Peruvian politics are complicated

Warning: for those of you who dislike politics and history, stop reading now!

On this day, April 5^th 1992 then president Alberto Fujimori turned Peru upside down. At 10 pm on that Sunday night he dissolved both houses of congress and shut down the judicial system. Using the military, he arrested many senators, congressmen and judges who opposed his political party. The next morning, he proceeded to take control of all media outlets, newspapers, radio, and television. Journalists who had spoken out against him in the past were put on house arrest and he confiscated their computers and notes. Once he controlled the media he used it to smear congress, falsely accusing them of drug trafficking, prostitution, and corruption. Peru lived under his rule for 8 years until 2000 when he fled the country and resigned via fax. During his rule he embezzled over $600 million US dollars, used the presidential jet to smuggle coke out of the country, oversaw forced-sterilization of 300,000 indigenous women, and used the military to conduct mass killings in an attempt to rid the country of the Shining Path terrorists. Today he is in a prison in Lima dying of cancer.

Here is where things get crazy.

This Sunday are the elections here in Peru. His daughter Keiko Fujimori is running for president, and is the favorite to win. Why? Well the people still like her dad. Through his auto-coup he brought financial stability and rid the country of the Shining Path. He accomplished this through his mass killings and by using American aid to arm the peasants to fight the Shining Path. Now the peasants love him, I would too if he gave me free guns. In Peru it is mandatory that everyone votes, so the peasants get a big say. The good news is that Keiko will most likely not receive the 50% majority needed to secure the presidency and there will be a run off between the top two candidates. The question right now is who will get second? It is a dead heat.

There are currently ten candidates running for president. When we arrived in Peru in January there were 17 but seven have dropped out or been dismissed by the election board. It is a new law this election that candidates can not pay voters, until now it was legal. And it seems candidates are having trouble with this law. My favorite was Cesar Acuna, when he was accused of plagiarism while in college he seriously said “it’s not plagiarism, it’s just copying.” When he was removed from the election for paying voters he didn’t even argue it. The election board is suspected of corruption as well.  Keiko’s top competitor was banned from the election due to improperly filling out paperwork but when a video surfaced of Keiko personally giving an envelope of cash to a supporter it was overlooked by the board.

So here is a rundown of some of the current candidates:

Alan Garcia- The two-time former president is best known for 7000% inflation, crashing the monetary system, letting the Shining Path run roughshod over the country, and lowering the per capita annual income to $720. Even in 1989 that is hard to imagine. 

Alfredo Barnechea- He is a close friend of Garcia and many claim he is only a puppet of Garcia.

Gregorio Santos- Currently he is in prison for corruption during his time as governor of a district. While in prison he ran for reelection, and won. Now they are holding his governor position until he is released. They let him out of prison last week for a couple of hours so he could attend the presidential debates.

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski- The 77-year-old is very rich. While serving as minister of energy and mines under Alan Garcia he contracted all the government mining projects with… his company. He is also known for selling certain minerals to Mexico for 10 cents a ton and buying it back for $10 a ton, while receiving kickbacks.

Veronika Mendoza- She is currently in a dead heat for second with Kuczynski. She is running on the socialist platform. She wants to increase government spending 50%, withdrawal from free trade agreements, and rewrite the constitution.

On top of all of that the Panama Papers showing tax evasion, drug trafficking and money laundering, has ties to almost every one of these candidates. No one here is surprised by that. 

Overall the whole thing is a mess. On Sunday many Peruvians (10%-15%) will purposefully incorrectly fill out their ballots in protest. Many of those who want to vote correctly still don’t know who they will vote for. I spoke with a man on the street the other day who said he is voting for Santos (the guy in prison in case you forgot). When I asked him why he said, “he is corrupt, but less corrupt then the others.” That is what Peruvians are looking for: the least corrupt candidate. 
 Please pray for Peru this Sunday.

Gran Responsabilidad

This morning I went to a men’s breakfast for the men at our church. I was so nervous. The language barrier is still intimidating.  When I arrived I was relieved to see some German friends from my school. Even though they don’t speak English it felt comfortable sitting with someone I knew. We were served soup and bread, a common breakfast here and the soup was onions, tomatoes, fish and lots of spicy stuff. I like spicy stuff but it was strong enough that I had trouble eating it and I worked up a good sweat.

