Hello everyone!!!!!!
I hope you are all doing well and
surviving the heat of the summer!!
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| A picture of me on a traditionally dressed alpaca in the Chimbote Plaza de Armas!! One of my favorite pics. |
Kyle and I just had our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY here in
Peru!!!! Can you believe it?? As of August 15 we have been here for one year.
Time flies!! Especially when you love where you are and what you are doing as
much as we do. And now there are only 10 months to go and I am already feeling
rushed because I know it is going to go so fast… But, of course, at the same
time I am excited that in 10 months I will be back in the USA with my mom and
dad and all of you wonderful people.
It has been about 2 months, maybe
even a little more, since I have written a blog… and I am so SORRY!!!! I
feel awful about it. My only excuse is that May, June, and July have been some of the
busiest months so far, and I just didn’t find time to sit down and write out a
thoughtful blog. Now, finally, I have time to gather my thoughts and put into
words the whirlwind of the past few months.
Since there is so much to talk
about, I divided it into sections so you can read whichever part you are
interested in, or all of it, and if you don’t want to read anything (I
won’t be offended) just scroll through and check out the pictures!!!! This is
the longest blog ever, so get comfortable, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy!!
1.
Machu
Picchu, Cusco, Erin’s visit
2.
San
Pedrito Festival
3.
Anniversary
of the Franciscan Martyrs
4.
The girls
returning to the USA, Kyle and I (and cats) living solo
5.
Hospice
work, patients, VIDEOS!!!!
6.
Prayer
requests
Thank you to everyone for always
reading my blogs when I post them and for giving me constant support and love
over the past year. You all constantly re-energize me and continue to give me
motivation and passion for what I am doing here. Thanks for that!!
1. Machu
Picchu, Cusco, Erin’s Visit
In May, my best friend Erin came
to visit from the US for about a week and a half!!
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| Waiting for Erin in the Lima airport |
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| Reunited after 1 year!!!!!! |
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| Yay friends!! |
It was so amazing to have
someone from home be here with me, learning about the reality of Chimbote and
the ins and outs of my daily Peruvian life. It was even more special that it
was Erin!! We lived in a social justice intentional community together in
college called Micah House, and then shared an apartment after that. She is
such an amazing person and an incredible friend!! We ate lots of Peruvian
foods, explored downtown, took pictures by the ocean, and she even went to work
with me at Hospice for a couple of days and met my patients and co-workers!!
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| Erin and I with my co-workers, Amparo, Justina, and Yaneth |
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| Erin and I with Francisca |
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| Erin and I with Julia |
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Erin and I with Zenaida
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It meant so much to me that she
literally traveled across the world to visit me and see what Chimbote is all
about. What an amazing person/friend!! Her trip was a highlight of my year. Now
I know when I go back to the states and am struggling to re-integrate into the
culture and find my place again in my own country and society, I will always
have a friend who understands where I am coming from and how the past two years
of my life were.
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| Erin and I in the bus station in Lima, on our way to Chimbote!!!! Photo credit to Kyle |
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| Drinking freshly squeezed orange juice from the street |
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| Erin and I in the Plaza of Chimbote |
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| In front of the Isla Blanca |
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| My friend Richard gave Erin one of his drawings of a portrait of a baby!! |
Also in May, overlapping with
Erin’s visit, a class from the University of the Incarnate Word, lead by Sister
Martha Ann, came down to visit Peru!! Martha Ann was kind enough to allow Kyle,
Erin, and I to tag along on their trip to Cusco… and it was so incredible!!!! What
a beautiful, truly awesome place.
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| The whole Cusco group, plus Kelli and Emily!! |
The three of us integrated into
the group pretty quickly and we had a lot of fun exploring Lima and Cusco with
them!! We visited lots of ruins and temples and museums. We took lots of
pictures with lots of llamas and baby lambs. We saw a lot of white people (which was really crazy for Kyle and I
since we are like 2 out of 10 white people in all of Chimbote). We went on a
lot of tours and heard a lot of Incan history. We definitely took advantage of
our hostel having hot running water and showered every night before bed
(especially because it was about 30 degrees outside and indoor heating is not
something that exists). We had an
amazing trip and made a lot of new friends!! Cusco is a very
international city since people come from literally all over the world to see
the ruins, so it was pretty cool to be in a place so international. Everywhere
you went you heard tours in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish,
English, etc.
