Family & Friends in Cusco!

Well, my family and friends braved long flights, layovers, altitude sickness and the cold Andean nights.  It was great to have my parents, Ryan and Amber, Shannon and Mike and their kids, and Michelle for just over a week.  The time went tooooo fast.

They got to see some of the amazing and mysterious ruins of the Cusco area, including Machu Picchu, try some traditional foods, and check out the markets.

The family above Cusco....missing Trev & Lauren :(

Touring the Saqsaywaman Ruins above Cusco

Amber and Michelle overlooking Saqsaywaman

The Pisaq ruins in the Sacred Valley

Ryan trying to befriend some type of llama

Having lunch in a fun kid-focused Cusco restaraunt

With Paul and Calliou

Cusco Artesenial Market

Mom trying out an armadillo banjo

June is a culturally rich month in Peru with various festivities that include traditional dances in the Plaza de Armas and parades in the streets.

Everyone agreed that the short time with the children at the orphanage just wasn't enough, and that it was one of the more meaningful times in Cusco.

 



We also took a visit to ATEK, getting an update on their community projects and building progress.  Please see my ATEK Update blog!

And, of course... the main reason for the trip to Peru... Our Wedding!
For our bachelor/bachelorette parties we went ziplining together.
The Jaguar Eye, only months old, is the longest zipline in the world, at 2130 meters.  It offers an amazing view, going over the Sacred Valley, though it's fast reaching up to 70 kms/ hr!


The Arrow to the right shows where the starting point tour is.  Arrow in the  middle: the highway from Cusco to Ollantytambo.  An arrow to the upper-right is an parachute that was also making it's way over the valley that day.



Walter coming down

Amber getting disconnected

Our wedding was a beautiful time!  I couldn't stop smiling the  minute I started walking down the isle, and we really had a lot of fun!  It was the happiest day of our lives.  Please see our Wedding blog with links to our photos :)

ATEK Update

With my family here, we stopped in at ATEK for a tour, to meet the staff and to hear about the progression of their projects and plans.

Milagros and Pastor Fredi showed us photos from Huanca Huanca on the laptop

Pastor Fredi had been in our sister village, Huanca Huanca the day before we came and had photos to show and updates to tell us.  The agriculture program that our church is involved with has really been productive and is benefiting the community.  With the help of Bernaldino, the agriculturist our church sponsors, they have been learning to plant and produce new vegetables that have never before been grown there.  Previously, the community has mostly lived on potatoes and the scant meat they raise, needing to trade for or buy other vegetables and produce in Cusco or closer to Cusco.  It is over a 5 hour drive on rough, windy roads, and public transport is not constant.  I am sure you can imagine the lack of resources and proper vitamins and nutrients. 
During this past year, they have been planting, harvesting and selling new vegetables such as beets, varieties of onion, garlic, carrots, and others.  They are starting to see a financial benefit, and are encouraged by the money they have for their homes, children's education and other needs.

The process for getting land rights for the new church they want to build has also been long and drawn-out.  However, it finally looks like it should be a go, with permission from the mayor, land titles and paperwork in place.  They are hoping to have a local team start building the new Huanca Huanca evangelical church in the coming weeks!

Milagros telling us about the current building work on our tour of ATEK

The third story of the ATEK building in Cusco is also underway.  The dormitories in the opposite building are done and ready for people to use the location as a hostel.  The third story will provide more space for dormitories.  When there are training sessions at ATEK for community church pastors, elders, pastor's wives, and Sunday school leaders, the spaces for teaching and dormitories are full over maximum. 

Work continues in the offices by staff preparing Sunday school and teaching material, planning for children's summer camps, agriculture and health campaigns, and other areas.  They are also working on producing the first Bible dictionary in Quechua.

A Canadian / Peruvian Wedding

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with Joy!"

That is our wedding theme verse, and for many reasons! 

Walter came from a very simple, basic up-bringing and God has provided Walter with many blessings including a strong, caring, Christian family, good education and a small business that has been slowly growing and flourishing.  When he's struggled with near-death sickness, God healed him and brought renewed energy and health to his body. 
Likewise, I've been blessed to be raised in a strong, caring, Christian family.  God saved me from my own misunderstandings of Christianity and rebellion, showing me the way to a life of love, acceptance and blessing following His son.  He's blessed me with many experiences in life, and the opportunity to live out my own heart's dreams in being involved in orphan lives. 

Of course, he has also done great things in bringing Walter and I together! Although the future is always uncertain, we are sure that in continuing to follow Jesus together, we will continue to know joy in the good times and the difficult.

