July in Peru

It's winter here in Peru, and we have gotten out our fleece jackets and warm socks! Some days have been mild, but others are freezing and bleak!  We have had lots going on, as usual.  One thing that never changes here, is that things are never the same!  

A few things that have been going on this month....

This weekend is "Fiestas Patrias" for Peru, which is their Indpendence Day.  To celebrate, Luke and Sam's school had a program.  I'm sure all of the songs were very patriotic, but unfortunately, I did not recognize them. 

Despite the difference in culture, kids are the same everywhere!  Some have a lot of expression, some are crying, and some (like my Sam), look like they would rather not be on stage in front of all these people!  

Luke taking part in a traditional Peruvian indian dance.  

I love that they have all of the children serve the adults at the school parties! 

Marcus started off the month working as a translator for a few days in Cajamarca, a mountain city about 6 hours from here.  First Presbyterian Jackson, MS was there for their annual mission trip, and this is what Steve Hill had to say about the week, "After one week of our medical/mission campaign in Jesus and Cajamarca we saw their doctors serve around 1,366 patients and their VBS team shared the Gospel with more than 700 children in 4 schools and two cities. Peru Mission supplied 9 translators for this task. All told they left the fragrance of Christ in more than 2,000 lives here."

We loved having Dr. Glover, a surgeon from Jackson, MS work with Marcus and Julton in the clinic for a week in July.  He  was able to do minor procedures in the office, and was a big encouragement to the community of Wichanzao.  He also was a huge encouragement to our family, and we were sad to say goodbye!

Our most recent team from Christ Covenant Pres in Hernando, MS.  They worked with cell groups of Cristo Rey church, worked in the medical clinic, and worked on the construction site of the church and future clinic in Parque Industrial.  I was able to go work with them one day, and use a shovel myself!  They were a great team, and we appreciate their friendship and their hard work!

This is the future medical clinic in Parque Industrial.  For now, one of the clinic doctors comes to work in this area once a week, but they are working towards providing more consistent medical care to this impoverished community.

The hole that was dug to hold a cistern for water to serve the clinic.

with my friend Julianna, Pastor Percy's wife, in front of the little church in Parque Industrial

These children were wandering around the work site, and one had a terrible fungal infection on her foot.   She was taken to the medical clinic for treatment, while the older sister stayed behind caring for the other little ones.  Pastor Percy was able to find some shoes for the little girl.  Their mother was in another neighborhood working in a restaurant, and they were on their own.  The little boy second from the right had dirty clothes on, with no diaper, and when we asked if he could be taken home and changed the older sister replied that there were no diapers or clean clothes at their house.  Thankfully someone found some wipes and was willing to give up their clean t-shirt for this little one.  

Parque Industrial

Miriam and the ladies from the Wichanzao church who cook lunch each day for the visiting teams

Baked Oatmeal

This recipe is one of our absolute favorite breakfast foods, thanks to my friend Candace for sharing it with me!  She told me about it before we moved to Peru, but I didn't try it until we got here.  I make it at least once a week, mostly because I have to cook something almost every day for breakfast.  Here, cereal is really expensive unless you buy a sugary kind, and there aren't quick breakfasts to buy - no muffin mixes, bisquick mix, canned biscuits, frozen biscuits, no Sister Schuberts, instant oatmeal, etc.  So, I've learned to plan ahead to cook something, or at the very least get up and fix toast and eggs.  Maybe we are starting our days a little healthier not having processed foods, although some days I do miss convenience!


Baked Oatmeal (from AllRecipes.com)

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 
  
• 
  
• -Preheat oven to 350 degrees F 
• -In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Beat in milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• -Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.

The original recipe says to had craisins, but we don't add them.  Enjoy!

