A Different Kind of Family

Mom, Dad, and I on Easter last year (cant believe this was over a year ago, wow!!)

As most of you know, I am an only child. As a result of this, while I was growing up all of my parent’s attention was on me. I got all of the praise but also all of the lectures, all of the joy but also all of the worry. Growing up as an only child was something I always enjoyed (I do like my alone time a lot, and I am very close to my mom and dad) but never thought too much about. After being here in Chimbote, where it is normal for a family to have 6 children (and live with their parents until they are 35), I am often asked how many brothers and sisters I have, and every time it is the same response….

Other person: So how many brothers and sisters do you have??

Me: None, I am actually an only child.

Other person: (Huge gasp) Seriously?? Really?? Wow, your parents must really have a hard time with you being here. I would never let my only child go to another country. (Another gasp). REALLY?? I can’t believe it. Wow. You must miss them a lot too after having all of their attention for your whole life.

And so I go on smiling and laughing and nodding, while inside thinking “Actually, yeah, it is really hard to be away from my parents who are also two of my best friends.” And I know it was really hard for my parents to let me come also (thanks again mom and dad for letting me follow this missionary vocation!! I love y’all).

What I have found in this vulnerability though, is a whole new source of family here in Peru. Every morning Señora Flor and Señora Cata make me hot coffee and a warm breakfast roll before I leave to go out into the community for Hospice. I have lunch with my three other amazing community mates where we share funny stories and doubts and sadness and joy. I kiss my cat between the ears before snuggling down with her for a nap. I go to the parish for a theatre meeting and walk into a room full of the parish youth group who have so much energy, excitement, and love for each other. I am greeted by the smiling faces of the old couple that run the corner store that I visit every evening to buy bread. I give a big hug to Axel, the 4 year old boy next door, and lift him up in my arms and spin him before walking into our house. We go to the Sisters house to pick up a package, and end up drinking coffee, playing board games, and talking for hours. When I am sick, Kelli makes me soup, Emily makes me laugh, and Kyle sits with me in the clinic for hours by my side. At the end of the day, we sit on my bed and read a story or recount our days before saying “Buenas noches!!” and crawling into bed.

I would have to say that while nothing will ever compare to my family back home, these people have a very special place in my heart. And while I know I am not their “only”, I know I have a special place in theirs as well.



A birthday party we had for one of the youth at our house, the group is the parish theatre group TEFA

A picnic we took with Sister Sofie and Sister Leonela





Part of my Hospice family on Juanitas birthday..... Elisabeth, Edward, Juanita, me, Janet, Mary, and Johany.





Our community on a day trip to the highlands..... Emily, me, Kyle, and Kelli.



And finally, the cats.......




...... who are obviously a huge part of our life here. maybe too huge?? hahah

  

Easter in el Perú

Jesus on the cross at the Good Friday Via Cruzes

Happy Easter to everyone!!!! And to any friends I have that don’t celebrate Easter, I hope you had a wonderful weekend last weekend!!!!

One of our Easter eggs on our Easter Egg tree!!

Easter in Peru proved to be one of the most challenging weekends yet for me. I guess I didn’t realize how much Easter with my parents and at my church, Living Word, back in Texas meant to me. I always enjoyed going home for Easter from school, but this year when I didn’t have Good Friday service at Living Word or Easter morning with my mom, dad, and grandpa…. It hit me how  much I counted on that Easter experience that I am so used to. I got pretty homesick. But with the cloud always comes the silver lining, right?!

Right!! While I was bummed to be so far from home, it was also SO beautiful to experience Easter in this Peruvian culture!! So many different events and celebrations. In our community as well we decided to have a pretty radical Lenten experience, which was challenging but definitely significant of the sacrifice. We decided as a community that each week we would give something up and also add something and continue for the rest of lent. Our list went like this:

Week 1: Give up the microwave, Add 45 minutes of daily morning Lenten prayer and meditation with daily readings.

Week 2: Give up eating outside of the house, Add only rice&beans for lunch every day.

Week 3: Give up buying brand marked anything, Add a Quote wall to the house

Week 4: Give up looking in the mirror, Add an extra mass together weekly.

