Jennifer's Peru Journal

2007-11-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

I miss Peru.
I miss the Iglesia Cristiana Koinonia family/families.
I really want to go back someday with my husband and son. And our second child is due May 9th! :)

To see what is going on in the lives and ministries of Iglesia Cristiana Koinonia, check out the following blogs:

http://www.iglesiacristianakoinonia.blogspot.com

http://koinonia-canete.blogspot.com

http://trshelley.blogspot.com

Praying that God will send more laborers to reap the harvest in Peru (and also raise up native Peruvian laborers),
Jennifer

2007-07-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

When I went to Lima and Cusco, Peru on a Buckner International Shoes For Orphan Souls mission trip this past March, I got to see first-hand just how much orphaned children need new shoes and how happy they are to receive them. And they need pure, true love just as much as they need new shoes.

Here I am helping mi amiga Thalia with some new shoes!

Above:

Julie of Buckner helps a girl try on some new shoes.

(Center) Photo of a boy's old shoes.

(Right) Me helping a young girl with her new shoes.

Photos by Jenny Pope of Buckner International.

Girls at the Girls Home in Cusco after they got their new athletic shoes. They'd been wearing their black school uniform shoes. Photo by Jenny Pope of Buckner.

Boys at Hogar in Cusco after they got their new shoes. Photo by Jenny Pope of Buckner.

I took this pic of mi amigo Doug Moore of WFRN (in Indiana) as he helped a little boy at a Boys Home in Cusco with his new shoes.

Here is Brad Fisk of ShareMedia Services checking out little Jose's feet to see if we had shoes to fit him. Sadly, we didn't have any shoes with us in Jose's size. However, some of the boy's clothes that I had brought to give away on the trip ended up in our bag for this home, so I was able to give Jose's mom some clothes for him. Buckner staff will make sure Jose gets new shoes.

Me and some sweet little boys as they show off their new shoes.

My shoes were a gift from my sister-in-law last year.

These boys were rescued from the streets and their shoes are gifts from people they've never met who donated new shoes to Shoes For Orphan Souls.

Here's Roy happily wearing his new shoes. Roy came into the boys home off of the streets the very day we came to bring shoes and minister! And, praise God, I am happy to say that Roy accepted Jesus as his Savior that day, too! :)

You see, Buckner's Shoes For Orphan Souls teams don't just bring children new shoes. They also bring the good news of God's love and the hope of salvation through Christ! As you shop for shoes to give to Shoes For Orphan Souls during WBFJ's Shoe Drive, please pray for the child who will receive the shoes. You can even send a note and/or a photo to the child who will get the shoes. Some of the kids we ministered to in Peru received notes/photos with their shoes from the person/people who donated the shoes. They were very happy to have that extra dose of love and assurance that someone really does care for them!

Between July 9th and Monday July 30th you can drop off new shoes for Shoes For Orphan Souls at these participating Christian bookstores across the Triad:

Winston-Salem
Carolina Christian Supply
Family Christian Stores
Lifeway Christian Stores
Piercing Light Christian Books & Gifts
The Master's Loft

Greensboro
Lifeway Christian Stores

High Point
New Life Books

Kernersville
Chosen Path Christian Bookstore
Lemstone Books
HeBrews Cafe & Bookstore (located inside Calvary Chapel of the Triad)

North Wilkesboro
For Heaven's Sake

Elkin / Jonesville
Heavenly Treasures

Shoes can also be dropped-off at WBFJ in Winston-Salem.
____________________________
James 1:27"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

Next Monday, July 9th, we will be broadcasting live from 3 different areas to kick-off our shoe drive. Everyone who drops off a pair of new shoes during one of our remotes will receive a CD from WBFJ!

Lemstone Christian Books in Kernersville (8-10am)

Lifeway Christian Store, W-S (12p-2p)

Greensboro
Lifeway Christian Stores (4-6pm)

For more information about WBFJ's Shoes For Orphan Souls shoe drive, go to http://www.wbfj.fm/ or http://www.stereo1550.com/ and look for the SOS logo/banner or give us a call at 721-1560.

