I'm a new soul in a strange world.

Have you heard the song "New Soul" by Yael Naim? My roommate and fellow volunteers have....over and over and over coming from my guitar as I'm in the process of learning it. (There is no privacy here; the walls are way too thin!) If you haven't heard it, it's a cool song that has spoken to me here. Here are some of the lyrics:

"I'm a new soul/I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit 'bout how to give and take/But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear,finding myself making every possible mistake."

Yup, that about sums up my time here!! Some things about this place are SO bizarre to me and I feel like they will always be bizarre in my eyes, not something I will become accustomed to from living here. Such things include but are not limited to: eating guinea pigs, roasted cow hearts on sticks, cow liver, and cow intestine soup, seeing jesters on stilts in the grocery store, seeing ppl walk a cow on a piece of rope down the street, seeing any type of animal on the micro, ppl constantly picking lice out of kids hair (even when they are selling things to you, like at the market!), full-out breastfeeding without ANY modesty ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE, excessive over-decorating for 20 minute events, seeing how much sugar and crap they let the kids intake during a party (seriously...about 15 pieces of candy for starters, then heaping handfuls of popcorn and cheese puffs, then gelatin, 2 cups of soda, cookies, and a HUGE piece of cake all in 2 hours!) this list could go on for days... I will tell about all my Spanish blunders in a later post.



Oh, the jesters!



"Lice" to see you again!



I think I helped blow up close to 50 balloons for this school party.




Check out those decs! They are hand-made, thank you.



Fiesta de azúcar (sugar party)

What a developmentally delicious day!

I'm so proud of my "kids"! I seriously felt like a beaming, proud mother today. I even cried. (which doesn't take much, I know). During "therapy" with Jessica (that is what we are calling it to make the madres feel better abt me snatching the baby to rock, sing, swing, babble, walk, etc) she was walking all OVER the place by herself and she wasn't even giving me the sad pouty face for me to pick her up. Then I introduced her to the Talking Tom Cat application on my iPad for her to start being stimulated to make sounds, babble, and TALK! And guess what happened next? She said "mama"!!!!! Or repeated me and the talking cat! And not the best word choice to teach an orphan, but hey!! SHE TALKED! She's almost 17 months. It's no surprise that she is delayed. She came from a horrendous family situation and I'm so glad the Lord blessed her by bringing her here at such a young age.










On to the next treat. Enter Jorge, 6 yrs old and seriously lacking all the educational stimulation that a proper household would have provided. Thus, he is 6 yrs old and can't write his name. Correction: He is 6 yrs old and could not write his name UNTIL TODAY!!!!! His eyes became as wide as watermelons when he saw what he had done! He was obviously as proud of himself as I was. I just sat there in amazement, clapping, cheering, and then tearing up. The 2 boys asked, "Tia, why are you crying?" I said, "Because I'm so proud of you guys! You are my boys!" Perfect moment. Perfect day.

Belatedness and other happy times...

I feel like Peru is making me bipolar. One day is really hard and trying, the next is ridiculously happy, the following depressing with all the recent events, then utter joy again. Well, at least it helps me appreciate the good times and the amazing people I get to spend them with.

I have a lot to catch up on. Happy belated Easter! I was desperately missing being gone from home and ESP our traditions of going to church together and then having Easter scavenger hunts for our baskets with a series of clues taking you to and fro'. I decided to create one for each of the volunteers that were here, awake, and willing. Here are some good pics.






Whitney found her egg!







Ashley's on an egg mission!


Mission completed.







Liz conquered the hunt.







Laura is EGGstremely happy.

On Monday morning, we took the 4 madres( 1 stays in each house with up to 11 kids each-TOUGH job!!!!) out to breakfast for a belated Mothers Day celebration. Actually, some past volunteers, Harrison and Leah Hicks, left "fun money" to use as we saw fit. The madres had SUCH a blast and we did too. It was so nice to be able to really converse and joke and see them outside their roles and just as women. We need to do that more.









These women are truly amazing!! So underpaid for the crazy job they do!



Thank you, Leah and Harrison!

Tonight we made dinner to show our appreciation for the cooks and the hard work they do every day preparing lunch and dinner for over 50 ppl. I usually help in the kitchen an hour a day and I'm spent after just that much time, esp when some of their methods seem so archaic. Every day they have to sort the rice by hand, picking out bugs, tiny centipedes, rocks, and black rice. When I commented to one of the cooks abt how time-consuming and "old" sorting rice can get, she said, "If we don't sort rice, we don't eat rice." These 2 women have really taken me under their Peruvian wings, esp in the kitchen world. They had the biggest smiles I've ever seen when I told them we were going to cook for them. And again, we used the fun money from the Hicks to buy food. What a great night!



