Project #2

 The bake sell is tomorrow! It's been busy the last few days and tomorrow will be too.  We are having the event at a park by Nicole's house, from 11am to 5pm.  Last week, we created a Facebook event to get the word out, and so far a hundred  people have said they were coming. Call me hopeful, but I think people will show.

 Thursday Nicole and I went to the store and got ingredients for our baked goods and all the paper plates and soda.  Then we made posters for the event. One for prices, one with pictures of the children and two to put up around the neighborhood. We misspelled "Donado" the first time, so we had to fix it, but otherwise things went well. Our tagline has been "Donando una Sonrisa" or "Donate a Smile"

 

Today, the teens at the orphanage made alfahores, cookies, and apple pie to sell. I will post pictures on Saturday. Some of the older girls are going to be stopping by during the event with the one of the Tio's, and that will be a fun treat for them since they don't get out very much.
 

I have to get back to baking, but I thought I should update the blog on the event. I am excited for tomorrow, I have my fingers crossed that people will come and buy some treats and handcrafted goods and that we can get school supplies for the kids. They deserve it!

If you are in the area, please come! I can promise yummy food and colorful Peruvian souvenirs.

Breaking through Walls

Walls are good for two purposes- keeping things out and keeping things in. Which is why it is so common to use walls in our world today. Peru is full of walls. My house is  encased by twelve foot concrete wall topped with electric wires.  We use another type of wall- metaphorical walls used to keep secrets locked up, and people away from the delicate matters of the heart.

On Wednesday, Express Connect came to Westfalia Orphanage to do a workshop with the kids fourteen and up. The first workshop we talked about bullying, but we soon realized how quiet all the kids were and decided before the next group came that we needed to regroup. Sometimes, before learning can occur you need to break a few walls. In this case, we needed to get them to relax and be more comfortable with us and themselves before we dug into anything deeper. We played games with the second group, which proved to be more effective.

 

These kids have a lot of responsibility. They take care of the cooking and cleaning, wash their own clothes, take care of younger siblings or children, work in the gardens, and some have jobs. It was fun getting to know the teens and seeing them relax for a few hours. 

I hope we put a few cracks in the walls these kids had put up- and am excited for the next time I get to spend more time with them. (:

Up Up and Away!

Big plans are being put into action right now, not just for Westfalia Orphanage, but for Express Connect and schools in the nearby areas.  We have ideas to brighten children's lives at the Orphanage, and Express Connect is working on expanding their campaign! In March I will be joining them again to help with their Raise Awareness Campaign.

 

I am excited to announce that Project #2 is off the ground! We will be hosting a bake sell to buy school supplies for the Children living at Westfalia Orphanage.  It will be held next Saturday at a park near Nicole's house.  We will also be selling Peruvian souvenirs handcrafted by the kids. The money made from these sells will go directly to the Orphanage to use for food, water, school uniforms, shoes, and other necessities.  

 

Girls ages eight and up make these colorful bracelets to sell.

 

Girls and boys learn how to sew by making these colorful wall hangings. Each one is as unique as the child who made it. This one shows Westfalia Orphanage, located in Cienguilla.

 These adorable bookmarks are made to look like native Peruvian people.

The hats are made of the wool that the kids ages seven to ten spin.

 

Project #1 Update  

At the beginning of my adventure, when I learned I would be moving to Peru, I organized a project to make school kits at girls camp. Unfortunately, we moved before girls camp and did not have the opportunity to bring them with us. We have not found a way to get these school kits here, but will bring them back with us after summer. 

 

What Matters Most

We set Valentines day aside to "show our love" for friends, family, and ultimately our romantic interest. This is why I decided that each child needed and deserved to be told how much we loved them- not only by our  actions, but with words, because everyone deserves to be told they are loved.

 

On Thursday afternoon, Zach, Hannah, Emily, Marissa and I created simple valentines from construction paper and wrote the  messages "Te Queremos Muchos" and "We Love You" to hand out to each of the kids. I know that there is a chance that these will be thrown away, ripped, torn, stepped on, crumpled or left as garbage, BUT that doesn't matter- what matters  most is that they know we took time to do something just for them.

 

 

We made one-hundred-twenty-four of these simple cards. We then piled into the car and made a trip to the grocery store Totus, where we bought apples and cookies. Here, cookies and crackers come in small individual wrapped packages because of the humidity. We bought 120 individual packages of cookies for the kids.

 

 

Friday morning, armed with our treats and extra water, we hit the road. We had nine in the van, four in another car, and two come later in the day for a grand total of fifteen  people.

We stayed as a group for the first fifteen minutes before we each went off in different directions to explore and play with the kids.

 

 

I stayed by Milagros, and after she was dismissed from spinning wool she took out a pencil with a bracelet she started working on and led me up some steps away from everyone else. She sat down on the steps, so I sat beside her and she handed me the pencil. I held it while she demonstrated how to do the bracelet. 

 

She was making a llama pattern that was way too advanced for me. She told me that if I brought two soles, the price they sell bracelets for, she would give me material so she could teach me. I think I will, because I would like to know Milagros better. 

 

She also decided that she needed to teach me Spanish. So, we went to Tia Sara's office in search of my notebook and a pen and then she told me to write down all the English words I knew so she could write them in Spanish. We did animals, clothes, actions, days, etc. There were a few times that we had trouble communicating, and she would give me a blank stare while I tried to explain a word, then would get excited when she understood.

