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| Zoe, will be 2 in May |
Zoe and Marleni had cleft palate lip surgeries two weekends ago through Operation Smile. This was Zoe's second surgery, after nearly a year, to repair the inner palate. Born premature, and extremely malnourished and underweight nearly two years ago, it's taken a lot of extra nurturing to nurse her to a healthy weight, required for her first surgery. She has had a difficult time recovering from this one, suffering from post-surgery pain and bleeding, and consequently not eating. She re-entered the hospital on Tuesday last week and went into emergency on Wednesday. It turns out that some neglectful care in the hospital was reason for her admission into emergency. However, she is thankfully slowly regaining strength, and is back in the Casa under our care.
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| Marleni, after her surgery |
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| Marleni before her surgery |
When Marleni came to us as a newborn in September, she responded well right from the start to the special feeding bottle, and has come along well in her growth. She is now recovering well, smiling lots, and although looks like a completely different baby, is looking more and more beautiful as she grows!
Carlos came to us in September at 3 months old. He was born 3 months premature, and extremely tiny. His mother has older children, is an alcoholic, and didn't have the resources or want to care for a special needs baby, so she brought him to us. He suffered a lot in those first few months, not sleeping normal hours, and quite irritated and unable to feed properly. Part of that was due to having an undeveloped nasal passage which caused some constriction in breathing when he was trying to feed. However, alot of the irritation was also likely due to fetal alcohol syndrome. (Even one alcoholic drink taken at certain crucial times of prenatal development can cause fetal alcohol syndrome). Thankfully, his nasal passage has developed, and Carlitos is feeding normally now, enjoying the pureed veggies and cereals we've been introducing to him. With lots of nurturing love and care, Carlos has come along well, is responding more to the caregivers and environment around him, and sleeping normal hours for a baby his age. However, at 9 months old, he is still wearing 3-6 month old size clothing, having hardly grown much. All of the children in our care get regular check-ups, and the doctors have said that his head growth is normal, which is the most important thing.
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| Carlos, 9 months |
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| Carlos, 3 months old |
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| Carlos, 6 months old |
http://youtu.be/86Rg1JyL1MA
When I arrived in August last year, I had really wanted to spend more direct time working with Daniel. He is 8 years old, but developmentally closer to age 4. When he was given over to the care of the Casa a few years ago, the judicial people told Ruth that he was mute. Though he doesn't use clear words, Daniel certainly does understand what we say, can follow direction, and communicates quite well his needs. When I had arrived, he spent a lot of his time in bed, quite lethargic and had no appetite to eat properly. A huge part of that is due to side effects of medicine he takes to control his seizures. After the influx of babies we got in September, I didn't have time to solely dedicate to Daniel, so Ruth hired a local lady to work one-on-one only with Daniel. Whether part is due to his medicine being better regulated, or all due to his having full-time attention, he is like a different child. He is active, sometimes not wanting his mid-afternoon nap, now eats full meals, and loves to do different activities. Check out the link below to see a mini clip of Daniel dancing to someone's music around the house!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKTOtDLaRls&feature=youtu.be
Easter in Peru
Here, the people have two weekday national holidays which entail Holy Thursday and Holy Friday, in recognition of the suffering that Jesus went through leading up to his death on the cross.
I have never really heard of Holy Thursday, sometimes called Maundy Thursday, but there is an interesting story on this topic here .
Traditionally in Peru, some people have a large meal on Friday afternoon, with twelve plates, always meatless, that are sometimes followed by a period of fasting. These plates are to represent the 12 apostles at the last supper. I'm still not clear on if these plates are consistent, or vary from family to family. I've heard that sometimes they include 6 main courses, followed by 6 desserts.
I've been discovering that Walter can cook! We spent Friday cooking together 3 plates that his family would normally prepare. Walter made a delicous soup: Sopa de Fideo- a noodle soup that usually has chicken or some other meat, but for Holy Friday is made meatless with machas (mini clams) and usually with fish eggs as well. He also prepared fried pickerel with rice, and I made Arroz con Leche (rice with milk), with the typical Mazamorra Morada - a purple custard/jelly like pudding that's made from purple corn.
In Cusco, the week starts off with a large procession in the main plaza on Palm Sunday. Many of the Catholics celebrate different saints of the area throughout the year which also somehow represent Jesus. The patron saint of Cusco is Lord of the Earthquakes. The Quechua/Spanish name is Taitacha Temblores and this dark-skinned statue is still held in honour today after centuries of following. The story goes that in 1650 a terrible earthquake shook Cusco, and although the cathedral and structures surrounding it were destroyed, a painting of this Jesus (that had come from Europe originally) remained standing. This caused Incan and Spanish locals to believe it was a miracle saint sent to protect them. Today, the tribute statue is kept in the main Cusco cathedral (the largest cathedral in South America) and is carried in this procession every year at this time from one cathedral to another. I didn't personally go to see it, but I hear that the streets and plazas are packed tight with people trying to get a glimpse of this statue or pay tribute to their saint.
Although there's something to be respected about people's devotion year after year to their beliefs, I have to comment that it is so much more liberating to follow a living Jesus day to day who is ALIVE and always working in my life!
I hope your Easter passed well!
"But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
