Daniel and the world!

I wanted to write a post about the way Daniel is taking an interest in the world. This photo was taken after Daniel had been pointing to various parts of the world and telling us what they are called. He has taken a specific interest in Africa, even saying that he wants to be a fireman there when he grows up! He is very excited about our upcoming visit to Brazil.

His spoken Spanish is still limited, and we don't know how much he understands. However he is taking an interest in languages, and often asks what words mean. He also wants to know about Quechua, which is the other main language spoken in Peru. Unfortunately we cannot help him with this, and I believe partly because of this he has made up his own language called 'Kikadi'. He regularly tells us what words are in 'Kikadi', and even sings songs in this 'new' language.

It is wonderful to see these developments in Daniel, and we pray they will continue to grow in his life. We hope he will grow up with a global perspective on life as well as getting the opportunity to visit all these different places.

La semana santa and la pascua

Peru is a strongly Catholic country, and semana santa (Holy Week) is a very important time. I got caught up in a fiesta on Monday, as they celebrated the Señor de los temblores (the Lord of the Tremors). It is believe that an oil painting of Christ protected the city from an earthquake in 1650, and there are huge celebrations. I was just trying to return something to a shop, but there were lots and lots of people about! I tried to take some pics, but they aren't great shots, I am afraid.


During Holy Week, many Peruvians eat 12 dishes, representing the 12 disciples. There's no meat involved, as most Catholics don't eat meat during Holy week, but fish dishes, corn soup, the juice of peaches cooked in water and other things! I am pretty sure this happened yesterday. Daniel had today and yesterday off school, as these are such important days.

For the Evangelical church, things are a little different. Easter isn't always hugely celebrated, in part-response to some of the differences that they have with the Catholic Church. Some would say that every day is Resurrection Day and there is no need for a special celebration. Our church is celebrating with our service, followed by a meal on Sunday. Neil also went to a communion service last night.

Today, though, we spent some time as a family. We went up to near Sacsayhuaman with another family (it is great to be making friends!) Then, the 4 of us walked up to Cristo Blanco, the huge figure of Christ overlooking Cusco. There are also 3 crosses there. It was a beautiful day, and it was wonderful to sit and talk about the death of Jesus and what it means, although Daniel was quick to point out he rose again as well! We prayed and got the combi home. What a wonderful way for us as a family to reflect on Good Friday.

The Hospital and School

Last week, along with the Bristol team, we spent 4 afternoons visiting patients in a local hospital, as well as Neil spending a morning in the primary school in Huambutio, which is the area where Scott and Anjanette hope to open a clinic. These were great experiences, and we are hopeful that in the future we can continue with this work.

We spent some time each afternoon with patients in the burns unit and trauma unit, including a number of children. I (Amanda) was very excited to discover that the game Uno appears to be cross-cultural, although shouting 'uno' loses some impact when playing in Spanish! We were also involved in circus skills, crafts and lots of singing. 2 girls with a bone infection tried to teach me some Quechuan, and fell about laughing at my pronounciation. It seems that I inadvertently said a bad word, which they found hilarious, and continued to laugh 2 days later when I saw them again. The Bristol team fared much better, and were able to sing 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' in Quechuan! (Quechua is another language spoken in Peru - lots of people speak this in the Andes).

The hospital is very different from what we expect in the UK. Many of the patients live in the country and it is hard for their families to visit. It is hard to imagine what it must be like for a young child from the country, who isn't used to city life to be in a hospital away from their family. There are lots of serious faces and it was wonderful to see the smiles - even if it was as a result of my bad language. One man even filmed us singing on his mobile phone - hope that doesn't get on to You Tube. There were a few very sad stories, although it was also wonderful to see and hear of communities supporting families in need, despite their own need.

At this point, even with our limited Spanish, we were able to communicate and I hope bring some joy. I pray that these opportunities increase in the future.


