More new comers and fiestas

August 28, 2010:

It was a beautiful Saturday and we were in charge of many things. By in charge I mean that we had the whole children’s Sabbath school prepared. It was so much fun. Rachel played her uke and we all sang along with the kids. They have so much energy! They were singing so loud that you could hardly hear Rachel on her uke. She is doing so good on it and I know she’ll be a pro by the time we go home! We also had the story and some colorig activities for them. And then for church us three girls had special music. We sang “All Who Are Thirsty” in three part harmony whil I accompanied on the guitar. The Doc then finished the service with a wonderful sermon on Esau and Jacob.

Two new boys arrived!! We are no longer alone and there are more to come. We showed them around, told them as much as we could, and then we let them go to bed. They did arrive at 11 pm.

August 30, 2010:

Today at around 6 in the morning the ladies came in!!! Boy were we excited. As we walked towards the other house my whole body was filled with joy as we saw our new teammates. We showed them the house and the rooms. Once they had moved their stuff into the room we chatted for a little while and we then let them nap. We remembered how exhausted we were when we first got here, so we wanted to make sure that they could relax and rest up.

After a couple of hours everyone was awake and together. We decided to go to Campo Verde to have a tour. The fun part was when we had to fit 7 people in one motocaro. We had the boys on the back and five girls in the front. Three girls were sitting and two others were on laps. Rachel and I were the ones nominated to sit on laps. It was quite the ride. The motorcar definitely did not go as fast as is it usually does.

In Campo Verde we showed them the bakery, the produce store, internet café, and the plaza. It was a great bonding time. We walked around and got to know each other by asking many questions. The boys were generous to buy a large bottle of Inca Cola for all of us. When we arrived back at the house we all sat down, had some Inca Cola, and began to chat. Us girls had the greatest time just chatting it up. We talked about our families, summers, traveling, school, and so much more. The boys later joined us and we started playing games. We played a round of UNO and then we finished up with a game of 7 up 7 down. It was such a blast! What made it so cool was the fact that we decided to speak only Spanish while playing. That way we could all practice and learn together. As soon as we finished our last round one of the locals walked in to tell us that the feast was ready.

Today was a special day for many Peruvians. It was a holiday. So the doc decided to make a huge feast and invite everyone. So we were able to eat delicious food, introduce everyone there, and get an introduction to what this whole mission is about. We then continued celebrating by going to a lake and have some fun. The boys played soccer, the girls volleyball, and then we all finally ended up in the water. In the water we played “Mata jente” (murderer) and attempted to catch small fish. Mata jente is like dodge ball, but in the water. And it was even more of an adventure when we had to pack 23 people in one Toyota truck to go home.

As soon as we got home we all hit the showers and just relaxed. After getting hit with so much dust with soaking wet bodies, it felt so NICE to be clean again. We attempted to make phone calls to the families, but sadly, the phone would not cooperate with us. It was a wonderful day and I’m now so HAPPY to have more people here to share this adventure with.

Fear, new friends, and rain

August 22, 2010:

We woke up early to go to the airport with the Doc. Planning to pick up the new girl. She never showed up so we headed back to the base. On our way to the airport, the Doc mentioned about some “ghost” like things going on in the house. He mentioned that past volunteers had told him about their concerns. He wanted to know how we were doing and if we were ok. So thinking about it, I too remembered hearing things. However, in the past I had always used logic to answer my wondering thoughts. So I told him that all was good and we weren't concerned.

Sadly things wouldn’t be the same after hearing that. Going back home, I couldn’t fall asleep. I heard things and slowly fear began to take over my mind. I had never been so terrified in my life. I took out my Bible and read Psalms to find solace and peace. I read and prayed for about two hours non-stop until Rachel awoke. When Rachel she was up I didn't mention a thing. We showered, did our laundry, and went along with our day.

August 23, 2010:

Last night was HORIBBLE! I couldn’t sleep at all; fear had taken over me completely. Even though, I knew God was the Almighty I still feared the unknown. This alone frustrated me! Why was I still afraid even though I knew that God is the all POWERFUL. Thoughts in my head along with what was going around me scared me to death, so bad that I cried out to Rachel. I asked her if she could sleep with me. The great friend that she is; she came and joined me. Then with Rachel by my side it only took 30 minutes for me to fall asleep.

When morning came, I tried my hardest to erase what had happened the night before. I wanted to go on with the day and be myself. I didn’t want the actions of the night before to distract me. So I put on my “tough girl” armor. Little did I know that I was completely distracted and I was exploding inside. On the outside I appeared as if nothing was wrong. This is something I am very good at. Considering I grew up suppressing my true feelings, I have now mastered it and can fool anyone into believing that everything is ok. At times it is necessary for one to do this, but I know that it’s not always the healthiest thing to do.

