Fragmentado (Fragmented)

This post is bilingual, the English version is below.

Esta entrada es bilingüe, la versión en inglés está abajo.

“¿Cómo se recoge los hilos de una vida antigua? ¿Cómo sigues adelante cuando en tu corazón comienzas a entender que no hay volver?  Hay algunas cosas que el tiempo no puede remendar…”

-Frodo en la adaptación cinematográfica de El Señor de los Anillos: El Retorno del Rey

Mi paso se aceleró después de haber salido de la puerta de desembarque.  La emoción comenzó a inundarme mientras que esperé con gran anticipación ver las caras de mi familia.  Un sentimiento gozoso me sobrecogió y levanté mis brazos en el aire, señalando el triunfo sobre el viaje arduo a mi tierra.  Pronto llegué a los brazos de mi papa, mamá, abuela y dos hermanos, rostros olvidados encontrados nuevamente.  Sin embargo, fui dicho que no se podía reconocerme a mi, que yo había cambiado tanto.  Pronto experimenté la misma sensación con mi mismo.

Este primer párrafo que pinté para Uds. era lo que sentí después de que el avión se aterrizó, pero yo todavía no he regresado.  Cuando una persona va de vacaciones o un viaje misionero plazo corto, el tiempo y perspectiva usualmente están definidos y el traslado de ambientes está menos cincelado.  Yo establecí una vida en Perú, y cuando me fui no dejé solamente algunos recuerdos o rastros, sino una parte de mi mismo.  Yo tenía estructura y propósito en mi actividad diaria, tenía una familia que incluía acerca de 50 niños preciosos, tenía amistades profundas y me sentía más cómodo con el castellano como mi idioma.  Ocho meses, y en un abrir y cerrar de ojos, se esfumó todo.

La cosa irónica es que esta vida, mi vida “antigua”, hace una semana parecía un sueño.  Sin embargo, mientras que estoy sentado escribiendo esta entrada, en una casa en el noreste de los Estados Unidos en el invierno, los instantes de despertarme en el noroeste de Perú en el verano se ven como si a través de una neblina o la niebla.

¿Y cómo se cabe una pieza que no más se encaja facilmente en su rompecabezas?  Los primeros días de vuelto eran bien difíciles.  Reta tus paradigmas cuando un almuerzo éstandar en Nueva York podría costar más que trés días de comida de donde estábas.  O un viaje en el subterráneo, repleto de personas, muchas con sus iPods, es más silencio y en insensible que nunca.  Y claro, quieres decirles a todos tus amigos tu experiencia tal como era, pero faltan las palabras y tú sientes que ni siquiera has vuelto todavía.  Aun más, el intento de decírselo a todos en un día te deja agotado.

Ahora sí estoy acostumbrándome más, pero yo sé que nunca seré igual; nunca completamente regresaré.  Y debe ser así.  Una experiencia como la mía te cicatriza y te cambia.  Como en “Desaparecidos” cuando Jack sale de la isla o Frodo cuando vuelve de su viaje de destruir el anillo, jamás las cosas serán como eran.

Como comencé con una historia, voy a terminar con una también.  La noche en la que me fui del albergue, y fui a todas las casitas, despidiéndome de todos los niños.  Me tocaron Las Chispas por último, y me turné dándoles a todas las chicas un abrazo.  Pero Isabel se quedó a la mesa sin mostrar mucha emoción.  Yo le dije, “Isabel, tú me debes algo,” refiriéndome al abrazo.  Ella se paró y me abrazó, y se quedó allí.  No se movió de entre mis brazos por cinco minutos, llorando.  Esas lágrimas todavía están conmigo.

Abajo están algunas fotos de estos amigos que me han impactado tanto.

“How do you pick up the threads of an old life?  How do you go on when in your heart you begin to understand there is no going back?  There are some things that time cannot mend…”

-Frodo in the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King

My pace quickened after having exited the gate.  The excitement began to flood me while I waited with great anticipation seeing the faces of my family.  A joyful feeling overtook me and I lifted my arms in the air, signaling the triumph over the arduous trip to my land.  I soon arrived to the arms of my dad, mom, grandmother and two brothers, faces forgotten newly found.  However, it was said that I couldn’t be recognized, that I had changed a lot.  I soon experienced the same sensation with myself.

