Our Time in Cusco

A few things we’ve learned in Cusco:

1)   Earplugs are really important. Especially when the neighbors have a full-on rave until 3am. On a weeknight. With a live mariachi band.

2)   Traffic is no joke. Plan for it.

3)   Neither are mountain roads. Especially in an overcrowded van.

4)   People are serious about their festivals. To the point of men picking up cars on the streets to make room for parade processionals.

5)   People in Cusco have lots of festivals in June. Like the whole month. See #2

6)   It’s cold. All the time.

7)   You can always pick out the gringos (white people).

8)   Guinea pig is a delicacy. {And they have teeth & heads that look at you}

9)   It’s customary to greet others very warmly & often with a kiss on the cheek.

10) Church services last 3 hours. Maybe longer.

11) Popeyes & Papa Johns are cheaper {and oh so delicious} here.

12) Rice is a way of living. You eat it twice a day. Every day.

13) It’s common to not cook on Sundays. See #11

14) Sometimes you really miss hearing English.

15) The generosity of a family opening their home & lives to you is something you can never repay.

16) We love the jungle much more than the city.

17) A southern pound cake doesn’t cook the same at 11,000 feet.

18) It’s common for parents to force their young children to work to support their families.

19)  Many parents leave their children to raise themselves.

Since our time in Cusco has come to an end, we just want to graciously thank those who have supported us financially, through prayer & encouragement. What a crazy month it has been being completely submersed in another culture & learning a new language. We have come so far & couldn’t have done it without our heavenly Father & the support of those who love us.

I was thinking tonight about a Spanish class I took online during my last year of college. I remember one of the final assignments was a live chat with a native Spanish speaker who had to assess me orally by asking a list of questions. I remember FREAKING OUT about the assignment, dreading it all semester. Before I logged on (with sweaty palms), I was just praying it would go quickly & be over soon. Looking at where I am now, I can truly say I have come a VERY long way. Yeah, I’ve still got words that I forget in conversation & an unending list of verbs that start with the letter ‘p’ that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to differentiate. I still get nervous when I speak & forget how to properly conjugate or use the past tense. It’s still hard to understand children, & I definitely have a long way to go. But I will say that my understanding & literacy of the Spanish language has grown leaps & bounds over the past 4 weeks. I can finally smile at myself because I can order at a restaurant fully in Spanish. I can make small talk with the taxi driver about where I’m from  & why I’m in Peru. I can tell my teacher about my plans for the weekend. I can correspond with the family we live with about their day. I find myself doing something & trying to describe it in my head in Spanish. 4 weeks ago I could barely form a few sentences, & today I am telling full stories in a language different than my own.

In case anyone was wondering why we left our lives, jobs, & home to come here, it all comes down to 40 sets of beautiful brown eyes & 40 pairs of dirty hands deep in the jungles of Peru. I know some will never understand the love God has given us for the precious boys of Iquitos, Peru. But that’s okay- I don’t expect you to until you meet them. They’ve changed us. They’ve made us realize that our time here on earth should be invested in service to the Kingdom, not the American dream. God has given Titus & I a vision to reach these children & more just like them right where they are in lives of abandonment, filth, & hopelessness. And in order to make that possible, we have to be able to speak their language. Yeah, it’s a little crazy but we’re willing to be crazy- crazy for our Jesus because of the crazy love He has for us.

Love makes you do crazy things.

En las montañas

On saturday, we had a truly amazing experience high in the mountains, away from the city of Cusco. We went with Willy's cousin Mario again to the day camp they do at a center in a rural community- fairly new program they established only a few weeks ago. A couple weekends ago we only caught the tail end of the time so we were up at 6:30am to catch the whole morning with the kids. Mario had to pick up a few other church members so he let us meet with his pastor & his wife while he was getting the others. It was really cool to talk to them & hear of their vision with the children they minister to. They have a Christian church of about 80 people nearby. On our way up the mountain, we all prayed together over the day & the children we would encounter & listened to some Hillsong worship in Spanish 😊 It's really cool to be with like-minded people who share our heart for these precious little ones.

Kids were waiting for us as we arrived from age 3 up to 13, around 30 kids in all. I helped one of the ladies butter some bread & make hot chocolate for the kids while Titus went with the pastor's wife into the community to invite children. One thing we see a lot of is children having to work to support their families so their parents won't allow them to participate. It's really sad. Apparently it's a big problem in the region for the parents to be alcoholics & just let their children raise themselves. It shows when we see these children, not even preschool age, with unbrushed hair, filthy clothes & empty bellies. 