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| Drinking some Coca Tea to help with our elevation sickness!! |
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| Kyle kissing a little baby Peruvian lamb |
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| This is right after the baby lamb sucked on the tip of my nose!!!! It was really funny hahaha |
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| Some women in traditional Sierran clothing |
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| Jennifer, Corey, Erin, me, and Sister in front of a church built on top of an Incan temple |
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| Some Alpaca statues, we loved the Alpacas |
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| We went to traditional dance show with dances from all over Peru, this is a dance from Northern Peru, near Chimbote actually, which is called the Marinera |
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| The Cusco Plaza de Armas at night time with the Cathedral in the background |
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| Kyle, Erin and I in the Plaza |
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| BRR!!!!! This is how bundled up we had to sleep!!!! It was COLD!!!! 30 degrees every night!! What you can't see are the 2 other sweatshirts underneath that one, the second pair of pants I am wearing, and the other pair of socks under the purple ones. (Yes, those are socks on my hands, I didn't think ahead enough to bring gloves haha) |
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| A little girl in her traditional clothing next to her alpaca |
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| One top of a viewpoint for one of the Incan valleys |
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| All of the "jovenes" or "young people" in our group!! Antoinette, James, me, Corey, Erin, and Kyle |
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| Exploring our first Incan ruin, behind me is the system that the Incans used for farming on steep slopes, each step with a different vegetable or fruit |
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| A family with their lamb |
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| Some traditionally dressed women |
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| The market in a town called Pisac |
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| A little Peruvian girl, I love this photo, so colorful and beautiful with her wind-blown cheeks!! |
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| Pisac market again |
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| Erin, Kyle, and I climbing up a ruin outside of Pisac |
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| A woman weaving a table cloth |
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| A big fluffy alpaca!!!! |
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| Inside of a church built by the Spanish on top of an Incan temple |
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| Viva el Peru!! The mountains with Cusco beneath, I took this from on top of a ruin we visited called Saqsaywaman |
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| A beautiful, colorful mama and her happy little baby |
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| Sister Martha Ann, Kyle, Erin, Corey, and I with some Peruvian women and their llamas. You can see the Incan constructed wall in the background. |
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| A woman and her llama |
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| A woman with her llamas, you can see the Incan constructed wall in the background |
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| In the Plaza of Cusco during the day |
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| Kyle the Peruvian warror |
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| Would you like some potatos and choclo???? |
Then we went to Machu Picchu….
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| Believe it or not, I actually took this picture!!!! Such an amazing place |
I keep saying that Cusco for me
was like the South America version of Switzerland – my favorite place I have
ever been. The mountains in Switzerland are so gigantic and powerful, the
plants and grass so green and full of life, the air is so fresh and clean, the
animals are free and the birds are always singing and the people are so kind….
And that was my experience in Cusco. Just unimaginable, indescribable beauty. The
kind of beauty that makes you think “Wow,
our earth is so incredible and impossible to even comprehend how incredible it
really is. God has made such a perfect and marvelous creation.” Going
up to Machu Picchu I was honestly awe struck….
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| On our way to Machu Picchu!! |
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| The river below the mountain on which Machu Picchu is built |
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| The view from the bus going up |
Once we entered Machu Picchu it
was amazing. Walking on sidewalks and touching rocks that the Incans touched
500 years ago!! Wow. We took a tour and then had some free time to wander
around on our own and take pictures or explore. I took an hour by myself to sit
on the highest point and meditate and pray while looking out over it all. How
incredible is God’s creation of these mountains and rivers and clouds and fresh
air. And how amazing that this group of people 500 years ago built this
little city on top of it all. While I was sitting up there alone, I got to meet
a lot of interesting people who also came up to take a moment to themselves or
take a photo. It was interesting to hear all of their stories and their pilgrimage
to arrive finally, some after 30 years or more of waiting, to Machu Picchu.