This first paragraph that I painted for you was what I felt after the plane landed, but I still haven’t come back.  When a person goes on vacation or a short term missionary trip, the time and mindset are usually defined and the movement of environments is less engraved.  I established a life in Peru, and when I left I didn’t just leave some memories or traces, but rather a part of myself.  I had structure and purpose in my daily activity, a family that included about 50 precious children, deep friendships, and I felt more comfortable with Spanish as my language.  Eight months, and in the blink of an eye, it all vanished.

The ironic thing is that this life, my “old” life, a week ago seemed a dream.  However, while I am sitting writing this post, in a house in the northeast of the United States in the winter, the instants of waking up in northwestern Peru in the summer are seen as if through a mist or a fog.

And how do you fit a puzzle piece that no longer goes easily into its puzzle?  The first days back were quite difficult.  It challenges your paradigms when a standard lunch in New York cost more than three days of food from where you were.  Or a trip on the subway, full of people, many with their iPods, are quieter and more numb than ever.  And of course, you want to tell all your friends your experience exactly as it was, but there’s a lack of words and you feel that you haven’t even returned yet.  Plus, the attempt of telling it to everyone in a day leaves you exhausted.

Now I am getting used to things more, but I know that I will never be the same; I will never completely come back.  And it has to be that way.  An experience like mine scars you and changes you.  Like in “Lost” when Jack leaves the island or Frodo when he returns from his journey to destroy the ring, things will never be as they were.

Like I began with a story, I am going to end with one too.  The night in which I left the orphanage, I went to all the casitas, saying goodbye to all the children.  Las Chispas were the last house, and I took turns giving hugs to all the girls.  Yet Isabel stayed at the table without showing much emotion.  I said to her, “Isabel, you owe me something,”, referring to the hug.  She stood up and hugged, and stayed there.  She didn’t move from my embrace for five minutes, crying.  Those tears are still with me.

Below are some pictures of these friends that have impacted me such.

Pasando páginas (Turning pages)

This post is bilingual, the English version is below.

Esta entrada es bilingüe, la versión en inglés está abajo.

Bien, he llegado a un punto muy extraño, un período que realmente hace 8 meses parecía una eternidad en el futuro.  Me queda aproximadamente una semana aquí en el albergue.  Hoy día es sábado, y el siguiente sábado en la noche yo tomo un bus desde aquí hasta Lima.   Paso el día ahí y después vuelo de Lima a los Estados Unidos.  Anoche yo compré mi boleto pa’ Lima, así que es ciertamente una realidad.  Y ¡que ciclo de oscilaciones estoy experimentando!

Les explico que pasa.  En verdad, estoy muy emocionado por volver.  Extraño mucho mi familia, mis amigos, y una variedad de cosas pequeñas.  Va a ser un regreso glorioso y gozoso, y una gran parte de mi espera con ansiedad salir de la puerta del embarque y ver mi familia aguardándome.  Sin embargo, hace casi ocho meses que estoy aquí.   La intensidad de esa duracion juega un papel en causar nostalgia, y también fomenta cariño y profundidad en relaciones y en experiencia.  O sea, ahora yo tengo una familia aquí y he tenido una aventura increíble.  Esto ha sido mi vida por un largo tiempo, y marcharme no va a ser fácil.

Cuando yo me fui de mi casa, era triste.  Yo tuve que decirle a mi familia Chau por ocho meses, y no conocía ni siquiera una persona aquí en el Perú.  Ahora tengo que decir Adios a otra familia, y no sé cuando regresaré.  Es el anhelo de mi corazón volver algún día, no sé por cuánto tiempo y en qué capacidad, pero las amistades y hermandades tengo aquí me son muy importantes, y este albergue está dejando una huella profundo en mi ser.

El cuerpo de Cristo realmente centellea cuando se lo ve en otros países.  Uno puede vislumbrar los diferentes fragmentos de su belleza, como las diferentes radiaciones de luz a través de un prisma.  Yo tengo una familia que se extiende a todas partes del mundo, y va a ser feliz reunirme con mis hermanos en Nueva York que me aman, pero también triste irme de mis hermanos aquí en el Perú.  ¡Qué glorioso que algún día estaremos juntos todos, sin despedidas!

