My sincerest apologies for not keeping up with this blog....
The final week was a whirlwind of events. The Millers arrived and began preparations for the big wedding on the 17th. Mike and Lupita were very busy hosting pre-wedding dinners, and finalizing all the details of the reception. I continued to work periodically with the social workers and at the medical post. I was also taking my evening Spanish class.
Wednesday, Wilder, the kids and I went and visited the residents of the Kinta Navidad, a secured apartment-like complex where handicapped people reside. We got to meet Marjorie, the 7 year old daughter of Maria. Marjorie has hydrocephalos and has shunts in her brain. She doesn't talk but is aware of people. We got her to smile when we gave her a nice soft blanket made by the Edgeley CYO youth group.
Bridger was busy throughout the week hanging out with Susanne.....a friend of Lupita's. They went swimming, shopping, to the University, etc....and of course out for ice cream several times! She spoiled the kids a lot!
The kids spent a lot of time on homework this week, as the reality of our near departure set in.
Friday was spent at Vesique Beach with the Millers, all the Gringos here for the wedding, and the Peruvian families and friends of the bride and groom. Brookston, Braeden, and Brinley climbed to the top of the "mountain" which overlooked the ocean. They had no troubles getting up, but were very nervous coming down! I held my breathe several times watching them maneuver their way down.
I made my first visit to the cave there. What an awesome experience! We walked through this cave, which is carved out by the erosion of the waves. Then we could see the awesome handiwork of God. The waves were incredible, and the kids had a lot of fun playing there. One little gal with us lost her shoes when a large wave came through. She thought she had her shoes high enough, but was proven wrong. We spent over 1/2 hour trying to recover her shoes....we could see them floating but the waves were too dangerous and too strong to fight through. Patiently the boys waited and formed a plan on how to get the shoes......and they did! She was all smiles!
Saturday was spent getting last minute items for the wedding.....hair accessories, shoes for Brinley and Bridger (theirs were trashed), and an outfit for Samuel (Wilder's brother) so he could attend the festivities with us.
The wedding was beautiful, as was the bride! OK, Mikey looked OK too! LOL. I was a gift-bearer and carried a large loaf of bread to the altar. Brinley was a flower-petal tosser at the end of the wedding. She looked so beautiful and grown up! I think she was actually the prettiest one there!!
So our first Peruvian-style wedding and reception was very interesting. After the wedding we all took taxis to the reception area. It was an outdoor tent about 3 stories tall. We didn't get served food until after 11pm....(wedding was at 7pm)....When they started serving the food, it was 5 courses. Unlike the receptions we are used to, there wasn't really a cash bar. Instead, they had a few bottles of beer at each table and everyone got one pisco sour----the official Peruvian drink. Around 1:30am or so, they had what's known as Hora Loca.....or "Crazy Hour".
Three persons on stilts, and 3 large 2-story puppets arrived for the dance. There were also some regular "jesters" who brought in hundreds of long balloons. So the tradition is for everyone to get on the dance floor and jump up and down acting "crazy" hitting each other with the balloons, and having fun. It was wild!
The kids had so much fun. Staying true to Peruvian tradition, we left the reception at 4:30am (which is actually early!).
Sunday slipped away rapidly due to sleeping in late and packing up our stuff. It was emotional. Brookston was having the hardest time with saying his good-byes.....and he was the one who only wanted to stay for 2 weeks! Mercedes and family were very sad too. In the evening, they had a little "dance" in the house for us as a going-away event. The boys showed off their dancing skills, and Brookston showed Tony's girlfriend Laura how to do the 2-step complete with the twists and turns! They were all amazed!! (I was too...he's actually good!).
Monday morning went by like a blink of an eye. We finished packing, rushed back to eat one last lunch with our family, and then rushed to the parroquia to say our good-byes to everyone there. It was the usual Gringo-farewell, plus Fr. Jack, Sr. Peggy and Enrique were with us....many well-wishers showed up to see us off. It's always very hard to leave, and especially this year because the relationships grew so much stronger.....plus the kids were emotional too, which didn't help me any!
The travel back to Lima down the coast of the Pan-American Highway was uneventful....long....but uneventful, thank goodness!!
When we got settled in at our hotel, we headed across the street for scrumptious pizza! We had a nice time talking with Fr. Jack and Sr. Peggy. Exhausted, we all went to bed early, around 11pm.
I awoke in the middle of the night to a noise. Then I felt the bed start shaking and "jumping". I thought, "Oh my God, it's an Earthquake!" And yes, it truly was! I jumped out of bed immediately, hollering at the kids over the loud sound of the quake......"Get up! Get up! We have to get out of here! Come ON! LET"S GO!! It's an earthquake!".........nobody moved or got up, so I rushed out the door into the hallway to see if anyone was rushing out of the hotel. All was quiet. The night watchman said, "It's just a small one." What!? I mean really......stuff fell off the night stands, pictures were hanging crooked, and I was completely nausious from being so off-balance. But I crawled back into bed and layed there awake for the rest of the night, waiting for the next shake which thankfully never came.
In the morning, we heard that the epi-center wasn't too far away and it was a 4.0. So hats off to all of you who live in earthquake states! One more reason to stay put here in the Midwest!!
Tuesday was spent at the Inca Market getting last minute souveniers.....one last trip to the pizzaria across the street, and off to the airport. All went well, flights were great, and we even made the "marathon" run in Huston. We had 1 hour and 33 minutes to get off our plane, go through immigration, then collect all of our luggage, go through customs, re-check our luggage, go through the whole security check point, and RUN...literally to our gate, which was 3 TERMINALS away! We returned to Minneapolis without incident at 10:30am on Wednesday, April 21st, and Jason was waiting for us at the baggage claim!!!!!
We made a quick trip down to Rochester to see my sister and family and say good-bye to them, as they are moving to Florida......Home and in our own beds Thursday night.....Ahhhhhhh......, and Friday of course unpacking and laundry.
So as we close this chapter of our adventure, we want to say "thank you" to everyone who kept us in their prayers and kept in touch with us while we were away...
God Bless you all,
Collette, Brookston, Braeden, Brinley, and Bridger Mathern
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Update April 12, 2010
Greetings to all......we are all safe and sound, and the danger has left.
After spending 2 lonely, boring days in the dorms, we have decided to return to our home. We had supper at the house last evening, hosted by "aunt Ana" and family. When Mercedes and Tony came home, they came down to see us and it was very emotional......they missed us so much, and we miss them too!
They told us that the assassin's family totally moved out Sunday morning, before the funeral. They are no longer in the city, and so the neighborhood has been very quiet......
