Sometimes the best moments come when we least expect them.
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Sometimes the best moments come when we least expect them. The shopping for food and presents for the children of several Cusco orphanages was exhausting and chaotic, but of course, very rewarding. Actually, every day for a week was rewarding, providing 750 pairs of shoes for needy indigenous people in the Sacred Valley, organizing the spring dental mission with Dentists Without Borders ( OSF), financially assisting Sister Rosa with her Choclotada in the highlands, etc. Then one day we decided to visit Antonio Seca Seca and his brother, Illario, and his sister, Pillar. We had first met this family of twelve brothers and sisters, several nieces and nephews and a single, alcoholic mother residing in a one room house without plumbing, heating or electricity in Huancauro, one of Cusco's poorest barrios several years ago while working with a Peruvian NGO. Our hearts broke when we realized how desperate they were for blankets, food and medical attention. Over the years we have happily provided bags of groceries, shoes and coats, and have taken several of the children for doctor and dental visits.
We decided to surprise the family and early one morning went to MegaMart and purchased bags and bags of groceries. We hired a taxi, the driver telling us it would be six soles ( the equivalent of $2 ) because it was quite a distance to this particular street in Huancauro. George, in his typical humor, said "Well, we won't give you six, but how about seven?" the driver smiled and said that that would be more than fair and off we went with the groceries, t shirts, caps, backpacks, hygiene products, and small toys. Unfortunately the Seca Seca family had moved and no one knew exactly where they were, just that they were still in the barrio. One and one half hours later, we were still searching for the family!!!!! Beto, our determined taxi driver would not give up. We traveled up and down streets, mud lanes, slippery hills, stopping every block or so, hoping someone would lead us in the right direction. No luck! Then we saw two boys, about the age of Antonio and Illario, who said they knew the brothers and would show us the way. They hopped into the cab, and again, off we went. We drove into an unimaginably poor neighborhood and saw two boys looking down a small hill from their adobe one room hut.......Illario and Antonio!! Two hours later, and there they were, waving and smiling and running toward us. I told them "Tenemos comida para tu familia" (We have food for your family) and smiles covered their faces from ear to ear. Pillar, it seems, has gone, no one could tell us to where, as had all the other siblings and babies, it is now just the two boys and their mother. The hut is equally horrible, no utilities......two twin beds and a small table with bottles of herbal concoctions and a plate of cooked sliced potatoes ( the only food I saw). The boys were digging through the bags and were thrilled with the fresh fruit and panatone (sweet Christmas bread). They thanked us and hugged us and quickly started eating. Our mission was accomplished! We told them we would be back in March. We piled back into the taxi and back to downtown Cusco, a ten minute ride. How had it possibly taken us two hours??? We thanked Beto a hundred times, for his determination, his kindness and his understanding. George presented Beto with a tip equal to his generosity. We both decided it had been the best day of the trip, that God had rewarded us with smiles and hugs and a new friend, Beto !
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