This morning after yet another wonderful breakfast of eggs and bread we walked about 15 minutes through the sand to a school. The four story public school is for ages 6 through 12. The very loud loud-speaker announced our arrival and soon thereafter children in uniforms traipsed down the stairs. A look of surprise and excitement lit up their faces when they laid eyes upon us and they quickly shook our hands and said, “Good morning.” The students filed into the corridor and stood with their classes as their teachers asked them literally to, “Calm down and shut your little mouths.” The translation causes this to seem much harsher than it actually is, but it is still funny to hear. When they were calm we shared the reason for our visit then did a small ice-breaker game and skit. Morgan was able to share some stories from the Bible, which was totally foreign for us to see in a public school. Many of the kids raised their hands when she asked if they would like to receive Christ. We started handing out information from the church and the kids crowded in to get the information. We said goodbye and headed to the next school.
The second school was for kindergarten through 4th grade. We repeated the same program as the students attentively listened. This time it was a little different because the stage was the sandy dirt in front of the school. When the program had ended one of the classes got up with their teacher to demonstrate a dance. The music was filled with a lively flute while the dance was very energetic with jumping and stomping of the feet. The teacher explained that the dance was from the Highlands of Peru. We applauded and whistled for their performance then headed back to the church for lunch.
We have five translators working alongside us for this month in Peru. It is amazing to be able to ask questions about the area and to hear the complete translation of what people are sharing. As we walked back to the church I talked to a translator, Mari, from the Highlands of Peru. She said she loves the city but she really likes the Highlands for the green hills and mountains. There usually is not electricity, or running water, and there are no cars so the Highlands are very quiet. The people generally eat rice and potatoes and for fun they like to make music to dance to. The houses are constructed from sticks and cement that is made out of mud, while the roofs are made of straw. Mari misses the Highlands but is happy to be in Lima where the action is for a little while.
This afternoon we climbed up the sand dunes and stairs to Loma de Corbina. Brienna, Amalia (one of the translators), and I set off to meet some of the residents. We talked to some of the kids that were running and jumping in the sand. There are no streets in this village on top of the sand dune; there are only simple houses on the piles of sand. It seems like a great place for the barefooted chicos to play and run. We kept walking and came upon a wall of boards with an open door. Three women inside with their 5 kids waved us in. The inside of the house had no floor of cement but instead was made of sand. There was a tin roof covering about one tenth of the wood enclosed dwelling while the rest was open to the elements. Three soft chairs rested in the sand while random pieces of well used furniture and old toys were scattered around.
The younger women are 20 and 23 year old single mothers of two kids. They are sisters and their mother works to support her daughters and grandkids that stay at home. They were working on sewing sleeves onto crocheted sweaters of pastel colors. They receive the sleeves and body of the sweaters from a factory and hand-stitch the pieces together for a small salary. As I watched them sew I thought of clothing I own that was “Made in Peru” or “Made in Guatemala” and wondered how many articles had come from homes such as these. Halfway through our visit one of the toddlers pulled down her pants and told her mother she had to go to the bathroom. The mother told her not to go on the floor but to go behind the tin. The toddler waddled into the makeshift room and used a phonebook as toilet paper. The women were very pleasant visitors and were excited when we told them we would return another day.
Clinton getting trampled.