Pursuing Our Goals

By God's grace, in the last 6 months we have seen a lot of progress in the medical clinic here with many new patients and several additional services - laboratory, dental, and now ultrasound.  The most important factor is that peoples lives are changed spiritually, as a result of being cared for physically.   We are so blessed to play a tiny little role in God's plan for these people, and in giving them a little bit of hope. 


The big question that our friends and family keep asking us is "how much longer will we be here in Peru?"  To be honest, we don't know an exact answer to that question and are certainly praying for clarity.  We are very certain that God knows, and day by day we are trusting Him for guidance and wisdom.  We also know there is much more work here for us now, and we continue to build relationships on a daily basis.   To complete our work here through the remainder of 2011, we need to raise additional funds for our family and the medical ministry.   Our goal is to leave the clinic as self-sustaining as possible.  For this reason we are making this appeal and praying for the Lord's blessing.  Our goal is to raise an additional $20,000.   This amount of money is to cover our family's monthly living and ministry expenses, as well as expansion of services of the clinic.  

-Please Support our Family:

1. You can give monthly to our support account.    

2.  You can give a one time gift.

          To give to our support account you can make a donation online here or by mailing a      check written to Christian Missionary Society  with "Ueltschey Family" in the memo line.     A check can be mailed to:  

Christian Missionary Society

PO Box 53363

Knoxville, TN  37950

-Or give to the medical clinic to the following needs:

- Medicines - right now the pharmacy in the clinic is in need of restocking basic medicines such as tylenol, ibuprofen, blood pressure medicines, etc.  

 - Lab -  instrument needed for chemistry analysis, repairs needed for microscope

- Dental clinic - scaler needed for dental procedures

All of these things we can buy here in Peru, which logistically is the easier thing to do, but funds are needed for these items.  

To give to the medical clinic donate online here by designating your donation to the medical ministry.  Or mail a check made out to Christian Missionary Society with "Medical Ministry" in the memo line.  

All donations are tax-deductible, and we are very grateful for the support of our friends and family that have enabled us to work here this past year.  The needs are great, but our God is faithful and good!

"Truly, I say to you, as you did it for one of the least of these my brothers, you did it for me." Matthew 25:40

Happy 4th from Peru!

Thankful for the day of celebration with our American friends here in Peru, as part of our weekly Sunday afternoon lunch and worship.  Marcus stationed the grill cooking hamburgers and hot dogs, and we had great fellowship and food.  Afterward, all of our husbands headed to Cajamarca, a city in the mountains, to work with a visiting medical and dental team from First Presbyterian, Jackson, MS for the week.  

Daily Sighting

This man was treated by a doctor in the medical campaign last Monday, and was so grateful for the quick diagnosis of Bell's Palsy (and free medicine) he came back on Wednesday to say thank you. Here he is with our short term team coordinator and team administrator, Alleen McLain. We are grateful to Alleen for making all of this work possible, so that so many people here in Trujillo can be cared for, sometimes with a life-changing and eternal impact.

A View of Trujillo Through Video and Journalism

We were blessed to have a group from MS College to visit in May to do a story about the medical clinic, all because Marcus is a graduate of MC.  It was great fun to spend time with Tracey Harrison, Robbie Followell, Marlo Kirkpatrick, and Ethan Milner and we appreciate their hard work in putting our story together.   They really were coming to Peru to do a story about Grace Bateman Greene, who also is an MC graduate and started Peru Paper.  It is such a blessing to have some great photos and video of the things we see day to day, and we are thankful they took the time to come visit!   

Here is the link to the article that was written about Marcus and the clinic in the MS College Beacon:  


MC College Beacon: Doctors Without Borders


A link to the videos:


Doctors Without Borders
From Physical Care to Spiritual Care

The story about Grace Bateman Greene is so inspiring, and we are so thankful to know her and the ladies that are part of Peru Paper.   Here is the link to her story: 
http://www.mc.edu/beacon/feature-stories/peru-paper


A video with a look around our city, Trujillo, Peru
Exploring Trujillo, Peru


Another video I love about the ladies of Peru Paper:
What Good Is It, My Brothers and Sisters...


