Soy Renegona

“Soy renegona.” “I am a person that gets angry.”  A phrase I hear a lot here.  Without shame, they explain this fact about themselves to me.

              In front of me was Maria a 19-year-old single women who was coming to me for the second time.  Her last visit, a year ago, I treated her for Gastritis/Reflux.  She explains that she got better with my treatment and now is with the same again.  I also try to address lifestyle causes, but the second time I try even harder.  She explains to me that she’s a person that get angry.  I glanced at the part of her chart that lists the religion that she claims: “Evangelical.” 

              Many doctors, including Christian doctors, feel that you shouldn’t tell your patients what to believe or what religion to have.  But I haven’t found anyone solution in my life to this problem.  So we talked.

“Why do we get angry?”

“Because….”

And she gives me her list.  There’s always a list.  Especially here.  We get angry and we worry because there are things we are trying to change that we have no control over.  In the moment that we realize that we have no control we either feel angry or worried/anxious.

In the world of science and medicine we know that people who worry and get angry (i.e. Type A people) live less years and suffer more health problems.  So what am I supposed to do?  Tell my patients, “don’t worry. Don’t get angry.”?  That’s it?  Right.  You have to give them another option if you want them to stop worrying and stop getting angry.  I tell them the only way to not get angry and anxious when you can’t control situations and people is that you know and trust that someone CAN control them and IS controlling them in your favor.  The only solution I know is trusting in God, because I do not know anyone else who is in control and cares that much about us.

“But I studied so hard to get into a university and I didn’t and my friends who didn’t study did,” protested Maria.  The high school only goes until 11^th grade here.  Then they have to study for a year before they’re ready to enter universities.  David’s youngest brother, Josue, just took his exam the enter the field of psychology in a university in Lima. He prepared for a year.  There were thousands of people trying to enter 28 spots for this degree.  After his exam, David and I went on line to see if he got accepted.  On one of more than 15 lists of names we found his name.  This list was at least 50 names long.  We searched the “M”’s for his last name….and next to his name “Accepted.”  Not one other name on that page had those words.

To enter these universities, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, who you are, or what you want to do with your life…just your score matters.  I understood Maria’s anger.  But especially as a Christian it’s not acceptable. It’s a lack of faith and trust in God and his control over our life.

“Who makes a better teacher? The person who entered the university the first time who didn’t study or the person that had to study twice and only finally got in the second time?” I responded.

“The person who studies twice.” Maria quickly responded.

“Who are you to get angry at God, at the system. How do you know what God has planned for you….”

And we continued to talk about the injustice in the world.  Things a lot worst…..Danny, the 11-year-old student of David has now been missing for 3 weeks. This is the third time he’s run away from home.  The last time he said he was looking for his dad.  Danny lived with his grandparents. His mom had him and his 13-year-old sister with one dad and his 4-year-old brother with another dad.  She’s left the three of them with her parents and is living with another boyfriend and his kids more than 6 hours away.  This week Danny’s dad showed up after 7 years.  Danny’s older sister denounced their grandparents as abusive to both her and Danny (their grandparents make their money from 3 bars that the run).  She was about to leave with her dad when the Diospi School teachers and director went to the judge to complain because no one knows anything about the dad.  And her dad had just showed up for the first time in 7 years.  So Diospi is trying to find their dad work here so that Danny’s sister is in an environment that she knows and is known if there are problems.  And Danny still has not been seen in weeks….

And as we talk about trusting God and getting to know God I watch her spirit lift through her eyes.

“My mom is even worst with the same thing”---the gastritis---“But she’d not interested in God..” And so we talked about how the peace that flows from her when she finds her confidence and security in God is evident to all who are around us.  And seeing and feeling that peace creates a thirst in their life for God.

And Maria left free---no longer a “renegona.”

En busca de Danny---Looking for Danny

       El día lunes 7 de enero por la tarde desapareció Danny Solano, uno de mis alumnos de 4to grado de primaria. Desde ese día hasta hoy estamos buscándolo incansablemente, con muy pocos resultados. Durante este tiempo he conocido un poco más de su vida, sé que vive con sus abuelos y con sus dos medios hermanos, su mamá trabaja en otra provincia y solo viene de vez en cuando en todo el año y de su padre no sabemos nada (este es un caso que se ve en varias familias de esta comunidad – Curahuasi - en que los padres salen a buscar trabajo y dejan a sus hijos con otras personas), por todo lo que averigüé no hay un buen trato en el hogar para él, no sabemos exactamente porque huyo de la casa ya que fue visto dos días después por los alrededores del pueblo, de ahí no tenemos más noticias sobre él.

