Peruvian Style

The team!

Shannon and I

Family at PROSIM

Taking heights and weights

Market in San Jeronimo

Visit to Colca

Machu Picchu

Mountain top view in Yarccacunca

Cuy (Guinea Pig)

Home Sweet Home

Thursday (July 31) I hopped on a plane and made it back to the US safe and sound. It's been really wonderful being home, and seeing all my family and friends again. Thanks to my cousin Nate for getting married on Saturday; I was able to see the entire Risser side of the family! :)

As for pictures, bare with me, I will try to have some posted by the end of the week!

Big Weekend for the De La Cruz family!

My time is flying by, and I now have a little over 2 weeks left. So, it´s probably best to stop sending mail... just so it doesn´t arrive after I leave. Thanks again for all the letters and love that has been sent my way!

As my title says, it was a Big weekend at the De La Cruz house... we now have a wash machine!!! They had been debating about it for several months, and finally got around to it. I´m pretty excited too because it will save me from washing my clothes by hand, though I´ve become pretty good at it.

We have also had a work team from Canada at our house all week working on bunk beds. My host dad is a carpenter, and agreed to be in charge of the project. It has been kind of nice being able to speak English so freely, unlike my Spanish which doesn´t flow quite as smoothly.

Last Wednesday There was a strike. A stike here is kind of equivalent to an American snow day. The whole country stops... no school, no work, no transportation, no nothing. People play soccer in the streets, and just have a good time. I never really found out the reasoning behind the strike, but suposidly it is normal. When the country doesn´t agree with something they strike. I didn´t mind, I got to go running with Shannon, instead of going to work.

For those of you waiting to see pictures, I stopped trying while I am here... Can´t seem to get it. So, just hold out a few more weeks, and I´ll post them when I come home.

Spring Cleaning, Gauze, and Cotton Balls

This week has been bery good. My Spanish keeps improving, and I am able to understand a lot more. I have even been able to joke around with my family, which catches them off guard everytime. We´ve had many good laughs.

Earlier this week I helped clean the clinic. It was like a big spring cleaning day-- except it is winter here. I swept and mopped floors, washed toys, and cleaned chairs. Yesterday I was at the school doing vision screenings with Jen and Regina. I have really been enjoying my work at the clinic, though some of the jobs are monotonus. I´ve filled bags with food, cut paper, and folded gauze. My host brother asks me just about everyday what I did at the clinic, and there is an on going joke that soon they will be having me ball cotton. Well... today I did just that. I balled cotton, and put them in bags. I actually don´t mind those jobs because I get to see them put to use. I was able to hand out the food to the families that came to the nutrition teachings, and this weekend we will be handing out medical supplies (along with the cotton balls) to the families in Rondocan which is another village several hours away.

Happy 4th of July to everyone. Our team of missionaries here are celebrating it tomorrow with a huge cookout. I will unfortunately miss it since I will be heading out to the village for the day.

I have less than 4 weeks left which is hard to believe. It seems like such a small amount of time left.

Some people have been asking if I´ve eaten some more weird food lately. Honestly I´ve just been having the usual... rice and potatoes. :) There are 2 things that I´ve been able to try the past week or so: one being tuna, and the other ¨helado de leche¨. Tuna is a fruit here, not a fish. It only grows in very high altitutes, and it grows on cacti. It is about the size of a baseball with some thorns. (you can search Tuna Fruit on Yahoo images, and see some pictures if you want). It kind of has the texture of a melon, and is a redish-orange color. It´s very good. The ¨helado de leche¨ on the other hand wasn´t a pleasant experience. Juana made it for me during our refresco time (our 11:00 break or tea time). She whips milk, sugar, and added lemon juice. It ends up being a foamy consistency, which she served me in a cup with a spoon. It was all I could do to get it down. I think I may have liked it if it was a vanilla flavor, or chocolate served over some coffee... lol, now I´m just dreaming. It was a little to tart for me.... and I felt like I was eating foam.

Thanks to all the Risser´s who wrote me notes on the family vacation. I missed not being able to see everyone, but it sounds like ya´ll had a great time. It also sounds like the little ones didn´t lack any attention (Mom, thanks for the pictures too).