Y ¡que amor el Señor me ha mostrado aquí a través de los niños!  Cada chico es una obra de arte de Dios, y ha sido un gozo conocer cada uno más.  Son personas hermosas, y mi oración es que ellos entiendan cada día más cuán amados son.  Este fin de semana yo fui a Chiclayo, una ciudad acerca de tres horas y media al norte, y cuando regresé algunas de las niñas se precipitaron hacia mí para abrazarme, como si hubiera ido por semanas.  Después de este encuentro mis ojos comenzaron a llenarse ligeramente de lágrimas.  Vivir en un lugar así, recibes un cuadro a lo que realmente importa en la vida.  Yo voy a extrañar las infinitas veces de escuchar “Tío Mateo” y las sonrisas de estos amiguitos preciosos.

Bueno, gracias por escucharme un poquito.  Cuando esté en los Estados yo haré más con mi blog.  Reflexionaré, y contaré algunas anécdotas.  Por favor, les pido que me toleren, porque tendré que retroceder…yo sé que todavía les debo la segunda parte de mi aventura en la selva.  Además, querré compartir algunas fotos de los niños con Uds.  Así que, ¡sigan sintonizando!

Well, I’ve arrived at a very strange point, a period that really 8 months ago seemed an eternity in the future.  I have approximately a week left here in the orphanage.  Today is Saturday, and the following Saturday in the night I take a bus from here to Lima.  I spend the day there and afterwards fly from Lima to the U.S.  Last night I bought my ticket for Lima, so it is certainly a reality.  And what cycle of oscillations I am experiencing!

I’ll explain to you what’s going on.  Truthfully, I am excited to go back.  I miss very much my family, my friends and a variety of small things.  It is going to a glorious and joyful return, and a large part of me can’t wait to exit the gate and see my family awaiting me.  However, I’ve been here for about eight months.  The intensity of that duration plays a role in causing nostalgia and also fosters affection and depth in relationships and experience.  That is, now I have a family here and I’ve had an incredible adventure.  This has been my life a long time, and leaving is not going to be easy.

When I left home, it was sad.  I had to say bye to my family for eight months, and I didn’t even know one person here in Peru.  Now I have to say goodbye to another family, and I don’t know when I’ll return.  It is the yearning of my heart to come back some day, I don’t for how long or in what capacity, but the friendships and brother ties I have here are very important to me, and this orphanage is leaving a deep imprint in my being.

The body of Christ really sparkles when it is seen in other countries.  One can glimpse the different fragments of its beauty, like the different radiations of light through a prism.  I have a family that extends to all parts of the world, and it is going to be happy reunite with my brothers and sisters in New York that love me, but also sad to leave my those here in Peru.  How glorious that someday we will be together, without farewells!

And what love the Lord has shown me through the children!  Each child is one of God’s works of art, and it has been a joy getting to know each one more and more.  They are beautiful people, and my prayer is that they understand each day more how loved they are.  This weeked I went to Chiclayo, a city about three hours and a half hours to the north, and when I came back some of the girls rushed towards me to give me a hug, as if I had been gone for weeks.  After this encounter my eyes began to tear up.  Living in a place like this, you receive a glimpse into what really matters in life.  I am going to miss the infinite times of hearing “Tío Mateo” and the smiles of these little precious friends.

Well, thanks for listening to me a little.  When I am in the States I will do more with my blog.  I will reflect and tell some anecdotes.  Please, I ask that you put up with me, because I will have to rewind…I know that I still owe you all the second part of the jungle adventure.  Furthermore, I will want to share some photos of the kids with you guys.  So, stay tuned!

La selva te envuelve: Parte 1

This post is bilingual.  The English version is below.

Esta entrada es bilingüe.  La versión en inglés está abajo.

“Deberíamos regresar a casa de aventura, y peligros, y descubrimientos cada día con nueva experiencia y carácter” –Henry David Thoreau

“Una inconveniencia es solo una aventura considerada incorrectamente; una aventura es una inconveniencia considerada correctamente.”  -GK Chesterton

Damas y caballeros, acabo de regresar de la aventura más intensa e increíble de mi vida hasta ahora.  Oeste de la cordillera de los Andes en Perú te aguarda la selva Peruana, una majestuosa tierra llena de belleza, maravilla y autenticidad.  La selva es inmensa; yo solo fui un pedazo pequeño de lo que es un terreno que se extiende a otros países.  Sin embargo, el trazo que yo experimenté dejo una huella impactante en mi ser.