Week 5: Give up electricity, Add evening prayer before bed.

Week 6: Give up sleeping in our beds (sleeping together on the floor downstairs), Add lunch time affirmations. 

            So by the end we were doing all of these things. To add to our Lenten last week of no electricity, sleeping on the floor, eating only rice and beans, and all the rest of it…. The water stopped coming. Water comes to our house once in the morning and once at night and fills our well, but something went wrong with the city water system and for a whole week 3 big areas of Chimbote were out of running water, including us. It was an interesting week for sure!!  But we made do and conserved water the best we could in buckets and basins, used a lot of candles at night, and needless to say the cats LOVED our sleeping on the floor all together arrangement.

Dying eggs by candlelight

Kyle and Fidea snuggling before bed



Our little floor bed, Kelli, Emily, Fidea, Me, and Kyle (roaches creeping around the floor not pictured)



            One of the most exciting Easter week events included Palm Sunday. We went and bought corn stocks from the donkey cart lady who always sells them on the corner by our church and went to get them blessed at mass. Everyone brought their own plants or corn stocks to get blessed and there was a procession through the streets with our plants. Then the next day we woke up at 5am to hike up the Cerro de la Paz, the big hill in the middle of Chimbote, with hundreds of other young people. We walked for 3 hours, reading the Stations of the Cross on the way, and had mass at the top at the church on the side of the hill.

Padre Sabastian blessing the plants with Holy Water

Everyone with their plants in mass

Sitting at the top of the Cerro with Chimbote city behind us

Mass given by the Archbishop on the Cerro Church

With Chimbote behind me

            Good Friday all over the city there are multiple groups performing what are called Via Cruzes. This is a real person re-enactment of the crucifixion that processes through the streets, stopping 14 times to act out every Station of the Cross (including whipping, fake blood, carrying life sized wooden crosses, soldiers screaming, women crying). Our theatre group combined with the theatre group from a nearby Parish. We started at a Parish about 15 minutes from ours, and processed through the streets for about 2.5 hours acting out the Via Cruzes. I played the part of Weeping Woman, in which I cried a lot and yelled “No!! Jesus!! Por favor!! Mi maestro!!” which means, “No!! Jesus!! Please!! My teacher!!”. There were soldiers, the 2 other crucified robbers, weeping women, the bad townspeople (who yelled the whole time “Crucificalo!! Matalo!!” which means “Crucify him!! Kill him!!”), Veronica, Mother Mary, and of course Jesus.

Our Via Cruzes group gathered before the first station started, I am in the middle a little to the left in black with a blue cloth around my head.

Weeping Women in the background with Jesus in the foreground

Jesus being whipped by the soldiers

Mary and Jesus

Processing from station to station through the street

Rising the cross

The crucifixion

            Easter vigil mass was also beautiful, with lots of candles and singing and even a washing of the feet by our Priest of 12 young people representing the 12 disciples. Our Easter night dinner consisted of home made pizza and wine spritzers. Yum!!

Washing of the feet

The altar on Easter vigil night, offerings of plants and seeds for new life

Dinner

The beautiful sunset on Easter Vigil night, the cerro from our balcony

            On Easter morning, we had brunch together around our Easter Egg Tree. We had homemade cinnamon rolls made by Emily, quiche made by Kelli, and opened our Easter Baskets!! In the afternoon we had the IW Sisters over for coffee and desert which was great, I love when we and the Sisters can get together and have little Incarnate Word family time.

Ready for brunch

Me with my Easter basket on Easter morning!!

Some eggs we made

More Easter Eggs

IW Missionaries and IW Sisters

            So while I was having a hard time not being home, I also had the amazing opportunity to experience such a different and incredible Holy Week. What a real incarnation of finding holiness out of sacrifice!!!!!!

            He is RISEN!!!!!!! ALELUYA!!!!!!!!!

I am famous!!!! .... And Mexico retreat!!!!

Hello everyone!! :) 

 It has been over a month since I have written and I am so sorry!! Sometimes things just start happening so fast and before I know it, Easter is around the corner!!

First, I have to say that guess what?! I am Chimbote famous!! Well, not really. But I WAS featured in the Chimbote newspaper for my missionary work in Hospice!! This was a while ago, but I am finally getting around to posting it. How exciting!!