The most interesting part was after breakfast we had a bible study. It was lead by the pastor of our church Pedro. Of the 25 men at the breakfast I was one of the youngest, most of the men were 50 and older. For the study we read a passage and answered questions about it. But I was surprised by the basic nature of the questions. What is the context of the passage? Who does the passage say Jesus is? What are important things in the passage we should imitate?

Why were the questions so basic? Here is some background: 40 years ago some of the first evangelical Christian missionaries came to this area. They began to teach about Jesus and the bible. The first Christian churches were started. Even 20 years ago there were few Christian churches in the area and most of the churches were small with less than 50 people. Even though Peru has a Christian presence and Christian churches this is a relatively new thing.  These men at the study were not born and raised in the church. They don’t know all the right answers. Even if they came from the Catholic tradition reading the bible is discouraged here. There is still a need to teach basic doctrine to these relatively new believers.

Denominations are not important here. Where there are denominations it causes confusion among the believers. There is no time to argue about which translation is best, what songs to sing, or what clothes to wear. People need to know about Jesus. They need to know that faith in Jesus is more important then attending mass on Sunday. They need to know a relationship with Jesus is more important than sacrificing guinea pigs or idol worship. The church is growing here and the central focus is to share the gospel, and teach about Jesus.

As I discussed earlier this week in school with my Spanish professor he told me I have a gran responsabilidad (important responsibility). Because there is a huge need for sound biblical teaching here. It is a reminder: we are going to Yurimaguas to work with the Shawi people, to help feed children, to help with pregnant women and to teach agriculture; but more importantly we are going to share Christ. So as Christians lets focus on what matters; sharing Christ with a lost and dying world. Es un gran responsabilidad.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then, can the call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”      Romans 10:13-14

                                                                                                                               Josh

                                                                                               

Easter weekend in Arequipa

Some highlights from our Easter weekend here in Arequipa, Peru.  Thursday and Friday are national holidays and so we all enjoyed a four day weekend. Thursday we went to the Plaza de Armas to take in the sights and sounds from the catholic culture, which included a reenactment of the crucifixion in the main plaza with thousands of people watching. 

 

Afterword the people walk from church to church in the downtown area stopping at each church to remember an element of the passion and to recite prayers. Outside of each church are many food venders cooking on the streets and people selling cotton candy outside the church entrances. 

Henry enjoyed the candy apples people were selling. They were good but dipped in hard cinnamon candy and difficult to bite. 

We also watched this awesome street performer working during the red lights.

On Friday we spent an evening with two other American families playing games, talking, and watching movies. 

On Saturday we went to a big mall on the other side of town to play glow in the dark pirate putt putt golf and take our picture with the Easter bunny.

The best part of the weekend was worship Easter morning at our church, Cristianos en Accion.  Followed by lunch and fellowship. Here is a sample of the worship, the video is poor but do you recognize the audio?

Chicken feet and poopy grass

It is amazing how quickly we adjust to our surroundings. Things that were strange to us seven weeks ago are now normal and we don’t even notice them. I was so proud of my wife the other night at a restaurant. We were eating a chicken soup and she spooned up a whole chicken foot out of her bowl. She quietly pulled it out, set it aside, and continued eating the soup. I became nervous at the sight and went digging around in my bowl and found a foot as well. I also set it aside and continued to eat. It was good soup. 

The children have adjusted to the new normal very quickly. I have been a little slower because I am old and stuck in my ways but also because I tend to question everything. It is fun to ask why we do what we do. Why do we wash our dishes in warm water? Why is that man selling pieces of toilet paper on the street? Why are there five dogs on the roof of that house? Why don’t we have any water when it rains? Why are there guinea pigs grazing in that person’s yard? Why are the parks watered with sewer water? Why is there a foot in my soup?

But the questions are good. They lead to some interesting answers. For example, why do we wash our dishes in warm water? In Peru we always use cold water to wash the dishes, or the laundry, or sometimes ourselves. What does the warm water do? It doesn’t sanitize. It has to be over 180 degrees for that. It really doesn’t help get things cleaner as I have found out. In reality it is a waste of water, energy, and money.

