Foley Family Adventures: Wednesday

I got this email from Jill. She will have so much to tell us when she gets back:

How do I even begin to describe what I experienced today? I wish I could send you pictures, but I want to be able to explain each one as you look at them. We went to Peruvian slum today - squatters. This particular community is not the most extreme example of poverty as it had electricity, but it was beyond my wildest imagination. Street dogs everywhere...garbage everywhere...children running through the streets (young children - 2 years old running around alone). It doesn't really rain in Lima - just mist - so it's very dry here and there isn't much vegetation. There is some gardening in the city parks, but once you leave the city, there are just hills and hills of sand. These are where the squatters set up residence - think sand dunes with a few rocks. Big sand dunes (like bigger than Michigan). It was unbelievable. There are some rocks mixed in and that must be what makes it livable.

We went to the church that houses the CSP and CDSP. In the morning, we interacted with CSP (child survival program - babies and moms). We heard from the staff, met the moms and kids, visited the classrooms and saw what they do and then did home visits. Five of us went with a translator and a CSP workier to the home of Dina (mom) and Estefany (2 yr old). She was so gracious to have us in her home. The roof consisted a blue tarp and cardboard. The walls were very thin plywood. I can't imagine raising children in those conditions. She also has an 8 yr. old son and is 6 months pregnant.

Then we returned to the church for lunch. They served us an interesting Peruvian mail, and then we served the children their lunch. They had the same thing we had. It was so cool to watch them wait until everyone in their class was served, then they prayed and then they began eating. The kids seem more outgoing than most American kids. It wasn't unusual to be walking through the church and have a child embrace or kiss you.

We then spent some time visiting the CDSP classes (these are the sponsored kids). I had the opportunity to ask the teens quite a few questions. They all have such big dreams for their lives. It was great to be able to encourage them and hear about their dreams.

There is so much more I could tell you, but I still need to process so much. It was very surreal to pull up (on dirt/sand roads) in a huge bus...a bunch of Americans with cameras draped around their necks. As we got off the bus, it felt wrong to take pictures of their poverty. Our motivation is pure - as advocates we want to document what we see and share it with our family and friends in hopes of getting more children sponsored, but it still seemed wrong. I didn't take many pictures outside of the church and project area for this reason.

The need is so great and we only got a glimpse today. But it is such an honor to see how God is using Compassion to bring hope to these families. God is here - and the families I met today love him with all their heart. They have hope because of Compassion. Over and over and over we were thanked for being sponsors. And over and over and over, in my heart, I was thanking God for letting me be used in this way by him.

Tomorrow we head out to another church and student center. Then in the evening we will meet with some LDP students.

Here is a picture of her with our LDP student. She wrote me some more emails. I think she will post them all when she gets back. She is seeing some great things. The stories she has are really cool.

This is a drawing from Syd to Jill (it's under the sea):

Kevin's tip of the day: Unions are like the story of Darth Vadar: they start out with good intentions but fear, pride and power turn them into a dark empire that hurts the hard working man and ruins the galaxy.

Dumbest product I've seen this week (it's for guys): This product is supposed to prevent messy toilet seats, but you still have to wash it, of course. Wouldn't it be easier to just clean the regular toilet? Yes it would.