Huaraz!

Feb. 14--Happy Valentine's Day!

From Maggie

Hi everyone, Mom wanted me to say a few things about Huaraz, so here goes:

Dad and his friend Jorge needed to go to a town in the mountains called Huaraz to meet more people and check out places for Dad's program. Emily and I tagged along to see a different part of Peru. And it was definitely different!! We are used to flat Indiana and crowded Lima, but outside of Huaraz there are beautiful snow-capped mountains and green hills. Kind of like The Sound of Music, you know? The town (city?) itself is more like Lima, with shops crowding the sidewalks and people selling things everywhere (from shirts to candy to puppies!). Speaking of puppies, there are many, many stray dogs in Huaraz. Everyone just ignores them, so I guess it's not a huge problem... The hotel we stayed at, Hotel Colomba, had a nice view of the area. I still can't believe I was in such a gorgeous place; it's kind of surreal! So Emily and I tagged along to different meetings. One was at the Lazy Dog Inn, a wonderful inn higher up, around 11,00 feet or 3,400 meters(Huaraz is around 10,000 feet, or 3,000 meters). We also visited a few very poor communities, which really made me realize that I have a very easy life. One area had around 300 kids, living in houses (adobe walls with tin roofs held down by rocks) with no electricity. There were only two places to get water in that community. I really would like to help people in those kinds of areas; I am keeping all these memories and experiences for future times (like when I choose a profession and stuff. I am a freshman in high school, by the way. So I have some time, thank goodness :). I really liked Huaraz and would love to go back sometime! :)

From Emily:

Going to Huaraz really put my life into perspective. We visited several communities that were very poverty-stricken, and it made me think about how privileged I am. I have been blessed so much by God; He has given me the resources for a wonderful education, nutritious food to eat, and warm, dry shelter, which is more than most of the people who live in the villages surrounding Huaraz have. We learned that many of the children there are malnourished and suffer from preventable diseases such as diarrhea and that access to clean water is a huge problem. There are so many opportunities for Dad's students there! I was glad he let us tag along and witness Huaraz.

Huaraz is smaller than Lima: it has 100,000 people compared to 10 million. We were wondering while we were there why it was that all sections of the town seemed the same (e.g. there were no "nicer" districts) and why it seemed like it was thrown together without any kind of plan. We found out when we got home that there was an earthquake there in the 1970's and the city was rebuilt rather quickly afterwards.

It was nice to "get away" from Lima; because Huaraz is in the mountains, the air was fresh and chilly -- the kind that fills your lungs with life, it seems. Everywhere on the streets were people hawking anything you could think of: fruit, bread, snacks, toys, puppies, and clothing. Items were cheaper there as well, and transportation didn't cost as much either. I loved walking there because it always seemed so surreal to me. I never thought I would go to a place like Huaraz, and it was amazing to walk the streets and remind myself over and over that I was really in the mountains of Peru!

The biggest lesson I learned in Huaraz is that because God has blessed me with so much, I should use my talents and resources to help better the people of places such as Huaraz who lack so many basic needs. Huaraz made me rethink what I am going to do with the rest of my life, and I thank God that I had the opportunity to visit.