Happy Shoe-shopping!

:) Jennifer

2007-07-03T05:52:00.000-07:00

Je parle un peau de francais, mais je ne parle pas beaucoup d'espanol.

I speak a little french, but I don't speak a lot of Spanish.

Thus, I must say MUCHAS GRACIAS to all of the great translators who helped us communicate with the children and adults (including market salespeople!) during my trip to Peru in March with Buckner's Shoes For Orphan Souls.

Carla, Eduardo and me on the bus on the way to the Palace in Lima 3-19-07 to meet the Primera Dama (First Lady).

Me at the Palace in Lima.

Carla and a sweet little baby at the Baby Home we visited that same day.

Julie and her neice Alessandra.

Arturo, Erik (the tallest man in Peru, I think) and Alex at a beautiful park in Lima where we ate lunch that day. Here's the lunch we ate. :)

I can't imagine what my trip would have been like without the help and encouragement from these translators. I got to know some of them pretty well and consider them friends/amigos.

Pictured above is Leslie Chace of Buckner International. She is in charge of Buckner's Latin American programs. She actually grew up in Peru as her family moved there when she was a child due to her father's job. So, she knew the areas very well and was a wonderful blessing as she helped with everything from translating to helping a certain young lady who was experiencing major packing anxiety when we had to prepare for our trip to Cusco. :) Gracias, Leslie!

We also had the privilege of meeting and getting to spend some time with some of the Buckner Peru staff--Rosa, Claudia and Sylvia.

Rosa reminded us toward the end of our time in Lima not to forget the kids we met there. She said, "They expect more from us. The kids deserve a family. Please continue with the efforts for the kids when we're back home." She also told us that Buckner is trying to assist the Peruvian government in launching a Foster Care program in Peru.

Claudia is a lawyer whose garage doubles as the Buckner Shoe Warehouse in Peru.

Sylvia is the sweet lady who met me at the Lima airport upon my arrival in Peru. She helps arrange all the in-country travel, meals, lodging, etc and does whatever Buckner needs her to do. And she does it with a smile. :)

Rosa will be happy to know that we at WBFJ are continuing our efforts to help children in Peru--and in all the countries Buckner takes Shoes For Orphan Souls. We are starting our WBFJ/Buckner Shoes For Orphan Souls Shoe Drive next Monday July 9th. I'll be broadcasting live with other WBFJ amigos at Lemstone (new!) in K-ville, Lifeway in Winston-Salem and Lifeway in Greensboro. Come out and see us and bring a pair of NEW, good-quality shoes to donate to SOS and we'll give you a CD! :) Remember, please, that the shoes you give will be the only new shoes that a child may receive for a while. So please buy sturdy shoes like you'd buy for a child in your own family. Orphans love light-up shoes just as much as our children here do, too, by the way! Thanks in advance for your help and for the gifts you give to share the love of our Abba, Father with the precious orphans Buckner works with! I look forward to meeting you at one of the remotes next week! For more details, go to http://www.wbfj.fm/ or http://www.stereo1550.com/ and look for the Shoes For Orphan Souls logo. :)

Adios for now,

Jennifer

Carla, Julie, me and Alessandra with the Pacific Ocean in the background. :)

My top 5 photos from my trip

2007-05-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

So, recently I had to send my Top 5 favorite pictures from my Buckner SOS trip to Peru to Buckner's Marketing Manager TK. TK is awesome and we got to hang out some in Peru, so she knew it would be hard for me to pick just 5 photos. I took over 300 photos while I was there!

I thought and prayed and then picked 5 pictures that I thought best portrayed some of my most memorable moments from my trip. I want to share them with you here.

By the way, I apologize that it is taking me so long to add to this blog. It takes a while to blog, for one thing. And I have a lot going on in my life, as I am sure you do. Another thing slowing me down is that I have been sad that I had to leave these children behind in Peru. I love my own son and family and friends, etc, but if you've been on a mission trip and worked with orphans, I'm sure you understand what I mean.

Anyway, without further ado...my top 5 fave pics!