They have a pretty neat set up in the small one room center. They bring a laptop & projector & do some really cute songs with lyrics/video & movement. My fav was "Jesus is my Superhero"- he's better than Batman & Spider-Man :) There was a time in the singing where they put on a worship song & asked the kids to pray quietly while the leaders went around laying hands on the children & praying over them by name. I could only standby & watch through tears as I as some incredibly godly individuals show love to these children in such a tangible way. It was such a beautiful expression of love. 

Afterwards, they split the kids into 3 age groups & I got to be with the preschoolers. We played with different toys & colored pictures together, talking abut where Jesus lives (in our hearts!). The older children did a bible lesson & played some bible trivia games. They do a really good job of engaging the kids & heavily interacting. Although I got snot wiped all over me & had dirty hands all over my face, it was my favorite morning that we've had in Cusco. Look forward to seeing them all one more time this weekend! I so enjoy getting to see little girls- little Maryioria stole my heart 

After our time in Calca, we took a taxi to Huycho to see the Scripture Union Girasoles boys home (same organization that we work with in the jungle). It was so different than jungle life! It was really neat to meet some of the boys & see the home there. 

On Sunday we joined Mario & his wife at church. It was definitely an experience :) Many of the children & women waved around flags & shouted with praise for the hour & a half time of singing & worship! There was also a really neat time of testimony where church members shared about answered prayer & then we listened to a message. At the end, they made announcements & celebrated birthdays with a cake. Everyone was so kind & welcoming to us. We really enjoyed the experience & it just neat to be in another country speaking a completely different language but serving the same mighty God who is the same in America as he is in Peru. 

On Sunday's it's not common to cook; so we got us some Popeyes chicken & biscuits & enjoyed it in our room for the afternoon 😊 Last week in Cusco- tomorrow is Titus' 26th birthday, his second time celebrating it in Peru. Attempting to make a pound cake today without a measuring cup & some very different milk- will see how it goes but figured I better do it today in case I ruin it 😁 He's not big on celebrating but I'm about to go shopping for a few fun things. We're just so ready for some warm jungle weather, awaking to the sound of sweet Spanish voices singing praise, & warm hugs & giggles shining in those dark brown eyes! 

Covered by His grace alone, 

kb

Machu Picchu

Visited Machu Picchu last weekend. Was an interesting trip. Our tour schedule gave us a LOT of downtime in the city which was a huge tourist trap & everything was priced SO high. We enjoyed having a visit with Billy Greenman who's over the Girasoles boys program run by Scripture Union. Our hostel was literally on the train track & smelled like sewage. The group from our school wanted to catch the 6am sunrise over MP but we opted out- thankfully we didn't get up because it was raining & clouds covered the sun until later in the morning! 

We enjoyed touring Machu Picchu & were glad we went. Spent a few hours there before heading back for a pricey lunch. Our train didn't leave until 7pm & so we had hours to spare... Decided to pay the $20 fee to get another room at the hostel where we napped & showered before heading to the train station. Thankfully we were well rested & not wiped out like the rest of the group! 

We've been struggling at school- it's been difficult to have such an overload of information & not be practicing it enough. We finished the basic book but the intermediate book goes very deep into past tense & irregular verbs & it's just a lot. I've felt really discouraged & like I'm not getting further along. Felt like the weekend was a big setback only speaking English. Monday was a rough day in class. Festival traffic & road closings kept us from going to class today & tomorrow tomorrow is a holiday so we will study at home again. Really feel this week & next we just need to be conversing & working on our vocab- our biggest goal is just to be able to talk to the kids more. I feel like I understand much more than I did but I'm just more hesitant to speak & feel like I forget things when I go to talk because I get nervous.

Been feeling a bit homesick & tired of being here. Sick of being cold & not being able to eat food- every time I eat something I actually enjoy I end up sick.  

Have run into several children on the street that have broken our hearts. It's hard to know what to do or how to respond but we always try to treat them with kindness. So much need in this country for Gods most treasured. 

Until next time

Kb 

Another adventure

Every day in cusco is such an adventure... I wish I had the energy to blog every day because there are always stories to tell from each day we're here! 

The city has been CRAZY this week. There's been a protest at the local college near where we are staying that had resulted in a lot of roads being closed. Apparently the president of the college is putting more money in his pocket than he's using to better the programs at the school. We heard the students will stay out protesting until something changes! When we drove by on Thursday the entire campus was a ghost town inside. Not sure if things will change but it's made for a lot of traffic on top of the festival of "Corpus Christi" (the corpse of Christ). It's a tradition of the Catholic Church in the city to parade around statues of the saints & lots of dancing competitions, food & things are going on. It is a zoo! Our school is right in the middle of it all so we've spent a lot of time sitting in traffic! 

