Day One: and so it begins...

We touched down in Piura at 8:00 this morning after a night of "sleeping" on the food court floor. Delirious and exhausted we were greeted by Ginet (a liason of sorts between the church in Piura and it's sister parishes in the US) and Veronica (head nurse at Sacramento Santisimo's clinic). After collecting our luggage we piled into a van and were driven through the city of Piura to our home away from home: Sacramento Santisimo parish. 

A little background on the drive over: for those of you who have never been to South/Central America, there are no "rules of the road," if you will. I believe we passed one stop light on our fifteen minute drive to our destination. Mostly, the locals honk and drive when they want, where they want, and how they want. Veronica told us that in Peru, you only need a license if you are driving a car; conveniently, the primary mode of transportation here is the moto-taxi (motorcycle) - so no license necessary... but I digress.
Once at the parish, we met Padre Joe. Originally from Wisconsin, he came down to Peru and was ordained here because he felt called to serve the people. After 15 or so years, he has built a HUGE compound nestled within 10-ft walls. The parish is capable of housing 60 missionaries, there is a health clinic, small store, gathering space/narthex, and the church itself (and that is all I have seen or explored thus far).

Anne and I are living together in a small dorm-like room with a bunk bed, small dresser, table, and a bathroom. The other three girls are living in what they consider an apartment with a refrigerator, a microwave, and a balcony. Unlike in Honduras, here you are able to “take one good wipe and flush it” (a funny sign in our bathroom) before throwing the rest of your toilet paper necessities in a waste paper basket. We also have a shower, which is unheated – like showering in ocean water. Let’s just say, it’s nice and refreshing ladies and gentlemen.

We ate breakfast around  9:00 and then had some time to shower (not sleep) before we went on a tour of some of our possible work sites. The first place we visited was the Emergency Room. There are three located in Piura, two private and one public. We went to a private one, which was also the smallest of the three. They have the capability to treat minor injuries, but anything serious they send out to a more equipped hospital. There were two main rooms: one for adults and one for pediatrics. Customs very immensely here, but one of the most significant differences that I have encountered is the sense of community openness. There are no private rooms in the hospital; if you are lucky, there is a curtain to divide you from your neighbor. The doctors and nurses speak openly about your condition and treat you in front of everyone. It really is a fascinating dynamic.

Around the block from the ER is a nursing home run by a sect of nuns (which I have forgotten). The home was full to capacity and housed about 80 residents. I will try and explain the set-up, so that you can have a visual. When you walk in the front gates of the complex the first thing you are greeted with is a large and gorgeous chapel; it is as if the rest of the complex was built around it. Surrounding the chapel on all four sides is a beautiful garden of sorts with parakeets in cages, benches, and flowering bushes – a very peaceful atmosphere. Then the nursing home itself surrounds the entire perimeter of this garden area. The home is divided in half: men on one side, women on the other. The only time the two sexes interact is on holidays and special occasions – they even eat meals separately!

I am not doing the description justice, but let me just tell you that if I ever needed to be put in a nursing home – this would be the place to be. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen: floor to ceiling terracotta tiles, blooming flowers everywhere, warm breeze blowing into your room, a gazebo…. the whole nine yards – and it is completely free to the residents. The nuns are amazing. There work ethic is out of this world; they cook three meals a day, keep the place SPOTLESS, raise all of their own food (more to come on this), have an entire room dedicated to ironing and mending, and so much more.

The home is more or less self-sustaining. They grow their own fruits and vegetables and raise all of their own animals. We walked through this area that looked like a petting zoo – guess what folks, that was no petting zoo…. I think you can use your imagination.  There were rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, pigs, ducks…. enough cute baby animals to make someone a vegetarian.

Our final stop was at an all girls orphanage. The girls ranged from birth to twenty-somethings. They are broken into five “families” and each family has it’s own apartment. I would guess that there were maybe 15-20 girls in each family; each apartment had a bunkroom, dining room, and a living space. Saturdays are cleaning days, so all of the girls were doing their chores, but stopped to give us each individual hugs.

After that it was lunch time, so we headed back to Sacramento Sanitisimo ate and then, drum roll please, SIESTA TIME. Best invention ever. I was able to take a much needed, two-hour nap before we continued touring the city. For the remainder of the afternoon we walked the streets of Piura and saw all of their parishes (these are main gathering centers and the community prides themselves on their churches). One of the churches was the local cathedral where the archbishop presides. The churches themselves are pretty plain, but their altars and shrines are unbelievably intricate and detailed – lots of gold.

At 7:00 we had mass at the parish and then socialized with the community before dinner. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming. There is one other mission group here with us right now and they are a high school group from Oklahoma.

Tomorrow is Election Day here. I don’t know if you have heard about it at all on the news or not, but as with all politics there is some candidate drama. Peru’s previous president fled prior to his term ending because he was accused of human rights violations. One of the presidential candidates is his daughter actually… Anyways, most businesses are going to be closed tomorrow because voting is mandatory for every citizen. On our agenda is mass, and more site touring (another orphanage).

That brings you pretty much up to speed… if you made it through all of the tedious details. I'm looking forward to sleeping through the night in a bed. More to come as the adventure continues! XOXOXOXOX