I could post a picture of yesterday's baptismal service in a river that would almost make you think it was the Jordan. But you've seen lots of those photos. You've not seen a Fast Foog stand. Unfortunately, it was closed, so I can't tell you what fast foog tastes like. Probably tastes like chicken.
Yesterday, the president of Peru dissolved congress. You can read more about it here. It is mission policy to not comment or get involved in local politics, so I'll just ask that you pray that things do not become violent. Things in Arequipa are calm so far.
We have a cute kitten named 'Red'. When I have pediatric patients I let her come out and entertain the patients to help them not be so scared. Tonight, Red decided that my Quechua woman's braids were the funnest thing ever, so I finally had to throw her out to finish seeing the patient!
Last night we bought a queen-sized bed from some missionaries that are leaving Peru for our guest room. I set out the single bed it replaced in our front yard so we can sell it.
We had two guests come to stay with us today. One of them we've never even met before. When she arrived we pointed out the bed in the front yard and said, "Our house is full, so here's your bed!" "It's very nice," she said politely. "You're joking, right?" she asked with a bit of a worried look on her face. "Yes! We're joking!" "Oh good!" she said, relieved. Then she wanted a picture!
btw, the bed sold two days later.
Saturday, we had a work day at church to complete some of the walls with bricks. I think I prefer more natural light and open portions, especially since the weather is so comfortable all year round here. But closing things up will make it a bit quieter I suspect. A metal riser fell on the foot of one of the 'hermanos' (brothers) who was leading the masonry work. I was pretty sure it was broken so I took him to a clinic with an x-ray machine. Yup! It's broken! Can you find the fracture? The first person to correctly identify the broken bone wins! (Wins what? Notoreity.)
I'm going to cast it tomorrow if a walking boot doesn't seem adequate.
Update: Marcy Ganow was the first to correctly identify the fracture in the 2nd Metatarsal!
"Did you bring Pedro's growth chart?" I asked the parents of the smiley 10-month-old. "We don't have one. We're very careful about vaccinations." Pedro's uncle had warned me that Pedro's mother had some pseudo-religious-energy belief system, so I felt they were just the type of patient that God had called me to Peru to help. I was starting to get an idea of what he was warning me about. "Has Pedro gotten any vaccines?" "No. We don't want him to get autism or heavy metal poisoning." I explained that vaccines no longer contain mercury preservatives and that the author of the study linking autism to vaccinations years later admitted to making up his data and that there is no real connection between autism and vaccines beyond the fact that kids under 5 years old get both. I then went on to point out how my mother had polio and my dad lost his only two sisters in childhood to polio and whooping cough, completely preventable diseases rarely seen today. Lastly, I pointed out that you have to be careful what you read on the internet. Whatever stance you might have about anything, you can find someone who has a webpage defending that view. "There are even several web-pages defending that the earth is flat!" I pointed out, expecting affirming nods. No affirming nods noted. I hope they were too busy processing what I had said about vaccines to nod their heads about the earth being round.
Since I can't put patient pictures on my blog, instead we found this parking spot amusing:
They don't let tree planters get in the way of painting in parking stalls.
This isn't news, since it happened two weeks ago, but the times when we have more interesting things to write about are when we are too busy to blog!
From June 30th until July 7th we had a theatre short-term team from Christ Community Church in Omaha come visit. You might be asking, "What does a theatre team do? I've never heard of such a thing." We hadn't either! But God made it work out wonderfully. Monday through Thursday, the team taught workshops on acting, set design, story-telling and choreography, preparing the Peruvians for a showcase in an auditorium on Saturday night. Everything went without a hitch and the Peruvians seemed very happy with the experience. Some of the more timid people got to experience going on stage and reciting their lines in front of a crowd for the first time. We think they learned a lot of skills that will help their ministries in the future.
Of course, a trip to Peru isn't complete without trying the local delicacy: Guinea pig!
Tomorrow starts the annual eye campaign. We will treat between 3000 and 4000 patients over the next two weeks. Lot of cataract surgeries and prescription glasses will be handed out. Paul is off school, so he will help as a translator.
Allen was a good sport in getting us there, driving through interesting traffic and some pretty rough terrain (you didn’t think cities gave such? Well, where we went, mankind is just now discovering that the land is useful for living on). Allen also filled in last minute for a girl who was unexpectedly asked to work today.
Sunday, Sarah and her husband Zach graduated from Wheaton College. Sarah got her degree in biology and Zach in chemical physics. They both plan on going to medical school after working for a year in Chicago. They currently feel led to return to the mission field as medical missionaries when they finish their studies. I'm proud of you, Sarah and Zach!
Ben joined us from Nebraska and Mia joined us from Texas. The Kessler Grandparents joined us from South Dakota and Auntie Sandi came from Michigan to celebrate with us. Paul and Mary Beth stayed in Peru to hold down the fort there (Paul had to go to school!).
I'm fortunate to be home; My connecting flight to Orlando was rain delayed so I had to sprint through the airport hearing "Allen George, last call gate 90!" arriving as they were about to shut the door. Luckily, that wing of the terminal was nearly empty and I could put all of my recent speed-work-training to good use!
The day has finally come! Our church is getting a new roof! The old one leaks and has holes big enough to temporarily blind the pianist (yours truly) when beams of sunlight hit his sheet music. The church saved up money for a year and a half to be able to pay for it. Today, after church, we dismantled the entire roof in less than an hour.
The church sanctuary moments before the old roof was removed.
Removing the old roof
While sitting around waiting for lunch to cook at a local oven, we decided to do some masonry work to raise the wall on the east side (right side of picture). Tomorrow we begin the installation of the new roof!
