we have arrived!

Liz and I have arrived in Lima...with no problems! We left Miami bright and early on Sunday morning, thanks to Jackie we arrived right on time. We checked in for our flight, but unfortunately we were informed that we must claim our luggage in Bogota and recheck in for our flight from Bogota to Lima. Im pretty sure that I did not agree to that when booking the tickets. Fortunately we made it...off the plane, thru customs, claimed our luggage, got back in line to recheck in and thru security and customs AGAIN to finally arrive at our gate just before boarding time. Then, for whatever reason they stamped "standby" on our tickets...so we waited with our fingers crossed hoping that we could get on the plane. luckily...we got on...all our luggage was in Lima and our contact Javier was awaiting us with a smile and a sign! As soon as we met Javier English was to become our second language...Spanish is the only option here! Liz and I did wish that we would become fluent in Spanish in our first two weeks here...little did we know that we would actually have the opportunity to make that come true! Javier (our chauffer, contact, go to man, etc) has introduced us to so many people it is ridiculous! After arriving at the airport we packed our stuff into Javiers car and headed for the chalet (a convent overlooking the beach). When we arrived at the convent we met the head nun (Graciella) who showed us our room, which is a room with 4 smaller rooms each with a bed and dresser and a bathroom (with a shower with hot water!). Every morning and night we have food prepared for us by the nuns, they even pack us a lunch for the road! Javier left us here at the chalet and told us to rest cause we have a full two weeks! Monday morning Javier arrived around 9 and so did is daughter Mayra who is our translator. She is 17, super cute and nice and speaks English pretty well. She is studying at the university but spends every day, all day with us teaching us Spanish and helping us to understand the more difficult Spanish words! Monday was a day of introductions...we met teachers at the school where we will be doing lice removal on 900 kids next week, the director of an orphanage/daycare where we did exams today, and alot of other people! After a long day of introductions we worked on handouts to use on things such as handwashing and teethbrushing and their importance for the remainder of the evening. This morning we were more than ready to begin our work here, so we got up early, had breakfast, dressed in scrubs, and prepared for the day! We arrived at the orphanage/daycare...Im calling it this because 12 of the children live there full time and the rest come during the day while their parents work. There are about 30 kids in total, with a few coming from the community to be checked added on top of that. Liz and i checked all of these kids for skin rashes or infections, lice, flat feet, or anything else that we noticed that we could do something about. We are sure of the significants of the flat feet either, so dont worry! but apparently it is important here in Peru! After checking all of these kids...we started shampooing and combing all of the lice and nits from the kids hair. This took us ALL day! These kids have lots of hair...lots of thick hair..with lots of nits and bugs! We will return to this place in the morning to say hi and play with the kids some and also return next week to make sure that the lice are gone. I think we counted one million and one louse removed! haha! After the louse removal session we had a quick lunch of Chifa (what the Peruvians call their take on Chinese food) and then off the English classes. There are about 10 classes of English that are take at a school a few blocks from where we are staying, Mayra also teaches there. We got to introduce ourselves to the classes and speak in English (funny how easy it is to forget something that you use every single day when you stop using it for only a short time) with the students. Most of them are beginners so they ask simple questions, but we got to interact with a classroom of teachers who teach English and we got to actually speak and interact with them. Overall it was a great day... Tomorrow we will get to play with the kids and see some of central Lima...

sorry for the delay...

As I sit here in Miami listening to the ocean I am becoming anxious about my upcoming trip. No, it most definitely is not where I thought that I would be at this time in my life. I was so set on Haiti, 6 weeks ago i was supposed to be going down to Haiti to live and work for an undetermined amount of time. That obviously was not meant to be, so here I am about to head back to South America!

As most of you know my friend Paul was wrongfully imprisoned in the Haitian penitentiary for 18 long days. Because of this and because the organizations that I have worked with previously are/were full of volunteers I started to look into other opportunities. I was determined to find a third world country that I could use my nursing skills in. Liz (a nurse that I met while in Haiti who will be in South America with me) and I started to research our options when she came across Solidarity in Action. Now, I dont know all the details because she has been so kind as to take care of all of the logistics but I do know that we are headed to Lima on Wednesday to work in a clinic. Also we will be doing some school programs such as "lice removal" and teaching basic hygiene.

Recently, as I have been thinking about my life and all of the opportunities that I have been afforded and all of the traveling that I have done, two things continue to come into my mind. I have been struggling recently, feeling like I am being pulled in two opposite directions: find a place to call home and move to a third world country and work. I think a large part of me wanting to make a "home" is because I have been close to my family and have really enjoyed the time that I have gotten to spend with all of them. I love being able to have lunch with my mom or go to DC and hang out with my sister. And now having Jonathan close too has made my decision to travel even harder. Needless to say, I am sure that I am right where I am supposed to be, right where God has placed me. So, back to those two things that I cannot forget about...speaking Spanish and going to Australia. Of all of the things in my life that I have accomplished these are two that I have yet to do.

I have a love for Latin culture and have spent many years speaking Spanish here and there but I have never become fluent...here is my chance! I have said for many years that I was going to just move to South America and stay until I could speak fluently...now is my chance! So, with all of that said I hope to accomplish my dream of speaking Spanish in the next few months! As far as going to Australia that is in the works too!!