Yo voy a intentar explicar mi aventura reciente, mas te animo que si te encuentras conmigo, pregúntame en persona.  Mayormente, esta exposición va a ser un resumen general adornado con anécdotas.

Fui a la selva con mi jefe y amigo Alex.  Hace más que 6 meses que yo trabajo con Alex aquí al albergue, y él es un nativo de la selva.  Partimos de Trujillo en un bus en camino a Tarapoto, y después de un viaje de más o menos 16 horas llegamos.  Allí nos reunimos con Miqueas, un misionero que vive en Tarapoto con su familia.  Lo mencioné en una entrada anterior que se trata de Lima; anticipé este viaje.  Bueno, nos quedamos en Tarapoto ese día y noche, acostumbrándonos a estar de pie y al calor.  Visitamos la iglesia que estaba siendo construida y asistimos el culto en la noche.  El próximo día en la mañana  comenzaría el núcleo de la odisea.

Nuestro equipo se componía de Miqueas, dos de sus hijos, Alex, un hermano Willy que es médico, dos hermanas residen en Trujillo, un hermano de Tarapoto y yo.  De Tarapoto tomamos un carro (una camioneta en la que me quedé atrás) hasta el pueblo de Chazuta.  Desde allí tomamos un bote por el Rio Huallaga hasta el primer pueblito del recorrido: Achinamisa.  Cada pueblo a donde fuimos tenía su propio encanto, y éste no era una excepción.  Acurrucado en la selva alta se encuentra esta aldea con una gente humilde y amable.  Los hermanos de la iglesia nos dieron las bienvenidas con mucho calor y hospitalidad, y yo fui sobrecogido por la hermosura de este paisaje.  Ellos no tienen luz, televisión, internet o agua corriente, pero su tierra es más como Dios la dejó que la nuestra.  Los que nos atendían nos mostraron donde íbamos a quedarnos, y disfrutamos un almuerzo de carachupa (armadillo).  Luego, me bañé en una quebrada que aloja un tipo de pez que se llama el canero.  El canero es un animalito travieso.  Es atraído por la orina de su presa y entra en su huésped siguiendo la trayectoria del liquido.  Puede simplemente también morder la piel exterior de su víctima.  Obviamente, ¡yo estaba consciente de este riesgo que enfrentaba!  Cuando regresábamos al centro del pueblo, una Señora se nos acercó con una toalla envuelta  alrededor de una bola.  La desenvolvió para revelar varios gusanos que se llaman awiwa retorciéndose.  Nos dijo que los herviría y nos regalaría algunos más tarde.  Bueno, más luego ella nos encontró y yo gocé dos de estos gusanos que se quedan en los tallos de las plantas de coco.  Ellos tienen hojas de coco en sus cuerpos, y ¡la combinación de las hojas con su piel es agradable!  Para cena comimos saíno, similar a chancho pero más grande, con colmillos de marfil y salvaje.

En cada pueblo la rutina era similar.  Llegábamos, evangelizábamos caminando por el pueblo repartiendo folletos, hablando con los residentes e invitándolos al evento tendríamos en la noche y teníamos el culto con música y un tiempo de predicar.  El día siguiente teníamos devocionales y tiempo con los niños.  El doctor Willy proveía atención médica gratuita, una bendición grande ya que para muchas de estas personas consultar con un médico puede ser costoso y poco común. Antes del viaje, no esperaba hablar en frente de la gente, pero Miqueas me empujó a hacerlo y gracias a Dios lo hice; así es como alguien se crece, ¿no?  Entonces, yo hablé, dos veces durante la semana compartiendo mi testimonio y una vez hablando sobre la familia.

Después de este pueblo fuimos a Pongo Isla, el próximo lugar en nuestra ruta (antes de llegar desviamos rapidito a las aguas termales que estaban cerca).  Acercándonos a la selva baja,  Pongo Isla en un pueblito increíble con belleza así en el paisaje como en el espíritu de la gente.  El anécdota ligado a esta etapa del viaje tiene que ver con la chacra al otro lado del rio.  Algunos hermanos tenían una parcela considerable del terreno en la que ellos cultivaban una variedad de fruta rica.  Fuimos de caminata y bañarnos por allí , cogiendo la fruta y disfrutándola.  A un punto yo trepé  un árbol, y ¡bastantes hormigas comenzaron a arrastrarse por mi brazo!  Bueno, en la selva existen hormigas venenosas, pero éstas no me hicieron daño y yo simplemente me las quité.