A picture of the article and a translation of the article below:

The Values of the Kingdom

North American volunteer gives a testimony of her life

Katie Langley: Serving the sick is my vocation

            Every morning she wakes up with the joy of her youth to accomplish the service that took her far away from her country, her parents, and her friends. It is the story of Katie Langley, 24 years old, graduate of nursing in the United States, who is a volunteer in Hospicio Santiago Apostal (Saint James Hospice).

            Katie arrived to Chimbote with other young people from her country thanks to the program “Missionaries of the Incarnate Word”. She decided to come to our city with the soul objective of helping the terminally ill, because that is her vocation.

            “From Monday to Saturday I come to Hospice; at 8 in the morning we start work with a team meeting. We visit homes out in the community in groups of two, which means I always go with a partner; we have patients in Chimbote, Nuevo Chimbote, Santa, and Cambio Puente,” Says Katie.

            She adds that in the home visits they offer wound care, massages, foley catheters, nasogastric tubes, tracheostomy care, colostomy care, IV therapy, alitas, and reflexology (for those that ask - because through this technique the pain that accompanies the illnesses can be alleviated).

            Katie explains that she attends 6-7 patients from different zones in coordination with the team in the morning, and in the afternoon continues her work.

            In spite of not speaking perfect Spanish, the young North American has come to know many people, and because of her empathetic character she has made many friends.

            Another aspect that Katie highlighted is the professional work that Hospice offers to the patients, because the patients receive personalized and quality care. (Author: Herminia Olivos).

So that was my interview!!!! In other news, we just recently got back from Mexico City where we went for two weeks for an Incarnate Word Missionaries retreat!! It was so exciting to get to see all of the other missionaries and spend time with them in person rather than just on a SKYPE conference call (missionaries from Peru, Guatemala, Africa, Mexico, and the US). We had an amazing time together, sharing stories and learning of each others work and mission sites. I was so inspired by them, they are all doing such amazing things!!!! (The girls in Mexico work in a daycare, volunteer in the parish, and teach music and theatre, in Guatemala the missionaries run a school for indigenous children who could not have an education otherwise, in the US the missionary lives in a house for homeless women and their children, tutoring them and sharing meals with them, and in Africa the missionary works in a rural clinic in Zambia).

Missionaries: David, Kirsten, Tara, Emily, Emma, Me, Kyle, Miriam, Jelly, Nicole, Director Kathy, and Kelli.

While we were in Mexico City, we were able to see some of the touristy sites as well: Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Anthropology museum, the National Cathedral. We traveled to very rich neighborhoods and very poor neighborhoods just to really be able to see the vast socioeconomic separation of classes. But while there is so much poverty in Mexico, we saw so many kids smiling and playing in the street and sweet little old ladies greeting us with so much joy everywhere we went. It is a culture rich in faith and spirit and beauty. Mexico City is a wonderful place and it is definitely somewhere I would return to. And, the food was INCREDIBLE!!!!! For sure made me miss my Tex Mex. 

 
Now things are getting into gear for Semana Santa, or Holy Week, and Easter!! Our theatre group is putting on the Stations Of The Cross, in which I will play the roll of Weeping Woman. I will be sure to let you all know how it goes (and this time I will really try to post within a couple weeks)!!

Peace and God Bless,
Katie

Hospicio Santiago Apostol... AKA, my job!!

When I blog, I talk about Hospice a lot. But have I ever really explained where I work and exactly what I do?? I thought I would give you all more of an explanation of Hospice and what I do there.

Going in to work!!

Hospicio Santiago Apostol is where I work. It is a Hospice clinic here in Chimbote that is run by the Incarnate Word Sisters, specifically Sister Juanita. Sister Juanita is originally from Texas too but has been living in Chimbote for over 15 years. It is one of the only palliative care clinics in South America and we get patients that come all the way from Cusco to be a part of the program. We provide services such as wound care, reflexology and therapeutic massage, tracheostomy care, colostomy care, IV therapy, nasogastric tubes, catheter care, bed baths, pain control, tube feedings, oxygen therapy, and nutritional education. There are about 25 beds inside the clinic, and on average anywhere from 35-50 patients out in the community at any given time. We have a full Interprofessional team – nurses, nursing technicians, nursing assistants, one doctor, a psychologist, a social worker, a pastoral care worker, and two cooks. We have an Interprofessional meeting every Friday afternoon to discuss patient issues, have guest speakers, educational workshops, leadership classes, and eat snacks and hang out together. Hospice is a really beautiful family and I love all of my coworkers!!

