Winter Emergency Clothing in the Andes, Farewells and Cookout, and Drinking Fountains

27 August 2017

Clothing for Winter Emergencies in the Andes Mountains

High in the Andes Mountains, some villages are so poor that families can't afford decent shoes or warm clothing for their children (average income is about $70/month for a family of 5). Clothing takes low priority when all family resources are being spent for food.

When a harsh winter hits (like this year), we get pleas for help from mountain villages. We responded to the requests and this week received our first shipment of donations of shoes and polar-fleece jogging suits. These will go to the poorest of the poor in tiny villages around 15,000 ft. elevation that have been struck hard by this year's winter weather.

Packing up the pairs of shoes to donate high in the Andes Mountains to especially poor villages hit hard by freezing conditions.

We had the shoes custom made by a home business here in Lima (click this link - Shoes - for the original story). These were nice shoes that ended costing on average 23 Peruvian soles each (around $7 USD). We liked the shoes so much we bought ourselves a pair at the manufacturer's price.

Good quality shoes and super comfy (red for girls, black for boys)! This donation will hopefully make freezing winters more bearable. (We each bought a pair ourselves at the wholesale price - they are really comfy!)

In addition to the shoes, we are also providing 626 sets of polar-fleece jogging suits. We hope this donation to these poor villages will reduce the suffering currently being experienced due to the extreme cold this year.

Emergency donation of polar-fleece jogging suits with nylon exterior - will help the poor make it through the current freezing temperature emergency

Farewell to Friends

The volunteer missions that most senior couples serve last between 18 and 23 months. That means that new people are always coming in or leaving to return to their homes. It is a sad event when the missions of friends come to an end and it is time for them to leave, knowing we may never see them again. This week we had a farewell dinner for 10 that are leaving (this is 10 out of the 30 or so senior missionaries who work at the Area Office or in other capacities on this side of Lima).

Farewell dinner at Don Tito's  restaurant for the 10 who are leaving at the end of their missions. Our turn comes in another 11 months.

By the way, there is a tremendous variety of missions for senior couples here, including legal affairs, area medical authorities, financial auditors, self-sufficiency trainers, office staff, and the two of us who work on a host of humanitarian projects. There are so many opportunities to serve everywhere in the world.

Barbecue in the Mountains

On our day off, friends from the Area Office invited us and a few other senior missionaries for a barbecue. They drove an hour from their mountain home to pick us up, then we returned to their home for the cook out.

John Ora (left) and Cesar Perez invited us to join their families for the barbecue at John's house in the mountain community of Chaclacayo about an hour from here. John and Cesar both work in the Finance Department at the Area Office.

We were glad to get out of Lima with its grey skies and chilly weather. When we got out of town, the sun came out and warmed things up. It was especially good to see the sun, for a change.

Under the awning in the shade with the Halleys (left), Sister Jeri Prince, the Perez and Ora families, Elder Jerry Prince, and Sandy.

What a fun gathering and a joy to spend half the day visiting (in Spanish) with such good people.

A happy chance to relax in the home of John Ora.

Humitas - Sweet Smokey Treats

This week we came across a man selling 'humitas' out of his little street cart. Since they were cooked (and presumably safe), we bought some. Humitas are sweet cornmeal buns with anise seeds. They wrap them in corn husks and cook them over a fire, so they have a smoky flavor. In fact, humitas literally translates to 'little smokey things'.

Happy street vendor selling his 'Humitas' - sweet cornmeal buns with anise seeds wrapped in corn husks and cooked over a fire. They make these at home and then wheel them up and down the street until they are all sold.

Unwrap the 'Humitas' from their corn husk wrappers to eat them steamy hot - a delicious Peruvian street food.

Each 'Humitas' costs 1 Peruvian sole - about $0.30 USD. What a fun little treat to pick up on the street.

What is That?

Ever seen anything like this before? (photo taken at our church in Tumbes, Peru)

We take drinking fountains for granted in the USA - they are everywhere. However, they are extremely rare in most areas of the world.

When we were up north in Tumbes a few weeks back for a wheelchair donation, there were lots of Peruvians in one of our church buildings performing patient evaluations. One of our evaluators stared at the drinking fountain and asked Sandy what it was. She had to explain that it was a water fountain, typical of what we have everywhere in the USA. Sandy showed him how to push the button and make water came out. He was so amazed. He then pushed the button with one hand and used his other hand in a cupping shape to catch water and bring the water up to his mouth. Sandy had to correct him and show him how to drink directly from the stream of water. We just assumed everyone knew how to drink from a fountain.

Later, others that were at the evaluation were also amazed at the fountain. Some Peruvian got a disposable cup and put it on top of the fountain. We didn't understand why until we saw them using it. People would fill the cup, drink the water, and then pass the empty cup to the next person for them to fill up. We thought it was bizarre how the Peruvians came up with a way to bypass the sanitation inherent in a drinking fountain by adding a cup to the process that they all shared. Ah, the things you learn about different cultures by living abroad!

Aerial View of Miraflores District - Lima

On our day off each week, we often spend time in Miraflores, a really nice suburb about 10 miles from where we live. Running right down to the cliffs at the ocean, Miraflores is an upscale neighborhood where we often rent bikes or go shopping.

I included this aerial shot of Miraflores I took from a poster to show how modern this place is with its high-rise apartment and office buildings on some of the priciest real estate in Lima. It is always a nice escape to take the bus or a taxi to unwind in Miraflores. Not every area of Lima is this nice.

Aerial view of Miraflores at the edge of cliffs overlooking the ocean. (This shot is from a poster I found in Miraflores last week). What a nice, upscale part of town to unwind on a day off.

And so we return to our labors on Monday. This is truly a major undertaking for us - managing dozens of humanitarian projects all over Peru. At times when we feel stress from our labors, it is good to remember the counsel given by Paul in Hebrews 12:1 " . . . and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." We will try to remember to 'run with patience' this week as we dive back into this important but sometimes consuming work.