Magic Fountains

January 25
From Sue (& Eric)
We've posted some photos and video of our Saturday evening venture to see the world's largest fountain park here in Lima. It was very beautiful and innovative. It was also very crowded as it is summer and a Saturday night. One of the really neat things was a fountain tunnel we walked through. There was also a fountain/laser show which was pretty cool. They played all sorts of music (Beatles, a little Queen, John Williams) and then projected laser images into the water. There was a patriotic sequence where they played native music and showed images from around Peru and you could hear the crowd react to that. It reminded me of the way we felt when we went to see the light show at Mt. Rushmore-very patriotic.
We continue to enjoy the time we are spending worshiping at Flamingo Road Church. We were all convicted during the message yesterday on Jonah ch. 2 about surrendering to God. We then enjoyed another cultural experience going to Bembo's for lunch. They have a wide variety of burgers which means poor Eric had to again communicate on our behalf. We then walked over to the Wong grocery store (no, the right one..... oh sorry, thought we were doing Elmer Fudd there) where we loaded up on junk food we can't get at the Vivanda. We spent some time skyping with family and friends and got to watch the Colts win! The second game wasn't televised here so we felt pretty fortunate. And then to top it all off-the Vikings lost! What a weekend!

Magic Fountains

Huaca Pucllana

Alpaca (native to Peru)

Elijah (not native to Peru)

Maggie & some pre-Colombian artifacts

Sue petting the hairless Peruvian dog (very rare...and very ugly)

part of the pyramid where the Lima culture (approx. 400 AD) performed religious rituals

part of the original adobe wall at the site -- bricks were oriented vertically to increase stability against earthquakes

the pyramid


From Eric...

Today (Saturday) we visited a really interesting archaeological site in Lima called Huaca Pucllana. It is a pre-Colombian site (began about 400 AD) that was dominated by a large, ceremonial pyramid. The lives of the people who lived in this area were very focused on the sea, with many of the gods they worshipped having to do with the ocean, etc. They also sacrificed young women here. We visited a small but nice museum (working our way through the explanatinos in spanish) and then heard the welcome words "English tour will begin over here...." -- we rushed over there, of course. We learned a bit about the culture and about the construction of the pyramid, which was interesting.

They also had examples of some of the plants and animals which were native to the area and time of these people (called the Lima culture). One of the strange beasts was the hairless Peruvian dog. It was indeed without hair -- it looked a bit like a cross between a rhino and a hyena (check out the picture of Sue "petting" it, if you can pet something like this...). We heard Carolyn say "now I really miss Indy!" (fleas and all, although now that we think about it, a hairless dog would be neater although kind of creepy) Overall it was a fun trip.

January 19
From Rebekah
Hi! We went to the beach. We watched the ocean and got crashed by a wave. We really did! We sat on the rocks. I got a purse for a souvenir. I like to go to the park. Me and my brother found a snail. We named it snailly. We made a home for it. I played with babies at Reina de la Paz. One of them was named Shirley. I did like playing with the babies. I enjoy playing. I miss my friends.

From Elijah
I found coral with mussels and we got splashed with a humungous wave. Only my shorts got wet.
I got an Inca Kola shirt for a souvenir. I miss my friends.

Reina de la Paz

above are Vivien and Francisco

Rebekah and Andrea's baby Lydia

January 19

From Sue

(pictures above from the market on Saturday, the beach on Sunday, and Reina de la Paz on Tuesday)

I have always known that we have great kids, but I have never been more convinced of that than I have today. This morning, we met Giuli at Reina de la Paz, a home for teen moms and their babies that we have visited for 3 years and which our church helps support. We all crammed into a cab and traveled the 40 minutes (our cabbie got lost) to get there. An experience in and of itself! We greeted many familiar faces and some new ones too. Giuli assembled the girls and what was supposed to be a 30 minute presentation about playing with your baby, turned into a 90 minute session on everything from eating and sleeping issues to discipline! While I talked to the girls, the rest of the family watched babies and toddlers. We then had cake and cookies which we brought to celebrate Giuli's birthday with the girls. After that, it was off to the soccer court for some fun while Emily, Elijah, Rebekah and I attempted to watch babies. Letty Mar asked when we were coming back and we said next Tuesday. She said, you can come back everyday. That's Reina for you. It is such a bittersweet place. It is sad to see their situations and such joy in little things like cake and soccer. The babies were dressed way too warmly and were for the most part pretty dirty but they are a joy and delight! One of the highlights was seeing Francisco, a baby who was suffering from Failure to Thrive last summer. Both he and his mother, Vivian, were hospitalized and we sent up many prayers on their behalf. We saw them today and you wouldn't have known it was the same ill baby. He and his mother were both eating heartily! Praise the Lord for answered prayer! We also feel all of your prayers for protection as we headed to a less desirable part of the city to see the girls. Our kids were so helpful and they did not utter a complaint even though it was all very new and not a little stressful:) Please keep us in your prayers as we head back to Reina next week and continue to deal with homesickness, school and lack of language skills.

Weekend happenings

January 19
From Sue
On Saturday, we walked to the Indian market, which is the one we go to on the mission trip. Eric was all set to use his newly acquired Spanish and gave us a pep talk before we shopped about bargaining and we will come back another day so don't panic if you don't get what you want today, type thing. At one of the first "shops", I saw the perfect souvenirs for our nephews, Matt and Mitch. Much to Eric's chagrin, the sales lady was not in a bargaining mood prabably since whe heard me say, "I don't care, I just want those!" I may not say what "those" are because I want to surprise the boys. We did get them but poor Eric was not happy and drenched in sweat when we walked away! He did get Carolyn a good deal on gifts for her friends so all was not lost. It just gets to Eric that he has to pay the "gringo price". In the evening, we got to watch the "Indyanapolees Colts" on spanish ESPN. Go Colts!

We went to the beach after church on Sunday and it reminded me of the Jersey shore except not as nice. It was crowded and the beach is covered in rocks. It was very relaxing to sit and watch the sea, however.

Learning

January 15
From Sue
Today we are celebrating Elijah's half birthday. We started this tradition when we only had 3 kids and I was craving cake:) He chooses what we eat for dinner (Pizza Hut) and then we have cake. Elijah is very excited to be 5 and a half and has been counting down for several days.

Yesterday we went to the Vivanda, our supermarket, and loaded up. We had our little cart full and we were all carrying something. It was crowded and quite stuffy in there. At the checkout, Maggie said she didn't feel well. I told her to go outside and she starts drooping and saying she can't see and hear. Well, I pushed her head down between her knees with one hand and continued unloading the cart with the other. At some point one of the girls led Maggie out of the store where she revived a bit. Our Maggie is in the habit of skipping breakfast, but I think maybe for the last time after yesterday; at least until we get home. There is a very nice young man working at the Vivanda who speaks a little English. ( He asked if Carolyn was my son) When he sees me there, he bags for us and helps us with the cashier.

In the afternoon, we walked to the park closest to our apartment because the sun was shining! We watched the parasailors take off and land and enjoyed the beauty of the Pacific. Before we left, a little girl and boy ages 8 and 4 maybe came by and said something. I asked Emily and she thought they were asking for dinner but was not sure. I had no money and no plan. I felt so disappointed in myself for missing the opportunity to care for those little ones. I will not go out without money and food in my backpack anymore. Please pray for those little guys and others like them that they would meet people to help and love them. Pray for us that we would not miss another opportunity to serve.