Last week I lead the team devotional and here are the verses I used. I hope that you can be encouraged by these verses... God hears your voice, and is always with you.

psalms 46- verses 1 and 2
psalms 55- verses 1,2, 16-19, 22, 23b
psalms 56- verses 3,4
psalms 57- verses 1-3 (especially 3a)
psalms 62- verses 1,2

23

I am now officially 23 (as of Saturday the 21st). Thanks to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday. I had a wonderful day.... Actually, a wonderful week. I think I had cake about 4 our of the 5 days! Starting with a chocolate strawberry shortcake, a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, a apple-caramel-cookie dessert, and a Peruvian brownie (though it was more like a chocolate cake). Lets just say I was very taken care of. Saturday morning I went with 2 of my friends, Juana and Cathy, to Tipón. We hiked around the Inkan ruins for a few hours. The weather was beautiful, and the sights were amazing. For lunch my host family cooked me a wonderful meal. Rocoto con pollo y papas...(stuffed peppers with chicken and potatoes).

We have our group meeting tonight so I have to go. Thanks again for all the Birthday wishes!

Life As They Know It...

I thoroughly enjoy experiencing cultures at their fullest... not just the touristy stuff. I love to see life as they know it. This weekend was nothing short of that. I just got back from Cotabambas, San Juan, and Colca (three little villages about and hour apart). They give you the best of what they have, which is usually enough food to keep your stomach full, and a blanket and floor for you to sleep on. Yet, you're beyond grateful because you know it's the act of welcoming a stranger, and foreigner into their home, and loving you like one of their own. I feel so special for that. Though my skin is a different color, and my language is not their own, we are brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are all laced together in this vast world.

They live simply, and work very hard to survive. It is their harvest time, and they work non stop till everything gets done. They cooked us potatoes in the ground. It is their traditional way to cook things. We ate, and ate, and ate potatoes until I couldn't get another one down. The interesting thing is that they get 5 or more varieties of potatoes from the same field/crop. Each has a different taste and different use. I never knew that potatoes could be so versatile! :) (There are probably 100's of different varieties of potatoes here).

The trip was about 7 hours in length, and we ended up getting back at 2am this morning. It was a long ride, but a whole other experience all together. I was able to come back to Ron and Regina's house to shower and clean up... which is another blessing to have a warm shower. My host family's shower is not so. anyways, hope yall are doing well. I've got to head back to my host family's house for lunch (potatoes and rice... that's my guess).

Life the Past Several Weeks

Hello All!

I apologize for letting several weeks go by with out an update. Life has been going well, and my host family continues to put up with my broken Spanish... actually they are really patient with me.

Last week I had language study. And next week I will continue with one more week of classes. Pray that I learn a lot in that week!!!

I´ve gotten to eat a variety of Peruvian food. Mi mama prepared a typical Cusco dish for me the other day: chicken, rice, cooked seaweed, and fish eggs. I somehow managed to eat the fish eggs without them coming back up. (--rachel and amy, how´s that for sushi!) I´ve also had Cuy... aka guinea pig. Which to my surprise is actually pretty good. Cuy is considered a delicacy, and considered very rude if you turn it down. I also have a pretty good picture of the roasted lil guy, and I´ll have to post it as soon as I figure out how. Other than those few dishes, my meals have been pretty normal. Lunch is the big meal of the day, and I usually get some sort of stewed meat and potatoes served with rice, and fresh tomatoes and onion. Rice and potatoes are definitely their staples.

This week I got to help Regina and Jenn (2 of the other missionaries) do heights and weights at Promesa. We also charted them on growth charts. I was finally able to put some of my skills to use. The rest of this week I´ve been back at the clinic preparing for this weekend. This weekend Juana and I will be traveling to a village about 7 hours away. But then again, on these roads, a 7 hour trip may only be 80 miles. Juana will do some nutrition teachings, and I will help out (not teaching, but doing whatever she needs).

I wash my clothes by hand now. Mom, I have a new appreciation for you, and all the years you scrubbed softball stains out of my uniform and socks! :) It is definitely not an easy task.

Lastly, I want to leave you with a little encouragement. The beginning of Psalms 62 says:

¨My soul finds rest in God alone;

my salvation comes from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.¨

The first couple of weeks were pretty tough, adjusting to life, and missing home. But, God is good. When I moved into my host family´s house, in my room was a poster with the verse Isaiah 40:31. That just so happens to be one of my all time favorite verses. So then, a couple days later I´m working at the clinic, and I see another poster of Psalms 91. This happens to be my favorite Psalm. Like I said, God is pretty amazing. Now, back to the verse above (Psalm 62). ¨My soul finds rest in God alone.¨ It is comforting to know I´m in God´s hands, and that he is always with me.

with Love

-Alisha