Our friend Ted from Colorado attended the funeral yesterday morning with Fr. Jack. It's custom here that the funeral is in the home of the deceased.......now this is gross----Ted said that the body was smelling horrible and his face was all bloating up, nearly breaking the sunglasses that were on him. No embalming here. So it's been like 80's, hot and humid........you do the math. Following the funeral was the usual procession where his friends/family carry the casket above their heads through the streets. When they came past our house, Ted said that they were making the "revenge" signal to our neighbors. Fr. Jack said, "I am just so glad they are out of there now...(meaning us).......at that point, the family was gone, but nobody knew it yet.
SOOOOO.......this morning I had a heart to heart with Fr. Jack and Sr. Peggy, and we will be moving back into our host family's house......everyone is very excited. We will leave most of our belongings in the dorms and go back and forth as needed. But for now, I sit here in our house feeling safe and sound.
We will saying "goodbye" to Chimbote and friends on Sunday, and we leave Monday morning for Lima. We will spend one night in Lima, and our return flight is at 11pm on Tuesday evening. We hope to be in Minneapolis around 10:30am on the 21st.....
So our very heart-felt thanks to all who have been sending their prayers for us.....we will be home soon!!
Love to all,
Collette and kids.
After spending 2 lonely, boring days in the dorms, we have decided to return to our home. We had supper at the house last evening, hosted by "aunt Ana" and family. When Mercedes and Tony came home, they came down to see us and it was very emotional......they missed us so much, and we miss them too!
They told us that the assassin's family totally moved out Sunday morning, before the funeral. They are no longer in the city, and so the neighborhood has been very quiet......
Our friend Ted from Colorado attended the funeral yesterday morning with Fr. Jack. It's custom here that the funeral is in the home of the deceased.......now this is gross----Ted said that the body was smelling horrible and his face was all bloating up, nearly breaking the sunglasses that were on him. No embalming here. So it's been like 80's, hot and humid........you do the math. Following the funeral was the usual procession where his friends/family carry the casket above their heads through the streets. When they came past our house, Ted said that they were making the "revenge" signal to our neighbors. Fr. Jack said, "I am just so glad they are out of there now...(meaning us).......at that point, the family was gone, but nobody knew it yet.
SOOOOO.......this morning I had a heart to heart with Fr. Jack and Sr. Peggy, and we will be moving back into our host family's house......everyone is very excited. We will leave most of our belongings in the dorms and go back and forth as needed. But for now, I sit here in our house feeling safe and sound.
We will saying "goodbye" to Chimbote and friends on Sunday, and we leave Monday morning for Lima. We will spend one night in Lima, and our return flight is at 11pm on Tuesday evening. We hope to be in Minneapolis around 10:30am on the 21st.....
So our very heart-felt thanks to all who have been sending their prayers for us.....we will be home soon!!
Love to all,
Collette and kids.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Tragedy Update April 10, 2010
Ok. I know a lot of you are wondering what has happened in the last 24 hours or so.
Let me start where I finished off....
After my last blog, I tried and tried to sleep, but to no avail.....there were people walking "with purpose" back and forth outside my window, watching the house of "the shooter." ---again, he lives to our immediate right. I was hearing voices all night.....angry, loud, purposeful. Then I heard the smashing of glass.....they were breaking bottles on the light post outside my window, in front of the shooter's house, and I could make out, "You are dead!" I think I maybe slept for an hour or so. I could only keep envisioning the shooter walking past me, stone-faced, cold-hearted. So sober, so relaxed, just walking past me with his pistol in his right hand, swinging in tune with his walking steps.
The morning came all too early. When we went to the parroquia, (parish) I was approached by Fr. Jack and Sister Peggy, wanting to know what we knew. I told them my side of the story, and what I saw. Jack said he heard 4 shots and went to the roof, hearing the 5th shot as he reached the top. The night watchman (Vanini) pointed out the body, lying still on the ground. Fr. saw his friends pick him up and put him in a taxi to the hospital. Fr. Jack then told me the boy died. I pretty much figured he would, being shot at such close range. I could see the flashes of the shots which were about waist-level.
So, now we have a 22 year old "corrupt" boy who's been killed. The mother, my friend. The sister, our foster daughter. Many people witnessed me holding my little Stephanie, and hugging her mother Isabelle. The wrong people. This is the problem. The "other" wrong people witnessed me comforting the shooter's mother who was having anxiety/heart problems... I was now caught in the middle.
So as Friday played out, I went to afternoon Spanish class as usual. I took the alternative way home from the parish, bought some fry-bread, and was almost home when Brookston met me on the street. I could see the cop's vehicle in front of the neighbor's, and thought now what??!!
Brookston, who appeared quite nervous, was talking very fast and trying to explain to me what had just happened.........the victim's friends had come to our place and were throwing rocks/cement pieces at the shooter's mother....Now she's about 60+ years old and was on her roof to feed her dog. The boys started throwing stones at her. Brookston said one bounced into our foyer and scratched Julio's motorcycle......Brookston also witnessed the "mother" throw a large piece of cement onto the guy below, knocking him down. The police arrived a short time later.
So as I was processing this information, thinking, "my kids just witnessed this violence---for real!!!" Wow. I went into the house, put some sugar on the fry bread, handed it out, and was sitting outside in our foyer talking to my house mom and brother, when we started to hear escalating voices.......off from afar, but too close for comfort...........the hair on my arms stood up as Brinley said, "mom, I think something bad is gonna happen.".......
Just then, a pickup with cops drove by with 3 militant-looking cops standing up in the back of the pickup armed with AK's...(or not...but big rifles, anyways)....They were desperately waving at all the people to get inside for protection. Our whole family ran inside and were in "lock=down" for awhile. Of course, some of us curious ones snuck a peek out the windows......only to see nothing.
When the imminent danger had passed and the riot noise had dissipated, we went outside to process all we had just experienced. The neighborhood was "quiet" for a time, and so we ventured out to Louis Carlos' place to see our MN friends, the Millers....escorted of course by our house mom and brother. We had a nice time. Wilder and Robertito returned later to Louis' house, and walked us home. Wilder then told me that his 4 cop friends were on patrol to keep us safe......Good 'ol Wilder! Always watching out for his "family.....(us)..." He told me the 4 cops that I helped to get reading glasses over a month ago were around keeping us safe. Wilder had brought them to the neighborhood earlier that day, and said, "Please keep my gringo friends safe. They are caught in the middle of danger." Of course they remembered "the tall Gringa" who helped them at the medical post a few weeks ago. So they were patrolling the neighborhood until 7am this morning. Also, Wilder told me that there were undercover policemen in the neighborhood fully armed, watching and waiting for any unrest. So, last night I slept......I went to bed fully aware of the police outside my window.....every noise I heard, I would remind myself, "There are police outside my window...".....and I slept........
This brings us to this morning. Once I awoke and had my 2 cups of coffee, we got ready to go to the parroquia for music lessons. The kids were really excited. When I got to the parish, I found that the man didn't show up, so the kids were very disappointed. Sr. Peggy gave Brinley the home-made violin she so wanted......she told the story of how a man from the parish made it for his daughter and she didn't want to play it.......she then sold it to Sr. Peggy for very little money to feed her family......now, it belongs to Miss Brinley.....Sr. Peggy has passed it on to her little "sweetie." Ok. I cried, a little. Very choked up at the whole story of this violin.
