The Arrival

Well I made it, I am actually here-Lima, Peru; my new home for the next year and a half. We arrived on Monday night, all our flights were on time and comfortable, well as comfortably as 8 hrs on a full flight can beJ. It was nice though, each of us had our own T.V. screens where we were able to choose whether we wanted to watch movies, tv episodes or just listen to some music. I chose to watch movies the whole time: X-Men 3 the origins: Wolverine, Star Trek, and The Soloist; really helped the time to go by quickly.

When we landed, in true Latin American style everyone hopped out of their seats and rushed the aisle as if it were life or death who is able to get off the plane first; while we three lowly US’ers were left to wait for a chance to get our foot in the door:). So we jointly decided the best plan of action would be to sit back, relax and wait. Once we got our luggage it was a lottery draw through customs who gets to put their bags through the scanner…and…I got chosen :). Anyway, we got through customs with no problems and met our Local Coordinator Hugo Mejia right outside baggage claim. The Capuchin hospitality is incredible and stretches way across borders both geographically and relationally. All the people that I have encountered from Chicago to Milwaukee and now here have been nothing but genuine in kindness. We are lucky volunteers to be able to say we are part of CapCorps.

On our way to Ciudad de los Niños the evening we arrived Hugo drove us along the coast for most of the way and giving us a little introduction to the layout of the city. A city it is, this place is huge! We are located in a barrio (neighborhood) called San Juan de Miraflores, not to be confused with another barrio called Miraflores; completely different. Before we arrived at la Ciudad Hugo drove us around the perimeter. The whole complex is protected by cement walls. In the beginning they had some 300 acres, but now it is down to 50 acres. Much of that land they use for the residential piece and the school while other parts of the land they rent out to other companies or organizations.

Before I came I knew almost nothing about how this place worked or even what it was made up of so here is the skinny on la Ciudad, hopefully to clear up some of the fog of where I am. When I was describing where I my ministry to people I would just say that I will be living and working at a boys residential school. My impression was that it was all boys in both the residential part and the school part, that isn’t all true. There are two parts to this compound all of which was founded and sponsored by the Capuchin Friars. There is al Ciudad where about 350 boys ages 3-18 live and then a school, Padre Illuminato, where about 1,000 kids study; the kids are both boys and girls. The vocational aspect of this place is only for the boys who live at la Ciudad, not the other students.

I don’t know much or anything about the school part but the residential part I know a little. I know that there are nine houses that the boys live in. These are split up into the different age groups and have adults who live there full time. In three younger houses are two to three females who live there, the three middle age houses have a couple who live with them and the three older age houses each have a friar that lives with them. I am in the oldest of the younger houses. The boys are between the ages of 8-12 years, and there are about thirty of the little rascals; and rascals they are, I tell you what. Each of the houses generally has a playing field for soccer of course, a study room, the sleeping porches, bathrooms, a clothes closet and that is about it. They eat all their meals in the cafeteria starting with breakfast at 6:30 am each day to lunch at 1:30 pm and dinner between 6:30 and 7:30 (this depends on the age group).

La Ciudad has like either 350 or 3500 hens. I know that is a huge discrepancy, I just remember being wow’d by the number and I am wow’d by both those numbers; so just know they have A LOT of gallinas! (When I remember correctly or ask I will fix that:).) They also have one of the largest male pigs that I have ever seen which includes all the swines at all the fairs that I have ever been to---he is a really big pig. They didn’t have a name for him so I decided to name him Peter, which in Spanish would be Pedro; either one works. We were told that Pedro has fathered many little piglets through the last few years.

Every other weekend the boys leave la Cuidad and stay with family, and on the off weekends the family can come and visit them at la Ciudad. When it is a weekend for them to leave they (I think, this is the general idea I was able to put together) head out on Saturday at around noon I believe and then return on Sunday between 4-6 pm. The schedules for the weekends are different than that of the week. Breakfast is at 7 instead of 6:30 and lunch is at 12:30 instead of 1:30, then dinner is the same. The only group prayer time on the weekend is on Sunday evening there is mass for everyone; as opposed to during the week there is prayer each evening at 7pm.

That I think is the basic low down on the logistics of this place, I will be writing again to let you all know what I do and how my first week has been so far:)! Love you all!