On Thursday our teacher took us in the morning to check out the festival. The traditional food consists of roasted guinnea pig (whole with teeth!), corn tortillas, & lots of beer! People will literally sit & drink all day long. They do a lot of shows & traditional Ketchua dancing. After we got back to school, we heard the band coming by with a statue- the biggest, heaviest & most dangerous to carry because of its weight. The street is very narrow & many cars park on the curb. As the statue was coming around the corner the people realized it couldn't get through. So... A group of guys literally picked up & moved some random persons car onto the sidewalk- it was totally crazy! The statue constantly swayed as if they were going to drop it & everyone carrying looked as if they were in so much pain. Apparently it's because of their deep faith that they volunteer to Carry around the statues. This festival goes on for several weeks & is very culturally important in Cusco. It's definitely been an experience for us! 

On Friday night we took Willy & Kati out to dinner at an Italian restaurant. Willys mom lives in the apartment above us & she came to watch the kids- she's super sweet & had a Yorkie named "Speedy." We had a great time laughing & talking to them, sharing about our vision with street children in Peru. They have become great friends in just a week's time. Titus finally got Joaquin (their 8 year old son) to warm up to him with some Nerf wars 😊

We had a good week at school & have learned a lot. We really like our teachers. We decided to stay home this weekend instead of going to the Boys home Fri night through sun afternoon because we really need to review & solidify this mountain of information we've been given. We were going to go for the day on Saturday but the boys had some sports tournaments so we thought it would be better to go a different weekend when we could actually spend time with them. 

We didn't really have plans for Saturday until Willy mentioned to us on Saturday morning that his cousin (Mario) had a Christian center where he fed & loved on kids each Saturday morning in the mountains. We decided to take the trip on a van that's about $1.50 per seat. Little did I know the ridiculous mountain roads we were about to encounter with a terrible driver & overcrowded ride. Can't believe I didn't throw up! Mountains in the US had nothing on this crazy ride! We took a moto taxi to the center & were greeted by 40 sets of dark eyes with dirty faces & torn clothing. They were eating lunch & singing songs of praise. They were all very young, mostly 5-7 years old. Our hearts absolutely melted & I was delighted to see little girls for once! We thought we were doing so good with our spanish but man, are kids much harder to understand than adults! We played with them for a while, colored pictures, & talked. Before they left, Mario's wife taught them to pray as they repeated a prayer of thanks to God. The Lord provided for my carsickness & Willy's cousin allowed us to ride back down the mountain with him- it made a world of a difference to be in a small car with a good driver!! 

Last night we talked to the family about taking the kids to a movie. The parents ended up being late so the 8 year old son begged his parents to let us take him to the movie. I think it spoke a lot about them trusting us with their youngest! We took Joaquin to see Jurassic World & bought him a snack. I was worried he would be scared but his mon said he would be fine. Poor thing was terrified but didn't want to leave when we kept asking if it was too scary lol It was fun to take him but I just felt awful he was so scared! I remember always being scared of Jurassic Park when I was a kid (even a young teen!). 

Last night I woke up with terrible stomach pains & felt super sick about 4am. Asked Titus to pray over me & took some meds- thankfully was able to go back to sleep. We were asked to go to church with Mario at the evangelical church in town but we already told Willy we would join their family on a hiking trip. I wasn't feeling super great still so I decided to stay back. Titus took his fishing gear & is hoping to catch something at the lake where they're hiking! 

Oh & Titus has kept up his celeb doppelgänger in foreign countries... He's been called Leonardo DiCaprio several times, just like he was called in Jamaica several years ago ☺️ 

 More later! ❤️kb 

My favorite meal in Peru- Lomo Saltado. Beef with onions, tomatoes & French fries! 

Taking on Peru

Titus & I were given an amazing opportunity to spend 4 weeks this summer studying Spanish in the city of Cusco, Peru. 

We arrived 27 hours after our travels began (nice long layover in Atlanta but we rented a car & went to a nice dinner & the World of Coca Cola) & were greeted by Willy, who was to be hosting us at his home. He took us to his apartment where we met his wife & 2 children. They were so kind to us & greeted us so warmly. We're staying in an apartment & have our own room that's very large & comfortable. There's electricity here but no heat... Gets real cold in the morning & at night. But we've got wifi & warm showers... Feels like a vacation! Weather is really nice & warm during the day. And for the first time in my 8 trips to Peru I can finally wear my hair straight! 

