Trip to Huaraz for my birthday!

Well it has been awhile but I can still remember exactly what happened while I was gone. Sara, our secretary, and I left all excited to spend some time in the mountains! She had never been to the mountains before so that was really exciting for her! We left on Saturday night by bus and got there early in the morning on Sunday. Surprisingly I didn't get bus sick this time and I slept almost the whole time...that sure was a blessing!!! We got to Huaraz and our taxi wasn't there waiting for us so we called the hotel and asked them to send a taxi to us! It wasn't far and we could have walked if we knew where we were going! So when we got there we found out that there was going to be a transportation strike starting tomorrow (Monday)!!! How horrible! So they gave us 10 minutes to shower and get ready to leave for a tour to this BEAUTIFUL lake. That is what we thought!! HAHA!! So we got ready in 10 minutes and left for the lake. It was a SCARY ride up the mountain. A gravel/dirt road with no guard rails.....and I was sitting by the window......those of you who know me and my fear of heights can imagine what I was going through! But it was a beautiful ride up the mountain to the lake. Sara and I took a boat out on the lake and then got something to eat. It was a high altitude, similar to Pike's Peak in Colorado. We went to LOTS of places that we didn't know we were going to go including a place where they make pottery! It was a great time. We just walked around town on Monday (my birthday) because there was little transportation and I thought if we left town we might not be able to get back. We ate at "El Horno" where we got Pizza for lunch and then walked to the river thinking we were going to sit and just gaze at God's creation in Perú! We got to the river and no way to get down there and then the river was full of trash....that is when I realized I was really in Perú again. It is so sad how they leave trash everywhere and don't have trashcans to put things in. We did do a little shopping while in Huaraz that afternoon. So after finding out about the "paro" (strike) we tried leaving that night to head back to Trujillo. We left on time and then about 30 minutes later we had to turn around and go back. We had to stop once to have people move the rocks that were in the road, and the 2nd time we had to turn around because people were throwing rocks and breaking out windows because people were mad about the strike. It was kinda scary at first, but then we knew that when we got back we at least had a place to stay because we had to pay for that night even though we didn't stay there. We then slept a lot of the day on Tuesday which was nice. I did wake up around 7AM hearing people yelling and screaming due to the strike, but we were safe. We didn't go anywhere, but stayed put until dinner. We went out for dinner and I found a place that had burritos. MMMMMM I thought...until I got it. It wasn't the same as they are back home, so I ordered a peanut butter and banana sandwich.....YES it was on the menu!!! How crazy! We blessed a mother and her kids with the burrito and went back to the hotel. Then the next day was to be the worst so we didn't even leave the hotel except for lunch and dinner. We knew they were going to be burning tires and things could be dangerous, so we stayed put. God knew exactly why we were to stay another day in Huaraz. We got to talk with an Aussie ( Australian)! His name is Ross. He was a nice guy and between Sara and I we helped him with his Spanish. I also had an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with him. I pray that God will send another person alongside to tell him more about Jesus. Sara and I invited him for lunch and then we went shopping with him. We helped him buy a new hat and some other things before he left on his mountaineering trip the next day! We got back that night, gathered our things and left for the bus station. We made it back safe and sound back the albergue on Thursday morning! Here are some AWESOME pictures of God's creation..including Sara and I!

A stream on the way to the lake between those 2 mountains you see!

Oh the Andes Mountains!!!

Amy and the Andes

Sara and the Andes

Getting closer to the lake!

The "Welcome" sign

Here it states our altitude!

Amy and Sara on Lago Chinancocha

Here are some ladies that sold us some food. I ate a delicious piece of bread with some cheese on it. MMMM I can taste it right now while thinking about it! HAHA!

This is similar to "Christ the Redeemer" in Brazil. This was one of the few things left when a avalanche hit Yungay, Perú, back in 1970.

Not sure if you can see me, but I am sitting underneath the statue on a concrete wall.

This was a bus for transportation before the avalanche came. How tragic!

What a sunset on the Andes Mountains!!!

This is where my pizza was cooked for my birthday at "El Horno" which is translated into "The Oven".

The view from our roof/eating area!

The fireplace/sitting area upstairs with a gorgeous view of the Andes Mountains!

Amy, Ross, and Sara....our new Aussie friend

Olaza's Bed and Breakfast, where we stayed!

