Greetings everyone! I hope this blog finds you well after a restful Labor Day… I spent my Labor Day learning how to surf in the frigid winter waters! I’ll tell you more about that soon.
My last blog gave you information about our last few moments at the children’s home and the circumstances surrounding the situation. I would love to tell you more about some of the people I worked with on a daily basis; then you’ll understand why the abrupt leave was so hard. So here they are, my Peruvian peeps:
Joca
Jose Castro. That’s his real name, but if you combine his first and last name you get Joca (Hoe-Ka). Joca recently graduated from the University in Trujillo with a business management degree and has dabbled in graphic design. He volunteered with Inca Link for a few months and enjoyed the work he was a part of. When challenged by another worker who asked him “Where are all the young people, why aren’t they serving?” he didn’t have an answer. Now he’s on staff with Inca Link.
Unanswered questions…that’s a lot of Joca’s story. He didn’t have an answer when asked “What are you doing with your life?” The party life was catching up with him and he knew it was leading nowhere. He was invited to church by a college friend and hasn’t looked back. Since beginning a relationship with the Lord, he’s been given a passion to see the children’s home open and has tirelessly worked to that end. He wants to change the culture of violence that exists in Trujillo, one child at a time. I believe he’ll do just that.
Claudia and Annie
Claudia is 26 and works full time on staff with Inca Link. She helps to direct the children’s home and takes care of most of the maintenance and upkeep. Believe me, she’s a firecracker! It didn’t take us long to fall in love with her feisty personality and “get-er-done” work ethic.
The first time I met her was on the street after our squad crossed the border. The bus dropped us off and we dispersed, our team being one of the last to be picked up. I introduced myself and she asked where I was serving for the month. Honestly at this point, there had been some confusion and I wasn’t sure. “Really? Why don’t you know?!? If you don’t have a place to go, tell me and we’ll make up a bed for you at the children’s home.” (said in a Peruvian accent) I knew we’d get along. And we did…
I’ll miss our long chats about life sitting on the back of a city bus, laughing at life situations that don’t have a language barrier. I’ll miss her rattling off some question or instructions a mile a minute and then laughing. I’m glad we got to make aji de gallina before leaving…a wonderful memory!
Click here to see a 2 minute video of this process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWQKRdtyHGc
Annie is a recent college graduate with a business and marketing degree with some Espanol on the side. She interned with Inca Link this summer and will continue to serve with them for the year. When she returns to the States, she has job lined up with GE but it’s been encouraging to hear how God is working in her life. This experience for her was supposed to be the “take a year off before entering the real world” but no one can leave ministry unchanged. Annie has a beautiful heart and attitude of service. I enjoyed hearing her story and excited to hear where God will lead her after this year.
Maestros- Guillermo, Juan, Julio
So, they make people a bit smaller in Peru…maybe this picture helps you understand why I feel like a giant most days! Though they are small, these men are some of the hardest workers I’ve ever met. They are on the worksite when I’m getting my breakfast at 7am and they work until sundown at 7pm. Incredible work ethic!
Julio has had over 30 years in construction. He can look at a hole and tell you if it needs to be deeper or wider. He can measure the level of anything with rebar and string. He can eyeball a concrete mixture and tell you exactly what it’s missing. Incredible!
Guillermo has one eye though it doesn’t take away from how much the other one sparkles! The man speaks no English but his zeal and passion for life doesn’t need to be translated. Within a day, he had learned my name and every time he saw me he would holler “Emilia!” with a big smile on his face. He would explain a construction process to us in Spanish, we would translate it and then he would say “OKAY!” and hop to his work. I will miss sharing in this man’s joy everyday as he served the Lord. PS, his English name we gave him was Bill.
Juan. Can you get anymore authentic than this man? He’s got 7 grown children and rides his horse to work each day. He raises turkeys and farms part of the land outside the children’s home. He’s an all around handy man who is always working to keep the children’s home running smoothly. When I asked him to take a picture, he insisted it be by his horse. So there you have it-
Juan and his horse.
Karson and Kassidy
The last peeps I need to tell you about are Karson and Kassidy. These two kiddos brightened each of my days with their presence. Kassidy is 10 and is adopted from Guatemala; Karson is 8 adopted from China. They live on site at the children’s home with their parents and older brothers who will one day direct the facility when it opens. Each have their unique personalities and I love them all the more for how God made them.
Karson is the best hugger and loves to sit in your lap to tell you about his day. He’s currently loving the Pokemon cards and I changed his name to Squirtle. I think my Pokemon name was Beautifly or Klink or something like that… He’s full of life and loves to explore!
Kassidy is the sweetest little girl who is more than willing to help wherever she can. My favorite memory with her was at church when we made eye contact and I could tell she wanted to dance. I motioned her out into the aisle and we found some room at the back of the sanctuary to dance during the worship song. Karson joined us and we were all smiles at the end of the song! Love these kids!
So, there you have it, some of my Peruvian peeps. Relationships. It just keeps coming back to relationships. Though our time with them was cut short, I thank God for the time we did have with each of these people. I’m glad you got to meet them too!