So Sister Peggy had me come into her office and asked that we move into the compound for protection. She gave several good reasons, and stated that she was very worried about us. So I talked to the kids and felt them out for their feelings. It was pretty much unanimous that we continue to stay with our host family......however, Fr. Jack then came into the picture.....
I then visited with Fr. Jack for an hour, listening to his advice...."of course it's your decision, but I think you need to move into here today." He continued, "You are the closest volunteers I have ever had so close to such violence." So I contemplated it for a few minutes, and the boys came into his office and listened to his reasoning.......They were then OK with the idea of making a move to the parroquia....where there's 24/7 guards upstairs and downstairs.
So we went to our family's house, afraid to tell them what the new plan is.....however, they took it well........both Mercedes and Tony, our house mother and brother agreed that it's for the best... that it's not worth putting ourselves in danger for nothing.
Fr. Jack had pointed out that we've had a better experience than any other gringos visiting Chimbote.....we have lived "the life" of the families, witnessed the violence that can occur, and are still safe and sound.....no sense taking any chances....he had explained the customs to us....
When someone dies, they keep the body in the person's house for a vigil.....it's the family's responsibility to provide alcohol for the visitors to keep them there.......so all his friends have been drinking day and night, awaiting his funeral........The funeral won't be until tomorrow (Sunday), which means there is great potential for more unrest in the neighborhood.
He also told us that once the body is in the ground, it's custom to return to the person's home for a "party.".......which can go on for hours and hours......however, he's witness it where the victim's friends wait until he's in the ground and then seek their revenge on the assassin's family. Since this won't be until later tomorrow, it's just another reason to get out while we can.
"Thank you, Fr. Jack".... for making this very difficult decision for us....for me....for my family.
So we returned to our host family's house with very heavy hearts. Our family didn't see it coming, but supported our decision to move to a safer environment. We have left several of our things there, indicating that we will definitely return....... Mercedes will still make us lunch every day, and still do our laundry, but we will no longer be hanging out in the neighborhood after 4pm. Wilder brought the big white van to load our belongings, and he too agreed it's definitely for the best that we get out of there.
So this afternoon, we all moved into the dorms in the compound......it will be an adjustment, but one that is necessary for our safety......we are all very sad, but I am relieved and will sleep well tonight, knowing I have 2 guards guarding us 24/7........
We don't have wireless internet at the parroquia, so we won't be online as much.......We will blog and return emails if the internet is working at the parish....
Love to all, and please keep us in your prayers.
Collette
This morning, I awoke refreshed, the events o
\
Let me start where I finished off....
After my last blog, I tried and tried to sleep, but to no avail.....there were people walking "with purpose" back and forth outside my window, watching the house of "the shooter." ---again, he lives to our immediate right. I was hearing voices all night.....angry, loud, purposeful. Then I heard the smashing of glass.....they were breaking bottles on the light post outside my window, in front of the shooter's house, and I could make out, "You are dead!" I think I maybe slept for an hour or so. I could only keep envisioning the shooter walking past me, stone-faced, cold-hearted. So sober, so relaxed, just walking past me with his pistol in his right hand, swinging in tune with his walking steps.
The morning came all too early. When we went to the parroquia, (parish) I was approached by Fr. Jack and Sister Peggy, wanting to know what we knew. I told them my side of the story, and what I saw. Jack said he heard 4 shots and went to the roof, hearing the 5th shot as he reached the top. The night watchman (Vanini) pointed out the body, lying still on the ground. Fr. saw his friends pick him up and put him in a taxi to the hospital. Fr. Jack then told me the boy died. I pretty much figured he would, being shot at such close range. I could see the flashes of the shots which were about waist-level.
So, now we have a 22 year old "corrupt" boy who's been killed. The mother, my friend. The sister, our foster daughter. Many people witnessed me holding my little Stephanie, and hugging her mother Isabelle. The wrong people. This is the problem. The "other" wrong people witnessed me comforting the shooter's mother who was having anxiety/heart problems... I was now caught in the middle.
So as Friday played out, I went to afternoon Spanish class as usual. I took the alternative way home from the parish, bought some fry-bread, and was almost home when Brookston met me on the street. I could see the cop's vehicle in front of the neighbor's, and thought now what??!!
Brookston, who appeared quite nervous, was talking very fast and trying to explain to me what had just happened.........the victim's friends had come to our place and were throwing rocks/cement pieces at the shooter's mother....Now she's about 60+ years old and was on her roof to feed her dog. The boys started throwing stones at her. Brookston said one bounced into our foyer and scratched Julio's motorcycle......Brookston also witnessed the "mother" throw a large piece of cement onto the guy below, knocking him down. The police arrived a short time later.
So as I was processing this information, thinking, "my kids just witnessed this violence---for real!!!" Wow. I went into the house, put some sugar on the fry bread, handed it out, and was sitting outside in our foyer talking to my house mom and brother, when we started to hear escalating voices.......off from afar, but too close for comfort...........the hair on my arms stood up as Brinley said, "mom, I think something bad is gonna happen.".......
Just then, a pickup with cops drove by with 3 militant-looking cops standing up in the back of the pickup armed with AK's...(or not...but big rifles, anyways)....They were desperately waving at all the people to get inside for protection. Our whole family ran inside and were in "lock=down" for awhile. Of course, some of us curious ones snuck a peek out the windows......only to see nothing.
When the imminent danger had passed and the riot noise had dissipated, we went outside to process all we had just experienced. The neighborhood was "quiet" for a time, and so we ventured out to Louis Carlos' place to see our MN friends, the Millers....escorted of course by our house mom and brother. We had a nice time. Wilder and Robertito returned later to Louis' house, and walked us home. Wilder then told me that his 4 cop friends were on patrol to keep us safe......Good 'ol Wilder! Always watching out for his "family.....(us)..." He told me the 4 cops that I helped to get reading glasses over a month ago were around keeping us safe. Wilder had brought them to the neighborhood earlier that day, and said, "Please keep my gringo friends safe. They are caught in the middle of danger." Of course they remembered "the tall Gringa" who helped them at the medical post a few weeks ago. So they were patrolling the neighborhood until 7am this morning. Also, Wilder told me that there were undercover policemen in the neighborhood fully armed, watching and waiting for any unrest. So, last night I slept......I went to bed fully aware of the police outside my window.....every noise I heard, I would remind myself, "There are police outside my window...".....and I slept........
This brings us to this morning. Once I awoke and had my 2 cups of coffee, we got ready to go to the parroquia for music lessons. The kids were really excited. When I got to the parish, I found that the man didn't show up, so the kids were very disappointed. Sr. Peggy gave Brinley the home-made violin she so wanted......she told the story of how a man from the parish made it for his daughter and she didn't want to play it.......she then sold it to Sr. Peggy for very little money to feed her family......now, it belongs to Miss Brinley.....Sr. Peggy has passed it on to her little "sweetie." Ok. I cried, a little. Very choked up at the whole story of this violin.
