Mancora photos

Bakery Pictures

Bakery

A few pictures of the bakery.

Mancora

We just returned from an awesome trip to the beach in Mancora, a city north in Peru near Ecuador! Meli and I went with some friends and volunteers, there were six of us that went :) We spent five days there, doing nothing but laying on the beach, walking around town, horse back riding, and some water sports. It was my first time riding a horse by myself and it ran! At first I was really nervous but then I got use to it. My back got burned, along with other random parts, like my feet and my knees. Sunblock doesn't seem to work for me, ahhh! It was a very relaxing time (for the most part :/ But it really enabled me to spend some reflection time with my project and personal life. It was time NEEDED. I was able to spend time not worrying about things, and just thinking of what has been accomplished and what else life has been bringing my way. I've learned more about myself as well, even in just these few days.

I pretty much only have one full week left with my bakery and there is more to be done. I needed to choose roles for my moms, budget costs, begin their salary, and hold some serious discussions because there are still some missing pieces to the puzzles that we thought would have solved itself out after previous discussions..... but some things HAVE to be communicated more than three times and in different ways... its stressful and mentally challenging, but when you have moms asking when you'll return and share their life stories of what they are going through and how you are helping them.... it gives the motivation rope its base string to keep holding on. Motivation has to be strong when doing a project like this and TONS of patience in order to keep yourself working for the goal. And it does take a strong person in many aspects: Aspects that I have been learning to become stronger in. I am starting to see some changes in me but I don't think I will really see them until I return home and have more time to reflect. I am glad that I have come though. Besides the Lord, these moms have been my energy. They have been my drive to keep going, for them. Their lives are hard here. The other day I had a young girl come into my bakery crying and bleeding from her mouth. She ran away from her mom who was hitting her. I'm still not clear on the story, but I do know that a neighbor was accusing this 10 year old that she stole 11 soles from her shop (which is about 4 dollars). Although she did steal it, my heart went out to her because she was hurt and I felt helpless in helping her. She didn't want to go back to her mom, and she begged me to stay in the bakery. It finally got resolved, at least to my knowledge, when Teo came to talk to the child's mom and the shop owner because they all ended up in the bakery since its where the girl ran to! Another story, one of my moms just left her husband because they were fighting a lot and he hit her many times. However that leaves her with no money since he's not helping them. Mayra, the mom, came to me in tears because she has no money to take her daughters to get a shot since they were both very sick with high fevers and not being able to sleep. She was not asking me for money, just asking for a few days off so that she could take care of them. It's stories like this that happen all the time here, its the life in these pueblos jovenes. There is still much to learn and I am helping the best I can, but I have also been put in situations where I had no idea how to take care of them. I try my best, but I don't know all the time how to take care of some of the things here. Developing work means that everything is developing, from emotions to strengths to knowledge to work. It all has to grow and find its nudge.

Maybe this was a little unclear, but please feel free to ask anything or write. Internet has been limited here with the time and availability so I tried to write as much as I could think of on the top of my head. I am anxious to return home, but I still have some work to get done before I leave. Take care and please keep praying for 30 de Mayo, the community I am working in. God Bless!!!!!

More pictures

Here are a few more pictures. Picking out paint for the bakery. The little girl is the granddaughter of my host family.

Few Pictures

Just a few pictures. This is the oven and mixer we purchased.

And let the treats begin....

The bakery had its first day last Thursday, July 9th! And we had our first selling of productions Sunday, July 12th! I haven't added up yet how much we have made, but its all very exciting. People in the community are excited about the bakery, and so are the members of the NGO, and other friends and family members. We had 6 moms come the first night, 8 on Friday, 4 on Saturday, and 5 on Sunday. Sundays and Mondays are our rest days, but we worked Sunday because we had a workshop with several volunteers come and members of the community, so we wanted people to see the bakery project and be able to buy some things... and they did! They were all very impressed and excited to see it start. It felt like a slow process at first, but there were many things that needed to be taken care of in order to start it. The first night, we sat in a cirlcle talking about the project, what Jose (the baker who is working with me) and I expected and what we were looking forward to. And then I asked the moms to say what they hoped would come from the project. As they were talking, they all each showed their appreciation for the project and the opportunity to work in a bakery. I was very touched, and it reminded me why I was here: for them. For these mom's to find a way out of ordinary life routine in this poor community and be able to work for their families and become self-relient, with given the proper materials. There have been four moms that have been coming every night and they impress with what they have been learning and are eager to learn. I am impressed so far! We still have things lacking that we need to buy, and money is already tight, but I think we'll figure it out. I feel like we're going to have a good team! God has been here through it all, whether I have felt Him or not, it doesn't matter. I took yesterday and this morning off (well today wasn't an option - I caught some sort of stomach sickness) to re-energize myself with the project. Although I am proud of everything that has been going on, I have also had my share of emotions and frustrations and working on getting through those. Keep a look out for pictures and feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments! Thank you all for your support and love. Also, the moms and other community members have expressed many times their gratefulness for the money donated; with it we were able to buy an oven, mixer, balance, ingredients, materials, cleaning supplies, electricity, and paint! It's pretty impressive :) so keep a watch for the pictures! take care - sending lots of love and gratitude

