Back to Peru

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to do my best to re-visit Peru. I would love to do that in person but blogging will have to do for now. So would you care to accompany me on the trip?

Our first full day in Peru was Thursday, October 27. I was awakened at 6:45 a.m. by my early bird roommates. Anyone who knows me in the slightest is fully aware that I am not a morning person. And in my books, 6:45 is early. And then we realized that Lima’s a different time zone… it was actually 5:45. So my day began with learning to go back to sleep while my roomies got ready for the day.

Fast forward a few hours and our group was on a bus with representatives from Compassion International. Compassion is a Christian child development ministry. They are best known for their child sponsorship program. Each child sponsored receives an education, healthcare, nourishing food and a relationship (through letters) with his or her sponsor. Compassion’s work is all carried out through the local church so they’re not only meeting physical needs, they’re meeting spiritual ones too.

I’m certainly no stranger to Compassion’s work, I have seven Compassion children of my own. But despite my passion for their ministry, I wasn’t sure how excited to be about the coming day. I was thrilled for many of my teammates who would be meeting their sponsor children. Unfortunately, even with seven kiddos, I don’t have a Peruvian child. So I’d be living the day vicariously through the others. Or so I thought.

After a bumpy, dusty ride through Lima, we arrived in the first village. We walked up the dirt roads and past dozens of little shacks that people call home. Before long, we arrived at the church and were given a tour of the Compassion facilities. We saw the nursery where the littlest members of this town can come to play. We saw the care packs given to all new moms and met the dedicated women committed to helping new parents learn how to care for and feed their babies for optimum health. And everywhere we went in the building, we could hear the happy voices of children at play. School here is done in shifts – half of the children go in the morning, half in the afternoon. So these kids were still awaiting their day at school.

After the tour of the church and Compassion facilities, we divided into groups to visit some of the Compassion kids’ homes. I had the pleasure of accompanying my friend Ruth to see the home of her little girl. When we arrived, we met her mother, grandmother and baby sister – Ruth’s child was in school. We were warmly greeted and made ourselves comfortable in the home. I tried to guard my facial expressions – this certainly wasn’t like any home I had been to before. The one bed (used by the entire family), living room and kitchen was in a tiny room smaller than my bachelor apartment. But as I sat on the couch, I noticed familiar makings of a home – hand-drawn crayon pictures, warm blankets for chilly nights and family photos. And one of those photos had people in it who are so very familiar to me. It was a photo of Ruth and her family.

That’s when it hit me what an impact child sponsorship can have. It’s not just providing a bit of money for a child. It’s intertwining lives. It’s relationship. And just then, we heard some excited footsteps. Ruth’s sponsor child had run home from school, beyond excited to meet this woman she knew through letters and photos.

As part of our visit, we had brought along a gift basket for the family. The basket was filled with groceries and everyday items. There were also a few luxuries – including a package of cookies. Proving that kids are the same everywhere, there was an excited squeal when the cookies were spotted. She dove right in and tore open the package. I smiled, excited for this girl to enjoy such a rare treat. But what she did next surprised and humbled me. She walked around the room, making sure that each of her guests took a cookie. This meant that half of the precious package was already gone. But she seemed even more excited to share her treat, rather that saving it all for herself. I was awestruck by the graciousness of this little girl.

All too soon, our visit drew to a close and we walked her back to school. We savoured that we didn’t have to say goodbye – the next day, we would all be going to the zoo together. So we hugged this sweet girl and sent her back to class. We returned to the Compassion project, where they were preparing a delicious lunch for us. Many of the younger children, back from school, were there to excitedly say hello to us. One little one brushed against my leg so I knelt down to say hello to her. Without any hesitation, she climbed on to my lap, all smiles and hugs. One of my teammates shot this photo:

I flipped back to this photo many times during my trip to Peru, reassuring myself that the moment did actually happen and I hadn’t dreamed it. Photos like these appear all the time in Compassion’s and similar organizations’ brochures. But I always assumed that they were posed. I am now testament to the fact that moments like these do happen. These children -  many of whom have known nothing but poverty and in some cases, abandonment and neglect – are the most loving, friendly kids I’ve ever encountered. They have such hope and joy. It certainly doesn’t come through possessions or affluence. They’re some of the richest kids in the world because they’ve found love through Compassion and most importantly, through Jesus Christ. And that makes all the difference.