Please enjoy our wedding photos at the link below!
http://ourcanadianperuvianwedding.shutterfly.com/

National Potato Day

May 30 is National Potato Day in Peru.  The potato was apparently first domesticated in Peru and parts of Bolivia, today producing thousands of varieties.  After the Spanish invasion, potatoes were introduced from Peru to Europe and other parts of the world (latter part of the 16th century).

The locals of Haunca Huanca showed us their potato crops and explained the cultivation process back in November ('11)

Many potato varieties are to be found in the local Cusco markets all year long

Chuño and Moraya are freeze-dried potatoes especially preserved and found in the higher altitude regions of Peru.  Moraya is a white-freeze dried potato.  The Chuño are small, dark - nearly black - potatoes.  It is a five-day process that involves spreading them on the ground where they can freeze over night for 3 nights, in between which they are trampled by foot in the sun, to remove excess moisture, and then freeze-dried for another 2 nights. There is another process that produces the white Moraya which involves depositing them in cold river water for a time .  These dried potatoes can be preserved this way for many months after. Chuño and Moraya  are especially used in soups prepeared here in the Cusco region.

Because it's such a staple, the potato is used in many recipes and eaten on a daily basis for most Peruvians.

Preserved white Moray and dark Chuño potatoes in the market.

Widow-Maker's

Sometimes, with mouth dropped and eyes rolled, you really have to laugh.
One of the reasons I chose my new apartment before March was for the bathtub- not a common bathroom feature here. 
Cold running water is the norm in Peru, but if you want warm showers, you can buy what people call a "widow-maker": an electric shower head.  Just make sure you remember to flick the switch off after, or you could fry the wires and lose your heated water option pretty quickly! 
My first shower in my shower/bath was not so relaxing, as the water sprayed all over the place, I could feel what felt like a bit of electricity in the water and discovered a large crack between the wall and tub letting lots of water into the floor underneath.
It took a few weeks for my landlords to come intent to fix the shower after telling them about the problems (thankfully I have a second small stand-up shower that they put a widow-maker in prior to my moving in).  They figured that the "energy" I could feel in the water was due to the grounding wire being connected to a metal screw in the wall and that a ground to the earth would be necessary.

The picture below shows their solution (As of yet, I haven't tested it to see if it worked or not!)

Notice the grounding wire sitting in the dirt-filled flower pot 

Walter has assured me this is not the norm here in fixing things!

At the Casa...
In the countrysides the corn fields are now being harvested.  I didn't know before that the stalks of the corn are like sugar cane.  April is the beginning of the dry season, so without rain every day, we try to take the children on little adventures at least once a week to go for walks or picnics outside of the orphanage.  One day we took our mid-morning snack sitting on the side of a field close to the Casa where the staff collected corn canes for the kids to chew on.

With the four oldest kids in school and not returning to the home until after 1:30pm, I've been spending more time with the little ones with toddler or pre-school activities.  Sometimes that includes helping with therapeutic exercises for the babies to get different muscles working.  Carlos dislikes laying on his stomach and, nearly a year old, hasn't learned to roll over yet and doesn't sit up well even with pillows all around.


Fabi is ready for fingerpainting



Adriano excited to paint!

Other times I take two or three of the toddlers and we do a mini 'circle-time' with action songs, a story, and some other activity.  I even found a children's spanish music CD with lyrics that has a song entitled "The Little House in Canada"!

Adriano doesn't have many words in his vocabulary yet, but right now he really loves learning the animal sounds. What sound does a llama make?  Not sure about that one yet...


I also pull out different educational toys that help with coordination or fine-motor skills which are great for seeing where the kids are at developmentally.

Veronica is another down syndrome child who has been in Lima for health reasons for longer than I've been here, but just recently returned to the Casa.  The same age as Fabiola, she is much more developmentally behind, a lot more emotionally needy, and quite shaky on her legs, often falling which makes us all nervous as she's still recovering from heart surgery a month ago.

Veronica and Fabi in the therapy room

 

 Market Days...

Friday mornings are still market days...

Margarita and I spend about an hour and a half buying the meat, flour, cheese, fruits and veggies necessary for the weekly meals.

Below- photos of the meat market.

(Yes, I'm still vegetarian).

Ah, to the left- the mysterious 'meat' they fed us in Huanca Huanca on the last fall BCEF adult mission trip!  Even Pastor Fredi said we didn't have to eat the meat that time.

Thankfully, the flower section is beside, offering a prettier view!

Sugar cane you can buy in the market

Meanwhile...

With only a month away, Walter and I are getting excited for the wedding as we plan and really looking forward to my family and friends who will be coming!

12 Plates at Easter

Update on some of the children at the Casa...

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.

Marleni, after her surgery

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.

Carlos, 9 months

Carlos, 3 months old

Carlos, 6 months old

Click the link below for a short video of precious Carlitos enjoying the new baby swing with the little animal sounds and springy animated toys:
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