The school visit was a great experience although it was hard. When we arrived, the children were divided into three groups of about 50 children! The group which I was working with was supposed to be learning some English. However, with my limited Spanish (I was the translator in our team!), we found it a little difficult. This was compounded by the fact that we were there for nearly an hour and a half. Having said this, I really enjoyed it, and was able to make myself understood, at least some of the time. I look forward to being able to go back and see the children again.

Home Visits

Anjanette works at a Christian clinic called 'La Fuente' and it is a great place for members of the community to receive high quality and affordable healthcare. The nurses and health care assistant also provide after-care by visiting people afterwards where necessary. I have had the privilege of accompanying them on 2 visits in the last few days, along with members of the Bristol team.

The visits were both moving. Yesterday, I visited Adrianna. She has been in a wheelchair all of her life, and we visited her at her work. She sits for 9 hours a day outside the public toilets in the square of a beautiful village outside of Cusco. People pay her to use the toilet, the irony being that she herself can't use the bathroom and is struggling to pay for the pads that she needs to wear every day. She was lovely to chat to, and very grateful for the little that we gave to her. We chatted, shared the Bible and prayed for her, as well as holding an umbrella to shelter her from the strong sun. Nancy, the Peruvian nurse, strongly shared the message of God's love. To my ears, I found this very different, as we wouldn't be so forthright in the UK, but I think that for many people, their faith is more zealous here in the best possible way, as they see so much hopelessness, but also want to share the hope that they know God brings.

I have included a couple of pictures of where we were. It shows again the breathtaking beauty of where we live. But as you look again, imagine trying to get around these narrow, steep, rough streets in an old wheelchair that really needs repairing. We find it hard enough with Sophia's buggy, but I can't imagine how hard things must be in a wheelchair, needing to pay taxis, as well as medical costs, incontinence pads as well as the normal costs of raising a family. But as Nancy shared the message of 1 Corinthians 13, I could see the difference that these words made to her, as Adrianna was encouraged to also share God's love with those around her.





The other visit we made had a different feel to it, and was probably my most dramatic exposure so far of the poverty that surrounds us. We visited Maricel, a 1 year old, who is under-nourished and absolutely beautiful. Her mum was very welcoming and lovely, and it was again a privilege to sit and listen as Nancy shared nutrition info, and we prayed for her, as well as playing with a very bright little 2 year old called Gabrielle. We found out that the home didn't have a bathroom and Maricel's mum explained that they used the public bathroom. Afterwards, I asked the nurses to show us the bathroom, which turned out to be a hole in the ground with no cover and is therefore very dirty and dangerous. Their water is collected from a communal tap as they are not connected to the mains water.

These are often forgotten people and communities, but the love and work of a small group of Christians is showing that these people are not forgotten, but loved and valued. It is hard to sit here in my nice flat with hot water, internet and 2 bathrooms and know that there are families living such a short way away whose lives are so different. We all want the best for our children, yet the odds seem stacked against so many people. I know that my response should not be based in guilt, but first I need to turn to God, see his heart and discern where he is leading us to work, when the work seems so vast. I know my role here isn't just to stride in and try and solve it all, but to work alongside Peruvians to support projects in a sustainable way. We already knew that our contribution as a family over the next couple of years in Cusco would be just a drop in the ocean, but wasn't it Mother Theresa who said that the ocean is made up of drops such as these?

1 Corinthians 13 (TNIV)
1 If I speak in human or angelic tongues but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Amen.

Kids' Games

We have had a busy few days, helping out with the team of student ministers from Bristol Baptist College. We were especially busy on Saturday as we ran our first children's event! The church hired a concrete football pitch near the church and we ran children's games for a couple of hours in the morning. Me and Neil organised a lot of the activities, and we were nervous in the run-up, as our language is still limited and we were also helping out with other things that the team was involved with.

We also had a lesson in the importance of flexibility, as the event was originally going to be a children's event, and then aimed more at young people, and then changed back to a children's event! I did some planning for a youth event on the theme of choice, which I would love to run at some point, but was probably over ambitious for this stage and it would also be great to plan it more with other people from the church, as I am hoping that it will be a good foundation for youth work in the future.