Now I am not saying that the way you wash your dishes is wrong, what I am saying is maybe we should rethink things. Why do we do what we do? It is a healthy question to ask but sometimes difficult because usually the answer is “because that is how I have always done it.”

Arequipa is basically a desert. So I wondered how all the parks are so green. I asked my professor and he explained. (All was in Spanish so I am fairly certain this is correct but only about 90%) Well all the parks are watered with sewer water using gravity. The ground has a natural slope and each park has an entrance and exit from the sewer. Workers open the entrance and plug the exit with rocks or trash or whatever and the entire park floods. The sidewalks are built about a foot higher than the grass so you can still walk through the park. Once the park is flooded the worker opens the drain and plugs the entrance and presto! green grass. 

At first I was appalled by this but the more I think about it the more sense it makes. It is water and natural fertilizer for the grass; it is less wear and tear on the sewer treatment plants; and it is free. It also keeps people off the grass. (except our children of course)

In general we are adjusting but I continue to ask why. I continue to reexamine what i am doing and why. We should not only reexamine our lives but also our faith. Why do we do what we do? Why do we go to church on Sunday? We do we celebrate Easter? Why do we carry on traditions? Jesus himself condemned the Pharisees for this saying “you have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions” Mark 7:9

Again I am not saying any of this is right or wrong just I believe it is healthy to ask why and search out the truth. The truth is in God’s word not in our traditions. 

                                                                                                                     Josh

Back to School Shopping

I should start with the disclaimer that I have not gone back to school shopping in the states since I was in school.  However, I think even if I had, this experience would still be at the top of my list of must culturally different experiences thus far.

Everyone said to go shopping at San Camilo, the main market in Arequipa, for back to school supplies because they are the cheapest.  Everyone also said not to be there past 5pm as it is not safe for foreigners.  One friend had mentioned it took her 5 hours to get the supplies on the list.  That alone should have made us wait until another day but we were in the area (which is a taxi ride from home) so we went.

First, the list was quite long - the front and back of a piece of paper per child.  I had gone over the list with my dictionary at home first and still there were many things I didn't understand.  I had also revisited the school and asked if all of this was required since my children will only be in school part of the year.  She graciously crossed several things off the list.  Later, after going through everything I bought, I realized that when you send your child to school here, you are required to provided ALL the supplies.  A back to school list in the states for a preschooler might contain some pencils and crayons but you largely expect that your tuition covers the supplies (copy paper, toilet paper, craft supplies, etc).  That is NOT the case here.  Your tuition must cover only salaries and facilities.  You provide EVERYTHING else.  That alone was one huge and unexpected difference.

Secondly, the shopping experience was SO different.  The store is pictured above.  It is 2 aisles that you can barely stand 2 people wide in.  Behind the counter are the employees and all the majority of the school supplies.  I took my list to the counter and she began to look things up in the computer and create my "order".  We discussed what some items were, how life is different here, the young gals life story, etc while she entered the items into the computer and advised me what additional things she thought could be crossed off the list.  Nothing was priced and no prices were mentioned although I'm sure if I had asked the price of each item she would have told me.  That would have only extended the 1.5 to 2 hours I was already at the counter.  And I would have had no idea if those prices were fair or not here.  A package of 12 markers costs about $6 here - outrageous to me but I have asked in several stores since and it's the same everywhere! 

Meanwhile, Josh is standing outside the store with the 3 kids because there isn't room inside.  We were obviously an anomaly as many people stopped to look, chat, or take pictures.  Josh got to practice his Spanish with the security guard who was shocked that we lived here and were not tourists.  Josh got the impression that if we were tourists he would have told us that we should be leaving the area as it was approaching 5pm.  Josh and the kids also explored the market.

After completing my order, she sends me to the cashier to pay and says that it will be ready in about 1.5 hours.  Not expecting this but not wanting to have wasted all that time and have to do it again another day, we agreed and went to find some dinner while she proceeded to gather all the things we'd ordered from behind the counter.