So Sister Peggy had me come into her office and asked that we move into the compound for protection. She gave several good reasons, and stated that she was very worried about us. So I talked to the kids and felt them out for their feelings. It was pretty much unanimous that we continue to stay with our host family......however, Fr. Jack then came into the picture.....
I then visited with Fr. Jack for an hour, listening to his advice...."of course it's your decision, but I think you need to move into here today." He continued, "You are the closest volunteers I have ever had so close to such violence." So I contemplated it for a few minutes, and the boys came into his office and listened to his reasoning.......They were then OK with the idea of making a move to the parroquia....where there's 24/7 guards upstairs and downstairs.
So we went to our family's house, afraid to tell them what the new plan is.....however, they took it well........both Mercedes and Tony, our house mother and brother agreed that it's for the best... that it's not worth putting ourselves in danger for nothing.
Fr. Jack had pointed out that we've had a better experience than any other gringos visiting Chimbote.....we have lived "the life" of the families, witnessed the violence that can occur, and are still safe and sound.....no sense taking any chances....he had explained the customs to us....
When someone dies, they keep the body in the person's house for a vigil.....it's the family's responsibility to provide alcohol for the visitors to keep them there.......so all his friends have been drinking day and night, awaiting his funeral........The funeral won't be until tomorrow (Sunday), which means there is great potential for more unrest in the neighborhood.
He also told us that once the body is in the ground, it's custom to return to the person's home for a "party.".......which can go on for hours and hours......however, he's witness it where the victim's friends wait until he's in the ground and then seek their revenge on the assassin's family. Since this won't be until later tomorrow, it's just another reason to get out while we can.
"Thank you, Fr. Jack".... for making this very difficult decision for us....for me....for my family.
So we returned to our host family's house with very heavy hearts. Our family didn't see it coming, but supported our decision to move to a safer environment. We have left several of our things there, indicating that we will definitely return....... Mercedes will still make us lunch every day, and still do our laundry, but we will no longer be hanging out in the neighborhood after 4pm. Wilder brought the big white van to load our belongings, and he too agreed it's definitely for the best that we get out of there.
So this afternoon, we all moved into the dorms in the compound......it will be an adjustment, but one that is necessary for our safety......we are all very sad, but I am relieved and will sleep well tonight, knowing I have 2 guards guarding us 24/7........
We don't have wireless internet at the parroquia, so we won't be online as much.......We will blog and return emails if the internet is working at the parish....
Love to all, and please keep us in your prayers.
Collette
This morning, I awoke refreshed, the events o
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Thursday, April 8, 2010
Tragedy,-- April 8, 2010
It is with a heavy, sad heart that I write this tonight. Please bear with me, as I process tonight's horrific events.
First of all, I need to go back a few days and blog about the young man who lived 6 blocks from here who was killed. Fr. Jack had just told us that there's not been any killing/violence for almost 2 years between the gangs. Well, Sunday morning, actually at 3am when we were preparing for Easter mass, a young man was shot an killed. His funeral was on Tuesday, and we watched the funeral procession.
Tonight, after supper, I was helping Braeden with some homework. He was doing OK without me, so I sat in a chair to supervise and began reading a book that I started. It's a very exciting murder/mystery, and I was engrossed in the book. I looked up and Braeden was gone, and so I got up to see what time it was. It was 10:30pm....bed check...Brookston, check. Brinley, check. Bridger, check. Braeden........outside. I could see our host mom and dad and brother Tony were out there watching him practice soccer in the street. So I made a cup of coffee and took it outside to tell Braeden it was time to come in for the night.
I was standing on the doorstep, when I heard it. It was like a bomb going off right next to me. I turned my head toward the sound, and then I saw it. A flash. A boom. A flash. A boom. A flash, a boom. Oh my God, someone is shooting a gun! I watched as a young man stumbled backwards, around the corner out of my line of vision. Is this happening? No way. Can't be. This is not real! My immediate thought was, where is Braeden???!!!! Not outside. OK. He's safe. Then it began. Total chaos. People started hollering and running in all directions. I stared to my right, as the shooter began to walk towards us. The incident was only 2 doors down, so it was close. I thought, Really? Seriously? He has a gun in his right hand and he's walking towards us. Nobody is moving. Why isn't anyone moving??!! I then slowly backed into the safety of the foyer, and was going to hide, but my curiosity got the best of me. I looked out the non-window (cut-out in the bricks) and saw him. He was walking very stoic, no facial expression whatsoever. He was 20 feet from me...10, 9, .....he looked at me. He saw me. He was calm. Too calm, I thought. Behind him I then see about 20 people shouting and running after him. He began to run, and they all disappeared around the other corner of our block. I began to walk towards the shooting site. My brother Tony, said, "NO!" I looked at him questioningly, and said, "YES! I am a nurse, and someone has been shot. He is hurt and I need to see if I can help." Tony again said firmly, "NO!" So I'm thinking, What the h***??!! Why not? The shooter is gone! I pleaded with Tony, "Please let me go!" Then my house dad said, "NO! (in spanish, It's too dangerous!)" I stood there totally helpless, shaking. This is not happening. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes, four......then the police arrived.
To my horror, Isabelle gets out of the truck and starts hollering at our neighbor. When I gathered what the issue was, I was literally sick. My heart sank to my stomach. (Isabelle is the mother of my little Stephanie, (10) who we've helped financially over the years.) Isabelle was hysterical and saying that it was her son who was shot. (He's about 22 years old and NOT a good kid.....he and his buddies were standing on the corner harrassing people off and on for the last few weeks. I was physically grabbed twice on Sunday night by them. I had my house dad Julio walk with me to go and get Brinley and Bridger that night). Tonight, they were at it again, and tried to rob my house mom Mercedes just 10 minutes before the boy was shot.
So Isabelle is hysterical and ranting in Spanish, I grabbed her by the arms and said, "Where is Stephanie?!" She opened the back door to the police truck, and there she was. My little, precious Stephanie! She was sobbing. I held out my arms and she grabbed for me, melting into my arms and chest, sobbing. I carried her over to a light post, and I sat on the dirt ground, rocking her and crying with her. It's just not fair! No little child should have to see their brother shot, or should have to go through this! I wiped her tears and tried to tell her everything will be OK, but will it? I don't have any idea. Her brother was pretty much thrown into a taxi right after being shot, and was on his way to the hospital.
As I sat and rocked her, the whole world seemed to pass by with my minimal awareness.....many people running in all directions looking for the shooter. Our immediate next door neighbors being questioned by the police (it was the son of our next door neighbor who was the shooter). The loud sobs of Isabelle, afraid for her son's life, and the friends of the victim, wanting revenge. All I could think of was this precious child in my arms, trusting me and looking to me for hope and comfort.