Me and Bryan (I know that's not the way he spells it but I don't remember how he did) hugging
at the Hogar where he lives in Ancon (I think that's where this was). I got to help him with his new shoes.
Bryan has a piece of my heart and I hated leaving him. Leslie (Buckner Staff) explained after our visit that he is a true orphan. And not only has he dealt with the death of his birth parents, but he was "returned" by a set of adoptive parents as well. :( When I heard that, I wanted to go back and get him!
I wish he was adoptable! I love this precious boy. (This photo was taken by Jenny Pope of Buckner International.)

Thalia (age 14; she has been there since she was 12) and me at the girls home for girls rescued from sex trafficking Sunday 3-18-07.
Thalia really took to me and I to her--even though she wasn't in my group. I got to help her
with her new shoes, anyway! :) (The pic of me helping her with her shoes is an extra one I'm including in this blog--doesn't count toward the 5.)

5 year old Melindina (spelling?) at a Baby Home reaching out for some love.
I think this is a great representation of how eager these precious children are to receive true,
godly love. Once I picked her up she didn't want me to put her down!

Nyada, me and Dionicia at their girls home in Cusco. They made the "chal" I'm wearing. :)
They were so happy to show me all around their home! In fact, I was dizzy from the high altitude and could barely keep up with them. Another trip participant who is a nurse told me at one point that I didn't look well and then she asked them in Spanish to take it easy with me.

Me and Vladamir at the Boys Home where he lives in Cusco. I got to help him
with his new shoes, which happened to feature my college's colors! :) (Go, Campbell University!) I also got to play with him a little and hold him on my lap during VBS time. :) He's a sweetie.

I just noticed how he has his hand on my hand--eager for innocent and loving touch--even though he's sitting in my lap already. Love is the language that pulls us all together! We speak different languages and our skin tones are different but we have the same Father God who loves us. Praise the Lord for sending me to Peru with Buckner International's Shoes For Orphans Souls!

Go to www.buckner.org for more information!

2007-04-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

Some of my new little amigos.

More later.

I miss the kids.

I finally finished unpacking a few days ago.

I may be going back soon.

More later.

Jenn

2007-04-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

OK, so while I was in Peru I learned that I would be really scared to drive there. There are at least a few traffic rules. One seems to be--he who has the loudest horn and the most nerve has the right of way! Our bus driver was a pro, though. See (above) how close we were to hitting the wall at the first Children's home we visited? AHHHHHH! I was thinking about how I didn't have a will but that I was ready to meet my Lord if we were to die due to crashing into the brick wall. But, we made it through! Praise God!

Here we see Luis and Merryan P. heading into the home for girls rescued from sexual exploitation. Luis is carrying a huge bag of new shoes for the girls. :)

The girls and their children were happy to see us; they welcomed us with a song in Spanish. Why did I take French in middle school, high school and college?

Here I am helping my new friend try on some new shoes! She was happy to have them and they fit great!

We also brought soccer balls to the homes. These two little ones were glad to have them!

I was also able to give the little boy's mom some clothes for him. I had brought some that Josh couldn't use--and they ended up in the bag packed for this particular home! God is good, isn't He?!

Buckner SOS Peru trips radio reps, 1st lunch, etc

2007-04-03T06:56:00.000-07:00

I was not the only radio station rep on the Buckner SOS Peru Mission Trip. When I got to the hotel late Sat. 3-17/early Sun. 3-18 and went up to my room I was eventually greeted by my roommate Liz. I had knocked on the door but got no answer. I was afraid that she was asleep or in the bathroom and didn't hear me. I was wondering where else I could sleep when she came walking up and gave me a hug. She'd been downstairs checking her e-mail. She just recently got engaged to a man who has the same name as my son--Joshua. But hers goes by "Shua". Cool, eh? Liz is a lovely and talented young lady.

Me and my roommate Liz Jordan of KSBJ Radio in Houston, TX. She's lovely, isn't she?