We returned about an hour or so later just as she was finishing up.  Then they called me to the pick up counter where the woman proceeded to go through my ticket and put items into boxes for me as she checked to see that they were all there.  This process took another 45 minutes at least.  Finally with 2 large cardboard boxes, a large roll of poster board, a stroller, and 3 kids, we head to the street (with the help of 2 ladies from the store - bless them) to get a taxi home.  By this time it is well past the safe hour to be there and the women (and God) were looking out for us.  They helped us hail a safe cab and get loaded up.  

Once home, Josh carried the boxes up 4 flights of stairs to our apartment.  I then had to go through the material and label everything with the kids names.  The following day, Josh had to carry everything back down, and then we had to get a taxi to take us to the kids school (about a 5 minute walk) because there was so much to carry there was no way we'd make it walking with 3 kids!

The adventure continued when we arrived at school and they sat down with us and the list they'd given us to make sure we'd bought everything we were supposed to and they made a list of whatever was missing that we needed (some things had not been available at that store and I thought others were excessive).  God was gracious and so was the director of the school as she crossed off many of our missing supplies that the poor teacher spend 45 minutes making because the kids will only attend until we move to Yurimaguas.  That only left about 4 items I had to go to other stores yet to find.  The director of the school is a lovely woman whom we're grateful to have met and has been so gracious in working with us through this oh so new experience!

While back to school shopping was not what we'd expected, we survived, and we're all excited for the kids to start school tomorrow and be immersed in the Spanish language.  

~ My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19 ~

                                                                                                                               ~ Jennifer

The Difficult Road

The road to Yurimaguas is difficult. This is true in the figurative sense but I was intending the literal. It used to take eight hours or more from Tarapoto and the nearest working airport but since they paved the road it only takes three. Yet it is not a fun three hours. Tarapoto is in the high jungle located in the foothills of the Andes and Yurimaguas is in the jungle jungle, so the first hour and half of the drive is up over a mountain. To describe the road is difficult but it is basically left followed by right followed by hairpin repeat forever. You know it is bad when the locals get sick on the road, which is very common. It probably didn’t help that I had a big lunch before leaving Tarapoto. We were not supposed to have lunch in Tarapoto but our plan was delayed due to heavy rains… it is the rainy season. So there I was sloshing back and forth in the back seat with two other people, window down, hot, getting sicker with every curve. I thought it was all over and I was going to loose my lunch when a lady in the car said something in Spanish that must have meant “pull over quick.” And off she dashed into the forest. Man was I relieved to get out of that car and stand up for a while. As I was looking into the deep forest I noticed a humongous ant crawling on a leave. It was bigger than my thumb and much bigger than any other ant I had ever seen. Joseph Tice was traveling with me. The former farm director spent two and a half years in Yurimaguas and grew up in Panama, so I asked him about the ant. He said “I am not sure, I think it is a 24-hour fever ant, but I have never seen one that small.” That small? We asked that taxi driver and sure enough it was a baby 24-hour fever ant. They are aggressive and if they bite you, you get excruciating pain for 15 minutes followed by a fever for 24 hours. Bienvenido a la selva. Welcome to the jungle.

It was so good to return to Yurimaguas. It was great to see Susan and her five children. It was great to see the Hogar and the staff that serve the women and children there tirelessly. But I had traveled to go to the farm with Joe and learn from him. The farm exists to serve the Shawi. Assisting them with ag development and spiritual development. There is a conference center to train Shawi pastors and to disciple men. There is a kitchen to cook meals for the conferences and there is even a house for the men to stay in while at the farm.

The main reason I went was to learn about the ag development program from Joe, who had returned for a visit. It is difficult to grow things in the jungle. The soil is pour. The heat is relentless. The rain is unstoppable. And the pests are more unstoppable. Vampire bats love to attack goats. Flesh eating maggots are tough on cows. Leaf cutter ants can strip a tree bare in a couple of days. A flock of parrots can destroy your corn crop. Neighbors help themselves to the fish pond. This is definitely not Indiana.

I learned so much in my three days with Joe. He is a wealth of information. Somehow despite the difficulties he was able to have successes at the farm. Introducing cover crops and composting and improving pasture.

