Dear family and friends,

Greetings from Peru!  We are doing well and hope that the same is true with you.

As of late, we celebrated the feast of Señor De Los Milagros, a devotion to our Lord which originated in Lima.  Peruvians celebrate it through devotional prayers and procession.  Over 1 1/2 million people processed in Lima.  As you will see from the photos (click here), we did not have that large of a number in Alto Trujillo!  The procession with the image came down our street and we spend that morning decorating with our neighbors.  We enjoyed ourselves!

We are also working on two gardening projects; a small one at the main parish, Señor de los Milagros and another larger one at the chapel, Señora de la Misericordia.  To see photos, click here.  At the Señor de los Milagros project, we collaborate with other parents who send their children to the same pre-school as Hannah and we are planting alfalfa and vegetables.  At the larger garden, we work with Madre Monica (an Irish sister of Mercy) to develop a series of community gardens.  Our work will address the following problems:  fresh vegetables are expensive to buy in Alto Trujillo and the main market, where they are less expensive, is far away.  The people who live here have VERY low incomes ($2-5 dollars a day) and the lack of fresh vegetables in their diet contributes to their malnutrition.  People mostly eat camote (sweet potatoes), potatoes, rice, eggs and some chicken.  The objectives of these projects are to grow affordable fresh vegetables for the people to consume, provide some work, and learn together with the people how to grow crops in the arid desert sands of northern Peru.  Along with developing the gardens, we are starting some composting projects.  This will provide essential organic material to the sand and dispose of some trash (which is another HUGE problem in Alto Trujillo).

A bit of sad news, two of our team members, Jason and Vanessa decided to terminate their contract with the Combonis and they have left Peru.  While it has been hard on us to have them leave, we wish them the best.

Everyday life is still filled with new, oftentimes confusing, experiences.  Last Monday, a woman caught me on the street after I'd taken Hannah to school, insisting that I call the priest so that he could bring her son some anteojos (sunglasses).  "What", I thought to myself???  "The priests have a program for distributing free sunglasses?"  Fortunately, my neighbor Teresa came to my aid and talked to the lady.  Finally, by the end of the conversation, I realized that the woman had been asking, not for sunglasses, but for the holy oils, santa oleos.  I know, I know, how could I confuse the two?  Such is my life.  I'm pretty sure that the people here think I'm "slow."  Oh well.  

Know that you are always in our prayers.  In solidarity, let us together continue to pray for the poor of the world. 

In love and peace, Ralph and Theresa