I met other team members the next day in the hotel as we organized all the items we all brought to give to the orphans and the Orphanage Directors. It took a while! We also met an essential part of our group--our Peruvian translators! Our mission would have been much harder without them.

Eventually we finished and loaded onto our lovely green and white bus and were off to have our 1st traditional Peruvian lunch.

We rode in this bus all over the Lima area during our trip.

Buckner Missions Coordinators Jouleen and Julie try to get our team to "number off" to make sure we are all on the bus. We were each assigned numbers (mine was 8) and had to say them in roll call fashion every time we got on the bus. I think we made it through without mistakes just once during the whole trip--and Jouleen didn't even get to see it! We did our devotions on the bus during most of the trip. We also got the scoop on the homes we visited, played our now beloved "Trip Participant Trivia", etc.

Two of my fave ?s:

"Which trip participant knows Matthew McConaughey?"

One Buckner staff member really has met him several times--and confirms, sadly I must say, that he does not believe in wearing deo.

"Which trip participant auditioned for 'The Bachelor'?" Hint-it was a tall young lady with naturally curly hair. :) She and her friend did it for a laugh. We couldn't let her live it down on the trip once we found out. I kept trying to find her handsome Peruvian bachelors for photo ops, etc. :)

Some views outside the bus window:

Big mountain of dry dirt KFC! With bike delivery! Photo shops (gates are common)

My first lunch in Lima was at El Bolivariano. It's a Peruvian Buffet restaurant.

My plate Anticucho (grilled beef heart) Me trying Anticucho

Brad Fisk, Director of Client Services for ShareMedia (center in blue shirt and glasses) and the Christian radio reps Left to Right Merryan from 89.7 Spirit FM Miami and her awesome husband Luis, Susan of KVTT "The Truth" Dallas, Liz of KSBJ Houston, Doug of WFRN Indiana, and me from WBFJ Winston-Salem/Greensboro during our first Peruvian lunch.

Here are the sites for Share Media and the radio stations represented on the Shoes For Orphans Souls mission trip in Peru:

www.sharemediaservices.com

www.wbfj.fm and www.stereo1550.com

Well, I have tons more pics but this is really taking a long time to do. I need to take a break. I'll blog more asap! Thanks for your patience!

Jennifer

Colon Hotel

2007-04-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

Pics from the Colon Hotel in Lima.

Photo blog-2nd leg to Peru

2007-04-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

My 2nd leg--Atlanta to Lima, Peru.

This is the plane I took from Atlanta to Lima. It was supposed to leave at 5:10pm. My flight from GSO landed in ATL a bit before 5pm. By the time I got off the plane and hauled myself as fast as I could to the train to the concourse for my flight to Lima, found my gate (it had to be one of the ones at the far end of the concourse) and checked in at the Delta counter at the gate, it was past 5:10. I was out of breath and nervous, but, Praise God, the flight had not even boarded yet! I checked in and the agent crossed my name off of a list and I waited for my flight to board.

I have never (as far as I can recall) flown in a plane with 3 rows of seats before. I was a bit nervous b/c the last time I saw such a plane was in the movie "Flight Plan" (featuring Jodi Foster).

This was my seat on the plane. Another window seat! :) A pillow awaited my arrival.

Here is the "remote" I used to turn my reading light on and off, etc. I don't think I'd seen one of those on a plane before!

As a germaphobe, I was impressed by the generally clean Bano (bathroom) on the plane. This one was roomy, even! I could spin around in there, stretch my legs, etc!

My first experience with "airplane food" other than pretzels or peanuts. This dinner was actually quite yummy. BBQ'd chicken (I think), mashed sweet potatoes, festive corn, salad, water, roll with butter, cheese and crackers--and even a brownie to help me curb my chocolate craving! My seatmate Jessica, who is from Peru but now lives in Alabama, said this was a Peruvian type meal.

This is my seatmate Jessica and me after our long flight to Lima. I was as tired as I look.

I was also thankful that God put a Peruvian next to me on this flight. She and I talked quite a bit and I was able to share my faith with her and she was able to give me some tips and suggestions on eating and travel in Peru. She gave me some insights into the culture and told me about the influx of Chinese/Japanese people in Peru, etc. By the end of the flight she was like a sister to me. She even helped me get my luggage, guided me through immigration and customs, etc. Praise God!