     Danny es un niño muy inquieto y juguetón, es el más pequeño de la clase pero el más rápido en las carreras, es un estudiante muy especial para mí ya que él el año pasado tenía muchas dificultades en el área de matemática y tenía que regresar en las tardes para reforzamientos en matemática, además participó en varios teatros en la escuela y en la iglesia. Y era un niño que estaba empezando a soltarse y a tener más confianza en Dios y en si mismo.

        Todos los que lo conocen están muy preocupados por él (familiares, profesores y compañeros de clase). La policía en esta comunidad no hace nada por este caso, solo recibieron la denuncia y la archivaron y somos todos los que amamos a Danny que estamos en su búsqueda, y cada día es más angustiante.

     Sabemos también que solo Dios sabe dónde está y rogamos que lo siga protegiendo y nos de pistas para poder encontrarlo, les pedimos todos nuestros amigos que se unan en oración.

On the afternoon of Monday January 7, Danny Solano, one of my students in 4th grade, disappeared. Since that day we have been looking for him tirelessly, with very few results. During this time I have gotten to know a little more of his life: he was living with his grandparents and his two half brothers, his mother works in another province and come only occasionally throughout the year and his father we know nothing ( this is a case that is seen in several families of this community - Curahuasi - where parents leave to find work and leave their children with others). Though I discovered that his home life wasn´t that great, we do not know exactly why he ran away from home---though this is the suspicion because he was seen two days after his disappearance  around the village. But since then  he´s not been seen.

Danny is a very restless and playful child. He is the smallest of the class but the fastest in racing.  He is one of my students who is extra special for me because last year he had many difficulties in the area of ​​mathematics and had to come back in the afternoons for tutoring in math (elementary school classes are only until 1pm and then elective classes and tutoring are offered in the afternoon).  He also participated in several skits at school and in church. Danny was a child who was starting to loosen up and learning to have more confidence in God and in himself.

All who know Danny are very concerned about him (family, teachers and classmates). Police in this community are not doing anything about his case yet other than receiving and filing the complaint.  It is us who love Danny that are searching the streets by foot, bike, motorcycle and car.  Each day that passes without seeing Danny we feel more and more distressed and worried for him.

We know that only God knows where Danny is.  We pray that God continues to protect Danny and that He leaves us clues so that we can find him. We ask all our friends to join us in prayer.

The Biology Professor at Diospi is Running for Mayor?!!! El profesor de biología en Diospi está postulando para Alcalde? !!!

So the story of the civil wedding left off with the edict hanging on the wall of the Curahuasi city hall for 8 days....

We were in Lima still so we sent Edgar, the professor of biology and chemitry at Diospi to the City hall to pick it up January 5th.  We sent Edgar, as David explained, because we needed someone who could talk circles around the workers in the City Hall.  Edgar is from Arequipa (a city in Peru), which has the same reputation as Texans as thinking they're superior and their own country.

So Edgar goes in and the worker in City Hall informs him that the document that was placed on the wall was not date stamped, so they have to start the 8 days all over again.  Edgar tried to work with them but they weren't being reasonable. So Edgar informs them that he's running for Mayor, and how things would be if he was Mayor...and then all of a sudden things start happening.  So we sent a copy of the document that we had that did have a date stamp and Edgar was able to receive the document the next day.  He sent it by bus (which is faster than their goverment postal system here) and it arrived the next day, January 7th in the evening.  We took it the City Hall in Lima Jan 8th, but they told us that then next available slot for a civil wedding was Jan 13th.  We had plane tickets to go to Cusco Jan 11th.

So we flew with my parents to Cusco Jan 11th. Set them up with things to do in Cusco until we got back, and flew back to Lima Jan 12th.

The appointment for the civil wedding was Jan 13th at 4pm.  Our two witnesses (whom we had to turn in copies of their DNI--the national ID-- in advance and we were suppose to arrive at 3:45 with our ID.  We had tried to choose witnesses who had dependable schedules.  In order to be witnesses they had to be 18 or older and have voted at all of the recent elections.  David's step dad had the day off from work and promised us that he wouldn't have to go in no matter what (even though he'd been called into work on his most recent day off), so he was one witness and his cousin who lived near by the City Hall was the other.

3:40pm and everyone was present....."Have your I.D.'s in hand" said the government worker... Machi (David's stepdad) came over and informed us that he though his ID was in his wallet, but it was not.  The house was atleast 30 minutes away.  "What do we do?" we asked the government worker.  "Talk with the Judge when he arrives..."