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| A little Peruvian woman walking into Machu Picchu, I love this picture because I just imagine that she has waited her whole life for this moment. |
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| The first view when you walk in the gates |
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| Kyle, Erin, and I |
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| Me, obviously |
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| This rock is a carved shrine to the mountain behind it, notice it is carved into the same shape as the mountain. This is what they used to make offerings and pray to the mountain. |
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| Erin and I in the middle of the town Machu Picchu |
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| Kyle and I |
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| On top of Machu Picchu!! |
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| We found some llamas!! |
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| And we pet them |
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| Our Machu Picchu Jump picture |
2. San Pedrito
Festival
Chimbote is a city very famous
for and proud of their fishing industry. In fact, in the 70s Chimbote was
number one in the WORLD for exporting fishmeal, and is still number one in Peru
and one of the tops in South America. So, of course, of all of the Saints,
Saint Peter (who represents fishermen), AKA San Pedro, AKA San Pedrito, is the
representative Saint of Chimbote.
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| San Pedrito figure that is paraded through the streets |
Every year on the feast of San Pedrito,
June 29, and the weeks leading up to it, Chimbote throws a HUUUUGE party!!!!! Woooooo. Artisans from all over Peru and
even Ecuador come to sell their work at San Pedrito. There are huge tents full
of vendors that stay open until 3 or 4 in the morning, Salsa/Cumbia/Merengue
concerts almost every night, street performers everywhere, and lots of
delicious food. Yum!!
The morning of the 29, a fleet of
boats are sent out into the ocean for a celebration. If you get in line early
enough, you get to go out on a boat!! I get seasick so I opted for watching
Kyle and Emily and friends get on their boat, took pictures, and then Kelli and
I went to the Vivero, a big local park, to check out the festivities there. At
night, there is a huge concert in the plaza and firework towers called Castillos.
Castillos are something I may have explained before?? But if not, they are tall
wooden towers with fireworks strapped to them. This may sounds crazy and
dangerous and like the worst idea ever…. But the truth is everything is really
planned out and the wires are all connected in such a way that the fireworks go
off perfectly on cue and the wooden tower never catches on fire. After all of Castillos
go off, there were about 15 surrounding the whole perimeter of the plaza, there
is an actually fireworks show. The biggest fireworks I had ever ever seen!!
It was like standing under a canopy of lights in the sky. Then we walked around
the artisan fair and listened to music and came home around 4am. Successful
first San Pedrito!!
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| The Chimbote children's orchestra playing a show for San Pedrito |
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| Kelli sang and her friend Richard played guitar one night downtown |
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| Our group after Kelli and Richard's show!! |
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| Community pic!!!! |
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| Getting some late night burgers on the street after a night of San Pedro-ing!! Emily, Giancarlo, me, Kelli, Richard, Rita and Julio |
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| Kyle and I downtown in the Plaza for the festivities |
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| Fireworks above the plaza!!!! |
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| Castillo |
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| Fireworks!! So huge |
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| Our San Pedro celebration group |
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| Concert with lots and lots of people watching!! |
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| Sailors with the boat fleets and the Isla Blanca in the background |
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| Giancarlo, Emily, and Kyle boarding their boat!! |
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| The boats in the bay, Emily, Kyle, and Giancarlo are on the bottom |
3.
Anniversary of the Franciscan Martyrs
As
some people are aware, and some aren’t, the 70s and 80s in Peru were a time of terrible violence between the
Peruvian government and a rebel group called “Sendero Luminosa”, or “The
Shining Path”. Many innocent people were slaughtered and killed, many towns
burned to the ground, and many people raped and tortured during this time. Some
Incarnate Word Sisters even had to sneak out of the country in the night
because of the threat to the religious and foreigners. It is important to be aware of, and you can learn more about “the
violence” and terrorism and the Shining Path here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shining_Path
This
past month, Kyle and I went with a bus of people from our parish to visit the
site where the Franciscans were martyred 21 years ago and pay respects. Pariacoto
is a beautiful town in the mountains, about 2 hours inland from
Chimbote. The day was beautiful and the mass for the 2 men was wonderful.
