GOOOAAAALLLLLL! Well, that is something I was able to yell while jumping up and down with the fellow Peruvians last week, but not so much last night. It is the time of year, for all you non-"soccer" fans, when teams are playing their qualifying matches for the World Cup next year. As most of you that are reading this are from America, you probably aren't near as much a fan of this futbol as these South Americans. Peru, upset Ecuador this past weekend, but their luck was not carried over last night, into a very unbalanced playing field against Colombia. These poor Peruvians are die-hard fans of their team and they just aren't near as good as the others. We were all excited and had hope though because Brazil is hosting the World Cup, therefore they receive an automatic bid and that opened up a spot for one more team. As it looks right now, Peru won't be that team but you never know.
It is interesting to me how sports in general, are able to bring so many "different" types of people together, and in that moment they are one. They are one group of fans, rooting for one common goal, and holding onto this glimpse of hope in that one moment.
I just finished writing a 15 page paper on this subject for my final exam in a class. But I never saw it from the lenses of another country. Peru, a country holding it's own and fighting day in and day out to survive, finds hope through their national soccer team. It has been so much fun seeing this different side of the Peruvians! So much, that we have made it possible to catch a game the day before we fly out of Lima and head back to America. I'm excited to be in that environment, wear my jersey, a chant until I can't chant anymore.
But more about what has been going on in my world. Work has been pretty tough this week. A lot of wood choppin and hauling it off. We are doing a lot of cleaning up around the trees, which consists of that and also cutting the grass/weeds. I'm excited to see the final outcome when I leave. I won't be part of the crew that sees the production, but definitely do plan to come back and see what we have been fortunate enough to get started. Although I really enjoy manual labor........... haha My favorite project we are working on is our water purification system for the small community where our mango farms are located. In this community there is no running water, just buckets in hand that they dip water out of the canal a company out of America built for them several years ago. They built a reservoir in the foothills of the Andes that runs into this canal and supplies all these farms with water to irrigate their properties, but also water for these people to drink. This sound great huh? Yeah, the problem is, that reservoir has to travel a long ways before it reaches Malingas. Another problem is, this is where people bath, wash their clothes, and use the restroom. So needless to say, it isn't real clean!
Because of this problem, our team has come up with a pretty easy to make water filter for houses through Malingas. We have installed our first system in a house the medical center directed us to, and we will be going to see that family in the morning to see how it has helped them out. We have made a pretty cool video that I have the link to. If you are interested in donating after seeing it, we are in the process of getting an account set up specifically for purchasing the water filter piece we use. I will put up on my next blog a way to do that. It would be much appreciated and is immediate help to these people.
https://vimeo.com/67917967
Other than that, my blogging has been a little slow because of this new board game called Settlers of Catan. I am completely addicted. And I must say, I'm pretty good too! There have been some cases of Dengue Fever going around in our small community. So because of that I have been loading up on mosquito repellent... Not to mention my Malaria medication got stolen :/ We have met some really cool families who are also from the states that are over here to help in the schools throughout Peru. It is interesting when you see an American over here, you HAVE to talk to each other.
Will, Alex, and I all found a really nice gym to work out at in Piura Thursday night through Monday morning. It might be one of the nicest weight rooms I have ever been in. Never would have thought that would be possible over here. Also Will is continuing to catch my passes day after day, and for all my media friends out there that like to cut certain pieces out of my blog and write articles about *cough cough*.... write about this: Yes I am throwing the ball better than ever! Glad I am on this trip for sure, and helping these people out is exactly what I want to be doing right now, but I am beginning to get anxious and excited about the direction our season is going to go!
That's all for tonight! Gotta get back to my reading for the night. Thanks again for all your prayers and support throughout my life, and especially this trip! They will continue to be needed, but more importantly pray for these people! Pray that their hearts are open to our love! Pray that they will see Christ through our efforts without us even having to mention his Him. Pray that our water filters will continue to work and that we find sufficient funds to continue to put them into houses for free! Pray that the people of Peru will listen and learn from us on how to survive and live a healthier life, so that when we are gone they will continue this. Most importantly do not pray that this task will be easy for us! If it were easy, we would take credit for it and think that we accomplished this ourselves. Pray that God will continue to bless us with funds, health, and energy to love these people the way he loved us! Thanks again, much love!
"and for all my media friends out there that like to cut certain pieces out of my blog and write articles about *cough cough*.... write about this: Yes I am throwing the ball better than ever!"
ReplyDeleteCrackin me up bro...so proud of ya.Haha.