laters, I was talking with one of the girls about how much I love this little hidden treasure (our friends) and how much culture there was here. La campina and all it comes with will be greatly missed by all of us, but well remembered in our hearts and ears (as we have their cd!). Thank you Robyn for letting us join your "campina family".

-I googled La campina de Moche and these pics were 1st!

The brother's band!

This is their workshop.

They make traditional Moche pottery. Also here is the Moche god "Aiapeac" a very popular design in the area. Mom be expecting great pottery with this guy on it!

Escalera al cielo

New Find! A "novela" or soap opera that I just love! It is called "Escalera al Cielo". Saturday while in the Luces house we watched this most of the afternoon. It is a korean soap dubbed in spanish. I was reading my book and then found myself drawn to this show. I literally couldn't tear my eyes off of it at times. I was so ethralled. It is quite ridiculous and not the best filming or acting at that, but I was so excited that I could understand what was going on and being said! So here it is garanteed you'll love it...ahahahahaha!

it is below!

Escalera al cielo Ep 9 (2/6)

This glass is so transparent I can see the pain

Today I had the privledge of getting to stay in one of the girls houses (bc it is labor day) and I have to share this moment with you.

To set the scene I was in the living room helping out with math homework, I had 3-4 girls asking for me to make up problems/check their work. Getting a little crazy. I heard a cry of one of the girls from the other room. She pretends to cry at times, but is really laughing, so I ingnored her. But after a couple of minutes I had enough and shouted, "you sound like (a girl in the other house), such a crier." I was hoping this would shut her up. Nope. She kept on, so I left my spot and went to see what was up. I found her curled up on the floor by her closet with big crocodile tears pouring out of her sad brown eyes. I tried tickling her to get her up, but ended up having to pick her up like a little baby (she is 6). I held her and waked over to her bed where I tried to get the story out of her. She mumbled something and then proceeded to tell me she got in a fight with another girl over something silly. As I held her I found myself at a loss for words. I don't know what happened to me, but everything I tried to say just came out weird and awkward. So I just sat there holding her like a baby and trying to calm her down. As I sat and looked into her eyes I saw who she was. Her past. Her new life here. Her hurt. A scared, upset little girl who needed a mother.  Her eyes told me she was alone in the world. Not only is she here away from her family, but worst of all her mother died a few years ago. I looked at her and saw her pain. I wanted to cry. My heart was hurting so much for this little one. Here I was a temporary "mom" trying to do my best, and I knew that my best would never be even good enough for her. As she cried I started to tear up. The pain was awful and I could feel it seeping out of her body and it spread all around me. It was like it escaped through her tears or something. I think she needed that cry so bad to release a bit of that hidden pain. The actual "problem" got solved, but there is a bigger problem that is still there, and probably always will be. Pray for our little ones who have lost their moms or dads. They try and cover up the pain, but you can't do it forever.