When I got through immigration and Customs, I looked through the massive crowd of people waiting for friends/families/strangers arriving into Lima. I spotted the orange Buckner sign held by one of the amazing members of Buckner's Peru staff=Sylvia. She and her husband Mario were waiting for me and 2 other SOS team members who had delayed arrivals into Lima.

One member (Brad from Kentucky)'s luggage had been lost. :(

It was after midnight if not later when we left the airport in Sylvia and Mario's van and headed to the hotel. I was TIRED.

More later.

Jennifer

Jenn

Pics from my Peru trip--the 1st leg

2007-04-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back home from Peru (as of Sunday morning March 25, which is a blurr after flying all night Sat. 3/24!) and have been busy trying to catch up with work here at WBFJ and at the JB homestead. And now I'm finally able to blog some photos from my trip.

If you've read the blogs I managed to write from the Colon Hotel (it stands for Christopher Columbus; not the body part) in Lima, Peru, you know I had an awesome trip. It was life-changing. If I could have, I would have brought several precious children home with me. I couldn't, so I have them safely tucked into my heart. I think about them often and lift them up in prayer to our Abba, Father.

As far as trip photos, I will start at the very beginning, which is a very good place to start.
I learned that from The Sound of Music. :)

Here is the luggage I brought with me to Peru. The purple bag was packed (by Joe) with my things and the green one was full of items (also packed by Joe as I had a packing breakdown!) for the children and orphanages. I took a pic of my bags in case they got lost. The only other time I flew out of the USA--to Nassau, Bahamas--for a College Fair when I was an Undergraduate Admissions Counselor for Campbell University (Buies, Creek, NC www.campbell.edu) ---my luggage got lost. :( Turned out it got sent to LaGuardia (spelling) instead of Nassau. I did get it back eventually, but it was a stressful situation!

Bon Voyage pic with Joe and Joshua taken by a Security Official before I went through security at the Greensboro, NC airport. I took great care packing my quart sized ziploc bag of liquids and gels in my shoulder bag. I also had a bookbag with me containing reading materials, my Peru journal, a change of clothes, meds, etc.

Here I am looking out the window before we took off from Greensboro to Atlanta. My flight was delayed. I hoped and prayed I'd get to Atlanta in time to make my connecting flight to Lima!

Tight quarters in El Bano on the plane from Greensboro to Atlanta! I could barely move in there!

So, this is Atlanta? It doesn't look as big as I thought it would....

More pics ASAP....Jenn

2007-03-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

Hola!

I have to be quick because it´s after 11pm and I have to be downstairs by 6am to get an early breakfast and then go to the airport and go to Cusco. And I have to pack my stuff for Cusco tonight! We may not have internet access in Cusco.

Please pray for all of us on the mission team as we are going to be going from sea level to very very high elevation in a short period of time. Please also pray for me b-c I have packing issues and I am only supposed to bring my carry on bag--which is a bookbag--and we will be there 2 nights, I think!

We will tour Machupicchu (spelling?) on Friday. We will visit two orphanages while in Cusco--one orphanage for girls tomorrow and another for boys on Saturday morning. Aso, I am leading our devotional on Saturday morning. Please pray that I will share what God wants us to hear that day. It is going to be sad to have to say goodbye to all my new friends from my mission team and the Buckner Staff.

Anyway, today we visited Hogar Reyna de la Paz in the morning. It is a home for single moms and their children. The moms were as young as 11. This is a home run by nuns. It was very nice and had very beautiful gardens all over the outside areas. One of the girls in our group had a baby who was only 12 days old. I had the privilege to hold little Justin Timberlake (that´s what his mom said his name was) in my arms for several minutes. How awesome! I have pics, but alas, I can´t yet upload them! These little moms seemed to be learning how to take good care of their kids. I can´t imagine what it would have been like to have a child when I was a child as young as some of these girls! Many of them seemed to be pretty easy going about it. I was pretty nervous as a new mom when I had Joshua--and I was 26!