El tercer pueblo era Miraflores, y se encuentra en la selva baja.  Distinto de la selva alta, la selva baja no está entre cerros y normalmente se acostumbra a más zancudos.  Miraflores contenía una vista panorámica sensacional (se puede fijarse en algunas fotos).  Los primeros dos pueblitos tenían iglesias que habían florecido; había un cuerpo de creyentes y se podia ver fruto.  A la inversa, Miraflores está sufriendo.  No hay un templo, y hay tal vez 7 creyentes.  Hay que orar por la situación allí.  Sin embargo, por lo menos ¡muchos niños acudieron a las actividades que teníamos para ellos!  En Miraflores el baño era muy rústico; un excusado exterior que simultáneamente había sido la casa de varios insectos.  Tenía que usar el baño, pero había una araña que me estaba mirando detenidamente mientras que estaba comiendo su merienda.  No me sentía tan cómodo, pero necesitaba hacer lo que necesitaba hacer.

Bueno, les dejo allí.  Disfruten algunas de las fotos de este cacho del viaje, y ¡permanezcan atentos para parte 2!

“We should come home from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day with new experience and character” -Henry David Thoreau

“An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered.” -GK Chesterton

Ladies and gentlemen, I just got back from the most intense and incredible adventure of my life thus far.  West of the Andes mountain range awaits the Peruvian jungle, a majestic land full of beauty, wonder and authenticity.  The jungle is immense; I only went to a little piece of what is a terrain that extends to other countries.  However, the slice that I experience left an impacting footprint in my being.

I am going to try to explain my recent adventure, but I encourage you to ask me in person if we encounter each other.  In large part this exposition will be a general summary colored with anecdotes.

I went to the jungle with my boss and friend Alex.  We have been working together for more than 6 months here at the orphanage, and he is a native of the jungle.  We departed from Trujillo in a bus en route to Tarapoto, and after a trip of about 16 hours we arrived. There we met up with Miqueas (Micah), a missionary who lives in Tarapoto with his family. I mentioned him in an earlier post that was about Lima; I anticipated this trip. We stayed in Tarapoto that day and night, getting used to being on our feet and the heat.  We visited the church that was being built and attended that nighttime service.  The next day en the morning would begin the nucleus of the odyssey.

Our team consisted of Miqueas, two of his sons, Alex, a brother in Christ named Willy who is a doctor, two sisters in Christ that reside in Trujillo, a brother in Christ from Tarapoto and myself.  From Tarapoto we took a car (a little truck in which I stayed in the back) to the town Chazuta.  From there we took a boat on the River Huallaga to the first little town of the trip: Achinamisa.  Each town that we went to has its own charm, and this one was no exception. Nestled in the high jungle lies this village with a humble and friendly people. The brothers of the church welcomed us with much warmth and hospitality, and I was overtaken by the beauty of the countryside.  They don’t have light, TV, internet or running water, but their land is more like God left it than ours.  Those that were attending to us showed us where we were going to stay, and we enjoyed a lunch of carachupa (armadillo).  Then, I went swimming in a break in the river that is home to a type of fish called the canero.  The canero is a little mischievous animal.  It is attracted by the urine of its prey and enters in its host following the trajectory of the liquid.  It can also simply bite the exterior skin of its victim.  Obviously, I was conscious of this risk that I was confronting.  When we were going back to the center of the town, a woman approached us with a towel enveloped around a ball.  She unwrapped it to reveal various worms, squirming, that are called awiwa.  She told us that she would boil them and give us some later on.  Well, later she found us and I enjoyed two of these worms that stay the stalks of coco plants.  They have coco leaves in their bodies, and the combination of the leaves with their skin is agreeable!  For dinner we ate peccary, which is like a small warthog.

In each pueblo the routine was similar.  We would arrive, evangelize walking through the town handing out tracts and talking with with the residents, inviting them to the event we were having at night, and then have a service with music and a time of preaching. The following day we had devotionals and time with the kids.  The doctor Willy provided free medical attention, a big blessing since for many of the people there consulting a doctor can be costly and uncommon. Before the trip, I wasn’t expecting to speak in front of people, but Miqueas pushed me to do so and thank God I did; that’s how one grows, right? So, I spoke two times during the week sharing my testimony and one time talking about my family.

