The Baby Chronicles

          I was a few days shy of entering Peru the same day this beautiful life entered the world for the first time.  It took him three months to get to us, and a rocky start in life. But once he reached our gates the love he had missed out on was taken care of plus much more than he could imagine, if a 3 month old can imagine being loved.
         I have taken care of many babies in my life, but none quite like this. I started babysitting when I was 11 or 12 for the neighbors across the cul-de-sac in North Carolina. But even before that at the family reunions I took care of my little cousin Hannah, looking at the cows while the old folk played dominoes. In Georgetown I babysat for the Deringers, and saw those kids grow up over 10 years, I knew the youngest 2 as babies. However, in all those situations, I came over we played, mom and dad came home, and then I walked back to my house down or across the street. But here I was the one who came home and the baby screeched with elation reaching for me, and then I send the other person walking home.
        It was a completely different situation than I had ever been accustomed to. When I was tired out I could look at the clock and find something to do for the last 20 minutes, because there is no true end to the mom shift. And it is harder when they are babies and you are all by yourself. I have gained a greater respect for single mothers, or people like my mom who when their husband was deployed was left with three young children or two kids under the age of 2. It isn't easy. But amazingly enough even though you go for months without sleeping through the night, and even when they do sleep till the morning your sleep is forever altered lightly sleeping in case your baby needs you and if you are dead asleep how will you hear him? God provides. Somehow I am still alive, and can function on a day to day basis.
        But taking care of a baby is hard work, you can't just let them alone to go play outside with his brothers or friends, they are completely and ever dependent on you. They need you when they want to play, they need you when they want food, they need you when they poop (cause no one wants to sit in poop for have it squirt up your back), they need you when they want to sleep, they need you when they fall and bonk their heads, they need your stability to learn how to balance themselves, they need your encouragement to develop and begin to take the steps to become more independent, they just need you all the time.
        Taking care of a baby is much like the way the Lord takes care of us, we are completely and ever dependent upon him. We need him when we want to eat- because if He isn't there who is feeding us the word? We need Him when we need rest, and we can find it in His presence. We need Him when we fall and bonk our heads,  because it is never easy getting back up after humiliating yourself, and after a hard fall what more could you want than open arms of love and healing. When we learn to walk in this world through all the trials and things in our way, God is the one whose hand is clinched within our small one holding on or we loose our balance and revert back to crawling. Basically, the well known fact is that we need God all the time.
         God has been reminding me of that lately, that I need him all the time. If I go a day without seeking Him, then I go a day seeking in the wrong direction which can throw me off for days. Then when I decide I really want to walk again instead of crawling he is always there to lift me back up and send me on my way.  I am going to need to hold on to Him tightly this coming week, because I will be transitioning to the new ministry upon the return of Wendy and Auden on Wednesday. It is going to be very difficult to leave the kids whom I have spent the last 8 months with, I will be able to visit them on weekends, but not seeing them everyday is going to hurt. I am going to need to hold on. I spoke on the phone with Wendy last night and she was talking about so many things that basically they land in Peru and we are hitting the ground running and going after this project and it is going to be wild and crazy and again I am going to need to hold on.
         So, if you could keep me in your prayers this week and the next as I transition as God has lead, but without letting my heart hurt or my mind getting lost in all of the other things going on, but that I remain focused in His purpose and don't revert back to crawling cause I am going to need to be able to run, and run fast.

(I created an album with all the pictures of the baby that I have. It has been fun to help him reach milestones, I plan on making him a book that he can take with him when he gets adopted, so he can remember his beginning and his parents don't miss out on those firsts. you can click here, or copy and paste to view it http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2520669&id=29627113&l=82fd05c43b )

PIctures

So these pictures are not in order, I uploaded them in order but they did not post in order, so sorry. They aren't that easy to move around but you should be able to figure it out. They date back to before Christmas to the recent and then you can also look at some of the same and more on my facebook by clicking on this link. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2475777&id=29627113&l=e768296328

Jason pushing the kids on the swing. 

We took the kids to the beach and played in the waves.

Right after the beach .

Cajamarca

On our hike to Cumbemayo

Some Pre Incan writings

Jason fit through the tunnel a professional caveman.

Me and the kid in the mountains.

Mom did pretty good on our hike. 

Our bus.

Me- "Here hole the baby"
Jason- "What? I don't know how to hold a baby!"

At the chili's in Lima there was a sign for a chili Cook off in San Marcos I never heard of.

He had the chicken pox. It went around.

Kevin bet the boys if the could run to Hequetepeque and back- about 7 miles- they could take their mattresses out and watch movies for a week. They made it the second time- first time was cut short cause of an emergency.