The government worker explained a "way out" that people have used in the past that I didn't completely understand. David explained, 'It sounds like someone else fakes the signature of the witness."  Well that didn't sound good after we'd tried so hard to be honest through the whole process.  Machi left in a taxi to get to the house as fast as possible (we usually travel in bus because it is cheaper 2 soles instead of 20 soles).  David and I walked outside of the building to pray and ask God what to do while waiting for the Judge to arrive.

The Judge arrived.  We explained the situation.  The earliest we expected Machi to arrive with his ID was 4:20 and that would be with the miracle of no traffic.  The Judge told us, "Choose someone else to stand up front with you two and the other witness during the ceramony for the pictures.  Your other witness can come until 5pm tonight or else tomorrow to sign the document."

So David's mom stood in for the ceremony and pictures and Machi arrived at 4:30pm to sign the document.  And FINALLY after 3 months of burocracy...we were MARRIED! :)

Así que la historia de la boda civil fue apagado con el edicto que cuelga en la pared de la sala de la ciudad de Curahuasi durante 8 días ....

Estábamos en Lima aún así que nos envió Edgar, el profesor de biología y química en Diospi al Ayuntamiento para recogerlo 5 de enero. Hemos enviado Edgar, tal como se explica David, porque necesitábamos a alguien que pudiera hablar en círculos alrededor de los trabajadores en el Ayuntamiento. Edgar es de Arequipa (una ciudad en el Perú), que tiene la misma reputación que los tejanos como pensar que son superiores y su propio país.

Así Edgar entra y el trabajador en el Ayuntamiento le informa que el documento que fue colocada en la pared no estaba estampada la fecha, así que tienen que empezar a los 8 días de nuevo. Edgar trató de tratar con ellos, pero que no estaban siendo razonable. Así Edgar les informa que él está postulando para Alcalde, y cómo serían las cosas si él era Alcalde ... y luego, de repente las cosas comienzan a suceder. Así que enviamos una copia del documento que teníamos que tenía un sello de fecha y Edgar fue capaz de recibir el documento al día siguiente. Mandó en autobús (que es más rápido que su sistema postal gobierno aquí) y que llegó al día siguiente, 7 de enero por la tarde. Lo tomamos el Ayuntamiento en Lima el 8 de enero, pero nos dijeron que luego siguiente ranura disponible para una boda civil fue Enero 13ª. Tuvimos los billetes de avión para ir a Cusco Ene 11ª.Así que volé con mis padres a Cusco Ene 11ª. Configurarlos con lo que se puede hacer en Cusco hasta que volvimos, y el avión de vuelta a Lima Ene 12ª.

La cita para la boda civil fue Jan 13 a las 16:00. Nuestros dos testigos (quienes tuvimos que entregar copias de su DNI -. ID-- el nacional de antemano y que se supone que llegará a las 3:45 con nuestro ID Nos habían tratado de elegir los testigos que tenían horario confiables Con el fin. a ser testigos tenían que ser mayor de 18 años y han votado en todas las elecciones recientes. padrastro de David tenía el día libre en el trabajo y nos prometió que no tendría que ir en no importa lo que (a pesar de que había ha llamado a trabajar en su más reciente día libre), por lo que fue uno de los testigos y su prima que vivía cerca a la municipalidad era el otra persona.

3:40 pm, todos estabamos presentes ..... "Ten de su identificación en la mano", dijo el trabajador del gobierno ... Machi (padrastro de David) se acercó y nos informó que  su documento de identidad estaba en su billetera, pero no estaba. La casa era de al menos 30 minutos. "¿Qué hacemos?" le preguntamos al trabajador del gobierno. "Hablar con el juez cuando llega ..."

El trabajador del gobierno explicó una "salida" que la gente ha utilizado en el pasado que no entendía por completo. David explicó, "Suena como alguien falsifica la firma del testigo." Bueno, eso no suena bien después de que había intentado tan duro para ser honesto a través de todo el proceso. Machi dejó en un taxi para llegar a la casa, más rápido posible (normalmente viajamos en bus porque es más barato 2 soles en lugar de 20 soles). David y yo caminabamos fuera del edificio para orar y pedirle a Dios lo que debe hacer mientras se espera el juez para llegar.

El juez llegó. Nosotros explicamos la situación. Lo más temprano que esperariamos a Machi para llegar con su identificación era 4:20 y que sería con el milagro del tráfico. El juez nos dijo, "elegir a otra persona a ponerse de pie frente a ustedes dos y el otro testigo durante el ceramony para las fotos. Su otro testigo puede llegar hasta las 5 pm de esta noche o bien mañana para firmar el documento."

Así que la madre de David hizo las veces de testigo en la ceremonia junto con las  fotos; Machi  llegó a las 4:30 pm a firmar el documento. Y, finalmente, después de 3 meses de burocracia ... Nos casamos! :)