Check out the Gospel Fly fundraising idea

Thanks to a God given acquaintance, we have come across a beautiful fundraising idea to benefit our program down here in Peru. My friend Rocky makes and sells something called the Gospel Fly (a small pin with the picture of a fishing fly). The Fly is based on how the bible asks us to be “Fishers of men.” The pin is helping spread the gospel to other people –it makes a good conversation starter as well.

Rocky has offered to donate to us all of the proceeds from this fundraising opportunity. Each fly, if you purchase just the pin by itself, costs $2. There are other ideas as well which vary in prices. When you make a purchase, just make sure that you mention:

I am purchasing this for the People of Peru Project, POPPYS House fundraiser.

The money that we raise will go towards to girls fund –this goes towards girls needs, supplies, mobility money, etc… Everything you need to know you can find on his webpage. If you have questions, let me know. For more information, please check out his website at:

http://www.snowcrest.net/rbemis/gfly.html

Summer School Ends

Summer school came to a close with a giant final for each girl –Chuckle, they thought they could escape tests by being on break. During their academic summer we had classes, Monday through Friday, on English, Math, Geography, Music, Bible, Health, and Communication in order to assist our girls in advancing their education. In order to bring it all to a nice close, we gave them a comprehensive final. The girls which scored well on the tests, 70% or higher, were rewarded by being taken swimming and then out to eat downtown.

We place a high importance on education. We want our girls to realize that through their studies, they can do whatever they want. Dreams are definitely achievable. Our girls have a beautiful opportunity by being apart of our organization, they can receive a university education if they choose. Two of our girls told us thank you when on the first day of math class this last week, a surprise exam was given and they both received the two highest scores. Hopefully all these little steps will help them not just to realize their goals, but achieve them.

Here are some of our primary girls working away on their final.

Here are the girls (Rosany was asleep in the tree house) on the fiesta day. Lisa, far right, is pregnant by the way and expecting in July/August.

Decorating Cookies

My mother, Becky, sent us down some cookies to decorate for Valentines Day. Long story short, they somehow did not make it out of our room, and here is why.

It was a fun party in our room though. And, for the record, the cookies tasted wonderful.

School Starts: A New Sheriff in Town

School started this last week. It all developed without too much time elapsing. Normally, school will be said to start for example the 15^th, but truly will not start until the last of the month. This year, it was said to start last Wednesday, but actually started this Monday (not too shabby).

We have complained frequently about the poor quality of education at our little rural school and the lack of order. Kids have been able to come and go as they please all throughout the day and spectators allowed to sit along the tops of the walls surrounding the school property. Teachers sit and chat outside well after class has started. We were not looking forward to another school year that devalued education. We had a wonderful surprise in the afternoon…

A new vice principle is in charge of the high school students. She knows she has a huge challenge ahead of her, breaking old habits, but she is starting aggressive. The side doors remain locked during school; no one goes in or out without her approval (which is very strict), if you need something, come better prepared next time; no loitering, for teachers and students. Upon seeing some spectators sitting up on the walls, she immediately yelled at them to get down, saying we didn’t need any more gallinazos [local buzzards that feed on rotting carcasses] hanging around. She has been cracking down on the rules –to our glee and student’s dismay.

Hearing such legend, I, Kelly, went to meet her personally. She personally attended to me at the door, clearly ready to direct me away if I didn’t have a good reason to be there. She was happy to discuss the new plans for the school year. There are mostly female teachers now (which is good down here in this macho society). Her view is that school is an educational institution, not a daycare. In this first week of school, only a handful of students showed up, but whether with five students or 30, the teachers reviewed old material and used all class time to teach. I wanted to hug her, but held my composure. We now feel much better about the upcoming year, with actual plans to educate. WE LOVE HER!!!!

Vespers

This last Friday night we, just about everyone apart of our organization, went over to the Blood family’s house for vespers –the Bloods, a family of 6, have been here for a few months volunteering for the organization. It was a pleasant evening involving a worship, singing, games, and food. Everyone seemed to have a good time and it was great seeing everyone, not just us at POPPYS house, under the same roof.

Here we have Kevin, Keyla, and Tara.

Here are all of our girls and boys along with Tara and Amanda.