He was our emergency. Got burnt with water on his head. Don't worry he is better. But it isn't easy hearing on the phone that your baby got burnt and have to wait to come home and see it.

Birthday cakes!!! Made in ice cream cones!

Proof for Jason that I made fortune cookies.

Christmas party.

Christmas Day

Christmas Tamales 

Keili got a pool from Steve so we got to swim Christmas day!

Lima

Jason and his new best friend.

They found me out

           Well, since it is summer I have been getting pretty tan in my arms, face, legs as I usually do. And yes I am still way whiter than most people, but a few times I have been mistaken for a Peruvian. For example, at the bank the teller asked me if I was someone's daughter, kind of funny, so I told her that I was from America and she seemed surprised. I guess she didn't realize how tall I was and the lighting must have been off and here ears clogged when I spoke.  But now there is no mistaking that I am truly a very white kid underneath- my watch broke. It had a good five year run, and finally died after surfing Friday. It is really sad, I don't know if I will be able to find a suitable replacement that meets my watch standards, so for now there is an empty white spot in between all the tan on my wrist. I just hope that it doesn't cause me to become Peruvian and be late for everything cause I cannot efficiently keep time, and I don't always remember to keep my phone on me. We will see.

         Other than the untimely death of my watch, things have been going pretty well here with the kids. I am still staying in the girls house as the mom on the night shift, which means I get to care for my baby again, I love it except waking up to his poop. That is what wakes him up every morning without fail. However this morning he had a little that was late and I was feeding him his cereal on my bed and that little extra came right out of his diaper and hit my feet. A quite disgusting way to start your day, but he just looked at me with that charming sweet smile and laughed. I am glad Antonia was there to help me clean up considering I couldn't really walk my way anywhere without making a bigger mess.

         I figured I could post some pictures today and update some things that have been going on in visuals for you, since I haven't uploaded pictures in a while. So I hope you enjoy them and enjoyed the snow I am bummed I missed it, seems like it was a long while since we had any. 

         It is now Friday I originally attempted to post this on Sunday, but after I captioned all 37 pictures there was an error in saving and it was all gone, kind of annoying. So out of frustration I gave up and quit. And it is getting really close to dinner time so the next time I get to use the internet I will post them so be on the look out.

         Today was good though, the kids went swimming for the first time in their new pool that Bruce bought them. I would have swam to but today was a cool day not the normal hot. Today I also got to talk to my Grandparents today so that was wonderful, they called me on my skpye number which for you if you forgot is (512) 686.2284. You can call me anytime I am online it is best to sent me an email with a time, but it is normal charges for you calling a Georgetown, TX number and free for me. So, send me an email and I would love to talk with you.

         Like I said it is getting close to dinner so I should be going but I plan on coming to town, writing more, and posting those pictures so don't worry!

The Waves of Summer

Summer, Summer, Summer! I have to throw out an apology because it is summer, because I haven't been very consistent in dropping updates to anyone. My excuse for you is that is is summer, there is no schedule, and I get easily distracted doing all sorts of things.

But as far as summer is going, it is pretty fun. I started staying in the girl's house on the night shift, which means I again have the baby at night. The baby has caught up physically and developmentally rather well, and is starting to eat food- he loves rice cereal! The girls are always asking me to stay up later, but because someone wakes me up early everyone goes to bed at 10. At least I am not in the boys house, because Kevin gets a pouncing 5 year old on his stomach every morning. But I am really enjoying it, when I was in Lima with Mom and Jason I found some Disney story books in Spanish and so the girls demand stories every night, and I am working on reading with prosody in Spanish (not completely skilled yet but getting there). It is fun and interesting being the mom of 18 girls and a baby all by yourself.

It is interesting and beautiful how the Lord works. I came to Peru with the understanding that God wanted me to teach English and work with the orphanage kids, but recently I found that he is turning my direction a little. A few months ago I knew God did not want me to teach English in the school this coming round- for many reasons some with the school and some with struggles within the ministry, and for the time being He had me doing as much as I could in the houses with the kids, and now I have a shift. A few weeks ago I was really battling with what God wanted me to do come the start of school in March. Unfortunately I was allowing myself to be swept away with other people's ideas and I found myself planning and adjusting myself to what other people thought would be good for me to do or continue. However, I took some time with God to find out He wanted. He told me to clear my mind of everything, to take people's ideas as they are, look at them, and set them aside to wait for God's idea, His plan. So, I did, which is tough for me because I can take an idea and plan it to it's fullest potential and develop something great out of it, it might just not be what God had in mind.

