Well, following nearly 3 months of spanish lessons, i am now considered competent to be officially let loose full time to speak to the Peruvians. I had a Spanish exam last weekend and passed it..wahoo!!…although i only got 51% and needed 50% to pass…so the saying ‘skin of your teeth’ comes to mind!! ..so I am now able to get more involved in the projects that I came here for – CORASON, an afterschool kids club in a poor community in Cusco, hospital visiting and children’s home visiting, although, I have been doing this for a few weeks now as I go on a Saturday morning, so did not interfere with school!!
The hospital visiting is the thing that proably has the most impact on me…i wish i could say it was the other way round, but there are so many needs there, it is hard to see that I can make any difference!…But actually I am realising that I need to focus on individual needs rather than the bigger picture, and that playing a game or just chatting with a child who is scared and unwell and sometimes without their mum or dad there, makes a HUGE difference to them. There are so many sad situations, but people here are so resiliant and somehow cope with any situation thrown at them. It is great to be able to go in to a ward and put a smile on kids faces, just by giving them colouring sheets and pencils or playing connect 4 with them! These children are often in pain, scared and sometimes confused by what is going on..it is so sad..what is even sadder is the kids and parents who only speak Quechua…this is the old Inka language which is still vastly used in the countryside outside the city. For these people, communication is so difficult as the hospital staff generally do not speak it and they do not supply an interpreter like they do in the UK, so kids and parents have no idea what is happening to them, or how serious a situation is, or if they are going to get better!! Myself and Jenny Brown are looking towards doing some basic bible teaching and talking about Jesus to some of the children in the hospital aswell, as most of them will know nothing of Him or even have heard of Him….again, there are huge limitations here with the Quechua kids as there is very little bible material in Quechua, so we are going to have to think moer about that! Today I heard of a very sad story where a one year old child in a Quechua village became unwell, and the mother believed he had been given a bad spirit by a dog when it barked at him, so instead of taking him to the hospital, as she was advised, she went to find a witch doctor to clean him of the spirit. Sadly, and unsurprisingly, this did not help and the little boy died!…Apparently this is so very common in these villages!! So terrible!
So, everyday, I am challenged when I see such distressing situations, that I feel bad when I complain about a bit of homesickness…God wants me here for now, so, this is where I will stay and just try and help these people in anyway I can…no matter how small!!!
jendoesperu 
Hi Jen, What an amzing update. I am so proud of you to achieve so much with your Spanish in so short a time. Your news about the hospital and the local villages takes me back there but I remember at the childrens’ home how we were able to bring smiles to the children. We are praying for you and i am so encouraged by your so positive attitude. You were so definiotely sent there by God and i pray he will use in great ways in your last few months. Give my love to all the Mums and children. Lots of love jackie xx
Well done Jenny, I had no doubt that you were able to do this. Everytime, I read about the hospital or the home my heart breaks and I wish that I was still there. One of these days perhaps. I am still praying for you and all the lovely people of Peru with a special thought of the lovely Browns. Hang in there . Xx
Wow you are doing a great job there! I can quite understand how the big picture can be overwhelming, focusing on the individual is definitely the answer and you are so good one to one. As for the Spanish; a pass is a pass! And you PASSED. You are not going to want to leave come September! But we are all looking forward to seeing you. Keep trusting His grace is all you need. Steve