Derrick and I arrived yesterday with no real snags. We prolly could have done a bit more research on hotels and neighborhoods. We stayed in Central Lima at a $350 per night room set in the middle of a horribly impoverished area. Protest marches have left the streets covered in rubble and it is clearly not a safe place for Westerners at night. The Sheraton bar will have to do. Good thing too because a walking the city and visiting several museums has left us wiped.
One major stop was to the Church of Santo Domingo where we learned about Saint Martin de Porres. He was the first black saint in the Catholic Church. Canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII, perhaps this is a good sign of change. Barack Obama is gonna need all the help he can get! I’ve attached a photo of de Porres holding a broom. My initial reaction was “We get a black Saint and he’s the MF’n janitor?!?!?!†Born the illegitimate son of a Spanish Nobleman and a former slave from Panama, de Porres was the patron saint of mixed races. Gobama! So pious was he that once when his order was strapped for cash he had asked them to sell him into slavery. He was known for taking in the injured and ill. Often being reprimanded for offering his own room to strangers in need of medical attention. Starting hospitals in Peru, his miracles included spontaneous remission for many sick people. Give Thanks! I dropped one of Otto’s cards into a chamber holding a holy relic from de Porres and it landed face up.
The real work is being completed by James Chippendale and Shannon Foley. They are meeting with health and travel officials to finalize a plan to help educate the countryside. Doctors in rural communities are unaware of the free treatment options available in Lima. I hate to think how many people have gone untreated unnecessarily. Lots of work to be done.
We look forward to hanging with the crew tomorrow night in Miraflores. See the www.Peruocks.org site for more photos and details of today.