And then there were two...

The girls woke up to the doorbell ringing rather early this morning. Parker got food poisoning last night and spent it vomiting his stomach out. Lindsay stayed home sick as well (from dehydration though, not food poison). I (Elli) came home early from the work site too. That left Leah and Roonie...
When we arrived at the work site the door was locked and Jorge was sitting on the sidewalk curb. We learnt that the Dad to the family had died the night before. The whole family was at a relatives "watching over" the body. Hand in hand with the neighbours we walked up to the house (in what we affectionately call "Thief valley" ) to pay our respects.
It was definitely interesting. The coffin was up on a stand on the dirt floor with a white Jesus statue and a fake Bible. In Peru the family will "watch over" the body for about two days, crying at random and drinking. Although they weren't drinking when we were there, there was crying. From what we know of the Dad, he was an alcoholic who abandoned the family, only to come back once in a while to yell at the kids. It really wasn't a good situation. His five kids (from this woman at least) are still alive. They are really sweet and generous kids. It was hard for us to seem them putting on a happy face for us. There are actually a lot of things amiss with Peruvian funerals. Sadly, it is very surface-y and religious. I had a deep impression of hopelessness from being there.
According to Leah and Roonie, half of the roof was placed, which is good.
The afternoon was basically a write off for most of us, laying about trying to feel better. I can't say that we really do...
You can pray that we get some HEALTH. That would be lovely. As well, please pray for the family that has lost their Dad/husband/son. Pray that they would not turn off their hearts and become bitter. We hope that somehow they can get an impression of a better life, of a future hope for them. Thanks for reading!
Elli (Team Peru- no way)