Isabelle and Stephanie soon left with the police, and I was left there shaking. I had never been so close to a violent crime. How do I begin to process? I need a drink. No, I need two drinks. No, I can't drink. I need to stay clear-headed. I was starting to relax a little, when Tony came in and said, "Can you help? We need your help now!" I thought, "What now??!!" Well, the mother of the shooter (our next door neighbor) was having a panic attack. So I went into their home and did my nursing assessment with what I had.....which was not much! She was breathing very rapidly, and her pulse was racing and thready. OK. Think. What can I do? What do I know?? We located a BP cuff and I took her BP...not too alarming. She had numbness and tingling in her extremeties, and her breathing was labored and rapid. OK. No paper bags. Found a plastic bag and had her breathe into it. Couldn't hurt. As her breathing slowed, her pulse did as well. She began to relax......too much. Oh my God, I can't feel a pulse! There it is, no--it's not....yes it is....Oh crap! What to do next?? There's no 911 to call. Her other sons are here and I am in a very bad situation! BP cuff is gone....no way to check vitals...check CMS...perfusion to feet and hands was minimal. No capillary refill noted. I tried in my best Spanglish to explain to her sons that she needs to go to the hospital. She was rubbing her chest.....Oh my God...she's gonna have a heart attack right here...right now...God, what do I do next? Her son (who is mentally ill) was telling me "no hospital." OK then. Great. Just then, Tony was at the door. "You need to come here now." HUH? NOW? She's not well.....I may need to start CPR. ....."right now." OK, OK....."please excuse me for one minute" I tell them. I exit the door, and Tony practically drags me back to our house. He tells me that the "gang" who now wants revenge on the son/family was at their door and almost in, when someone called for them and they retreated....."Whew! OK. Had enough of this." I was told that her daughter is a nurse and was on her way......THANK YOU GOD!
So I sit here now blogging about this experience, hoping that putting my thoughts and feelings into words will allow me to relax enough to sleep. It's 2:30am and I am wide awake. I hear people outside in the neighborhood talking, and I wonder what they are saying.
I guess tomorrow (or later today) will tell more.....hope to have a progress update on the older lady next door and on the shooting victim.
I know this story seems very scary, and it definately was/is, but I hold my position that this is a pretty safe neighborhood! Everyone looks out for each other. With the exception of those (drunk) young boys on the corner a few times, all has been well. For now, my plan is to walk the other direction to the parroquia (if need be) if it's after 7pm. As always, I will do my best to keep my kids safe. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
Until later,
Letty
First of all, I need to go back a few days and blog about the young man who lived 6 blocks from here who was killed. Fr. Jack had just told us that there's not been any killing/violence for almost 2 years between the gangs. Well, Sunday morning, actually at 3am when we were preparing for Easter mass, a young man was shot an killed. His funeral was on Tuesday, and we watched the funeral procession.
Tonight, after supper, I was helping Braeden with some homework. He was doing OK without me, so I sat in a chair to supervise and began reading a book that I started. It's a very exciting murder/mystery, and I was engrossed in the book. I looked up and Braeden was gone, and so I got up to see what time it was. It was 10:30pm....bed check...Brookston, check. Brinley, check. Bridger, check. Braeden........outside. I could see our host mom and dad and brother Tony were out there watching him practice soccer in the street. So I made a cup of coffee and took it outside to tell Braeden it was time to come in for the night.
I was standing on the doorstep, when I heard it. It was like a bomb going off right next to me. I turned my head toward the sound, and then I saw it. A flash. A boom. A flash. A boom. A flash, a boom. Oh my God, someone is shooting a gun! I watched as a young man stumbled backwards, around the corner out of my line of vision. Is this happening? No way. Can't be. This is not real! My immediate thought was, where is Braeden???!!!! Not outside. OK. He's safe. Then it began. Total chaos. People started hollering and running in all directions. I stared to my right, as the shooter began to walk towards us. The incident was only 2 doors down, so it was close. I thought, Really? Seriously? He has a gun in his right hand and he's walking towards us. Nobody is moving. Why isn't anyone moving??!! I then slowly backed into the safety of the foyer, and was going to hide, but my curiosity got the best of me. I looked out the non-window (cut-out in the bricks) and saw him. He was walking very stoic, no facial expression whatsoever. He was 20 feet from me...10, 9, .....he looked at me. He saw me. He was calm. Too calm, I thought. Behind him I then see about 20 people shouting and running after him. He began to run, and they all disappeared around the other corner of our block. I began to walk towards the shooting site. My brother Tony, said, "NO!" I looked at him questioningly, and said, "YES! I am a nurse, and someone has been shot. He is hurt and I need to see if I can help." Tony again said firmly, "NO!" So I'm thinking, What the h***??!! Why not? The shooter is gone! I pleaded with Tony, "Please let me go!" Then my house dad said, "NO! (in spanish, It's too dangerous!)" I stood there totally helpless, shaking. This is not happening. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes, four......then the police arrived.
To my horror, Isabelle gets out of the truck and starts hollering at our neighbor. When I gathered what the issue was, I was literally sick. My heart sank to my stomach. (Isabelle is the mother of my little Stephanie, (10) who we've helped financially over the years.) Isabelle was hysterical and saying that it was her son who was shot. (He's about 22 years old and NOT a good kid.....he and his buddies were standing on the corner harrassing people off and on for the last few weeks. I was physically grabbed twice on Sunday night by them. I had my house dad Julio walk with me to go and get Brinley and Bridger that night). Tonight, they were at it again, and tried to rob my house mom Mercedes just 10 minutes before the boy was shot.
So Isabelle is hysterical and ranting in Spanish, I grabbed her by the arms and said, "Where is Stephanie?!" She opened the back door to the police truck, and there she was. My little, precious Stephanie! She was sobbing. I held out my arms and she grabbed for me, melting into my arms and chest, sobbing. I carried her over to a light post, and I sat on the dirt ground, rocking her and crying with her. It's just not fair! No little child should have to see their brother shot, or should have to go through this! I wiped her tears and tried to tell her everything will be OK, but will it? I don't have any idea. Her brother was pretty much thrown into a taxi right after being shot, and was on his way to the hospital.
As I sat and rocked her, the whole world seemed to pass by with my minimal awareness.....many people running in all directions looking for the shooter. Our immediate next door neighbors being questioned by the police (it was the son of our next door neighbor who was the shooter). The loud sobs of Isabelle, afraid for her son's life, and the friends of the victim, wanting revenge. All I could think of was this precious child in my arms, trusting me and looking to me for hope and comfort.