As a mom, I could tell that babies and kids were starting to get hungry during our visit. No problema for these moms! They simply nursed their children. I think it is wonderful that they felt no shame in giving their children the nourishment that God made within their bodies. Some of the men (and women) were a bit taken aback by it, but I see it as a beautiful portrayal of God´s provision and care for us.

We had a delicioso lunch today at a nice restaurant called Grand Azul. We were served warm bread, salads, the Peruvian version of Rotisserie (spelling) chicken (delicious!), grilled and skewered Anticucho (cow and-or chicken hearts--I didn´t partake of those today but I did eat a whole skewer of beef Anticucho last night at dinner), Papas Fritas, and a dessert that is like a doughnut that looks like a big onion ring served with honey. I drank Sprite and Agua. By the way, if you come to Peru, make sure to order your agua "sin gas"--unless you like sparkling water!

This afternon we visited Aldea San Ricardo, a sibling home in Chosica with over 100 children who have been removed from their families´ homes for their protection. We had a big group of children. Many of them called me "Jennifer Lopez!" She is very popular here. I was asked to share my testimony when it was time for the VBS portion of our group´s activities. I haven´t really done this much in public before--especially in front of children..so I was a little hesitant. But God led me in the direction He wanted me to go and He gave me the words and a message that many of them could relate to. I am thankful for our awesome translator Julie who helped the kids understand my testimony. She is a very gifted, loving and beautiful Drama teacher..and she really makes the gospel come alive! Almost all the kids in our group raised their hand to say that they wanted to accept the regala (or is it regalo?)--the gift--of salvation!

During the shoe selection part of our time with our group, I was able to help find new shoes for a precious 2 or 3 year old little boy named Jesus (pronounced hay-zeus). At first I couldn´t find a pair to fit him. One was too big;another was too small. But I found a whole other selection to choose from and I found some that were just right for mi amigo Jesus! He was a sweet and smart little boy. I was told that he couldn´t really talk because he was missing part of the top of his mouth. The lady who told me showed me but I can´t translate into words what it looked like. Little Jesus and I had a good time playing around while I put his new socks and shoes on his little feet--and afterward. He kept pointing to the other shoes and saying "zapatoes"! ( I don´t have a clue how to spell the Spanish word for shoes so I just wrote it how it sounds) I would laugh and tell him they were mucho grande. I was trying to tell him they were too big;I think he understood despite my incorrect wording.

Well, I didn´t want to have to leave little Jesus. I don´t know his family background or what will happen to him now. But I told him about Jesus. And I hugged him and held him and played with him and kissed him. And he gave me some sweet little kisses on my cheeks, too. I had Julie explain to him that I had to go but that I love him and Jesus loves him. And I will remember Jesus of Chosica, Peru.

The experience of taking off an orphaned child´s dirty little socks and shoes and replacing them with clean, new socks and good, sturdy, nice shoes is not like anything I have ever experienced. It reminds me, as I think about it now, of Jesus washing his disciples´ feet. Jesus was loving them and serving them--just as I was loving and serving little Jesus today.

I cannot adequately describe to you just how awesome it is to be able to go into these children´s homes and bring and give children shoes and socks and other items to meet their physical needs AND to also be able to meet their spiritual needs by telling them about Jesus. In addition, we let them know we love them and play games with them and give them the affection that they are so often starving for.

This summer, WBFJ listeners will have a chance to buy shoes to donate to Buckner International´s Shoes For Orphans Souls project. I can tell you that these shoes will go to children who really need them. And they will get more than shoes and socks--they will get the chance to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and to know that God loves them and that people who live in the USA love them and care for them. They will be hugged and loved and prayed for. Buckner´s in-country staff will follow up with them, too.