Hospice Clinic

The chapel inside of Hospice

The entry way of Hospice

Our room for morning meetings.... In this photo is Santos the nurse, Anita the social worker, Clorinda a nurse tech., and Susana another North American Volunteer that was here for a couple of months in Sept and Oct.

 

All workers take turns working inside the clinic and rotating one or two months working outside in the community – except for me, I am always in the community!! Which is fun because I get to take turns working with everyone, and I also get a chance to get to know all different parts of Chimbote and all different families. My day starts with a short meeting at 8am in Hospice with my coworkers to organize who the community teams will be (two teams of two go out every day) and what patients we will have. We divide into North and South Chimbote and switch every week back and forth so everyone gets to know all of the patients. After we are handed out our supplies and drink some tea, we are on our way. We see 5-7 or 8 patients every morning and I usually get home around 1 or 1:30. Then we go out again from 3-5:00 or 6:00 depending on how many afternoon patients we have. We offer all of the services listed above, though wound care (the bed sores here are TERRIBLE), massages, and NG tubes and Foleys are the most popular out in the community. I am a pro at taking manual blood pressures now.

And in a nutshell that is my work!! Since I talk about my patients sometimes in blogs (especially the famous Maximo from a previous blog), I decided to post some photos of me and some of my patients so you all can get to know some of them!!!! Obviously HIPPA has yet to reach Peru…..

This is a photo of me and the famous Maximo!!!! And his sister Fanny. As described earlier, Maximo has severe diabetes that has gone untreated his whole life, which has resulted in the amputation of his legs and blindness. Despite all of this, he and Fanny are some of the most beautiful and energetic people I have ever met. So content with their lives and so loving.

Here is me and Paula Rojas. Paula is an abuelita (little grandma) who has uterine cancer. She also has a lot of trouble with her site. While she needs to stay in her house and not leave for danger of hurting herself, she is a little bundle of energy and goes downtown often to sell little candies for money on the street. I have caught her a few times and said “Paula!! I am Katie, your Hospice nurse. What are you doing down here!! You know it is dangerous for you.” And she just smiles and says “Ahh Senorita, 20 cents for a candy!!”

This is a photo of Julia and her daughter, Maria Julia. I looooooooooove Julia!!!! She is one of my favorite patients for sure. She is the cutest little lady who always is laying in her bed and has the biggest toothless smile when I walk in and sing “Buenos Dias Juliaaaa!!!!” and give her a big hug and kiss. She has a fractured femur and their family doesn’t have the money to fix it, so she has kind of just slowly become immobile and her joints started to calcify. Now she is bed ridden and watches a lot of Soap Operas. Haha. She also took one of our kittens!!

This is Amada and I. Amada is 94 years old and has Alzheimer’s. She sleeps a lot. We go and give her reflexology massages to her feet and legs and talk to her a little bit. She is pretty much always asleep but when she is awake she always smiles a lot and is super friendly.

This is me and Paula Pizarro. She died in December, but I really loved her and wanted to put up this picture of her and I. She was 92 when she died and one of the sweetest little grandmas ever and had so much faith. She was always so welcoming and affectionate towards me and really happy to see us when we visited. Her daughter, Rita, is good friends with my community mate Kelli so we get to see her a lot which is nice.

This is Michel. He is only 25 years old and was in a car accident. He is paralyzed from the waist down. He has terrible, horrible bed sores. You can see down to the bone in some parts, like I am literally cleaning his coccyx. It is almost a blessing that he cant feel from the waist down because his wounds are so bad.

P.S. Update about the fire, donations have been pouring in from the Diocese, Municipalidad, and other groups around Chimbote. People have been donating money, used clothes, new underwear and socks, pots and pans, portable stoves, blankets, shoes, toiletries, and a large variety of other things.  While I wouldn’t say the people of San Pedro are “doing well”, I would definitely say that the situation is bettering and they are not going forgotten!!