Isabelle and Stephanie soon left with the police, and I was left there shaking. I had never been so close to a violent crime. How do I begin to process? I need a drink. No, I need two drinks. No, I can't drink. I need to stay clear-headed. I was starting to relax a little, when Tony came in and said, "Can you help? We need your help now!" I thought, "What now??!!" Well, the mother of the shooter (our next door neighbor) was having a panic attack. So I went into their home and did my nursing assessment with what I had.....which was not much! She was breathing very rapidly, and her pulse was racing and thready. OK. Think. What can I do? What do I know?? We located a BP cuff and I took her BP...not too alarming. She had numbness and tingling in her extremeties, and her breathing was labored and rapid. OK. No paper bags. Found a plastic bag and had her breathe into it. Couldn't hurt. As her breathing slowed, her pulse did as well. She began to relax......too much. Oh my God, I can't feel a pulse! There it is, no--it's not....yes it is....Oh crap! What to do next?? There's no 911 to call. Her other sons are here and I am in a very bad situation! BP cuff is gone....no way to check vitals...check CMS...perfusion to feet and hands was minimal. No capillary refill noted. I tried in my best Spanglish to explain to her sons that she needs to go to the hospital. She was rubbing her chest.....Oh my God...she's gonna have a heart attack right here...right now...God, what do I do next? Her son (who is mentally ill) was telling me "no hospital." OK then. Great. Just then, Tony was at the door. "You need to come here now." HUH? NOW? She's not well.....I may need to start CPR. ....."right now." OK, OK....."please excuse me for one minute" I tell them. I exit the door, and Tony practically drags me back to our house. He tells me that the "gang" who now wants revenge on the son/family was at their door and almost in, when someone called for them and they retreated....."Whew! OK. Had enough of this." I was told that her daughter is a nurse and was on her way......THANK YOU GOD!
So I sit here now blogging about this experience, hoping that putting my thoughts and feelings into words will allow me to relax enough to sleep. It's 2:30am and I am wide awake. I hear people outside in the neighborhood talking, and I wonder what they are saying.
I guess tomorrow (or later today) will tell more.....hope to have a progress update on the older lady next door and on the shooting victim.
I know this story seems very scary, and it definately was/is, but I hold my position that this is a pretty safe neighborhood! Everyone looks out for each other. With the exception of those (drunk) young boys on the corner a few times, all has been well. For now, my plan is to walk the other direction to the parroquia (if need be) if it's after 7pm. As always, I will do my best to keep my kids safe. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
Until later,
Letty
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
April 6, 2010
I can hardly believe yet another week has flown by since I last blogged. The time here is just zipping by SO fast! Holy Week was full of church services galore! Wednesday evening was 3 hours, Thursday evening (foot washing) was 2 hours, Good Friday....well, we didn't make it, but it was an evening mass and it lasted 3 hours. No mass on Saturday, but on Sunday, we got up at 3:30am for a 4am mass. It was outdoors, and there were about 1500 people there. It was 2 1/2 hours long, and Fr. Jack did around 40 baptisms. As mass was concluding, the sun was coming up, and it was just incredible! We were standing there waiting for the final blessing, when 9 white doves flew right over us.....awesome!!
Good Friday is their "holiday" for Easter. Almost everything in town was closed down. I found a market that was open, and bought ingredients for knoephla soup. I made 2 large kettles of it, and it disappeared almost instantly! Braeden had 7 bowls of it, and Bridger had 5!! It tasted different, of course, but was a great try---nobody complained!!
Saturday the kids were all outside playing soccer, volleyball, basketball, etc......that evening Brookston and Braeden went on a date with 2 girls to a movie. They of course had an adult chaperone, an aunt of the girls.
Sunday after mass, we of course took a nap and then Julio took us out to his family's farm. We were able to see the milk cows that they milk by hand. Braeden decided to milk his one last cow of his "career", and amazed the family with how good he was at it! Then we started exploring the fields. There were vast, lucious asparagas fields. I thought I died and went to heaven! We cut some to bring home to eat........In Peru, they don't eat asparagas.......can you believe it? They only grow it for exporting--they thought I was crazy! We cut down some sugar cane, and the kids were sucking the sugar out of the stalk. Some of the family members climbed some trees and knocked down fresh fruit for us....prickly pear, guava, and some others I can't identify.
On our way in and out of the "farm" territory, there are military guards with rifles guarding the entrance to the fields. This is to keep the "invasions"...or "squatters" from moving in and setting up homes, and also to keep the theives out.
On our way back to the city, we saw people working in the rice fields......now I've never even thought about how rice is harvested.....what a process! We stopped along the road and talked to some people who showed us how they slam the rice stalks onto a rock to get the rice off the plant....to my surprise, it looked like wheat....then they showed us that you have to take the outside "bran" off the grain of rice.....a lot of work! So in this country, where they eat rice with every meal, I would guess there's plenty of work harvesting and preparing the rice!!
Since we are in the desert, we saw how they do irrigation trenches. The water comes from the highlands of the Andes Mountains, flows into a river, and is then routed towards the fields. Pretty incredible. The fields all have trenches between their rows which allows the water to nourish the plants. On our way home, some cops stopped us on the highway. They walked up to the vehicle, and Julio handed them 2 soles.....the cop said, "Oh...Gringos!" and walked away. I was perplexed, as we had done nothing wrong. So here's the scoop.......we already knew the police are corrupt in this country, but I hadn't thought much about what that meant......apparently they just stop people and demand money, or they will write you up for something....kind of their word against yours. My response was...What the H***!!!!!! Can't trust anyone. I mean anyone.
Sunday afternoon I took Brinley and Bridger and 2 of their friends to the movie Dragon. It was in 3D, but of course they didn't have glasses for us. It was also in Spanish, but the kids followed it pretty well....they loved it! Following the movie, for a special Easter treat, we found a pizza place and gorged ourselves on pizza. We brought left-overs home for the rest of the family.
Monday was homework day, me visiting the social workers, and ice cream with Sister Peggy downtown. She had called and wanted to take the kids out for an Easter treat.......it was a nice outing. I signed up for a Spanish class at the University of San Pedro. It's a professor who teaches in Spanish, so my first class was quite taxing on my brain. Today I will do my assignments and return to class at 4pm. The class is only 2 weeks long, and costs 100 soles, or about $30.00. Katina and Bridget, two long-term volunteers at the parish are also taking the class. I'm sad that I won't get to practice much, as we will be leaving in just 2 weeks from today.
So that's pretty much all for now. Will add some pictures soon!
Until next time.......
Collette
Good Friday is their "holiday" for Easter. Almost everything in town was closed down. I found a market that was open, and bought ingredients for knoephla soup. I made 2 large kettles of it, and it disappeared almost instantly! Braeden had 7 bowls of it, and Bridger had 5!! It tasted different, of course, but was a great try---nobody complained!!
Saturday the kids were all outside playing soccer, volleyball, basketball, etc......that evening Brookston and Braeden went on a date with 2 girls to a movie. They of course had an adult chaperone, an aunt of the girls.