So, please start praying about our upcoming shoe drive. I want WBFJ to collect MUCHO shoes--good quality , sturdy, nice-looking shoes that we would buy for our own children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews, etc! I want the orphaned children who receive our donated shoes to know that WBFJ listeners care about them and want to help meet their needs. Go online to www.buckner.org to find out more about this wonderful ministry. And when you buy shoes to donate to this project, please pray for the child who will receive them. You can even put a note in the shoes for the child who will receive them. They really enjoy that! And they love pictures, too! I can´t wait to share my trip photos with you! And if God so leads, I would love to return to Peru with my husband Joe (who knows quite a bit of Spanish) and with any WBFJ listeners who would like to experience the blessing of ministering to ¨the least of these¨ and share your love and God´s love with these precious children under the capable and caring leadership of Buckner International´s staff.

:) Chau!
Jennifer

(So much for this being quick--tis now after 12:30 am here! I don´t want to get up at 5 or 5:30am!)

Thanks for your prayers.

Another Good Day in Peru

2007-03-21T03:13:00.000-07:00

Hola!It has been another wonderful day of ministry, excitement, interesting food, etc here in Lima, Peru. We visited two boys´ homes today--both for kids who had been living on the street. The boys at the second home were older and had drug addictions. We met lots of sweet boys at each home. There was one super sweet little fella at the first home named Bryan (that´s not how he spelled it, but...). He is 10. I got to help put his new shoes (donated by someone during a Shoes For Orphans Souls shoe drive in the USA) on him. They were really cool and fit him well. He had a big huge beautiful smile on his face! I got some awesome pics of me and him but I have no way to upload them yet!

Anyway, at one point I gave him a big hug and he hugged me back and neither of us wanted to let go. I told him Te amo y Jesus te amo--I love you and Jesus loves you. We had a time earlier during which members of our group (Orange--the radio representatives) had shared their story of coming to know Jesus with the kids--and also read them a story and talked to them about praying to God. Julie, one of our AWESOME translators who is a Drama Teacher, was really expressive and dramatic in her translations. Most of the kids understood quite a bit about God and Jesus and the Bible, actually! :) And little Bryan now knows that God loves him, Jesus died for him and there are Americans like me who love him and care about him.

I learned later that Bryan is a true orphan. His parents died a few years ago in a car accident. Also, he was adopted somewhat recently, but was then sent back to the Boys Home. A sad fact, but Bryan has hope. I could see it in his smile. And I could feel it in his hug. It was a blessing to be able to show him affection.

Speaking of showing affection, the goodbyes here at the orpanages are very hard. We all wish we could stay longer. I wish I could hug and hold each one and tell them that they are special and that God and I love them. But the goodbyes are also very sweet. The custom is to say "Adios" or "Ciao" (pronounced "Chow!") and then give and get a hug with one arm and give and get a kiss on the cheek. Some of these little guys today didn´t want to let go.

There´s more to tell but I need to go to my room and get ready for bed. I am already being told to be at meeting places at least 5 minutes before everyone else is told to arrive. :( I´ve done well the last couple of times. ;)

Beunos Noches!Jennifer(A little boy named Isaac at the first Home we visited today called me Jennifer Lopez)

PS-stay tuned to WBFJ or check out www.wbfj.fm for more info and reports on my trip!

2007-03-18T19:35:00.000-07:00

Hola from Lima, Peru!

I am at the Colon Hotel in Mira Flores where it is hard to figure out how to use the internet. There is no light in here and so the computer screen is very bright and hurts my eyes. And the mouse keys are backwards from how they are at home.

Wally-- i just called joe and forgot to ask him to call you''sorry! It is hard to do the uppercase letters here-the keyboard is different, so sometimes i´m not bothering with them.

Today we visited the home for girls who were rescued out of prostitution. I made a new friend named Thalia who is 14. She has been at the home for 2 years. Can you imagine what kind of person would pay to take advantage of little girls? Several of the girls had babies or young kids and they were beautiful. Thalia kept coming up to me and finding me and wanting me to come with her for different things. I was able to help her with her new shoes, too. That was a blessing.