We ran a number of activities and games, ranging from football skills, face painting, relay games, parachute games, making juggling balls and plate spinning! The event didn't go exactly as we had planned, but the children appeared to be having lots of fun and there were lots of smiling faces. Over the course of the morning, we saw around 40 people, and we were able to give them all a goody bag, which included info about our church. This was all possible because of the skills and enthusiasm of the Bristol team, who got stuck in with the universal language of play and were all prepared to go with the flow a little bit. I was also encouraged that one of the families from the church also came along and joined in with the fun.

One of the other encouragements for us was how well we feel we got on with a number of the children. I feel we connected well with them, and they were very patient with our bad Spanish! I pray that this will be a good springboard for relationships and groups in the future.

Wires and workmen

Been meaning to do this post for a while, and I am finally getting around to it. I thought I'd show a few pictures of things that are very different here in Peru, especially for those interested in practical and building type things. The first is a picture of the wires which are strung along the streets. This was taken at the corner of our street.




Builders tend not to take the greatest precautions, this picture is far from the most dangerous looking situation we have seen a builder in.

The Bristol Team!

The blog is a bit quiet at the moment, as we are currently helping out with a team from Bristol Baptist College. They are blogging about their experiences here. We are involved with loads of things; the ladies spent today working at the clinic where Anjanette is based, and tomorrow we are running some kid's games in the local park. Next week, we will be visiting the burns unit of a local hospital and making home visits to families that are known to clinic. I had quite a moving experience yesterday, but need a little more time to process it before I blog. Please pray about the event tomorrow in particular!

Party Fun

We have just returned from our first experience of a Peruvian children's party, and it was a lot of fun! We had been told that Peruvians know how to throw a party and this was certainly the case. The invite said that the party started at 5, but Neil thought that it was good to get there a bit late, so arrived at 5.15pm. I turned up at 6.30pm, by which time the birthday girl had been there 15 minutes and our children were on a wonderful sugar high, after being given lots and lots of treats by the hosts.

There was a clown, who was very good, and we also got the chance to observe Daniel in an environment where the only spoken language was SPanish. I thought at one point that he was upset, but realised that he was just concentrating really hard. There was lots of music, games, dancing and magic, although I wasn't so sure of the wisdom of the magic trick involving fire, or the game making 4-year-olds cuddle up for a slow dance.

The party also made me realise that there may be some truth to the stereotype of the Bristish reservedness. It was so refreshing to see all of the parents joining in all of the silliness, without any embarassment, and without the aid of alcohol!

Finally, after lots of fun and lots of sweeties, jelly and biscuits, it was time for the cake. It seems that at first at birthdays, we sing Happy Birthday in English, followed by a much livelier version in Spanish. The birthday girl then followed tradition and put her face in the cake, followed by the rest of her family! The party drew to close with the traditional pinata, and this time Sophia didn't cry, although she is still not convinced. When the pinata splits open, there is a mad scrum for sweeties and toys.

This was all really good fun, but by now it was getting very late. Lots of children go to bed very late here, 9 or 10 pm, maybe later, and my Spanish teacher thought I was very strange the other day when I explained that Daniel and Sophia are in bed by 7pm. So, during the party we faced a dilemma of whether to stay longer, or take the kids to their much needed bed. We stayed, and were getting ready to leave after the pinata, when we were asked to stay. At this point, all of the adults were served a huge plate of lasagne and the children had cake.

We finally left at 9 with 2 tired but very happy children. It was great fun, but also exhausting as we don't always know what to expect in social situations and we have to try very hard to understand the language, while simultaneously trying to ensure that we are not offending people! So, for example, the children had loads more sweets that they would normally have, as we kept being offered it! But it was great - and the kids loved it (who could have guessed?). We gave their teeth a good brush and emphasised that this was very much a one off, before we tucked them into bed with promises that they could play with their party bags in the morning.

(PS Sorry for the lack of photos - we forgot the camera!)