After this pueblo we went to Pongo Isla, the next place on our route (before arriving we detoured quickly to the nearby thermal waters).  Approaching the lower jungle, Pongo Isla is a small incredible town with beauty in its countryside as well as in the spirit of its people.  The anecdote tied to this stage of the trip has to do with the field on the other side of the river.  Some brothers in Christ had a sizeable parcel of terrain in which that were cultivating a variety good fruit.  We went hiking and swimming there, taking the fruit and enjoying it.  At one point I climbed a tree and a bunch of ants started to crawl around my arm.  Hey, in the jungle exist poisonous ants, but these didn’t hurt me and I simply brushed them off.

The third pueblo was Miraflores, and it is found in the lower jungle.  Unlike the high jungle, the lower jungle is not among hills and normally is accustomed to more mosquitoes.  Miraflores contains a sensational panoramic view (you can check it out in some of the photos).  The first two little towns had churches that had flourished; there was a body of believers and one could see fruit.  Conversely, Miraflores is suffering.  There isn’t a church building, and there are maybe seven believers.  Prayer is needed for the situation there.  However, at least a lot of kids went to the activities that we had for them.  In Miraflores the bathroom was very rustic; an outhouse that simultaneously had been the house of various insects.  I had to do my business.

Well, I leave you there.  Enjoy some of the photos of this chunk of the trip, and stay tuned for part 2!

The Birth of a Country

“It was once said that the moral test of Government is how that Government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”  -Hubert H. Humphrey

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill 

 “Make money your god and it will plague you like the devil.” – Henry Fielding

About 250 years ago the forefathers of the United States of America argued and compromised their way to a declaration of independence and a move to form a new nation, one they thought would provide a better life for them and their posterity.  It was our present day government in an infant form.

This past week, the founder of Hogar de Esperanza, a generous and wise man named Dave, came by to the orphanage and spent some time here.  During his sojourn, my boss Alex, Dave, and myself went up to Alto Salaverry and had a meeting with many of those involved with the water project, and what ensued one could liken to the birthing of a nation.  Let me rewind to clarify as to even why we had this meeting, or even before that what the water project consists of.

Alto Salaverry, the small and poor pueblo near the orphanage, does not readily have access to clean water.  They either have to purchase it from the store in town or buy it from someone who has already done the former.  Recently, the government delivers some water in a truck, but it still isn’t each citizen always having a way to obtain the single most important physical resource of our lives.  Long story short, this water project was put in place to provide those in Alto Salaverry an opportunity for clean water in their community.  At first the water was freely given to the people, but, as the comparison goes, giving someone a fish isn’t as valuable as teaching one how to fish.  Therefore, a system where the people of the sector take responsibility for the water the use and pay a comparatively small amount for the H2O was implemented, so that  a wise and helpful way of distribution could be reached, both for the people and the funds of the orphanage.  We provide different sectors of the town with water and one person within the group is responsible for collecting the money and paying each month according to their usage.  In a well-functioning society this process works, but remember, Peru is a developing country.  People steal water, some members of the district don’t pay, and some sectors are two months overdue.  This can cause a tremendous amount of stress on the Orphanage, as it has a tightly divided budget and a large portion is put towards the water project.  Plus, it can result in a waste of time and energy.

After being confronted with this challenge on numerous fronts, Dave came up with a new approach and at the meeting it was presented to the people.  The idea is that we will simply fill up the reservoir that is used for the project, and the people of Alto Salaverry will monitor it and decide how it is distributed among its people.  The people will need to have a deposit put so the orphanage is going months in debt, though Dave offered to give the first full reservoir for free, and this plan would continue until the government finally implements their program.  What is of paramount importance in this plan is that it takes the fishing analogy a big step further as it empowers the community to take charge and grow as a society.  It demands that the people of Alto Salaverry realize this is their project, now not only for them but by them, and they need to administer it.  We would have role that is comparatively much more on the sidelines.  So, we went to present this idea, at a “town hall” meeting. 