Sunday after mass, we of course took a nap and then Julio took us out to his family's farm. We were able to see the milk cows that they milk by hand. Braeden decided to milk his one last cow of his "career", and amazed the family with how good he was at it! Then we started exploring the fields. There were vast, lucious asparagas fields. I thought I died and went to heaven! We cut some to bring home to eat........In Peru, they don't eat asparagas.......can you believe it? They only grow it for exporting--they thought I was crazy! We cut down some sugar cane, and the kids were sucking the sugar out of the stalk. Some of the family members climbed some trees and knocked down fresh fruit for us....prickly pear, guava, and some others I can't identify.
On our way in and out of the "farm" territory, there are military guards with rifles guarding the entrance to the fields. This is to keep the "invasions"...or "squatters" from moving in and setting up homes, and also to keep the theives out.
On our way back to the city, we saw people working in the rice fields......now I've never even thought about how rice is harvested.....what a process! We stopped along the road and talked to some people who showed us how they slam the rice stalks onto a rock to get the rice off the plant....to my surprise, it looked like wheat....then they showed us that you have to take the outside "bran" off the grain of rice.....a lot of work! So in this country, where they eat rice with every meal, I would guess there's plenty of work harvesting and preparing the rice!!
Since we are in the desert, we saw how they do irrigation trenches. The water comes from the highlands of the Andes Mountains, flows into a river, and is then routed towards the fields. Pretty incredible. The fields all have trenches between their rows which allows the water to nourish the plants. On our way home, some cops stopped us on the highway. They walked up to the vehicle, and Julio handed them 2 soles.....the cop said, "Oh...Gringos!" and walked away. I was perplexed, as we had done nothing wrong. So here's the scoop.......we already knew the police are corrupt in this country, but I hadn't thought much about what that meant......apparently they just stop people and demand money, or they will write you up for something....kind of their word against yours. My response was...What the H***!!!!!! Can't trust anyone. I mean anyone.
Sunday afternoon I took Brinley and Bridger and 2 of their friends to the movie Dragon. It was in 3D, but of course they didn't have glasses for us. It was also in Spanish, but the kids followed it pretty well....they loved it! Following the movie, for a special Easter treat, we found a pizza place and gorged ourselves on pizza. We brought left-overs home for the rest of the family.
Monday was homework day, me visiting the social workers, and ice cream with Sister Peggy downtown. She had called and wanted to take the kids out for an Easter treat.......it was a nice outing. I signed up for a Spanish class at the University of San Pedro. It's a professor who teaches in Spanish, so my first class was quite taxing on my brain. Today I will do my assignments and return to class at 4pm. The class is only 2 weeks long, and costs 100 soles, or about $30.00. Katina and Bridget, two long-term volunteers at the parish are also taking the class. I'm sad that I won't get to practice much, as we will be leaving in just 2 weeks from today.
So that's pretty much all for now. Will add some pictures soon!
Until next time.......
Collette
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
March 30, 2010
Not much has happened in the last few days since I blogged. Brinley is feeling better, but the poor thing is SO sick of rice! She almost cried at the lunch table today when Mercedes served stir-fried cabbage, carrots, peppers and onions over rice. Everyone liked it and ate it, but poor Brin just left the table and sat outside reading her book. I was going to make her a fried egg sandwich, but we were out of eggs. Mercedes felt bad and went and bought 4 eggs from the neighbors. I made her a sandwich, and she scarfed it down with some canned peaches. She is really slimming down between the poor appetite and increased activity. Even my boys have noticed and complimented her!
Homework seems to be the hot topic for yesterday and today. The kids are somewhat behind, and have become a little lazy and unfocused. Braeden is working hard finally at catching up. Brinley is caught up, and found a book at Fr. Jack's gringo room. It's called "The Five People You Meet in Heaven." It must be good, because she hasn't put it down much for the past 2 days.
I read the book "Water for Elephants.".....a phenomenal book. Anyone who works in Long Term Care should definately read it! I got a pedicure last evening. What an experience that was. Seriously, I soaked my feet in a basin with a garbage bag in it. Well, they do what they can with what they have! It took over an hour, and cost me only $7! I also had Walter, a reflexologist and massage therapist work on my neck/shoulders last evening. I got a 1 1/2 hour treatment for ....you won't believe it......$10.00!!! Today I am without a headache.
I was at the Medical Post this morning working. I saw the 14 year old I blogged about earlier, who just gave birth. Turns out she had a C-section. She was crying and in a lot of pain. Please understand, that in Peru, pain medication is not really utilized like in the States. So she's had nothing post-op for pain. When I removed her bandages, I expected to see an infected incision site. To my surprise, it was very clean. Dr. Luis came in, looked at it, and walked out. I cleaned the wound and re-bandaged it. Then, with my best "Spang-lish", I tried to instruct her about massaging her abdomen. Her uterus was boggy, and so I made her more miserable by massaging her uterus and showing her how it needs to feel like a hard ball inside. This little girl, age 14, just a child herself is on her own--now with a baby to care for. It's just SO SAD!!!
The young man with the stab wounds was also in today. I was the assistant again for Dr. Luis to check the wounds. We took out several stitches. Just as an example, the laceration to his upper shoulder blade--about 4 inches long, only had 3 stitches in it! Now any nurse or medical person reading this will know what I saw next.....Dr. Luis took out the 3 stitches and I saw clear down to the muscle. He was moving the flesh around and it was separated from the muscle. Yep. Good 'ole nurse that I am, about hit the floor when he started screaming in pain!!! But the miracle part is that I don't see any infection starting in any of the wounds......they are doing something right!!
Monique and her group went up into the mountains to another village today. They will return on Thursday and leave already on Friday. Wilder is with them, along with a few kids from the choir.
So this is Holy week, and I learned today that there's no Saturday evening mass......The mass is actually on Sunday at 3:30 AM!!!!! This will be yet another great cultural experience for us!! The kids are already whining about it.......oh well......heard it's quite expectacular!!
Well, gotta go. Need to go downtown to find a color printer to print off some photos. My friend Patricia is doing some sketches for some of my friends.
Until Next Time,
Collette
Homework seems to be the hot topic for yesterday and today. The kids are somewhat behind, and have become a little lazy and unfocused. Braeden is working hard finally at catching up. Brinley is caught up, and found a book at Fr. Jack's gringo room. It's called "The Five People You Meet in Heaven." It must be good, because she hasn't put it down much for the past 2 days.
I read the book "Water for Elephants.".....a phenomenal book. Anyone who works in Long Term Care should definately read it! I got a pedicure last evening. What an experience that was. Seriously, I soaked my feet in a basin with a garbage bag in it. Well, they do what they can with what they have! It took over an hour, and cost me only $7! I also had Walter, a reflexologist and massage therapist work on my neck/shoulders last evening. I got a 1 1/2 hour treatment for ....you won't believe it......$10.00!!! Today I am without a headache.