A Cockroach Genocide

I have always read about cockroaches being a problem, but I have never experienced that problem. Where I lived in the States, roaches were not a problem. Now, where we live, roaches are EVERYWHERE. They truly multiply faster than bunnies and live through just about everything (I have personally put one in the microwave for a few minutes, and I swear it loved it). Our kitchen seems to be a hotbed for these nasty bugs. They get into everything. They are everywhere. It seems to no avail, no matter what you do, they come back.

(Here is a photo of two trained assasins)

We decided to bomb the kitchen (this is the third time), and sadly due to a weak chemical, there were no visible deaths (none died). We then went through with some aerosol chemical, killing any little creature in sight. Hundreds met their death. We did well, but not good enough. Throughout the whole process however, we were able to do a nice, deep, thorough clean. We turned our kitchen inside and out trying to kill and then clean every little hole. If anyone knows of a fool proof method for getting rid of roaches, let us know.

Here is our kitchen, torn apart, sitting inside of our dining room.

Marieta receives a new house

Thanks to a buddy of Casey’s, Greg, a neighbor is receiving a much needed house. Greg came down this last week, and with some donations from his students back in Florida, he was able to put on a new roof, extend the house back about 10 feet, and put some nice wooden sides on. Projects down here seem to always take longer then planned, but thanks to some help, our girls included, we were able to finish the project in a week. Marieta, ourselves included, are extremely excited for the time, energy, and fundraising that Greg and his students did. We were able to give her a new roof, 3 rooms, a table, lights and electrical outlets. Here are some photos of her house during the construction, and now all finished.

Here is the beginning of a new roof. The house was actually extended back about 10 feet.

Here you can see the roof, along with the siding, coming along.

Here is Greg figuring out a window.

Inside shot of the house. You can see her vaulted ceilings. It turned out really nice.

She received three nice rooms, along with a stellar hallway. Thanks alot Greg!

Fun times with Tara and Amanda

Two girls from the States have been joining us recently doing activities with the girls. They have focused all of their time on forming relationships with the girls, and introducing them to some fun and creative activities. The girls have been coloring, doing screen prints on t-shirts, painting their finger nails, dancing with glow-sticks, and a few other things. It is exciting to see volunteers come down and devote their time and energy into just the girls. The girls adore it too. Thanks Tara and Amanda! Here we have, from left to right, Kelly, Vanessa, Amanda and Tara.

Here the girls are decorating some t-shirts. They turned out awesome. They also made some cool tie-dye polos.

Here the girls painted their finger nails, then went on a dancing spree with glow sticks at night.

Check out those shades

Just like always, Marcos finds ways to be adorable. Here he is sporting some stylish shades belonging to Princess.

Here are Princess, Kelly, and Marietta sporting some shades from another era. No one could keep from laughing while having those sunglasses on. I hope this is not a new style…

Alright, so they convinced me to take a photo with Kelly. We got some hysterical looks from the locals as we drove through town...

Sucia and Leo

Our dog, Sucia, and our squirrel monkey, Leo, have a very special relationship. Leo is stinky and annoying, but he is cute. He doesn´t have a cage (and will never be welcome to sleep in a room) so he sleeps with Sucia at night. He likes to ride on Sucia a lot, as long as his favorite people aren't around. Sucia is a good sport and takes it well, considering it is a burden on her. Here is a shot of them napping together.

New Puppy

Bobby. He is ever faithful to us and ever fierce to other dogs. He is our protector and guardian. However, he is getting old. He still wins most fights, but in reality, he only has one good canine tooth left. We lovingly refer to him as Bruce Willis, for he is tough, always wins, but is getting a little old.

So, we went on a quest searching for our next guardian dog. Our other dogs are small and protective—great doorbells!—but they will never win a fight with other dogs (or with a bad human, for that matter). Down here, owning a dog is guided by a completely different philosophy than that which guides a typical city/suburban American home. We want a dog to be able to tear apart every other dog on the street, and possibly any bad intruder who sneaks onto the property at night. Well, we could not find a male just yet, but we were fortunate to have a kind soul give us a female Rottweiler puppy. Her name is Lolita (and she is la cholita sin colita).