While walking down the hill, we saw a starving dog and cut her from her tree
and took her down to the center of the town where she could roam free and be
fed by the people. We named her Francisca in honor of the Franciscans.
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| Kyle and I at the site of the martyrdom |
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| Kyle |
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| Me with the chapel in the background |
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| Jordy, Kyle, me, Francisca the dog, and the two kids that helped us out |
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| The gorgeous plaza of Pariacoto!!!! |
4. The
girls returning to the USA, Kyle and I (and cats) living solo
July was a crazy month because it
was the last few weeks before Kelli and Emily finished their 2 years and
returned to the US. We were spending as much time with each other as possible
and trying to take advantage of the time we had left.
I still remember arriving to Peru
like it was yesterday, walking through the airport and Kelli and Emily hugging
us and welcoming us to our new home for the next 2 years. The girls had helped
us through so much and really were our mentors,
sisters, and best friends… and it was time for us to return to the
airport, this time to see them off. How does time go by so fast!!!!!!!!!!!
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| All of us with Sister Sofie at the girls' going away dinner |
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| The Sisters had a going away dinner for the girls the week that they left |
We had a big Despedida for them,
or going away party. There were over 50 people here in our house!! From all
parts of our Chimbote lives; the youth from the parish, the Incarnate Word
Sisters, the Good Shephard Sisters, the street artists from downtown,
co-workers from Hospice, women from Kyle’s womens group, the parish choir,
neighbors…. Everyone. We danced until 5 in the morning!!!! We even dressed up our cat, Pisco, in a little tuxedo and sat him
by the front door to greet everyone who came in. He loved the attention.
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| Group hug after our cheers to Emily and Kelli |
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| Friends!! |
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| Dancing with my friend Colver |
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| Pisco in his very dapper suit |
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| The Chimbote cake, colored with strawberries like the Peruvian flag!! |
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| Pisco and I |
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| All of us with friends |
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| Some of my Hospice friends came!! |
The week that the girls left was
so surreal and really stressful. The house felt so different and sad. I
remember the morning before they left just crying in my room, not wanting the
change to happen but knowing it was all part of the experience. We had
really formed a family over the past year and challenged each other and
loved each other. Going to the airport did not feel like reality, and saying
goodbye and taking our last “community photo” felt so strange.
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| Our last picture in front of our house before going to the bus terminal, along with our friend Richard |
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| Our last community photo in the Lima Airport |
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| The girls going back to security!!!!! :( |
Kyle and I have been living alone
in the house for almost a month…. It has been going well. At first the house
felt really empty, but we are enjoying it now. It is difficult to cook every
day with only 2 people, but we have been having lunch with the Sisters once a
week, which helps. We also got a new oven, a new teapot, and a new kitten!!!! The kitten
belonged to one of my patients whose cat had a litter of 5 kittens, but then
the mama cat abandoned them. 4 of the 5 kittens died of hunger/cold, and so
when I went to visit Francisco, my patient, I couldn’t bear to just leave this
baby there to die. I brought her home about 2 weeks ago and she is fat and
happy now!! She has her eyes open and is learning to walk. We feed her from a
bottle every couple of hours and she is even starting to purr!!!! We already
have a home for her once she starts eating and walking so we are happy.
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| Our old stove...... |
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| Our new stove!!!!!! No explanation needed. |
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| Bottle feeding our baby cat |
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| Soooo cute |
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| Kyle feeding baby cat |
In about 3 weeks the new missionary will be coming down, Clare. Yay!!!!!
She is a recent college grad from New Jersey and seems to be really fun and
have a lot of energy, so we are excited for this next chapter!! She seems super
friendly and she has a good sense of humor – which fits well with Kyle and I for
sure. (Except she has a cat allergy, so we are going to have to start finding
homes for our little babies…… But everything happens for a reason, right???? Right.)