Kati, the mom, fixes each meal for us. She's a great cook & we enjoy everything she makes for us. They're so attentive & always sit down with us for every meal & chat with us. Before coming to Peru, I spent a lot of time praying for the family we would live with... They've been such a sweet blessing. Willy's parents live on the floor above them & they take their two kids often, Valeria & Joaquin. They're super sweet but a little shy around us. 

After a good nap, Willy & Kati showed us around the city & where our school was. Kati & I realized we both were cake artists & our husbands feel exactly the same about our cakes- too much time & stress! The school is about a 20 min taxi ride from the apartment or 35 min bus ride. There's a super nice mall a block from the house that's very American looking. Also found my equivalent of Walmart... Feel like I can totally do this for a month now :) 

Our second day was a little more difficult. There's another girl staying at the house who's also studying Spanish but at a different school (she was out of town the day we arrived). She's really smart & very good at Spanish- I felt really inferior with her around. At lunch with Kati, anything I said was wrong & I just felt dumb... Put me in a frustrated mood but I know it was a tactic of the enemy to distract me! 

We went on a tour with the school & learned a little about the city. The school is really old & the administration is a bit disorganized but we really like our instructors. Our first couple classes were separate but they have us together now. Not sure if that will change but apparently we paid for private lessons- didn't know that but it's good because it definitely challenges us. We've learned so much in just a couple days. Weve been forced to speak Spanish so much. Willy can speak a lot of English but forces us to speak in Spanish as much as possible. We always make conversation with our taxi drivers & waiters to practice small talk. 

Last night we hopped in a taxi like usual. The guy ignored us when we asked how he was doing. Titus kept talking to him (sitting in the front seat) & I was in the back. About halfway to the house, the driver looked at Titus like he was going to literally kill him. I started to get really nervous & uncomfortable. As I sat in the back I realized the guys license expired 2 years before & the number "666" was all over the car. I almost told Titus that I wanted to get out but I just started to pray for safety. Started thinking of all the movies I had seen of people in foreign countries getting drugged & raped, mugged, etc.... But praise God we made it safely & God protected us. Titus said he felt a demonic presence... It was pretty scary. 

Tonight we got in our taxi & I realized it said "God is love" all over it & the driver was a Christian- had to laugh... Last night we rode with a demon & tonight with an angel lol 

Today when we came home for lunch Willy was sweeping glass off the floor- they had accidentally broken 4 glass plates. This evening when we went to the mall, we bought them some new ones. When we came home & gave them to them, they were so excited & loved the gift- Willy jokingly said he was going to break 4 more tomorrow morning lol 

Tonight Titus bought 7 key chains from a little boy on the street & 5 candies from a boy selling around the mall. He's a sucker for a Peruvian child :) 

We're loving our time in Peru & look forward to all God is going to teach us while being here, both with spanish & about Himself! 

So… how was your trip?

There’s nothing that gets me quite like it does.

The smell of heat that you can feel hit you. The sound of monkeys & birds screeching in the trees. The feeling of the mysteries of the jungle. The calm before a rain that is preceded by a giant soccer game in the mud. The shock of the river as you jump in for a bath. The feeling of a surprise hug. The sound of a giggle at dinner time. The warmth of squeeze before bed. The quiet Spanish words whispering in my ear. A look of longing in those great big brown eyes.

I wish you could see it, taste it, and feel it like I do.

Those eyes. Oh, those brown eyes. They dance with longing and excitement. Behind them lies hurt, abandonment, and fear. Stories we cannot even fathom. But even with that…oh, so much love. I can’t even contain it. I don’t know all their stories. But I see so much passion and life within each of their hearts.

Maybe I can paint a small picture…

The precious giggle of Job Never as he blows bubbles in the hammock. The incredible footwork of Anthony as he dances the night away. The head of Germán on my shoulder. A hug from Luis that I never want to leave.  The mischievous grin of Sebastian as hides my water bottle from me once again. The sound of my name being called out with that sweet Spanish accent. The silly jokes, calling me a fiery cat from Frank. Holding the hand of Luis Mansur as we walk to dinner. The conversation I have with Hox. The vision of watching him teach a child how to swim. Seeing Alexander & Harold grow into amazing young men. Oh, that smile that lights up a room in Martin. The words of Jeíson calling me “mama.”

…hearing them sing praises to Jesus as we gather for meal time. The same Jesus who is with me here in my luxurious American life. The same Jesus who is and was. The one who holds them each in his hand.