We ended up telling the girls of what had been happening. They comforted us and we didn’t speak of it again for the rest of the day.

However, when I no longer could contain the chaos in my mind I burst into tears. Knowing that I couldn’t control them, I left the house to be by myself. Crazy me, it was dark out. But I was so desperate to be alone to tell God everything. To really tell Him how I felt about it all. I let it all out. I cried like a baby. When I could finally compose myself I went back into the house. I thought I had it all together.

Bernie could read me like a book. She saw the distress in my face and asked what was wrong. I told her and everything came pouring out. I cried and I didn’t care who heard me. I was a wreck and I needed help, guidance, something. Thanks to Bernie and Rachel, I was able to get it all out and find some comfort. We decided to have worship at our house and then to sleep at her house. Worship was an answer to my prayer. It was the exact message that I needed to hear. Anxiety cannot ruin my mission that God has for me. God is stronger than anything and all I need to do is trust in Him. I need to keep a positive attitude.

As of now, I plan to sleep in Bernies house until all the other volunteers return. I need to let my anxiety diminish. Fear is what the Devil is using to distract me. He knows that I’m ok with being far from my family for a long period of time. He knows that I’m trying my best to learn how to live in these conditions. So I guess, he had to come up with a different approach. Well, it still won’t work. God is much bigger. He is my fortress, refuge, and the One in whom I trust. Plus I have great friends who are here to support me and remind me of God’s promises.

For those who are reading this, I just ask one thing. Pray for this fear to leave my heart. Pray for us here and for the rest of the volunteers on their way.

August 26, 2010:

Today we went to kilometro 21 to finish up with the health presentations. Our new friend that takes us to 21 is one of the nicest guys. His name is David and he is the most punctual guy I have met. Wednesday I had promised to take one of the ladies to la posta (clinic). This young lady, with much chitchat and trust has now become one of my friends. She is 18 and has a baby that she loves dearly. Shortly after arriving at 21 Kayla and I headed towards la posta. So unfortunately, I wasn’t able to help out with the beginning of the health presentation. When I returned with my friend I found the girls at the school with a crowd of children. After they finished the hygiene, hydrating, and water talk I jumped in and helped with the nutrition lesson. Teaching is not as easy as it looks. We tried our best and now we can only hope that they learned something that they will be able to teach to the rest of their families.

We later went to Campo Verde and bought a few groceries. Then Rachel and I went to out favorite chill spot. There’s a fruit stand near kilometro 38 where we can buy fresh coco, oranges, snacks, and other goodies. Our favorite things to get are a cup of freshly squeezed OJ and a baggy of rosquillas. Rosquillas are a crunchy snack made out of yuka. We talked to the lady who owns the stand and we quickly became friends. The cool thing is that her name is Lady. So she is the Lady ha ha.

When we finished celebrating Kelsey’s birthday and Rachel&Mitch’s anniversary, we headed back home. As we headed home the wind picked up its speed and the black clouds rolled in with thunder. A few seconds after we had entered the house, rain began to fall. I have never seen drops so huge and seen so much rain fall at once. I was tempted to go dance in it, but I was too afraid to get struck by lightning. Even crazier, it began to hail! It was quite the storm.

We finished the evening with a wonderful cooked supper. We made tortillas and a yummy vegetable soup. Our parents will be so proud of us ha ha. We are truly learning how to cook!

33 Mosquito bites later...

August 18, 2010:

Today we went to kilometro 21 with Cindy. Dressed in scrubs and tennis shoes we headed over to the site at 9am. We had been told what it would be like, but it still didn’t compare to arriving there in person. We first turned into a long and bumpy road. At the entrance of this road was a billboard sign with a picture of a truck dumping off a load of trash near a huge pile of garbage. The dirt road was filed with potholes and the closer we got the stronger the smell got. As we were nearing the houses we saw many women and men picking up plastic, glass, aluminum, and other recyclable items. And among the workers were flocks and flocks of vultures with your occasional pig with its snout in a pile of trash. We also saw many dogs. However, these dogs were EXTREMLY filthy and they actually looked somewhat healthy. And by healthy, they weren’t so skinny that you could see every rib, they looked well fed.