I was at the Medical Post this morning working. I saw the 14 year old I blogged about earlier, who just gave birth. Turns out she had a C-section. She was crying and in a lot of pain. Please understand, that in Peru, pain medication is not really utilized like in the States. So she's had nothing post-op for pain. When I removed her bandages, I expected to see an infected incision site. To my surprise, it was very clean. Dr. Luis came in, looked at it, and walked out. I cleaned the wound and re-bandaged it. Then, with my best "Spang-lish", I tried to instruct her about massaging her abdomen. Her uterus was boggy, and so I made her more miserable by massaging her uterus and showing her how it needs to feel like a hard ball inside. This little girl, age 14, just a child herself is on her own--now with a baby to care for. It's just SO SAD!!!
The young man with the stab wounds was also in today. I was the assistant again for Dr. Luis to check the wounds. We took out several stitches. Just as an example, the laceration to his upper shoulder blade--about 4 inches long, only had 3 stitches in it! Now any nurse or medical person reading this will know what I saw next.....Dr. Luis took out the 3 stitches and I saw clear down to the muscle. He was moving the flesh around and it was separated from the muscle. Yep. Good 'ole nurse that I am, about hit the floor when he started screaming in pain!!! But the miracle part is that I don't see any infection starting in any of the wounds......they are doing something right!!
Monique and her group went up into the mountains to another village today. They will return on Thursday and leave already on Friday. Wilder is with them, along with a few kids from the choir.
So this is Holy week, and I learned today that there's no Saturday evening mass......The mass is actually on Sunday at 3:30 AM!!!!! This will be yet another great cultural experience for us!! The kids are already whining about it.......oh well......heard it's quite expectacular!!
Well, gotta go. Need to go downtown to find a color printer to print off some photos. My friend Patricia is doing some sketches for some of my friends.
Until Next Time,
Collette
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 29th
Yesterday was the big day for the "walk of faith". We got up at 5:30am, got ready to go, and met at the church by 6:30. Fr. Jack, Brookston, Braeden, Bridger and myself along with 3 otheres from the parish took the van to the base of the mountain and began our "walk". All along the way we had "stations" where there's a cross, signifying the stations of the cross similating Jesus's crucifiction. It was about a 3 hour walk up the mountain, twisting and climbing as we went along. It was really hot, and there were about 2500 people on the trek. As we neared the top, there was a breeze which helped a lot! When we got to the church, they had a re-enactment by some kids of the crucifiction. It was pretty real, and quite surreal to be honest. We then had mass for all, and started our decent. It only took the kids and myself 40 minutes to make it down the mountain back to the van. When we got there, (ahead of the rest), we waited for 30 minutes for them to get there. Of course, we had NO shade, so there we sat in the hot desert sand/rocks waiting for their arrival. We were back at the paroquia (parish) by 1:30pm.
The gringos from Fargo arrived at 3:30pm. Monique, bless her soul, brought a football for the boys. They practically unpacked her bags for her so they could get it! THANKS MONIQUE!!
Last evening we had a palm Sunday procession starting 7 blocks away from the church. We had a donkey with a "Jesus" and around 100 people in the procession. We got to the church, and to my surprise, the donkey and "Jesus" proceeded up the aisle to the altar. It was really awesome to see. Sometime during the mass, I needed to be excused, and was outside. Braeden and Bridger followed me. We were sitting on a cement bench in the garden, when all of a sudden people started running out of the church, and running out of the homes all along the paroquia. I was like, "what on earth is going on?" People were in panic mode, and looking up at the buildings when it dawned on me that our bench had been moving. I had chalked it up to the kids playing around and moving the bench, so I didn't really notice much, but when we discovered that we couldn't even budge the bench we knew instantly that we had partaken in an earthquake.
Fr. Jack continued with the mass, and all was well, luckily. Panic set in for me when I realized what was going on, and Brookston and Brinley were still in the church. I said a few quick prayers and left their fate up to God......I felt so helpless and panic=stricken. Wilder later told us that when it's windy here, there's usually an earthquake tremor of sorts, and then the wind stops. That's exactly what happened.
Today, we took 400+ people to Vesique Beach. Ron Stensgard and family arranged for the 6 large buses and all the food to be taken to the beach. The families from the soup kitchens were the guests for the day. Despite our slathered-on sun-screen, Bridger and I managed to get burned. The beach was gorgeous as always, but today it was very windy after lunch. I was a little nervous tonight about another tremor, but none so far.....the kids had a lot of fun.
Everyone hit their beds tonight early from their long 2 days of exercise and excitement. Tomorrow will be back to "normal".....school work for the kids, and myself working at the medical post.........time is sure flying by fast! Tonight my house dad, Julio, told me that he's going to be very sad when we leave. He's gotten pretty attached to us, and loves kids. He asked if we wanted to stay for a year............I won't divulge my answer to that! LOL!!
Until next time......
CM
The gringos from Fargo arrived at 3:30pm. Monique, bless her soul, brought a football for the boys. They practically unpacked her bags for her so they could get it! THANKS MONIQUE!!
Last evening we had a palm Sunday procession starting 7 blocks away from the church. We had a donkey with a "Jesus" and around 100 people in the procession. We got to the church, and to my surprise, the donkey and "Jesus" proceeded up the aisle to the altar. It was really awesome to see. Sometime during the mass, I needed to be excused, and was outside. Braeden and Bridger followed me. We were sitting on a cement bench in the garden, when all of a sudden people started running out of the church, and running out of the homes all along the paroquia. I was like, "what on earth is going on?" People were in panic mode, and looking up at the buildings when it dawned on me that our bench had been moving. I had chalked it up to the kids playing around and moving the bench, so I didn't really notice much, but when we discovered that we couldn't even budge the bench we knew instantly that we had partaken in an earthquake.
Fr. Jack continued with the mass, and all was well, luckily. Panic set in for me when I realized what was going on, and Brookston and Brinley were still in the church. I said a few quick prayers and left their fate up to God......I felt so helpless and panic=stricken. Wilder later told us that when it's windy here, there's usually an earthquake tremor of sorts, and then the wind stops. That's exactly what happened.
Today, we took 400+ people to Vesique Beach. Ron Stensgard and family arranged for the 6 large buses and all the food to be taken to the beach. The families from the soup kitchens were the guests for the day. Despite our slathered-on sun-screen, Bridger and I managed to get burned. The beach was gorgeous as always, but today it was very windy after lunch. I was a little nervous tonight about another tremor, but none so far.....the kids had a lot of fun.
Everyone hit their beds tonight early from their long 2 days of exercise and excitement. Tomorrow will be back to "normal".....school work for the kids, and myself working at the medical post.........time is sure flying by fast! Tonight my house dad, Julio, told me that he's going to be very sad when we leave. He's gotten pretty attached to us, and loves kids. He asked if we wanted to stay for a year............I won't divulge my answer to that! LOL!!
Until next time......
CM
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