The Bakery progression

Hello Everyone! I have been here a month today and I only have one post about Peru! Things have been hectic here, and they are starting to get even more hectic, but I am finally getting into a routine, which before I did not have. On top of that, we just got internet in my house so I will be able to put pictures on from here instead of the internet cafe, which I did not exactly want to do. Anyway, about the project, it´s coming along slowly. Two weeks ago we had our second round of interviews with the moms, found our oven, purchased our mixer last week, and finished painting the building we are going to be using over the past weekend. It´s been a slow process I feel, because I spent the first couple of weeks trying to find our bigger needs, and then things slowly fell into place. We were suppose to have our first workshop last night, but the ingredients didn´t arrive! And I am sitting here on the computer waiting for Alicor to call me to tell me if they can bring them today. If not, we have to wait again because we won´t be able to bake without ingredients! We have electricity now, as of yesterday, for the bakery! Also, we have several mom´s interested in working. With that said, we are going to have two weeks of learning to bake and see who is most qualified for the position. There are 10 now, and by the end of two weeks we are going to select three to work with me and Jose. Jose is a member of the community who is a baker and will be teaching us to bake. He has been helping me find the materials that we need. So now as for the bakery, I´m just waiting on the ingredients to arrive and then we can start. As Melissa says, thats development work for you. Timing is never perfect and things are always changing.

As for Peru, it´s different. At first, I was really excited to be here. Everything was new and I was not accostomed to anything yet. And it didn´t matter to me the condition I was living in, and to be honest, its so much better than many others´housing conditions. It is evident here the extreme different of upper class and lower. Within 5 min, you can be in a nice neighborhood and then go into some slums. And life is rough in the slums, obviously. I don´t live in the slums, but close to it. Yes the housing conditions aren´t lovely, but people also take advantage or say things out line. These are just minimal examples here. There is so much that goes on. On the other hand, the family I live with are awesome! They are very attentitive and treat me like I am part of the family. Jeime, the eldest daughter, and I hang out all the time. Her and I have become good friends. They like to joke around and laugh, which is great because it makes conversing with them so much easier. My Spanish is progressing. I feel more confident and I´m learning more words. There has been some miscommunication, which has led to lack of other things, which has left some not to nice feelings, but we´re overcoming those.

I think now that I have found my password and we have a personal computer, I will be able to say more and show where it is I am living, and where the project funds are going. Thank you to everyone for your love and support and prayers, and your patience!!! I hope you are all doing well. Take care :)

Mi Casa Nueva

I have finally made it to Lima, Peru and I am already in the house I will be staying in for two months! So far, I really like it here. It is a little cold and I was shivering last night, but that doesn´t beat waking up at 6 am this morning to the sounds of announcements being made in this town. Found out later on today that is was from the church nearby and they do it every morning at 6am! The family I am staying with is amazing! They are so sweet and excited to have me here. I have my own room and bathroom, which was an unexpected surprise. There are three kids in the family, one on the way, and one granddaughter. Niño Luz is quaint, in a nutshell. Yes, it is very dusty and only dirt surrounds the area, homes that are in shacks, its loud all the time, dance music plays in the streets at 7 am, but everyone is so friendly and open, its hard not to like it here. Today we went price checking for ovens and mixers, and tomorrow we will purchase. Friday starts the interviews for the bakery... which I am kind of nervous about. Right now I am in an internet cafe two seconds from my house, there are many around here not to mention little shops. So far...so good!

Oops

Day 1 in Peru: Just kidding! I did not make it there today because of a flight delay which led me to missing all of my flights. So we are going to try this again tomorrow :) Two good things came out of this though: more time with family and I get to see Noelle in Atlanta tomorrow because I have a four hour layover. Yippy!

Journey to Peru

Another chapter of my life is about to begin in the morning... in Peru!