Fire in Chimbote Wipes Away Over 600 Homes

Two weeks ago here in Chimbote, in a neighborhood called San Pedro, a fire started on a Sunday morning. San Pedro is one of the poorest parts of Chimbote, the homes are built on top of a sand dune and are made of estera (bamboo type plants) and cardboard and newspaper and whatever else can be found. There is no running water. All of the homes share walls, so when one home was set afire, it progressed rapidly and relentlessly and soon over 600 homes, the entire side of the sand hill, were gone. In their place, ash and sand.

We visited San Pedro last week with a group from our Parish. We went to deliver bags of clothes, food, and water from the Diocese and to help clean up and talk with the people. We found out how desperate the people were for clean water, clothes for their children, a stove to cook on, and most of all, safety and security for their families. The Municipalidad, or city council, has provided tents for these people to live in for a month until they can start rebuilding. People were already pounding poles into the ground and hanging estera when we visited. We saw children running on the hot sand with out shoes (reminder it is summer here) and dogs that had been burned while trying to run through the burning streets.

There has been a political effect of this disaster as well. There has been no security in the area since the tents were delivered, and people are being robbed nightly by what little they do have. Cesar Alvarez, the governer of our region of Peru, is being trialed for corruption presently, and this did not help his case. Not only is he providing no security, but he has not been putting any money into fire, tsunami, or any natural disaster efforts though he promised that would be a focus during his election. This has led to many blaming him for the poor efforts deployed to control the fire (and by poor efforts I mean pick up trucks with like 3 fire extinguishers attached the back).

This is a reminder of how things can change at the drop of a hat. At a stove accidentally left on or a candle that falls over while someone in the bathroom. How fast our lives can change. Everything we know and cling to can be lost. But you know what?? The people we met, while scared for their families and desperate for basic needs, were so much less panicked than I expected them to be. They werent set on the things they had in their home, the picture frames and TVs and couches and bed frames. They were just glad their families were safe, they have God in their hearts, and were ready to build again (no one died in the fire). It made me think of Oscar Romero, Dorothy Day, and Mother Teresa, who spoke so much of living a life of simplicity and poverty. The more of a materialistic life you live, the more you have to lose. But the more simply you live, the less earthly goods you will become preoccupied with and attached to, and the more you will treasure family and God.

A photo of our group walking where homes used to be (I am on the left behind the two people in white shirts)

I learned a lot from the people of San Pedro when I visited, and I would like to ask all of you to keep this community in your prayers.

I translated an article below that I got from this website; http://peru21.pe/2012/01/09/actualidad/chimbote-incendio-calcino-600-casas-2006721

Chimbote: fire charred 600 homes



Monday January 9, 2012 | 9:39

A sinister fire would be started when an inhabitant cooking with firewood in the courtyard of his house in the slums of Jose Sanchez Milla.

It was like a hell in the north. A fire destroyed nearly 600 homes in the slums of Jose Sanchez Mile in the lower area of the Cerro San Pedro, in Chimbote (Ancash region). The flames also reached the shanty shacks of New Horizon Gardens.

The fire burned the houses built of sticks and mats, up to 12 blocks wide, located near the city Chimbote. The fire started yesterday around 11:00 hours. More than three hours later, it could finally be controlled by firefighters and residents.

Precisely, the affected population showed their disgust with the regional president of Ancash, Cesar Alvarez, and the provincial mayor of Santa, Luis Arroyo, by not deploying firefighters with better resources.

The residents also complained to the municipality's delivery of property titles, because without them we can build and improve the condition of their homes.

Until last night it had not been determined with certainty whether there was suffering from suffocation or deaths. Some were injured with minor burns. Civil Defense census says those affected are to receive food, tents and other supplies.

THE REASON
The exact origin is unknown in the accident. But the first investigations indicate that this began when cooking with wood dweller in the backyard. Unable to control the fire, it spread to other homes and several gas tanks exploded.


FACT

- The fire also scorched cars and various animals.

- It was reported that there was theft from homes affected