spring forward

there is no place so awake and alive as the edge of becoming. –sue monk kidd

the last few months have been absolutely CRAZY! they have brought huge changes, both with the community as well as in my work and personal life. as always, there’s been beautiful highs matched with painful lows, and the continuous promise of good things to come.

well, i guess i’ll start where i left off in mid-july: changes in the community. in september, todd wrapped up his 2 years in chimbote with numerous going-away parties and events. we had several weeks of good-byes, matched with more welcoming events for jenn and marcelle. it was hard to say good-bye, as todd has been such an essential part of our first year here, but he’s off on his own adventures yet again, with the assurance that his time as an IWM was fruitful. he’s left his fingerprints on so many beautiful projects in chimbote!

one of the highlights of the going-away events was a weekend trip to cajamarca with JUMIFRA, the youth council at the parish. 17 of us headed into the andies for a gorgeous weekend trip. it was absolutely beautiful! we spent the time exploring several incan sites, the beautiful incan/colonial city, and just enjoying time as a group outside of chimbote. it was such a privilege to go with JUMIFRA. most of them are our close friends and they don’t often have the opportunity to travel—a beautiful experience to be able to share together. highlights of the trip were: hiking through incan ruins, breathing clean air, climbing the cerro to get a gorgeous view of the city, a quick rainstorm (the first for our chimbotano friends who only know life in the desert), and the incan baths (which are hot springs that have been built up to be small public bathtubs—possibly not very sanitary, but being submerged in hot water felt awesome…something i will never again take for granted in the states).

we’re now starting to settle down a little bit as a community of 5 women! jenn jumped right in at the parish, taking over many of the roles that todd had occupied including confirmation classes, theater, and helping with english. she’s also thinking about starting a woman’s group at the parish. this had been a dream for jane and i since we started our time here, but hasn’t happened yet for lack of extra time, so we’re all really excited that jenn will help make it a reality! i’ve always been interested in feminist spirituality, but being a woman in a machismo society has made me much more aware of the feminine wound and societal limits that are placed on women…

marcelle, julie, and i have been busy with our new program—Servicios a Domicilio MADELEINE. this is the project that i had mentioned before—home health care for patients with chronic health issues or short-term home-health needs. julie and i have been in charge of the project, along with an administration intern at hospice, and it has certainly been a learning experience! i never in my life thought i would be starting a new business in a foreign country! after months of planning and meetings and making supplies by hand, we’re proud to report that after only a week, we have 2 patients! poco a poco, no? next week we are hoping to have a few more join—we’re planning several campaigns to spread the word about the program and hopefully widen our patient base. we’ve been assured that there is a great need for a service like this in chimbote, but like most things in peru, it just might take a little time to get rolling.

this also means that my time officially working for the posta and hospice has come to an end. i will still be available to help with certain projects, but my focus will be on MADELEINE. i ended my time with the posta with a bang—a huge health campaign that i planned with one of the other nurses in a zone of chimbote that is incredibly impoverished. i’m happy to say that it was a huge success! our focus was on children between the ages of 1-9, and we were able to offer medical consults, fluoride dental treatments, nutritional diagnostics and nutritional counseling (about 25% of the kids we worked with are malnourished), treatment for parasites, hemoglobin/anemia testing, free hair-cuts, and family planning consults with a midwife—many much-needed services to an area that cannot afford healthcare.

and the fun part: i get to be a nurse by day, and a singer in a rock band at night! another thing i never thought i would be doing in a foreign country! or really anywhere. the group has been in progress for about 2 years now with some guys from the parish, but just recently has officially started! we began rehearsing in mid-september and have already had 3 shows, including a big concert downtown in one of the plazas overlooking the ocean! there’s a horrible video of the show that i’ll try to get posted on youtube as soon as i get a copy. although it takes every free minute, it has been a ton of fun! i’ve always loved to sing, but life in chimbote has made me realize my need to sing out loud as much as possible!

other great news: my mom is coming next week! it will be beautiful to share my chimbotana life with her—to show her where i work, who my friends are, what i’ve been doing with my life—all the things a mom needs to know about her baby girl.

ALSO!!! we just got internet in the house! very exciting news! i can hopefully update this blog more than once a season, as well as be much more available to skype with YOU.

take care. laugh often. love well.