There is no way to watch this without tearing up... these ladies are so precious, and are so grateful for the work they have through Peru Paper.  To order or find out where they are sold near you, check out the website at https://www.perupaper.com.

Daily Sighting

Nila checking out the new sign to advertise for the new ultrasound machine at the clinic!  There is a lot of excitement in Wichanzao that this service is now offered in the area.  Here, ultrasounds are used for testing a variety of medical problems, as it is more cost effective and easier to have an exam by ultrasound  than CT scan.  

Happy Father's Day

Today, I am very thankful for this man

and this one too

My dad and I have a little inside joke about calling each other "a good person", and certainly I feel that way about my precious dad and my sweet husband.  But the most important thing about saying they are "good"  isn't really that they are filled with goodness, but that they both have a love for Jesus Christ and serving Him, and that is where the goodness comes from.  I am so thankful to have a husband and a dad who have been willing to do so much more than necessary in caring for a family, but to be spiritual leaders for us and show us a glimpse of God as our Father.  What a blessing for our family!

And here are some photos from the Fiesta de Padres at Sam and Luke's school this week.  They had a  little program, snacks, and games.  From what I hear, they all had a great time, aside from a few tears that Sam shed when he was on stage.

Allen Smith and his daughter Mary Allen.  I just noticed Marcus and Allen look kind of like twins that day, but I'm sure they didn't plan to!

Banana Pudding

• Thinking about what to cook for a Father's Day dessert, I decided to try banana pudding. This recipe is from my friend Ginger, but it also makes me think of our friends the Sara and Brad when we have this, because Brad likes his banana pudding without the bananas.  Then it makes me think of Candace, who uses the Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding recipe from Paula Deen, and it is mighty good, too!  

• 
  
• 1 box vanilla pudding
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup milk
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 1 container cool whip
• 1 box vanilla wafers
• bananas
• 
  
• Mix the milk and pudding mix.
• Mix the sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, and cool whip.
• Stir together with the pudding. 
• Layer with vanilla wafers and bananas.
• 
  
•  Now, I've made banana pudding plenty of times in Mississippi, but I have not made it in Peru.  Sometimes finding ingredients here is not easy, but I thought surely I could make this work.  And I think it worked - but this is how:  I had to make my pudding homemade.  They do sell packets of vanilla pudding here, but, evidently there is a problem right now with the pudding company and there was NO vanilla pudding mix in Plaza Vea (our store sort of like Wal-Mart - except the check out line takes ten times longer, I PROMISE).  The homemade pudding was not difficult and turned out just fine, and was easier than going to the other grocery store to look for the pudding mix.  We don't have a car - so a quick trip to the grocery store really isn't possible.  Then I had to make my own sour cream, because they don't sell sour cream in Peru.  To do this, you mix heavy cream with vinegar and let it sit for a long time and do something scientific.  Then, there is no cool whip, so I whipped heavy cream to make the whipped cream.  They do sell some little packets of "chantilly" that you can make sort of like cool whip, but the cream is better.  And they don't have vanilla wafers either, but I used a similar cookie that is very pretty too.  And actually, I didn't have to be the one to make the sour cream or the whipped cream, because we have sweet Taylor living with us this summer, and I taught her how to do that part.  I'll write about her later!  Just a little info on how I cook here!

Daily Sighting

Lydia, Sonia, Senora Teodocia, and Marcus

One of Marcus' patients invited all of us for lunch today, as a way of showing her gratitude for being cared for by Sonia, Lydia and Marcus in the clinic.  They were able to provide her medical care for little cost and helped her pay for treatment in a local hospital.  We were served cuy, a Peruvian delicacy (aka guinea pig).  It was actually quite delicious and a special treat to spend time with her family.  Please pray that Teodocia and her family may come to have an understanding of the gospel and know Christ as their Savior.