As usual I am in over my head. But that is not always a bad place to be. I know how to ask the dumb questions, how to seek advice from experts, and when to admit I am wrong.

But this whole post is simply a reflection of our spiritual journeys. The road we walk often seems impossible and just when we think we can’t take it anymore; God gives us what we need. Sometimes it seems there is danger around every corner, something is always out to get us, we are in over our heads. But that is when we grow because then we are willing to seek help, to find a mentor, to turn our cares over to God.

May the Lord keep you humble as you walk your dangerous roads.

God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. –James 4:6

                                                                                                            ~Josh

It's not right, it's not wrong, it's just different . . .

Life in Arequipa has proved interesting.  Henry was playing propane tank delivery man today, something he never would have played in the states but has experienced twice in 2 weeks here.  (Our hot water and stove are gas which are run from propane tanks similar to those of a gas grill.  They are delivered (up 4 flights of stairs) and installed within about 20 minutes of calling for around $10.  Josh and the kids have enjoyed observing life from our 20ft glass wall across our dining and living rooms.  Here are some of our observations in no particular order.

1.  The trash men come 3 times a week.  You know they're close because they play a little song (similar to the ice cream man!) so that if you haven't gotten your trash out you know to run it down quickly.  This is very exciting for our kids (not new to Peru, they loved when the trash man came in Indiana too and often knew what day of the week it was by his arrival).  The kids can watch them from our wall of windows.  The men sort through all of the trash and separate out what we assume to be recycling.  This is especially noteworthy since all of our used toilet paper goes into the trash.  Not a job I would want.

2.  Eggs are not refrigerated here.  Neither is milk which is sold in a box.  However milk sold in a bag (difficult to handle yes) is refrigerated.  I'm not sure how I feel about milk that doesn't expire for 6 months.

3.  It is currently what is supposed to be the rainy season here right now (January - March).  However, last year during the rainy season it forgot to rain.  So far this year there hasn't been any rain either.  It literally hasn't rain here in over a year.  It is sunny and around 70 degrees everyday.  People here think it is cold.  They often wear coats and hats.  I'm frequently told that I need to put more clothes on Maggie.  Many people here complain that the weather is always the same.  I think it'll take awhile for me to get tired of it!

4.  Maggie is an anomaly.  They love her blue eyes.  Most women and even some men swoon over her.  I am often wearing her in the carrier on my chest but that doesn't stop anyone from kissing her.  She has been kissed by more strangers than I can count and if I were charging for photos taken of her we wouldn't need financial support from the US!  Of note, Lucy and I also have blue eyes but no one is swooning over us so there must be more to it than that. 

5.  We have a security man who patrols our neighborhood.  Most neighborhoods in our area do.  He blows his whistle several times hourly at what appears to us to be random intervals.  Trust me, Josh and the kids have tried to figure it out but to no avail.  While Josh was trying to determine when and why he would ask what time it was each time the whistle blew.  Now Josh has given up on figuring out any rational to it but every time the whistle blows (which is often) Henry yells, "what time is it?".

6.  We asked the kids when we arrived in Lima to look for things that stood out to them as different in this new culture.  Lucy immediately noticed the car horn honking and asked why they honk so much.  Here are just a few meanings of a car honk:  get out of my way, go faster, I'm passing you, do you want a ride, hello, notice me and what I'm supporting (presidential race is currently in full swing), or I just feel like it for no apparent reason!

7.  It seems there is a park around every corner.  Some are just grass.  Some have equipment. Some have a soccer field.  A few interesting things about parks.  Most are locked.  You have to ask the security guard from that block to unlock it if you want to enter.  Also, for the most part, grass is not meant to be walked on, just looked at.  (I guess they do have a lot invested in it since they have to irrigate to keep it green - and by irrigate I mean literally flood the area with a hose every so often.  This of course is a great breeding ground for mosquitoes which love to bite Lucy and I.  Since I didn't know this the first time went to the park I wore capris and had 48 bites on just 1 of my legs.  Needless to say, we now wear long pants and long sleeves when we go to the park and we tend to choose parks that allow you to walk on the grass,not just look at it.

 ~ Jennifer