5. Hospice
work, My patients
Of course, I am loving Hospice
as much as ever. It is such a blessing to work in a place that I love with
people who are like a family away from my family. I am always taken care of and
have really become part of the team.
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| Amparo, Justina, Yaneth and I getting ready for work |
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| Edward, Amparo, Yaneth, Amparo, Justina, and I |
In May and June, one of the head
nurses in Hospice went on maternity leave, and Sister Juanita put me in her
place as Head Nurse for the Community
Team. Ahhh!!!! I was really scared at first, feeling overwhelmed and
unprepared for the position of Head Nurse, especially in my second language in
another country. I got pretty stressed out about it all and did not feel
qualified.
One, I do not like being in charge of people. I am not
someone who needs power, to be the boss, or needs to always be right. I don’t
like telling people what to do and I don’t like having to mandate tasks to
others. It makes me feel like I think I am above them, when in reality I think
we are all equals. Being in charge of people is really uncomfortable for me…. I
would so much rather be a part of a team than “in charge” of a team. Two, it feels really strange
telling people what to do and where to go in your second language - and less
than a year of work, while they have worked there for 10 years and know how things
work way better than I do!!
I was honest about my concerns
though with my team of nurses and technicians, and they were so awesome
and really helped me out through it all. In the end, just because I had
the schedules and did the paperwork, we still worked as equals and worked in a
team!!!! I am really proud of myself for
being the Head Nurse for 2 months in Hospice…. In my second language… In a
foreign country!! And I stayed so organized and made such awesome schedules
that even though Ada, the nurse, is back and in charge of the team, they are
still having me do all of the patient lists and scheduling!!!! Enough “tooting
my own horn”…. I am just excited that I lived through the experience and was
successful!!!! I do have to say I breathed a
huge sigh of relief when Ada came back from maternity leave though and I
could do my normal job again, Phew!! Haha.
This month, August, we have a lot
more patients out in the community than we did in the past couple of months. We
are pretty busy, but I like it because time goes fast and we get to see a lot
of patients every day!! Which is fun. Right now we have about 56 patients
out in the community (since I arrived last August it has rarely gone above 40,
and only by 2-3).
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| A really pretty picture of Hospice |
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| Me taking care of my patient Amada |
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| Manuel and I and his kitty |
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| Felicita and I |
Also, since it is summer in the
US and college kids are off of school, we have had a ton of volunteers come
down and volunteer at Hospice. Mostly they are nursing students or med
students, and they are always paired with me because I am the only one who
speaks English. I love it though because I never get to speak English except
for inside of the house with Kyle, and it is really fun to teach people about
Chimbote and share the joy of Hospice with others!! Side note, if you are interesting in coming to
Chimbote to volunteer or have a family member in Nursing/Med School who would
like to come volunteer for anywhere from 1 week – a couple of months,
check out this program: http://friendsofchimbote.org/
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| Me and Lynn a volunteer who was with Hospice for a month in June |
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| Amparo, Sonia, Lynn, Cesar, and I |
Hospice just celebrated its official 10th year anniversary a couple of months ago.
We had a mass and celebration, and there was also a 20 minute video made, in
which I have a full interview. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to put the
entire video online (Maybe I will figure this out later, if so I will post
it for you all), but I can post the very shortened version which describes
in essence what Hospice is all about….. From about 1:05 to 1:13 you can see me
sitting at a table on the right side of the screen writing. I am also at the
end at 1:56, in which I make a split-second appearance where I look so silly
and ridiculous and laugh and cover my face during my interview, hahaha. And
then again at the very end, at 2:02 I am standing in the back with my crazy
colorful uniform amongst the group. Enjoy!!!!