After relaying the plan, the people hashed back and forth trying to compromise with us about the system, various folks tried to rationalize their points, and some people expressed their concerns.  It was during this phase that Dave leaned over to me and likened our experience to what the U.S. founding fathers went through.  Where the largest difficulty arose was the attempt to instil responsibility.  We wanted a committee to be made on their behalf, a president and so on, for their legimitacy legalistically, and it was a struggle to find those willing to step up.  In the end, the “country” was born and “officials” were elected. 

This meeting was a stunning thing for which to be present.  Personally and professionally, it was amazing to witness a developing community struggle and rise to the occasion.  Of course there is a chance the plan doesn’t work, but ground was broken at this gathering and this could be a significant step for Alto Salaverry and the Orphanage. 

I must say, it was an inspiration having the founder Dave here.  For awhile I struggled with the idea of being financially successful, leaning towards the idea of it being folly, and though this certainly can be the case, a lot of good can be done with money.  Dave is an example of someone who has had success in his career but has also been wise with his earnings.  He started an orphanage in Peru, continues to be a vital supporter of it, and is in the process of starting another project in Africa.   I find it really exciting that money can be used not for power but to empower, not for greed but for need, not to trap but to liberate.  It gives me hope and broadens my perspective.  I have a lot of great opportunity to be successful in the working world, which also means I have a lot of great opportunity to help bring success to other parts of the world.

Whew, long post!  I hope what I type boths interests and intrigues you! 

Below are some recent pics from my life, from a day at the beach and work!

What is the Real Cost of Living?

“There is enough for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed.”
          -Mahatma Gandhi

 “In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”
          -Mother Teresa

Poverty.  For most of us this concept is quite remote.  I mean, we hear it, many of us empathize with it, and some of us may even begin to conceive the statistical detail of it, but still, it is doesn’t affect us much and we really don’t understand it. 

I want to share two things that have opened my eyes a bit and expanded my view of poverty.  One involves the work I’ve been doing.  An important part of what I do here is in regards to the orphanage’s water project.  There are still some parts of Peru that do not readily have access to water.  In these pueblos, they have to buy it, either from a store or from someone who bought it at a store.  In theory, the government will extend its own water initiative and reach these towns, but as of now they are in a rather tough spot. 

At the orphanage we have our own water system, and put in place is a program to reach a nearby town called Alto Salaverry.  This pueblo is an example of poverty that we as westerners do not know. There are homes made out of adobe bricks, desert “trails” for most of the roads, trash strewn here and there, and a multitude of dogs slumbering about wherever.  We expanded the project to reach another part of the town and had to briefly use the house of one of the villagers.  It appeared that the whole place had one light bulb.  There was no TV, no washing machine, I don’t even know if there was a couch.  A rooster roamed the premises out back, and a hen poked her head in.  Yet the people in this village were kind and seemingly happy people, content in the simplicity.    

Of course there are people in Peru that live more towards the semblance of what we are used to, though internet is not as prevalent and it seems almost none have more than one TV.  And it really means something if you have a car.  But let’s look closer.  I have a friend here that told me that the pay for a job he either had or currently has (I can’t remember which) is 27 Nuevo Soles a day.  This seems to be decent here for someone his age, and he doesn’t seem to be in money trouble.  However, one U.S. dollar is approximately 3 soles.  So he makes about 9 dollars…a day.  The realization hit me that in the past I have made more than that in an hour. 

So we have the poverty that is right before our eyes, but we also have the poverty that comes from the stark disparity cross-country.  The key is relativity; it’s not so much as someone having so little, but someone having too much.  It really is a messed up situation where someone can make more money in a day than a family makes in a lifetime. 

I don’t want to call people into guilt.  Let’s face it, there is more than meets the eye.  The cost of living is much more difficult in the States, and there are a lot more bills.  But when poverty is in the village your standing, your paradigm has to be shaken.  And look, Peru is a developing country, but there are many more countries in much lower categories. 

There is so much to say on this topic.  The above quotes from two of recent history’s most prominent figures add some practicality to this discussion.  The world has enough resources, but it’s the distribution that’s off.  However, if change is to come, it has to come from Love.  Without Love, money will not really change anything.  We can make a difference, bit by bit, if we truly care.  You have to ask yourself, do you care?

Some sites I recommend in regards to this topic:  http://www.charitywater.org, www.worldvision.org, and www.kiva.org.           

Below are some photos from a day I worked in Alto Salaverry, plus some interesting pics from an animal refuge center I visited!