The stench was worst at the middle of the piles of garbage and it’s a smell with so many mixes of horrible smells. It was sour, moldy, rotten, and so unexplainable. As we neared the first houses the smell was there, just not as strong. We did notice that as we went farther in towards the other houses the smell would disappear. Cindy told us that on hotter days the smell is almost unbearable. Cindy had promised many of them that she would bring them Bibles, so today we were there to pass out Bibles and to meet the different families. A number of families here aren’t your typical family. Some consisted of an older sister in charge of her younger siblings, a 17yr old with a much older man, a mother and father with a 13yr old pregnant daughter. Half of them spoke Spanish and the other half were from an unknown tribe that spoke no Spanish. The only way to get to them was to have their kids translate.

A great majority of the adults don’t know how to read and not all the kids go to school. So, it’s not that easy to explain to them about having a healthier lifestyle. Just from being there one day, we could see that this was no little project. One needs a lot of time, dedication, patients, and love towards the village to see some progress. Sadly because I’m part of the traveling team I don’t know how involved I’ll be with kilometro 21. There was so much that I saw that I don’t even know where to begin and I don’t think I have enough time to write about it all. Their houses are built from trash that is collected there, filthy dogs and pups roam around everywhere, the children are barely clothed and also very dirty, there are no bathrooms, the water that they use for everything is unsanitary and very brown, and the majority of them seem very content with the conditions that they are in.

To tell you the truth I kind of left the village hopeless. However, after a lot of thinking, I realized that I’m not here to turn a whole village around and save every child or pup that I see. I’m here to love them for who they are and if I can somehow get through them and show them a few things about a healthy lifestyle – I’ll be content. I want to love them just like Jesus loved everyone he encountered while he was here. No matter where they live, what they eat, or how they smell.

We finished our day with a little chill time, cooking supper (first time), and finally with culto (worship).

August 19, 2010:

The one crazy thing that happened today was this: one of the guys cut his hand, bad. When working with a table saw he got his middle finger tore open to the bone. Rushing into the pharmacy with his hand wrapped you could see the pain in his face. The doctor followed him with another six guys behind him. At first I was shocked and didn’t know whether to go into the crowded room and ask the doc if he needed help. Once many of the guys cleared out Rachel and I went in to ask if he needed assistance. We handed the doc his instruments and then he was set. It was so bloody but at the same time so fascinating. I watched him sow tendons back together and finally sow his finger shut.

So intriguing. I want to know more, learn more, and hopefully I’ll get to help the doc out in many more situations like this.

Oh and later that evening as I showered I counted every bite on my body. So far if you ask Rachel, I'm winning by like 20 or more ha ha. I don't like winning.

Our first few days

August 15, 2010:

Our first official day started when we jumped into a Toyota truck with all our stuff and headed towards Campo Verde.

We had no idea who would be picking us up. So I told Rachel that maybe the best thing to do was stand by the entrance with our carts full of luggage. Maybe then we would stand out as lost volunteers. It worked. Doctor Matthew asked us if we were volunteers, we said yes and off we went. As we sped past motorcycles and moto-carros Dr. Matthew honked to let others know he was coming through. So I think ha ha. Heading to our destination my mind was filled with 1,000 questions. Will we get to shower or be able to sleep (we were beyond exhausted). Are there other volunteers already here? When do we start working? And so on…

The funny thing is that it was in that truck on my way to Kilometro 38 (home base)that it hit me. Holy cow, I was going to be far from home for 9 months in a world so unlike mine. I was speechless. All I could to contain myself from bursting into tears was remind myself why I had chosen to do this. I want to serve God in such a manner that can never be forgotten. I want to learn from others and see things through their eyes. I want to have an experience of a lifetime.

For what seemed like a long time I could only observe the cyclists and pedestrians on their ways in total darkness. I was shocked at the fact of all the people traveling on the side of the road with no light except for the brief seconds of headlights passing by. Dr. Matthew broke the silence by asking us what our positions would be. We told him and so the friendship began. He gave us a brief description of our duties and many encouraging words. It was awesome to know that he believed in us from the get-go.

As we arrived we were greeted by a wonderful surprise. At my door was an energetic and scrawny mutt. His name I later found out is Centurion. We were taken to our house and chatted for a little with one of the volunteers. When we got into our room we unpacked our therma-rests and conked out. Five hours later we woke up and showered, and headed to our neighbors (the other two girl volunteers) for breakfast. They made us fantastic omelets with beans and bread. Through out the day we cleaned our house, unpacked, took pictures and video, and napped. Later that afternoon we were able to meet and bond with the children here. Their names are: Jared (a girl), Juliana, Lucas, Alex, and John Pierre. Then I celebrated my first baby shower with everyone here and was a lot of fun.