The Colon Hotel is rather nice. I need a reminder sign in front of me about not putting paper in the toilet, though. (Yes, you can not put paper in the toilets here. You have to put it in little trash cans beside the toilets. And not all the toilets and stalls have TP in them. There is a sign in el bano in my hotel room but it is behind the "WC" so --out of sight, out of mind!
Speaking of El Bano, I need to go there, por favor.

I have taken lots of pics but I can´t see if there is a USB port on this computer or not. I think I´ll go to El Bano and get my glasses and flashlight and see what I find out--when I come back to the business computer room, I mean.

As far as food, I had breakfast at the hotel this morning. I had some pancakes with syrup that tasted like honey, some scrambled eggs (not as good as Joe´s) , coffee, orange juice, cantaloupe, some other kind of fruit, etc. We ate lunch at a traditional Peruvian buffet restaurant. It was good. I tried lots of different foods'--even a bite of grilled beef heart served on skewers! We had dinner at a very nice Peruvian Chinese restaurant overlooking the Pacific OCEAN.
This is an awesome experience so far. Thanks for your prayers!
I´ll write more when I can see better!

Beunos Noches/Ciao!
Jennifer

2007-03-12T05:53:00.000-07:00

This month I will be travelling to Peru to represent WBFJ on a Shoes For Orphans Souls mission trip with Buckner International. (www.buckner.org)

This will be my first mission trip as well as my first trip outside the USA requiring a Passport. So, I had to get a Passport. That was pretty easy to do after I called my mom to confirm her and my dad's birthplaces. Good thing I did, b/c I would have gotten my dad's wrong! He was born in Petersburg, Va--not Hopewell like I thought! I knew that mom was born in Buffalo, NY!

Well, I hear that South America is lovely--but there are some risks in going there.

YIKES! I don't want any-colored fever and I needed my Tetnus/Diptheria booster, so one day last month I went to my Doctor's office for that. And the next day (2/16/07, I think) I headed to a place I just recently learned about--The Passport Health office.
Tonya, the Clinical Nurse Manager, talked to me about the various health risks of visiting the areas of Peru where I'll be travelling. She had a HUGE map in her office to help us visualize my trip.

Ultimately, I decided to cover the basics including Typhoid Fever, Flu and Hepatitis A&B. Here is a lineup of what I was about to face. Tonya was working on preparing the 3rd shot off camera. (The biohazard bin kinda looks like a Red Hat in this pic. My mom is in a Red Hats group in Hopewell, VA! I think Tonya is a bit young for the average age of Red Hatters, anyway. )

1,2, 3 sticks and then 3 bandages for my "boo-boos". My son Josh wondered why I didn't get "cool" bandages like he uses. Why, indeed, Tonya?! Perhaps those are reserved for minors.
(Not pictured: my 1 boo-boo on my right arm from the Tetnus/Dipth. shot I got the day before.)

In the bathroom after my shots, I reflected on my experience. No tears! Even though my hair was pretty flat. I'm growing it out to cut 10 inches of it off to give to Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. They meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Check out www.locksoflove.org

After all those shots, all that talk about SOUTH America and needing to learn some Spanish, and since it was so close to lunchtime, I decided I would jump on into some more trip prep-work by going "South of the border" to the nearby Taco Bell drive -through to get my lunch. (I didn't see ANY rats!) I only wonder if I can work my working lunch into my reinbursable expenses.(I do not advise eating Tacos while driving. It is difficult and messy and unsafe--even though I was driving my hubby's car and didn't have to shift gears. Of course, being safety and CLEAN-conscious, I did most of my nibbling at the stop lights and back at the station.)

I will be blogging about my trip from Peru from time to time. So check back and see how things are going. And I'd appreciate your prayers for me, for the others making the trip, for my husband Joe and son Joshua and for the orphans the rest of the team and I will be blessing and ministering to on this trip!

My son Joshua and me My husband Joe

Rejoicing in grace and in the opportunity to share God's love in Peru,
Jennifer

Labels: Preparing for Peru-time for shots
originally posted by JennB on my other blogsite @ 7:43 AMMonday, February 26, 2007

Heading Out Soon

2007-03-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

Stay Tuned for updates from Jennifer and her trip to Peru!