What exactly are we doing here?!

We are currently living in Santo Tomas a small town a little ways away from Iquitos. It is here that People of Peru project operates a safe home for abused/abandoned girls. We are the new co-directors of the house.
The other directors are Aaron and Kelly Linfeet. Fabulous couple and a blessing to all!!

Presently there are 10 girls and three little ones. We run the safe house just as we would our homes! The girls all have chores, daily school, homework and of course, the common squabbles that occur. It has been such a blessing to get to know the girls that live here, their stories and how their lives ave changed. They come in hurt and grow up to know God, and leave changed. Very neat to have a small part of this.

WHAT??!!

We went to the local zoo here and the kids had their pictures taken with a BOA...FUN!!!

A group from Washington University comes for a visit!

We had a group of nurses that came down here to do some of their practicum and they chose to spend some of their time out at POPPY's house. They gave the girls manicures, pedicures and even massages!!
They also hired to our local "McDonalds" run by Teresa down the street to come and feed everyone at the house. DELICIOUS!! She is a lady that took a micro-loan from Aaron, one of the long term volunteers here. Her business is booming!! It was a wonderful evening for all!!! Thanks...

Some of our girls!

Here are  some pictures of some of the girls we have the privilege of working with! They are such a blessing to us and at times, a handful!! Please pray for God to give us wisdom as we help guide these girls to know and reach their full potential!

Our weekend activities....

Friday night we had a little program for the girls at the house and for the surrounding village kids! It was great fun. This is our living/dining room for the girl's house.

On Saturday afternoon, we piled in whatever vehicle we could and made our way to the town called December 12, and handed out literature and fun things for the kids!

Here we fit 12 people in this vehicle and then David and the boys went on a motorcycle. The rest of us had to wait....for the next ride!

The town we went to was way out and several of the people there had malaria. We are thinking next time we go out there we might try to buy every household a mosquito net. We will see what we can do! The kids were very appreciative of the goodies we gave them. What a GREAT way to spend the afternoon!

Our home....for now

Just wanted to show you some of our home pictures!! This is our back yard!! We are enjoying birdwatching.

This is a picture of our place from the other side! We are all staying in a dorm room...a little cramped for now until our little house is done! We can see this lady doing her laundry every day from our window.

This is a tree house that was built for the girls at the house. The kids all enjoy it and it is kinda cool!!!

The last picture is of the area that still needs to be finished with some funding. It is the study hall area for the girls. Not to mention that it would be nice to have a railing up here...

Loving the jungle life!!!

We are truly enjoying the jungle life!!! We so far have seen some gorgeous birds, venomous snakes, beautiful greenery and wonderful people!  We went yesterday to the poorest section of Iquitos - Belen. There is a market there where everyone purchases their food. Farther down is the floating city...houses on the water.

These are just a few of the pictures of this market  and floating city! I wish I could describe the smells, the poverty, the total sadness of the situation in this town. We have sooooo much in the US, I never complain!!

The water you see here is FULL of the run off from the sewer that runs in the middle of the streets. Most everyone is running around barefoot!!

The rest of the time people run around all over town in what they call motocars! Always a crazy ride!!!

Peru...getting settled!!!

We have been here now for a little over 3 days. Amazing how much has happened!! We made it out to the girl's home soon after breakfast on Friday and took some time to get a little tour of our new home. For now we are staying in a dorm room, a little cramped, while our little house gets completed. We rested Friday afternoon and were prepared for a wonderful Sabbath day in Peru.

It It was interesting going on the bus with all the girls and staff into town for church. Saturday night we all went out to eat a a local restaurant as a "good-bye" to the couple we are replacing. The food so far has been quite good!!! We are looking forward to eating some cereal and toast for breakfast soon when we are in our own home, but for now we are enjoying not having to cook at all!!!

Sunday, was a VERY difficult day for the girls at the home. They had to say goodbye to the family that has been caring for them for the last 2+ years. A very sad and tearful goodbye indeed. I am feeling a little overwhelmed with the difficulties that lie ahead in trying to fill in the shoes of those who have gone before. The staff at POPPY's House are WONDERFUL!!! We feel so blessed to be a part of this ministry for these young girls.

We are in Miami!!

We are in Miami!! After several days of craziness, meltdowns, good-byes and runs to the storage buildings, we have managed the first leg of our journey. We finally arrived here at 3:00am and are a wee bit tired, but excitement is in the air.  We want to thank all of our friends for their encouragement, support, and help to get out the door. We had friends bring us food, help us clean our house, offer their RV for us to sleep in and most importantly prayed us through a difficult last week of preparations. THANK YOU ALL!!!
Next stop - LIMA, PERU.

4 days left!!

Today is the last Sunday we have before we leave and the day is FULL!! We spent a wonderful day yesterday with our church family. First, at church, our Pastor prayed for our family and our mission What a blessing. Then we spent the afternoon with wonderful friends. By evening, we came home and collapsed, even though there was much to do. But today we are up and going early!! We are waiting to see how God will work out the last details before we go...the life of faith in Him is nothing less than an adventure.