Liz and I will be leaving on Sunday and flying into Lima where we will stay in a chalet (or so they are calling it...Liz thinks that it is going to be a castle with a moat! i will not bust her bubble since she has no idea what to expect!) and work with Solidarity for 2 weeks. After those two weeks we will meet with Paul Sebring (MMRCglobal.org) in Colombia and begin working there as well. We will blog while we are gone to keep you all informed. We would love to hear from everyone! And please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going, I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone." -Thomas Merton

Haiti on my heart...

today is a day closer to me being back in Haiti...every day working/being in the states makes me more thankful but causes me to wish that i was in Haiti all the more. every day that i look at my facebook there is a new post, a new post from one of my dear friends down there, begging for help...asking for everyone and anyone to give their time or supplies or whatever they can to help out the people. today, i read my friend stacey's blog (http://charitystace.wordpress.com/)...she so vividly depicts what is going on down there. she writes a few short paragraphs and every time that i read them...i feel like i am there...like i need to be there, now. then i find a short video clip (http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=887031823978&oid=274499941808&comments) ...my friends working with samaritans purse, the clinics and how much they are doing and what it actually looks like down there.

all of this, every day makes me want to be there more and more but i keep reminding myself that i will be there soon enough. all the questions keep coming...how will you be supported down there? how long will you be there? what exactly are you going to be doing? questions questions questions...that i will figure out when i get there. i feel like Haiti is where i am supposed to be right now and thats what i am going to do. as everything else in my life has just "fallen into place" i expect the same in this situation and i am thankful every day for the time that i have here, close to my family, before i head down there.

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." Dalai Lama

inspiration

today has been a relaxing day with the parents. i have one obstacle to overcome before heading down to haiti that i had to go to the doctor about today. i had a consult with a surgeon about fixing my hernia (which came back after i already had surgery december of last year), it bothers me at this point and is growing by the day. im going to have it fixed the first week of december so that i can be ready to work!

on to more exciting things...i have amazing friends! and i thank God that he has blessed me with so many amazing people in my life. today i thank him for Jackie...she is such an inspiration to me, always full of so much advice and love for me no matter what kind of crazy ideas that i come up with. always supportive and not afraid to play the devils advocate and to help me out no matter what! she is always full of inspiration and this is what i received today...

"Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. Make all your friends feel there is something in them. Look at the sunny side of everything. Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give everyone a smile. Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others. Be too big for worry and too noble for anger." The Optimist Creed by Christian D. Larsen

aside from jackie i am inspired by mother teresa (who isnt?), i love to read about her life and how she gave her entire life to people who were in need. i can only hope that i am given the opportunity to touch a small percentage of the people of the world that she did. a few quotes (of mother teresas) that i try to live by...

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."

this quote is exactly my motivation for my work in Haiti...so much desperation...so much work to be done it seems overwhelming. everyday when you wake up down there you, a choice has to be made...what do i do today, what can i do today that will make the most difference.

"The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it."

i love what i do...i love my work in the US but even more outside. sometimes i have to remind myself that my life has been and will be full of pleasures and that the time that i spend giving to others is also pleasurable. i truly do enjoy all that i do...every single day...i love my life and all the opportunities that i have been given.

"Our life of poverty is as necessary as the work itself. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them."

every day that i give to these people they give me more than you could ever imagine.

and my number one goal in all that i do is to..."Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."

i hope that you all had an amazing day...

where to start...

i have been contemplating blogging for quite some time...but just havent gotten around to it...but here i am blogging...

now where to start? i want this to be a place that i can keep everyone updated on where i am, what im doing, and my thoughts. right now, i am focused on Haiti. i am more than ready to be down there now, it has been on my heart since i heard about the earthquake in january. many of you know that i was traveling europe when it happened and seriously contemplated going straight from there down to help out. unfortunately that did not happen, but i was privileged to go down and work with medishare (projectmedishare.org) in may. one time just wasnt enough for me so i went back down in august and worked with samaritans purse (www.samaritanspurse.org) and MMRC (mmrcglobal.org). all of these organizations are amazing and definitely worth looking into.

lets go way back...or back some time in my life. as most of you know I have been blessed to be able to travel the world and to help people all over with anything and everything that I am capable of. i love my job, i love that i have the opportunity to travel and work as a nurse, and to truly help people that are in need. right now I think that Haiti is a place that I would like to spend some of my time. they are in so much need, simple things as food, clothes, shelter...the things that you and I take for granted every single day in the United States are very hard to find over there.

i have lots of friends in Haiti right now, when I go down I plan to work with MMRC. check them out! It started with two guys who were rejected by the Red Cross and other organization to help right after the earthquake because they didnt have any medical background. they both gave up everything here in the states (they both had their own businesses) and have been down there since january. if you ask anyone down there who Big Paul and Little Paul are, they are sure to know these two. There was a great article written about them in Mens Journal last month, (http://www.mensjournal.com/haiti-cowboy-emts) read it! otherwise ill also be working the University of Miami/Project Medishare. A few facts about Haiti: -over 50% of Haiti’s population is school age -the literacy rate is less than 50% -approximately 70% of the people live in poverty, with an average annual income of $400 per year -15% of all children in Haiti are orphaned or abandoned (“practically orphaned”). Most estimates put the number of orphans in Haiti prior to the January 2010 earthquake at about 380,000. Experts now estimate that the number of orphans has doubled to about 750,000 since the earthquake.

enough for now...