Overall, we met some really nice volunteers (Cindy and Bernie), made ourselves at homes, and bonded with the people of Kilometro 38. I still don’t have expectations for what’s coming next, but I’m super excited to find out. I just pray that God will keep me excited even through the tough times.

August 16, 2010:

So today we got the chance to go into town and check things out. Our good friend Bernie gave us a tour of the bakery, food market, plaza, and the internet place. The depressing part about the internet was that it was EXTREMELY slow, oh well. We then went back to home base and had lunch. After eating Cindy talked to us about our new project – kilometro 21. It’s a small community consisting of about 20 families. This community is literally sitting on a pile of trash. They chose to live in this dump because it’s easier for them to collect trash to recycle. Looking at the pictures was so shocking. We plan to visit this site on Wednesday. So I hope to blog more about it later on. Cindy also showed us the pharmacy and we started our first mission. Inventory. Let me tell you, counting meds and keeping record of it is not as easy as it sounds. We worked on the antibiotics alone for three hours. We still have a ways to go, but I guess we will be here for nine months to figure out the most efficient way to do it.

We finished our evening with some massages and pedicure. It was very nice J Tomorrow we head out to Pucallpa to run errands, so I’m very excited about it!

August 17, 2010:

Pucallpa!! Busy, packed, and so much to see. Thanks to our friend Cindy, we were able to get a small tour of different things through out the city. We went to the pharmacy, Los Andes (a grocery store with American products), the Peruvian ABC, an awesome vegetarian restaurant, and so much more. These first few days have been great! We’re mainly working on familiarizing ourselves with where everything is at, what is expected in a day, how the pharmacy goes, and getting to know the locals and the staff. It’s a little bit overwhelming, but I’m sure when we get the groove of things it’ll be much better. Right now, I can’t wait for the rest of the volunteers to arrive. Cause right now it’s just me and Rachel along with the other two volunteers who will be leaving shortly. I’m super EXCITED to meet the rest of the team!

Flying, frustrations, and laughter

We left Wichita Kansas at 11:00 AM. Then we had a wonderful flight to Atlanta. The cool and scary part about that flight was the fact that we had to fly around some thunderstorms. We flew above and through some pretty dark clouds. Some passengers were scared, but I had adrenaline pumping through my veins – so I was excited ha ha. We landed in Atlanta safely and had some grub along with a smoothie.

After having our late lunch, we decided to look around for some reading material. We found a shop full of magazines, books, candy, and all sorts of knick-knacks. I bought my educational reading (NatGeo) and Rachel bought her… celeb gossip for the month J The hard, but hilarious part of this shopping run is the image of these two small girls. Not only am I small, but I’m carrying a huge load: a HEAVY shoulder bag, a guitar in one hand, and a nalgene along with a frozen smoothie in the other. The bag is killing my shoulder, the guitar is dragging on the floor, the smoothie has frozen my pinky, and I’m about to spill it all over the floor. All we can do as we haul all our junk to our gate, is laugh at ourselves.

We boarded the plane that was going to take us to Peru. Once stepping on the plane there was no turning back. The plane was nice and big with screens on the back of every seat. Rachel and I enjoyed two movies and two meals. The flight alone was five hours long. So when we got off that plane, we were relieved. Hoewever, we didn’t know about the struggles up ahead. Stepping off the plane we really didn’t know where to go or what to do. Exhausted and worried we followed the crowd and our instincts. We made it through immigration and we were able to find our bags and hoist them onto carts. Once again, we had no idea what was next. So we asked around and then headed to another line. In this line I had to press a button and pray that it wouldn’t turn red. Well with our luck it turned red… ha ha

So we then had to quickly pull our bags off the carts and pass them through the x-ray machine. And it was quickly because of the angry and annoyed people behind us. So here are two skinny girls hoisting these bags onto the rollers like there is no tomorrow. Just as we take a breath and feel proud of ourselves, we remember that the bags are coming out the other end. We look over and there are our bags piling up on each other. We run to the pile of bags and start hoisting them back onto the carts. At this point we are laughing hysterically. The people around us probably thought we were some crazy Americans. But I guess that its better to laugh at frustration than cry about it. Finally we got our tickets and weighed our bags. As we headed towards our gate we spotted a STARBUCKS. We just had to have some,we deserved it!

Awaiting for the departure day

Hello everyone,

My name is Stephanie Rivas and in 5 days I will be on a plane heading down south. Not to Texas or Florida, but to a country named Peru. This past month has been very busy for me: writing thank you notes, getting things for the trip, appointments, and lots of praying. I'm super excited for this adventure, but at the same time I'm very nervous.