So, I would like to share with you what God has in mind for me in my time in Peru. I have mentioned several times my friends, Wendy and Auden, to you. They are currently starting a ministry in Trujillo- a city about and hour and half from Pacasmayo. There plans are to have start a chruch, and a missionary school- training program for young adults in the areas to go back to their towns and churches working in the ministry as missionaries to their own people. One other thing they wanted to do is la Programma de PEPE, which is a preschool program for the kids that can't afford to go to preschool. The program is set up where church members support a student for their tuition- which is books, supplies,and uniform,and brings them their lunchera daily. As well as teaching the kids the required preschool curriculum, they teach the children about God, and there are frequent home visits where the Pastor of the church- and sometimes the teacher- go and make sure the family is doing well, offer some helpful advice, etc, with the hopes to help the family sustain themselves and come to know Jesus as their Saviour as well. With that said that is the direction God is sending me.

I am going to be the PEPE teacher for their new ministry. Until the buildings are all build- with the housing facilities, they will be renting a house in Trujillo where I will be able to live with a monthly food stipen. Having the food money will allow me to at least twice a month go and visit my kids in Pacasmayo and do some fun things with my kiddos.

So, my life in Peru is taking turns that I never expected to happen- I wasn't expecting any turns, but I know it is what God wants. It is a little hard because I am having to leave the kids and it is hard for them to understand, but at least I have the rest of the summer to hang out with them.

But I will continue to try and keep you all updated at a more consistent pace, but you will have to forgive me during the summer because I tend to side on spontaniety and my days change 16 times in an hour and then I am somewhere else.

Who knew it is 2011!

Well the New Year got here quickly! It didn't really click that it was 2011 until today, so I am a little slow, we did sparklers and everything the wheels in my head just didn't make the full turn in time. It may have been because I had just gotten off a 12 hour bus ride after doing an unexpected Lima trip to pick up my Mom and kid brother, Jason. Who knew that when my mom said midnight of the 30th she was talking about the turning of midnight from the 29th to the 30th. I was mistaken and thought I did good getting them a day bus on the 31st and Gaby could just take them straight to the station because she was going to be in Lima anyways for the holidays and I was saving myself sitting on a bus an extra time. Well I failed. So, as my mom was walking out the door to go to the airport I called her to settle out all the wrinkles and tell her every detail that would go down, when we both figured out we were thinking different days! Well, God was able to set me straight and work things out, and he blessed me with some good friends who also have good friends in Lima. So, I worried my mom and made her more nervous than she was to begin with, but it worked out. Since Gaby was leaving that night to Lima I was able to get a ticket beside her. My mom and Jason were picked up by Wendy's friend's son and taken to the hotel he owns. I got a taxi to their hotel and woke them up early Thursday morning. I forgot how tall Jason was, I have not been accustomed to anyone towering that high over me these past six months! But we had a fun day in Lima, I took them on a crazy detoured taxi drive (cause the straight shot highway is under construction), to the plaza de armas- which is where the presidents house is and the national catholic church (which is also an art museum when mass isn't in session), the Archbishop's palace is there, and so are a bunch of other legislative type buildings. So we went in the Catholic church and saw some amazing wood carvings and mosaics, and we walked around and they had their first meal in Peru- Pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken), ensalada (salad), and papas fritas (french fries). It was a good ease into the other things they get to eat. We also went behind the main part of the plaza to the building full of artisans from around the country and mom did a little shopping- she even bought beads for her baskets!!!!!
The next day we got on our bus to go to my home and they enjoyed breakfast, lunch and five movies in Spanish along with some cool senery for 12 hours to Pacasmayo.  We got to celebrate the New Years with the kids but to be honest we didn't mke it to midnight- to tired. But the next day we played with the kids. They all just love Jason they can't believe how tall he is and his red hair. On of the little girls who is 4 was quite frightened of him but then when colring with them yesterday she colored the boy in the picture with red hair and then his chin red and slowly moved toward Jason and leaned up against him as she finished, now when his lap is free she tries to take it. But she has some competition they all want to be held by him espectially on of the little boys who while Jason was eating the first night was just rubbing the hairs under his chin as he ate, it was cute and he came knocking on the door today wanting to play with them.
Needless to say they re enjoying their visit and I am enjoying them too, the kids love mom too, and want her to play jacks or push them on the swings. We are going to do a quick vacation to Cajamarca, a little mountain town with ruins and Incan hot baths on Tuesday.
Just thought I would let everyone know they indeed arrived safely and made it to my house and are having a good time they just want to go to bed early every night cause the kids wear them out! Hope you are all enjoying your new year!