r.i.p. vladi

The funeral is over. Another horrifically sad event. I can't begin to imagine how much God cries over these kids because my pathetically human heart is broken. We brought a truckload of kids from the street to the cemetery, and I watched them bury another friend for the second time in 3 months. The way I see it, the devil is trying to kill off the kids one-by-one. Marcos was stabbed in the heart and died in July. Vladimir's stomach was cut open 2 weeks ago, but he was recovering at the hospital when the demons convinced him to throw himself out of a 3rd story window. That's how he died, and it just makes me sick. He was one the kids that I knew really well, and I saw so much good in him. I know how tormented he was, but I always had hope. I can't believe his life ended this way.

R.I.P. Vladi.

someone to devour.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:6-11 (ESV)

Like a roaring lion, he's seeking someone to devour.

And he did devour...this time.

But God has dominion, and He will restore us.

john 10:10

ὁ κλέπτης οὐκ ἔρχεται εἰ μὴ ἵνα κλέψῃ καὶ θύσῃ καὶ ἀπολέσῃ ἐγὼ ἦλθον ἵνα ζωὴν ἔχωσιν καὶ περισσὸν ἔχωσιν

psalm 146.

Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
I will praise the LORD while I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Do not trust in princes,
In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.

His spirit departs, he returns to the earth;
In that very day his thoughts perish.

How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose hope is in the LORD his God,

Who made heaven and earth,
The sea and all that is in them;
Who keeps faith forever;

Who executes justice for the oppressed;
Who gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets the prisoners free.

The LORD opens the eyes of the blind;
The LORD raises up those who are bowed down;
The LORD loves the righteous;

The LORD protects the strangers;
He supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He thwarts the way of the wicked.

The LORD will reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!

this week.

This week started off on Sunday afternoon with a phone call from one of the boys telling me that another boy had been stabbed. I spent Monday morning searching for him at the hospital. When I couldn't locate him through the information desk or via the emergency room records or with the police connected to the emergency room, I did what seemed like the obvious thing to do based on the past few months: I went to the morgue. Thankfully, he hadn't been through there and is actually in recovery under a different name. So that was good news...

I wish I lived in a world that didn't include morgue visits. I could probably stomach the morgue in the US, but the one here is just unbearable. It's not temperature-controlled, and the bodies aren't kept refrigerated. When I was in there helping sort out the situation with the baby girl in June, I remember looking around and seeing bodies laying around on gurneys and tables, wrapped in the bedding that their families had brought them in. One guy was laying there uncovered and bloody, and it was obvious that he had been stabbed in the stomach. It's a very unpleasant place, and I'll never be able to forget the smell.

With all that in mind, I was so thankful that one of my girlfriends offered to go running around with me that afternoon so I wouldn't have to go alone.

That same day, I rescued a little Boxer puppy that showed up right outside my door...literally. She was nothing but bones, just 3 or 4 months old, and really, really sick. We took her to my vet's office where they did some tests and found out that she had Distemper (terribly contagious and deadly) and that it was already in her brain and nervous system. It was really sad and obviously really painful, so we ended up just being merciful and putting her to sleep.

The rest of the week was less eventful, thankfully. I did the regular visits to the bridge and to the night shelter, chatted with the boys washing windows on the street a few times, and hung out with the girls. I also hunted around the market for a daycare for the woman I wrote about last week. That was a huge, useless waste of time, although, thanks to Kimber, I have a good lead to follow up with next week.

One of the girls, who's boyfriend has been working at Nate's shop, is pregnant and about to burst. On Thursday, we went into a hospital to get her all set up for the baby's birth but were told we need to go to the local health center closer to where she's going to be living. The shop is in the process of moving to a new location up the hill a ways, and this couple is looking for a room in the same area. Hopefully, we'll get the hospital and the room all sorted out on Monday.

Since the hospital trip on Thursday was a bust, the girl and her little boy spent most of the day at my house...

Snacks

Sharing the snacks with Lily

Playing with the magnets on my new mini-fridge (cheaper than a regular-sized used fridge but less colorful)

Romping around in the grass

from tacalomas.

I have some friends who live up and out of the city a bit, above Cocha's electricity and water. It's a simple life that I'd be happy to live...to leave behind all the chaos of the city. And really, who needs running water?

But there's a fine line between simplicity and poverty, and for the folks up there, the simple life isn't an option. It's the only thing they can afford.

They're good people, and I love spending time with them. I try to stop in every week or so, and I've built good friendships with 4 of the families. They give me potatoes from their farms, and I give them figs from my tree. I normally sit and chat with the ladies while they cook, or I play with kids with the kids. Occasionally, I hike up the hill with Dona Maria to graze her sheep.

One of the families that I'm friends with is a single mom with two boys and a newborn baby. She's young and struggling to make a living selling carrot juice for 1 Boliviano a glass in the market for about 10 hours a day.

Her oldest boy has become the man of the house and takes care of his younger brother. He gets up early and goes to a school up the hill on the other side of the valley. It's a daily journey that requires taking 2 buses and hiking a bit. After school, he either makes his way home, or he goes into the market to hangout with his mom. The 3 year old boy will go with his mom into the market somedays, but other days, he'll stay at home by himself until his older brother makes it home from school.

And now there's a one month old baby in the picture. And to make matters even more complicated, the mom doesn't really speak Spanish, just Quechua. So her kids are our little translators.

This coming week, we're going to enroll the 3 year old in a daycare near where his mom works. It'll only be for part of the day, but it's better than him sitting around in the market or being left home alone for 5 or 6 hours. I'm trying to help with one situation at a time.

a random photo post.

Lily's normal face (all bundled up for winter in July)...

Lily's swollen face after being stung by a scorpion...

Swelling going down...

A few of the guys from the bridge playing futbol on Sunday...

Lunch after church...

Afternoon snack at a food court on Wednesday...

Toys!

My thorn bush is growing fuzzy, yellow pom-poms...