Here is also another short video on Hospice, where I work
(the Hospice part begins at 0:45, but the whole video is great if you’d like to
watch it):
6. Prayer
Requests:
These
are some issues weighing on my heart right now, that if you all have
time, I would like to request prayers for them…. And if you are someone who
does not pray, I would like to request positive thoughts and vibes for the following!!:
The sick
and suffering
I would like to request prayers
for my patients in Hospice, who are sick, some suffering, and some dying. I
just would like to request a prayer for their comfort, love, and support from
family and friends, and the presence of Christ’s accompaniment to help them not
feel fear or pain, but hope and joy at the end of their long walk of life. A
prayer for all of the sick and suffering and hopeless in the world in general.
Our cats
As I mentioned briefly earlier,
we have to find homes for the cats: Fidea, Pisco, and Bailey (Baby Cat already
has a home, Gracias a Dios!!). Please pray that we can find safe, loving,
healthy homes for all of them. Homes where they can live long, happy cat lives
full of affection and care. J
Maximo
and Fanny
Of the patients I talked about
before in my previous blog, they are all still living and pretty stable. I
would, however, like to put in a specific prayer request for Maximo, his sister
Fanny, and their pets: Beethoven, Doki, and Manches. As I described in my last
blog with Maximo included, they live in a very poor neighborhood about an hour
away from Chimbote up on top of a sand dune. Well, apparently their whole
neighborhood which is pretty big and consists of about 500 families, started as
a squatter community. The government is now coming in and mowing all of the
homes down because it is illegal to build homes there – even though this
neighborhood has existed for about 20 years. Maximo and Fanny have their world
there in their little house just like we do in our homes; their bathroom, their
bedrooms, their kitchen, their animals, their water well…. I was horrified when
Fanny told me they were just sitting ducks waiting for their house to be bulldozed.
I told her to call me once she knew the date so Kyle and I could come help her
move, and she said it isn’t like that, they just knock on your door and give
you like a 3 meter by 3 meter square in the sand, say fill the square with all
of the furniture you can and that is what you get to keep, the rest we are
mowing down within the hour…. And Maximo’s hospital bed itself would just take
up the entire space. It is horrible and so unjust and oppressive and awful!!!!!
Please keep Maximo and Fanny in your prayers.
Felicita
Felicita is my patient who is
very young, no more than in her late 60s, but has almost 20 years with cancer
of her face. It started as a melanoma spot (resembling a freckle) 17 years ago
on her nose, and because of her poverty and inability to afford medications or
hospitalization (chemo isn’t even an option), the entire center of her face is
now gone, eaten away by the cancer. She has no nose, no upper lip, and it is
starting to enter her right eye…. Despite all of this, she is one of the
cheeriest, brightest, most wonderfully energetic people I have ever met. She
says she never feels sad, abandoned, or alone because she knows God is with
her. She is an amazing inspiration and such a person full of love with a spirit
so strong. I would like to request prayers for her continued positivity,
strength, and confidence in God’s presence with her. I would also like to pray
that her cancer stops advancing and that we, the Hospice team, can continue to
clean her wound and prevent any further infections or sicknesses from coming to
Felicita. I would like to pray too, that if her cancer continues to advance,
that her family stay patient with her through this walk of sickness and
struggle, and that they never leave her side or stop giving her so much love
and support and help as they do now.
Our new
community, the new missionary
A prayer request for Kyle and I
as we enter our second year here in Peru and transition from a community with
Emily and Kelli to a new community with Clare. I want to also request prayers
for Clare as she is coming into such an exciting and scary time of moving to
South America for the next 2 years with really no idea of what it will bring. I
want to pray for her complete peace of mind and peace of heart, and for Kyle
and I as well, as we enter this new and exciting time together.
My family
and friends back in the USA
A
prayer for my mom, dad, grandpa, and our kitties at home. For their health,
happiness, peacefulness, safety, security, and faith in each other, in life, and
in God. It is hard being so far away for so long and feeling like I can’t be
there for them, so I would like to request prayers for their safety, health,
and happiness…. Also, prayers for all of my friends; that they are healthy and
doing well. Specifically for my friends living in St. Louis that they are kept
safe with all of the street violence that is now going on.
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