Happy New Year!

Portions of this were written by Colleen, a member of the Peru team from Lakeside...

What a way to start the year, but on a mission in Peru building a house! What a blessing! We got a little bit of a late start due to not getting the best sleep. The Peruvians here brought in the New Year with lots of dancing, fireworks and music and the neighbors very close our were no exception. I think they may have stopped around 5 am.

Today´s goal was to put on the roof and start putting up the siding. We did the get roof on as you will see in the photos. It was hotter today, but we were motivated by a devotional this morning out of the book of Luke that Jim led about service. As Jim puts it, ¨We don´t have to do service, but Jesus tells us to. ¨

Off to the site we go, in the smallest taxis I have ever seen. These little cars are smaller than a Geo, but they are everywhere and stoplights a merely a suggestion. It is always quite an exciting ride even for the short distance we travel.

When we arrived at the house today, it was nice to see the frame up. Lee and Jim are really leading the construction project. Their skills have been invaluable. They have been very patient with everyone as we learn or relearn to use a hammer, saw and screwdriver. We only had one injury so far, Lyn hit her little finger with a hammer. But of course that did not stop her, she kept on going.

Florella is a young girl who is very bright who is a cousin to Jose, of the house we are building. I (Colleen) made a hand puppet of a doll with her today. She is a bright ten year old who wants to be a veterinarian. Lynn spent the many hours holding a baby named Lamamay. This little girls hair won´t lay down, it stands straight up. So they call her Hair of an Angel.

A few of us went for a walk through the neighborhood. Many walls of the homes made of brick are still in piles on the ground. The people have attempted to put back up walls with tarp, stacking the bricks, and by sewing together rice bags. The inner walls of their homes are gone and many roofs have caved in.

We spoke to one woman, who asked us to help her parents, since they were very old and their entire home was destroyed. They had put up some old boards that were found some where for the front of the house, but when you peeked inside, there was nothing else to the home. It is hard to see these experiences some times because there is only so much we can do. We are going to go back and pray for the parents when they are home.