Independence Day/Amy's 28th Birthday

Well I am SOOO behind on posting things. Well this was actually on Independence Day, July 4th, but we celebrated 3 occasions all in one! Our Independence Day, Perú's Independence Day (July 28th and 29th) and then my birthday (July 7th). It was so much fun. We sang our national anthems, including England's since Joy felt a little left out! We sang different songs like God Bless America, My Country Tis of Thee, and so forth. Then they sang happy birthday to me and we ate cake, apple crisp, popcorn, and drank soda! They TRIED to surprise me, but not sure if it was really a surprise or not because of them being a little sneaky on things. Then Elias surprised us with buying fireworks!! Him of all people found us fireworks! It was a great time to celebrate the births of our countries and me. I didn't get an egg cracked over my head, which was perfectly fine with me!!! I don't have a picture of the Peruanos singing their national anthem because I have a video of them singing it! Sorry!! Here are some pictures, and I hope you enjoy them!!!

Decorations of our flags and my head!

United States of America's flag and my head

Apple Crisp......they enjoyed it, not me!

The Americans singing our national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner"

My Birthday Cake!

Katie and Liz....yummy...cancha...aka POPCORN!!

Reina, Melva, Mr. Miller, Luz, Betsy, and José David!

Elias, Sara, Gretchen, Amy, Liz and Joel!
Yes we enjoyed the cake!!!

José David waving our flag...I love that boy!

Joy singing her national anthem, "God Save Our Queen"....or maybe that isn't their national anthem but a song of theirs....sorry Joy!! We loved hearing it!

Saying "Goodbye" to Diego Alejandro...aka José David!

Well time has really flown and I never thought or even imagined the little one that I am so close to was going to be getting a few family while I was here! José David and I have been close buds from the beginning.....meaning June of 2007! Yes he was REALLY ornery at times, but I love him so much! He is a precious little one with LOADS of energy. He loves to sing and play futbol....aka soccer back home! He sure can dance too, as I am sure you know from previous videos I have posted! He is leaving today for Lima and then on to Norway. This is so great for him. He doesn't do so well in the sun since he has some allergy to it. His skin really blisters at times! I got a chance to meet and spend a lot of time with his new mother and father! They are really nice people, and have waited for a little one for 3 years now. As some of you are probably wondering...why Diego Alejandro? Well, all I know is that since his new parents got word of having a son, his name has always been known to them as Diego Alejandro, and after coming here, they really were wondering why they were calling him José David! I would be wondering that too!!! After talking with them, we just came to realize somewhere along the line something was mixed up on his name, but he will be known as Diego Alejandro from now on....what a cute name! They sat in on Kinder on Friday, which was really cool neat, but my favorite part of them arriving was Diego's reaction! He saw them get out of the car and his face lit up! He got a HUGE smile on his face and said, "Momma.....Papa!!!!" He wanted to run and see them, but they had to go to the office first, and then sat in on our class! I did have to say "bye" to him on Saturday though, since Sara and I left for Huaraz that night and he is leaving today (before we get back). I thought it would be really hard, but after spending time with his family and knowing the love that they have for him, it is a lot easier! He is going home to his own bedroom decorated in Winnie the Pooh, and LOTS of cousins and other family members! There is so much more to this that makes it great....if you want to know more, don't hesitate to ask! Here are some pictures of his last days and with his new family:

Hugo, Diego, and Sarita....his "parents" at the Albergue!

Diego at McDonalds....so weird to call him Diego, but that is his name now!

I got to take Diego out one last time.....to McDonalds! He LOVED his fries and chicken nuggets! He is sure a piggy!! He ate almost a whole value meal all by himself! I am sure he will go out to McDonalds with his new family!!!

One more last climb up the sand dunes!
Amy and Diego

Diego playing futbol with his father and Paúl.

Alisson, Diego, Erika, and Diego's father on the see-saw!

They all loved the see-saw! At one point we had probably 15 people on it!

Diego with his new family!!

He did celebrate Independence Day and my birthday with us!

Not sure what we were talking about!

Our last photo together! He will always have a place in my heart, just like all the kids here!

Here he is playing "caballo" with Nayeli!

This is a typical face of him.....having his tongue sticking out with a smile on his face!

Joy and Diego going down the slide! Oh how he loved that!!

Last, but not least....."mi avion"....my airplane!!

June Birthdays!

Paúl and José David were born on the same day, June 2, but a year apart!! José David is now 3 and Paúl is 4! Joy and I decided at the last minute to throw them a birthday party! We went to town and got several different kinds of cake and other goodies! It was a special time for them, and all the kids enjoyed it....even when Jhonatan kept feeding Jonah cake!!! Enjoy the pictures!

Our Happy Birthday banner...actually made for Bonnie, but we recycled it!