 

 

 

Milagros is a great teacher. She made me try to guess what each word was in Spanish before she would tell me the correct answer and was always happy when I already knew a word. When correcting my pronunciation, she would carefully repeat the word until she heard me say it correctly.

 

 I am constantly amazed by the lessons I learn from these kids- not only Spanish, but in more important matters like patience, love, and kindness.

 

Milagros taught me the important of patience, something I lack in my every day to day life. She did not sigh and grumble when I didn't properly pronounce a word, but patiently repeated the word and allowed me to try until I got it right.  She showed me love and understanding when I failed instead of the anger and impatience we often show in our world.

 

I spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the others in the little lawn space, and having my hair done in a few different ways.

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, they had a special musical number planned because two volunteers were leaving.

It was a lot of fun being able to do something so ordinary with these kids. They had one day where they were able to just be kids, without worries or expectations. It didn't take money, it didn't take planning or preparation, just time. Time is precious, it is priceless- and I am happy to have spent this time with these kids. They are worth the time, because they too are priceless.

 

 

I learned another lesson from these kids on Friday. On the drive home, we each started exchanging stories about our day. Julia and Nicole told me two of the days events  that I will never forget.  Julia was playing with one of the boys, and asked him if she was his best friend. He looked at her and replied, "No- God is my best friend." Later Nicole witnessed another little boys faith. When he was told to join the group because they didn't want him to be alone, he answered, "I'm not alone, God is with me."

 

The faith these two boys showed is something that made me revaluate my own faith. There are so many times in my life when I forget that I can turn to God not only with my troubles, but with my joy. These boys reminded me I am never alone, never forgotten, and always loved.

 

I hope you all had a Valentines filled with love. I hope you expressed your love for someone. I hope you felt loved by someone. And, I hope that you will remember to show your love not only on Valentines day and other holidays, but everyday of your life.  Because everyone deserves to be loved.

The Ripple Effect

I have never been a popular person, nor will I ever be; and that's okay, because that isn't something that is important to me. So when word got around at church that I was going to Westfalia orphanage and some of the youth were coming up asking if they could come with me, I was more than ecstatic- I felt blessed. One person can make a difference. I have a firm belief that even the smallest of act of kindness can do far more good than you could ever hope for or even imagine. But with a group, all invested, excited, and with a desire to do good, we can accomplish amazing things. Eleanor Roosevelt once said: "Small people talk about other people, normal people talk about places and events, but great people talk about ideas."  One of my favorite children's authors, Dr. Seuss, wrote, "Unless someone like you, cares a whole awful lot, nothings going to get better, it's not."  Both of these influential people had the idea that with great people, and with passionate drive, anything is possible. People have the power to change the world.

 

Today, eight of us went to Westfalia Orphanage and two more promised to come on Friday. We all pitched in and helped them finish cleaning their houses and classrooms in preparation for a visit by some important people from Germany.

Diana and Nicole decided to tackle what we would call the laundry room together.

 

 

 

Zach, Rebekah, and Yanela cleaned the kitchen and dining area.

 

 

While Deborah and Sammy picked up garbage from outside, Julia and I cleaned the bathrooms.

 

 

After we finished, I asked Tia Sara if there was anything else they needed help with in very broken Spanish, while the others were content to sit back and laugh at my measly efforts instead of offering to help. Thankfully Tia Sara is a very patient person and figured out what I was trying to say.  When we were sure there was nothing else to do to help with the cleaning, we decided that in a place with a hundred kids running about it shouldn't be too hard to find some to play with. And it wasn't.

 

 

There was one girl sitting all alone in the back of the room spinning wool, so Diana and I decided to go and talk to her. She was really quiet  when we first started talking to her and we could barely hear anything she told us. Her name is Milagros, she is ten, and has been at the orphanage together for at least a few years from what we could understand. She told us she learned to spin wool when she seven or eight and spent an hour or more each day doing so. Watching these little girls spin wool was something that I had never seen before. Intrigued, and hoping to get Milagros to open up I asked if she would teach me how to spin wool. She was a little surprised that I did not know how to spin wool and looked doubtful but still got me a stick and started teaching me. I never realized how hard it was to do and was quite impressed with their ability to spin wool with both speed and grace.

 

 

The experience of being taught something that seemed so simple but proved challenging was something that made me realize how humble we need to be as people to understand, accept, and even learn the valuable lessons that shape you as a being, challenge your strengths, and defines your weaknesses. 

Nicole reading to a few of the kids.

 

Diana and Julia were playing pirates or something with a few of the boys. I'm not sure what they were doing exactly, I just know if involved play swords and light sabers.

Rebekah and her host sister showing some kids their phones.

Zach reading, and Julia taking a breather from all the running!

Sammy was there today and spent time reading with the kids too.

Me and my friend Melissa were playing with my camera.

We played with the kids until they needed to go eat lunch and then after a long lunch filled with fun stories and lots of laughter I showed Diana, Nicole, Zach, and Julia the animals.

 

 

Zach didn't like the smell. I think Nicole tried to pet it once or twice.

 

Before we left we decided to try out the teeter totters.

 

It is a great start to something that could be so much more. We have created a ripple in a pond with no idea of the effect it can and will create.