Sitting in my over indulgent, American, heated/cooled, furnished, comfortable apartment, all these sights, sounds & emotions flood my mind. I can’t quite wrap my head around it. I can’t quite verbalize it. But it’s so real & so vivid that my heart aches at the picture of my departure. Of leaving once again. Being the one to let go… it’s the hardest thing I think I ever have had to do.

I almost hate it when people ask “How was your trip?” I know they mean well. And they very well may really like to know. But it’s like I can’t really tell them. I can’t truly explain what it is that I experience each time in the jungle. It’s like it’s never enough. I come home with feelings of guilt & sadness over missed opportunity. I’m disappointed in myself for not loving harder, giving more, and living as selflessly as I could have. I was hot, I was tired, I was itching from mosquito bites. The excuses seem so insignificant to the love I know I should have & could have shown them more deeply. I find my time there in the jungle feeling shorter & shorter as it gets harder & harder to leave.

I guess it’s safe to say that these boys have changed my life. And I know they have changed the lives of many others. I feel like Puerto Alegría (“Port Joy” in Spanish) is a bit of what heaven will be like (although there won’t be any nasty mosquitoes to distract us in the Kingdom!). A place where no one is distracted by the things of the world, sorrow, busyness or sadness. But a place of pure love. Deep relationships. Concern for one another. And hugs where you never have to let go.

I think my sweet husband tells one of our stories better than I do… so here’s a little blurb from him to give a glimpse:

(sent to our team after returning home)

Some of you may be finding it difficult to adjust to being home after what I call an "emotional shock" that the boys tend to leave embedded in our hearts, I know I am.  I actually had a really hard time returning to the business world today; my mind just will not stop. It's actually the most difficult time I have ever experienced returning home.  

When I woke up the morning of leaving the home, I went to fill up my water and found sleepy-eyed Luis there waiting for me, at 4am. After getting my water, he wrapped his arms around me, whispered good morning, and then followed me to my room to see Kailee. While everyone was on the boat, Kailee and I found him again near the soccer field. Kailee called out to him, and he came over to give us our last hug before we departed. As we all hugged one another, none of us wanted to let go. In fact, Luis actually wouldn't let go, I kissed his head, told Kailee we had to go and we said goodbye.  As we were sitting on the boat, with both of our hearts breaking, she looked at me and told me how bad it hurt to be the one to let go first, to have to be the one to walk away. Today I am saddened by this vision of our departure, and it breaks my heart to know that Luis and the rest of the boys are there waiting for love and affection to just come and go.

So if today you are struggling, know that you’re not alone, and we are praying for all of you. It is such a blessing to be able to feel love like this, to be able to give love like this and to be able to long for love like this. This love is the love of our Heavenly Father, so hold on to it and cherish it.

As hard as it is to leave, to let go, to have to say goodbye, I can say that I am truly grateful. Grateful to have experienced this kind of love. To have brothers and sons in Peru that have changed my life forever. Grateful to have just a glimpse of how much love our Heavenly Father has for us & the longing that He feels for our affection. I am humbled & unworthy to be the recipient of this type of love.

So how was my trip? Words cannot describe it. My mind cannot define what took place in the jungle over the past 9 days. My heart is full yet I cannot truly verbalize what it means to me. But I can say that we serve an amazing God. One who never lets us go. Who never leaves or abandons us. And one who has given us the capacity & blessing of experiencing love for one another.

This love stretches far across the ocean. Far from our American lives of excess, luxury, and gluttony. Through dusty, motorcycle filled streets. Past overcrowded buses & cities. Miles down an Amazon river. Within the trees of the jungle. Nestled in some simple screened-in rooms.

This love is held in the eyes of 45 incredible Peruvian children.

My favorite place to be… Hanging out on the porch with these guys.

My Luis who I have watched grow from a stubborn 5 year old to an awesome kid. He woke up at 4am after only 4 hours of sleep to give us a hug before we departed. 

Truly an awesome thing to see my brother love the jungle & these children so much. As I saw tears in his eyes on the last night in Peru, I felt so grateful to see his passion in serving alongside me.

Oh & this is Anthony… His dancing is like nothing you've ever seen.

My support system- so grateful for the blessing of my best friend & my husband. I feel as if our bond grows stronger by our passion for this place.

Serving alongside my husband is truly an incredible experience. Seeing his sold out passion on this trip makes me feel even more blessed to be called his wife.

Job Never… the child who never stops smiling, who finds so much joy in life. He has the best disposition & seems to always be content in whatever he is doing.

Sweet, mischievous Sebastian.

Mi hijo (my son) Jeíson in Peru- he had a precious picture he made waiting for me upon my arrival that described my characteristics in being his mom.

The precious brown eyes that make my heart sing.