Lasting Impressions of Peru

Lasting impressions and things I learned in no particular order...

Warm people  - who both greeted and said goodbye with a smile, a strong hug and kiss. Often the women would hold us and pray for us as we left.

Missionary, friend, translator and "tour guide" Minina  - who was wise enough to know that if you want the "gringa" missionaries to understand the people they must not just see the areas that need ministry but also the riches the Peruvian people have: beautiful mountains, waterfalls, flowers, butterflies, skilled handcrafts, delicious food.  She in turn was surprised to have her image of American women as being quiet, reserved and shy blown apart.  We had a blast with her.

We were surprised to find that the white balloons were very popular with the children, probably because they didn't often have anything that is clean and white.  It was also a popular necklace color outside of Lima in the poorer regions.  Necklaces in the red colors or with bright pinks or purples were also popular.  Blues, not so much.

Sometimes 11 year old boys like to make necklaces too.

Women we assumed were at least in their 60's because of their gray hair and old wrinkled faces were more likely to be in their 40's.

Rural, poor mountain children in Peru share a lot of similarities with inner-city Rochester kids.  They are hungry for attention - and can seek it in patience-trying ways - show up out of nowhere and will stick around for whatever you have planned for them because the don't want to miss out on anything you might be giving away.

Small cheap plastic beach balls are highly coveted objects of wonder to Peruvian children.  But even when I was sure one or two of them were running away forever they still all came back.

Cheap frisbee-like rings were also popular.  Most successful game: Try to toss the ring on the cone on the ground, hand your ring to the next kid and go to the end of the line.

If you have a balloon-animal making disability and can only make the head of a dog you can tell a Peruvian kid it is mouse puppet and they are overjoyed, especially if each child gets one.

Unlike American kids I never saw them use a balloon puppet to bop another child with (as we adults immediately did while experimenting with our creation).  I'm still wondering why.

Everyone loves to sing.  They loved new songs; they loved familiar songs.  I scored on both counts with the music I had prepped.  Everyone loves "Absolutamente Nada" ("Nothing" from FCWC) and my translation of it was spot on according to Minina.  Three priceless moments for me were: 1) the 4 boys riding in the back of our van spontaneously launching into singing the songs they'd learned. 2) The women wanting to sing the new songs again while they were working on their necklaces. 3) The two little girls that were around while the women were making necklaces that grabbed a guitar and started trying to sing "Nada".  Beth Ann and I helped them perform it for the moms.

Standing  in one spot on a jungle trail that was like being in the butterfly garden at Strong with butterflies everywhere including giant blue ones.

Barren highland mountains and thin air at the pass... Forcing myself to move very slowly so I wouldn't get sick.  Mild altitude headaches in Huancayo.  Using elevators instead of the stairs. Gasping for air while trying to do the motions for "Nada" at 11,000 feet elevation!

Reworking our plans repeatedly and often on the fly to meet the needs of the location/situation. Plans need to be a bag of tricks one can pull from, not an inflexible prescribed plan of attack.

Women who hung on every word when told they were precious to God, beautifully created and highly treasured by Him.  Some got teary, even Christian women, as they had apparently never understood this before.  Women and children are not as valued as men in this society, viewed as property and often abused. They have low self-esteem.

Being told quietly by some of the women leaders that there is a real need for ministry to abused women and that even the pastors need practical teaching on how to love their families as much or more than theology. Any ministry we develop for the women would best be paired with solid teaching for the men.  Christian teaching on Love and Respect is needed.

Young mothers hungrily listened to the children's lessons when the children were sometimes too distracted. There was always someone paying close attention to the message.

Indian markets have beautiful things dirt cheap.  I went broke saving money.

Needing a bottle of water at all times.  Bottled water was safe and we needed to drink a lot. And brush our teeth with it.  If I wasn't drinking water I was drinking Coke, Coke Zero or yellow Inca Cola.

Pachamanca. Being fed this extravagant gift in the Vista Hermosa children's center.  Copious amounts of food roasted in the ground: chicken, cilantro coated pork, yucca fries, roasted butter beans in their pods, delicious purple sweet potatoes, white potatoes.

Dishes of hot sauce on every table.  Every place had its own variety of pureed homemade chili sauce that didn't look like varieties we get at home.  My favorite was a whitish chili sauce we got in La Merced.

Siesta time (roughly noon to 3) is welcome and needed when temperatures are in the 90s.

Dinner happens sometime after 7pm.  10pm is not too late.  Ice cream is good anytime and can substitute for dinner.

Finger crocheted necklaces are the perfect craft, loved by the women and the local missionaries.  They allowed for plenty of physical contact as we took women's hands and showed them how to do it.  Once they got the hang of it they happily worked and chatted or could listen to the teaching while they worked.  They were so proud of what they made.  If the local missionary women can get a kind of ribbon that will work they will continue to use the project to build relationships with women and teen girls.

Having a long morning cup of tea and good woman-to-woman chat in English with a group of Americans can be a real joy for a long term missionary woman and her adult daughter.

Tearing up as I listened to a couple young pastors grab a guitar and share some of their worship music with me.  Even though they looked so different from me, our hearts had the same God living inside.  The trials of the world and hope of heaven in the music was very real.  Their songs touched me.

Clocks were simply not going to work for Kelly in Peru no matter how hard she tried. (Kelly, my watch works just fine now that it is off your wrist.  In fact the alarm I set just went off).

Traffic laws are suggestions. "Stop" means "put your foot near the brake".  Do not pass signs or double solid lines on winding mountain roads (with usually no guardrails) mean "don't pass if you are timid.  Everyone else use caution and pass aggressively."