The last day in the barrio

Well, the last day was definitely a difficult one. The heart of the people in the barrio is so incredibly great. It is hard not be completely humbled by it.

We came in our last day and were once again greeted by the kids. We continued to play with them and enjoy our last day. As I played with them, one little girl continued to follow me around, along with Anabel. Her name is Stefanie, and she is the quietest little girl. However, when she was with me, she would smile so much.


I would spin her, Anabel, and two other kids around in my arms, and they all just enjoyed it so much. However, Stefanie really took my heart. I still love Anabel (who called me Nuestra Padre, by the way), but Stefanie really seemed to need someone to love on her. Whenever I would sit down, there was always a race between her and Anabel as to who would sit on my lap. If Stefanie happened to be on my lap, Anabel would sit on Esaiah´s. Stefanie was funny too. She wouldn´t climb into my lap. She would just walk in front of me with her back toward me, waiting for me to pick her up. Whenever I did, she would grin ear to ear. She was not a girl to grin or even laugh, so making her laugh really made me happy.

For the morning, we setup actual carnival games for the kids to play. As the games were underway, I started to play with the volleyball with Yessina (the Down´s Syndrome girl), Stacy (Loys´daughter) and a couple other kids. We were just bumping the ball to one another. This was fun because I got to make Stacy smile. According to Mitch, she has really sprouted since the last year. She is very cute, and I think she was crushing on our son. Whenever she had her camera, it seemed to be pointed at Esaiah.

Speaking of Esaiah, he was running a game where the kids would throw a velcro ball at a target. If they hit it twice, they would win a prize.

He seemed to be having difficulty managing the game and the candy (either that or I was getting bored), so I went over to help him. I took the target and starting moving it all around. I would put it really, really high on the wall before the kids would shoot and they would just laugh at me. I would put it against the wall backwards and would look puzzled and act like I didn´t understand. I would put it over their heads, at their feet, short, long, angled, whatever. The target was never in the same place. For the very small kids, I would put the target right up next to them, so they were sure to win. As I did all the this, the kids would laugh. Before too long, I noticed our line was getting longer. I am learning that all the kids love a clown.

Unfortunately, my time doing that was short. Mitch called me, Esaiah, and David over to do another construction project while the rest of the team played with the kids. Too bad for us.

The construction project was to tear down the existing reed walls and reed roof of a Children´s Bible Study classroom and build a new one. We also had to clean out the classroom so it would have more room. As we tore down the old materials, the dust and dirt on them got all over us. I think it caused my voice to go a little hoarse, but that´s okay. As we worked, I did my best to communicate with Ana, the lady who teaches the classes. Mitch´s wife Anna was commenting on how good I´ve gotten with my charades. I can usually figure most things out with hand guestures and pointing. It´s when they talk to me and ask me a question that I get confused.

We continued to build up the school, and by lunchtime had it completed.



I was joking with Mike that I have bragging rights now. I can tell people "I built an entire school before lunch. What did you do today?"

As we were eating lunch, I gave Danell $120 dollars (USD) to buy Anabel a bed. It was the money I had left over that wasn´t converted yet. They mentioned this program two days ago and I saw one of the beds that had been purchased with the money (it was really nice). Henry has this. I want our little girl to have this. I told Livonia I wouldn't buy any souvenirs in Lima; this seemed to be a better use of our money.

After lunch, we continued to play with the kids. I had so many kids hanging off me. It was great! We also played ping pong with Loys again. He takes that game seriously! Actually, he takes all sports seriously. We played volleyball with the barrio adults, and the team I was on was kicking some serious butt. I think the score was 40-5 when we finally stopped counting.

I ended the day playing volleyball with a bunch of kids. Esaiah and I were on a team together, and Loys´daughter Stacy was on the other side with her team. We have a running joke with her. Everytime I see her, I say "Hola Stacy" as loud as I can and it makes her laugh. During the game, Esaiah and I would say "Hola Stacy" everytime she served the ball. After awhile, the Peruvians were getting into it and would say it as well. She was getting pretty embarrassed, which made me laugh even more.

And then the van came to take us back to the hotel.

It was sooo hard to say goodbye! You know the typical hug and kiss they give for a greeting, right? This one was different. The hug was much stronger and much longer. The adults hugged us so tightly, and I got an especially long hug from Natalina, Anabel´s mom. She had so much joy in her eyes and continued to thank me. She has a gift for my wife that I'm taking back. Since it is for her, I didn't get to open, but I want to know what it is! She also had Anabel write a letter to us. It was very nice. We´ll need to get it translated though. Mike read it to me and kept going "Ahhh" as he read it. Anabel was very appreciative of everything she received. She especially liked the beaded purse we got for her.She wore it all over the barrio. A lot of the other girls were asking about it too, which I think made Anabel that much more proud of it.

For the kids, I would bend down to hug them and then I would pick them up and hug them tightly. Their hugs in return were equally tight. Several of them hugged me more than once. It was hard to leave! But, our trip had ended and we needed to get back to the hotel. As we all loaded up in the van for the final time, all the kids crowded around it, knocking on the windows and telling us goodbye. We opened the vents of the windows to get some air, and a few hands came through. As I looked through the hands, I spotted Stefanie. She had her hand reached out as far as she could, and I could see her eyes welling up. I grabbed her hand in mine and watched a tear fall from her dirty cheek. Mitch asked us a few times if we had our "moment" in the barrio. I had many; too numerous to count (he even said that himself). However, the image of Stefanie´s tear across her face as she held my hand one last time will be with me for a long time to come.

Mike and his family joined us in the hostal and at dinner last night. Last night was also my night for my testimony, so everyone got to hear how I came to Christ, including Mike, Danell, Nicole, and Skylar. I think it went well, as I only gave them my heart, with no reservations.

We ended the night drinking a few cervesas and playing various card games.The sunflower seeds came in handy that night; they were our poker chips. I went to bed with a mixed set of emotions. I am so happy to return home to my wife and the rest of my boys, but I also feel like I´m leaving family behind. I guess it is similar to leaving my family in the US. I want to take everyone with me, but I know I can´t.

One other thing I've learned from this trip is how much I really love my wife. Even moreso because she convinced me to take another step out on faith and come to Peru. This time here will become one of the best memories of my life, and to have shared it with Esaiah is something I will never forget.