Peru Trip 2009 video

Dear Everyone, 

I am sorry that it took me so long to upload this to the web! But it's finally here for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

love,

Bethany

Pictures of Peru 2009

Hello faithful readers,

There's still more to come... A blog on food and many more pictures. For now, here are Seth Shimkonis' pictures from our trip:

liberti Peru 2009: Seth's pictures

Post on Chivay

written by Bethany

We left on Wednesday morning, January 21st by chartered Mercedes-Benz bus - I forgot to get a pic of all of us by the name! It was a sweet bus. Very comfortable. And the views were amazing. We stopped a bunch of times to get out and see alpacas, then llamas. At one stop there were two wild baby alpacas!! The white one in particular looked like an abino - it had red eyes and looked like it had been born just that week. The part I enjoyed the most was when Alissa got on the mic and narrated h

alf the trip for us and it was hilarious. See video below :)

We arrived in Chivay around 3pm and had a late lunch at a Peruvian style buffet restaurant after checking into our hotel (to Americans it would be called a motel, but a nice one and it only cost 15 soles per person, which roughly equals 2.50 dollars). I have been eating so much when I'm here because the food is so good. I wouldn't be surprised if I gained several pounds, what with my second and third, and sometimes fourth helpings of things (when the food is available). Everything here is mostly starches and some kind of meat, like llama, lomo (beef), pollo (chicken), or cuy (guinea pig). I usually go for pollo de la plancha or something of that sort. And everything here is served with french fries and rice! 

After we finished eating, we piled onto the bus to go back to the hotel to change into our swimsuits for the hot springs. We had about an hour to kill, so Maresa, my roommate, and I napped, changed, and 

then did some shopping before meeting up with the group. 

We drove down to the hot springs and it was wonderful. We sort of took over the one pool we were in, but it was great to just sit in the hot water, with the cool evening wind blowing on our faces... We met some Aussies the

re. It's funny how everywhere one goes, no matter how remote, you will meet some Australians. 

We left there around 630 or 7pm I'd say. Went back to the hotel to shower, change, some light shopping again, before going to yet another restaurant. And the Australians were there as well! Anyway, most of us were not hungry again yet, but I had a chicken sandwich and some dessert. During dinner, there was a band playing and some Peruvian dancers. Lydia was sitting next to me and explained the meaning of the dances to me and people sitting around us, Alissa, Brad, Maresa, and Lindsay. 

Then suddenly one of the dancers needed volunteers, or forced volunteers I should say! An Australian guy was chosen for one part and then I was dragged out onto the floor. But it wasn't to dance... They made us sit together, kneeling on this large piece of brown cloth and eat some colca leaves (what cocaine is made out of). My team was so animated, taking pictures and video. I had no idea what was happening until afterward Lydia told me I was now traditionally married in the Peruvian way to some random Aussie guy! haha. 

The next day we traveled to the Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world, but not the longest (the Grand Canyon takes that cake). Maresa will elaborate on this for you now. 

Mama

My day was made today when little Julio called me Mama. We hadn't seen the kids for over two days. Sandy told me the story: Julio came running inside where we were and kept saying "Mama Mama" and then he ran to me. It made me happy to feel such a connection yet sad to think we'll be leaving the kids soon. Freddy called me mama later on too.  I once heard a quote something to the effect of "Healing comes through children." It's sad to think these kids don't have any real parents. I want to be all of their "mama's" and give them full time attention. It will be hard to leave them. 

-Maresa

Good Times Go by so Fast

It seems like just yesterday we arrived here in Arequipa, Peru, however our time here is quickly coming to a close. I thank all of you that have been and that continue to pray for us while we are on this journey. It is a great joy for me to have the opportunity to lead this trip for the second time. I enjoy seeing each member find his or her place in this touching opportunity. We have been blessed and very busy. Each day brings a new challenge and a new opportunity. One of the greatest joys of this trip is to see the team not only connect with the children but to see them connect with each other. We took an overnight trip as a team to the Colca Canyon (the deepest canyon in the world). It is hard to leave the children for that time but this trip served as a great time for the team to grow closer to each other, as well as to really get to know the directors (Dave and Debbie Bolos) and to understand their heart. The more time we spend with them, the greater our understanding of this great work. Dave and Debbie really look at each of the forty plus children as their own, and that does not include the 80 plus that have either aged out of the home or that have been moved to other places. Dave and Debbie feel such a responsibility for each one.
We have had such a great time serving and being served. For all of you that gave money or donated clothes, you should have been here to not only see the look on the children’s faces but also the look on Debbie’s face when she walked in and saw the close to a hundred pair of brand new shoes. I know that was a blessing for her as well as the children.
We have a few more days here and we hope to finish up some of the projects that we have started. I am excited to see the mural when it is finished as well as the new and improved clothing storage area. Please continue to pray that our remaining time here will be prosperous both in our work here and in our hearts. We serve and great and gracious God.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support,
Nathan Cottrell

Making lunch for the kids

One day this past week we made lunch for the kids. We broke up into teams just as we did for the pizza contest. My group, consisting of Nathan, Stacy, and Lindsey, decided to make a Mexican/Peruvian theme. Dave and Debbie took us all to the market and we had to go shopping for our items. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, but it was a lot of fun and a wild experience to see things like full-bodied chickens, cow tongues, and many forms of potatoes. My team's meal consisted of tortilla chips and guacamole dip, chicken tacos, sweet potato fries, Quinoa, watermelon, and ice cream. We were nervous about whether they would like the food, but we know for sure they loved the guacamole and sweet potato fries. I'm sure it was a little strange for them to eat food that was somewhat different, but I think they really enjoyed it. The other groups made some really delicious meals as well and the kids really liked it. We all concluded that while it was a lot of work to create this meal, it was our way of serving not only the kids, but the regular cooks as well because we were able to give them a break. 

-Maresa

Pizza Contest

The other day we had a pizza contest. I was on the team with Nathan and Stacy and the teenage girls/older women. This was a top-secret operation. Nathan made our award-winning sauce, Stacy grated our cheese, and I was the head chef who directed the pie creations. We made the following pizzas: Hawaiian, meat-lovers, white sauce, veggie, and combination (combo was our favorite. Our secret ingredient in this one was Aji, a spicy local pepper powder). Some of the ingredients were different from what we have in America just because we couldn't find the items in the local grocery store (our version of pepperoni for example). It was funny to see how the girls weren't quite sure what to do with the ingredients or how to make the pizza. They gave me a few strange glances throughout the pizza making process, but I took it in stride because I knew they would like the outcome:) We took our pizzas to the brick oven along with the rest of the teams and handed them over to Dave, the master brick oven keeper. It took a long time for the pizzas to bake, but it was well worth it (we're finding it more difficult to cook here because of the high altitude). The kids had a blast eating the pizzas. It was a wild circus in there with pizza slices flying into mouths and kids climbing on top of each other. It was great. I can't resist the urge to brag about how great our team did. We won best-tasting and best overall for creativity, taste and hard-work. The girls were delighted the pizzas came out so well.