Kevin instructing them on how to assemble the tacos



THE AMAZING Filomena and Luz!

Precious Moments

As hard as times can be around here, they can be as equally sweet. Sometimes I find myself stopping in my tracks, pausing for a stand-still mental snapshot, hoping to freeze time in that perfect moment as long as I can. I really savor these God-given morsels; they enable me to not only survive a tough week but moreover, to THRIVE.






Here is Alejandro's giant smile that can light up the whole room if he chooses to give it to you. When he first came to the orphanage, all he knew was abuse and hitting. Apparently, all he did was hit. People, the walls, the table, toys, the ground, anything and everything. God and the power of love have transformed him and he is such a pleasure to be around and to watch him continue to grow into the child of God he was designed to be.










I can't put into words how much joy I get from Consuelo's hugs. She needs to give hug classes or even seminars- they are THAT GOOD! They always last at least a minute and include a tight squeeze and usually an "I love you, Tia." The last one she gave me yesterday she said, "I love you more than my madre tutora "(the "mom" that lives in the house with them.) I melted.











I adore one of my new duties at the orphanage. It involves stealing baby Jessica out of the house 3x/week for "learning" aka holding, snuggling, swinging and singing to her WITHOUT GUILT! The madres pretty much discourage us from holding her bc they think she's getting accustomed to it and cries because of this. SHE'S A BABY!!!! Infuriating. Today she started to "sing" and coo after me while I was singing "You are my Sunshine", my Grandma's trademark/legacy.







Pedro, one of the hyper-active twins totally passed out mid-writing today during homework time. It was so cute to see these tranquil side of him. Check out the legitimate drool in the corner of his mouth!

Joys and Sorrows

Where to start???? There is sooo much on my heart right now. I will start with happiness first. My friend, Ashley, and I got to break away for an extended weekend in the beautiful mountains of Huaraz, Peru. ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! I definitely recommend it! I felt like I was back in New Zealand with the snow-capped mountains. We found thermal baths, hiked the Lago 69 tour, met an adorable Belgian couple (and because of this, Belgium is now on my must-go list! I love international connections!), ate crepes, shopped, explored, and did everything BUT take care of 40 niños that were all demanding our attention at the same time! What a refreshing break!





















The hardest part was also my favorite part. The Lake 69 "tour" aka torture. That thing should have a warning label: NOT for the average bear!!!! I was worried about it especially after asking a few guys what they thought of it and they both had the same look, expression and words, "It was HARD!" Oh crap. Indeed, it was a breath-taking 3+ hour hike up (literally I could NOT breathe!!!) Altitude and I aren't the greatest of friends.) So many times during this trek, I wanted to stop and turn around because it was so hard and physically, I felt like my body just wasn't cooperating. The altitude and thin air made me feel dizzy, weak and nauseous at times. It seemed like such a daunting feat every time I looked up and saw how much more we had. I kept thinking of the word of the year from God- perseverance. Once I eventually made it up, the view from the top was beyond what I could have ever imagined. I realized it was all worth it.



















I have been comparing that experience there on the mountain with the experience here at the orphanage. Sometimes life is pure and utter chaos here. A simple yet very accurate statement about life here...it is HARD! It's easy to get caught up in the trying and difficult moments and question "Why?" Why all the pain? Why do these kids have to endure so much at such a young age? Why did you bring me here and subject me to such heart-breaking scenarios and scenes and insane situations that make my soul just ache? However, it is here above all times and places in my life that my heart has grown the most and where I feel the strongest in my faith. The Lord continues to reveal Himself and his goodness despite it all. Especially lately, the devil has tried to make our home his playground- between countless disagreements and hard feelings between people here, the director of the orphanage quitting, 2 fellow volunteers getting mugged and now even death.

We found out that one of our precious children that was just moved to a different orphanage better equipped for his physical needs just suffered a heart attack and died. I go between shock, disbelief, and devastation. Somehow, I can find some comfort in the day he died. That day, I had the song "You are Mine" on my heart all day. I learned it on guitar and played it all day, ESP the chorus. "Do not be afraid;I am with you. I have called you each by name. Come and follow me; I will bring you home. I love you and you are mine." It helps me to think I was singing that as he was going to his new beautiful home to be with His loving Father that will never abandon him like his earthly father did. I loved that kid to pieces. He brought me closer to God. I'm grateful to him for that and to God for His purpose in all things and circumstances. I will praise Him in this storm. Luis, until we meet again...