Last Work Day in Chimbote

OK, so even from Peru we have heard of your complaints about pictures being loaded. The problem is with our software to resize the pictures, and we can't load large size ones due to slowness of the internet connection. We can do it with Gene's help on his laptop, but by the time our day ends and I begin writing, everyone is exhausted and in bed already. We haven't had the luxury of spare time in the morning to do this and siesta time has been consumed with needed rest. Don't worry, they are coming.

Today was our last day in Chimbote and it was a full day of work. More room and roof building and repair in the hot Peruvian sun. Even just standing around can be tiring at times. We directly did significant construction in three homes and bought materials for repairs in a fourth. In each situation the families were there and we had plenty of interaction with them and the construction workers hired by the church. These people are wonderful... they are an inspiration!

At times we experienced a frustration of having to just stand around and wait... sometimes because it was a portion of the job that had to be completed before moving on that didn't require group effort, sometimes because there was only one person who how the job needed to be done and forthcoming steps weren't communicated well (or at all). There were times toady and previously when it felt like a lot of waiting and watching the locals work. This was frustrating to everyone in our group because we saw how much needed done and didn't want to waste time, we didn't come here to just stand around... we wanted to be useful. In those moments I learned a lot. Being "useful" is not our mission here. We have to get over ourselves and realize we're not the first group to come here (they've been coming regularly for decades), and we certainly won't be the last (a group of 24 from all over the US arrives tomorrow). Our time here is helpful... this sort of mission is invaluable and many more people need to get out here, but there is more involved than just "work". We are here being educated in this reality of the world in a way no multi-media presentation can get across, not to fix everything in a few short days... Yes, it is absolutely important to address with passion and full energy the effects of poverty while working to eradicate the causes of it!! But it is also important to have an encounter with a person, with a people... to tell their stories, to PRAY for them, and to know the world is better for having them in it, and to come away with more conviction and passion to change what should never be allowed to happen to another human being.

I also learned to re-evaluate my sense of "usefulness" in the moment. While "just standing and waiting" you can still pray! They also proved to be great opportunities for conversation with the other people in our group. (And if I spoke Spanish it would have been an incredibly rich opportunity to hear the stories of the families we met.) It is also more important to let the homeowner step in front of you and take over without being offended by them. It is their home, let them own it. Give them the dignity and ownership they deserve in the project. (Not to mention letting the workers make sure the job is done right. It's one thing for me to tire myself out, get all sweaty, pat myself on the back for feeling "useful", but quite another to make sure these families have a properly constructed home, built as they desire to meet their needs that they will spend their days and nights in long after I'm half a world away.) Eventually I came to enjoy standing in their homes, putting my muscle into it when I could, but also silently praying while in that physical location. NEVER underestimate the power of your prayer!

Tomorrow we have another l-o-n-g bus ride to Lima. We'll have a day to see that city, and then back to our homes... at least physically.

Dirty and in love. Site of our house re-building. This is someone's bedroom.

View of Chimbote from Our Lady of Perpetual Help

This is Quiara (pronounced like "Kee-ar-ah"). She was the almost 3 year old who charmed us while we worked on her home. Behind her is her mother's stove and kitchen. Please take a moment to pray for her mother who struggles to raise 3 children while taking care of her ailing mother.