Paúl and Zuleyca with their goodies!!

José David eating his goodies....pausing for a moment with Tia Amy!

What a sweet birthday boy!

José David getting more cake with Tia Joy!

Zuleyca is finally NOT scared of the "cocodrilo"...crocodile!!

Bubbles!!!!!!!

Recent Volunteers.....sorry this is REALLY late!

Well, the month of June was filled with LOTS of volunteers! When I came back from home, I met up with Joel's brother, his family, and 2 neat guys at the airport. Then at the bus station the next day, we all met up with Travis and Bonnie, friends of Robyn and Joel's! So there were LOTS of gringos on the bus ride, and to top that all off, a missionary's wife who goes to our church was on the bus with her little one too! I haven't seen so many gringos on one bus, other than coming with Robyn's youth group!!! When I arrived, Joy was still there from England! YEAH!!! She was such a blessing to take over my class for me! A few days after getting there, Travis and Bonnie left for Cusco, and then Darrel came. A few days later, Bonnie came back after seeing Travis back off to the States. He had to get back to work. Then a few days after that......Joel, Robyn, Joel's brother and his family left to go to Cusco while Ben and Bryson went back home. Then while Joel and Robyn were gone, Darrel left, then Bonnie left the day after the Hansons got back!!! SOOOO this is just part of our volunteers! We now have 5 girls from Hillsdale College with us for a total of 5 weeks, and then we had Heather (a previous volunteer) for a little over a week. We have had a full house at the orphanage.....oh I can't forget another special person! Mr. Miller came to visit us for a couple weeks!!! It was great to see him again! He did do a little bit of work on the water project in Alto Salaverry while he was here. He left yesterday, to my knowledge! Here are pictures of our recent volunteers (I have pictures of everyone but a close-up of Heather and Mr. Miller.):

Joel's Family and friends....with Bonnie and Milagros (a step-in madre)
From left to right: Joel, Laurie, Micah, Milagros, Bryson, Jeff, Jonah, Ben, and Bonnie

I just have to say that these two boys look a lot a like!!
Tio Ben and José David

Micah and Jonah were great helpers with Kinder while they were here!!!
From left to right: Jonah, Edwin, Alisson, Paúl, José David Erika, Jhonatan, Micah, with Tia Amy and Zuleyca in the front!

Bonnie covering all the books that Laurie brought!!!

Tia Joy and José David! He LOVED going up the ladder to the slide and coming down with Joy!

The kids really enjoyed Joy being their "caballo", which is a horse!
Here she is with Dani and Paúl!

Here Darrel is fixing our screens and our doors! He even put a new handle on one of the doors! He was a great handyman for a couple weeks! I do have to say that Darrel and I had some great adventures into town on micros, taxis, and an interesting lunch!!!

Darrel was LOVED by all the kids! He fixed ALL the bikes! They were so excited to have them to ride again! He spent a lot of time in this workshop with Elias!

The 5 Amigas!
From left to right: Katie, Gretchen, Betsy, Kristina, and Emily

Back to the Kiddos!

While I was at home another volunteer took over my class! Her name is Joy and she is from England! She had a blast with them and did an WONDERFUL job with them. She painted with them a lot, which I don't tend to do a lot of because I am not an artistic person.....as Mom would LOVE to tell you about my childhood and art! They made guitars with string and paper, painted with their hands, created their faces, and I am sure much more! In the afternoons we have an art project of some sort with Joy or go to the sand dunes! They REALLY enjoy climbing the sand dunes, and it gives us exercise and releases A LOT of energy the kids have!! Zuleyca hasn't made it up to the sand dunes with us, but hopefully by the time Joy leaves in 3 weeks, she will have gone up part of the way! (Being that I am posting this REALLY late, Zuleyca has gone up the sand dunes with Joy and rarely wanted help! What a little trooper!!!) Here are some pictures of us going to the sand dunes:

Oh the trek!! Where Edwin is standing, is the hardest and steepest part of all the sand dunes! José David kept saying "owww" because it is kinda rocky. So I led the way and Joy helped him as I made soft sand for his cute little feet!!
From bottom to top: José David, Edwin, Heather, Erika, Paúl, and Alisson.

The view of the orphanage from the top of the sand dunes!

Tia Joy and Edwin

Tia Amy and Edwin at the top of the sand dunes!!!

The kids climbing the smaller sand dune.

José David and Amy

Kinder at the top of the sand dunes....except Zuleyca wasn't able to go:(
From left to right: Jhonatan, Amy, Paúl, Erika, Alisson, José David, and Edwin