September 15, 2005

Hola from Peru!

After many years of planning, praying and discerning, we finally made it to our mission site in Trujillo, Peru.  We are grateful for everyone's prayers and support that have brought us this far.  Click here to see some recent pictures.

Our "work" right now consists of getting settled into our house and learning how to do basic tasks (riding public transportation and going to the market), procuring enough water for our household needs and meeting our neighbors.

We love the excitement of the open air markets.  They teem with people until about 2 pm when all the vendors pack away their wares until the next day.  We choose daily from a bountiful variety of delicious fresh fruits, vegies and meat. Theresa bought her first chicken with its head and feet still on yesterday.  She did ask the man selling the meat to cut them off before she took them home because she figured the vegetarians in our house would be totally grossed out!  
 
We enjoy meeting our neighbors around us, and we're learning that we stick out like a sore thumbs!  One of the neighborhood girls held Theresa's hand last night and asked her if she washed a lot to get such white skin.   People stare at us everywhere we go and the bold ones ask where we are from. There must not be many North Americans around here because they are usually suprised to learn we come from the United States.
 
Hannah started at the preschool 200 meters from our house last Monday. She loves the school and meeting her new friends.  Each evening she has five or six children from the immediate area that come to our gate asking for her to come out to play. She told us last night that she loves living here.

Night before last (after dark at about 7 pm) four men in a taxi drove up to the house across the street from ours, broke open the security door, put a gun to the young woman holding a baby inside and proceded to haul out everything of value inside.  They have very little here - among other things they took her TV and her blender.  It scared everyone and last night there was a large meeting in the street outside our house of the people of the neighborhood as well as some city representatives and an engineer.  As a result of the meeting, they hope to begin constuction on barriers to surround the neighborhood and to place two roving patrols of two men each working the neighborhood.  We'll see if all this happens.  Everyone will have to pay 5 soles (about $1.60) every two weeks, but most of the people probably cannot afford that.  Police protection is not an option.  After the robbery, our neighbor called the emergency number (not 911, but 105) and, as of today, the police still have not come.  

This is the world that the people here must contend with, grinding poverty without security.  We are, of course, concerned and are taking precautions for our own security but we are not unduly fearful.  Last week we  lined up a four-week old German Shepeard - Siberian Husky pup to buy (imagine the size of this animal - we think we'll be able to put a saddle on it for Hannah to ride) because dogs are  important to everyone´s security here.

Adversity does help to bring people together.  Last night, when we joined the neighorhood meeting outside our house, the people clapped because the foreigners wanted to join their effort.  We were even told that of course we wouldn´t have to pay because we were so new, but we told them we would be a paying part of the group also.  Our presence was very beneficial to the process.

Don´t think that everyone here is a criminal.  We have met many inspiring and couragous people.  

Let us continue to pray for one another and the poor of the world.

Ralph and Theresa May