I was going to save this for the end of the series but I think I should already start to add it in: please consider sponsoring a child through Compassion. Your gift of $41 (CDN) a month will provide for a child and also impact their community with healthcare, support from a church and great education. Compassion also provides opportunities for older students to tutor the younger ones – teaching them responsibility, childcare and strengthening their own educations for a brighter future. Of course, all donations are tax deductible. I would say you’ll change a life but that’s not true. You’ll be changing two – that of your child and your own.

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Destinations and detours

As previously detailed, I’m living the “in between” right now. One chapter is done (goodbye grad school!) and another will open. In the mean time, I’m filling the pages between those two chapters. And those pages are dotted with question marks. My church has graciously provided me a position in communications and given me the freedom to flex my creative muscle. And they know the uncertainty: I could be there another year. Or another week. They are obviously much better at being flexible and waiting than I am!

As I wade through the question marks, my practical, safe side weighs in all too often.

  • “What if you hadn’t gone to grad school? It’s not paying off anyway.”
  • “What if you’d stayed at your old company? Why didn’t you take the chance to do communications there?”
  • “Where did all your money go? You could have still had that!”
  • “Why’d you take a communications internship at a church? That wasn’t a good up-and-coming career choice!”

And that practical, safe side suddenly has a megaphone and the steering wheel – heading at breakneck speeds towards Negativity. Ever been there? I sure have, this isn’t my maiden voyage. And every time I’m in Negativity, I look around for the tour director, ready to insist on a refund and demand to know why we came to such a horrible place. And without fail, the tour director is always the same person. The trip was booked, planned and paid for by me. Usually under the influence of that practical, safe side. It’s always been kind of bossy anyway.

Just as I’m about to give up and pitch a tent in Negativity, that quiet little side will come out again with a word of clarity. This passenger has been there for every bump in the road but is focused, unfazed by the surroundings.

“Remember when you fell in love with communication? Remember when you realized you could use it to do something that mattered? That journey isn’t about to start – it already has! This is part of it!”

My life won’t start when I get that job. Or meet that special someone. Or lose ten pounds. Or buy a home. Or… or… or… This is my life! And I don’t want this chapter of it – no matter how long or short it is – to be defined by yet another trip to Negativity. I want it to be defined by hope and faith… and maybe even a little risk. That’s what got me here in the first place. And it’s what will keep things interesting, every chapter of the book… every destination on the journey.

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How I wound up in Peru

Hola from… well… Toronto! Internet access was pretty limited while I was in Lima so all Peru posts are going to be coming from my home and native land. But first things first… how on earth did I end up in Peru?

During my internship placement at the beginning of this year, I assisted one of the pastors at my church with a PowerPoint presentation about a trip to Peru. I pored over facts about the country, culture and hand-picked photos of Peruvian children. As I worked on the project, I thought about what an amazing opportunity this team would have – getting to see the work of Kids Alive and Compassion first-hand. But the timing just wasn’t right for me. And I certainly couldn’t go as a broke, needing employment masters graduate. So with that mindset, I finished the project and put the trip out of my mind.

Fast forward a few months to this past summer. This same pastor asked me to run some ads about the Peru trip – a few spots had become available on the team. I ran the ads and we had one person respond. That person was me.

Had the timing changed? No. Had my circumstances changed? No. As far as I knew, I would be an unemployed person with a shiny new masters degree at the end of the summer. I should be job hunting, not going to Peru. But I couldn’t get the trip out of my mind. So I filled out an application and the next thing I knew, I had airfare and itineraries with my name on them. No backing out now.

With an exciting adventure ahead of me, I should have been thankful for what I’ve designated the “in between”, that period of time between graduation and employment. I should have been overflowing with praise to the Lord about this opportunity to go to Peru. But I wasn’t. I still wanted the answer to whenwhen is the job coming, when can I move out again, when can I get on with my life? I even questioned if Peru was a good idea – I could be missing out on great opportunities while out of the country. I kicked myself for jumping at the chance without thinking rationally.

Turns out, it would take a week in Lima, hundreds of happy Peruvian children and one incredible team for me to start to see the reason for the in between. I can be pretty stubborn sometimes.

More to come…

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Grabbing life’s moments

I’ve been extremely negligent at uploading my photos to my computer lately. Tonight, I finally loaded my “new” pictures. As I glanced through the shots from the past few months, I came across this one:

At the beginning of September, I took my mom for her birthday surprise (pedicures!). After our appointments, we were getting back in my car when I noticed something hovering right in front of us. This balloon was just floating there. I looked around – expecting to see a child or flustered party planner running after it. No one.

It was just too perfect – my mom’s birthday and this balloon makes its appearance. So I jumped out of my car and grabbed it.

I love moments like that – the unexpected, tiny little moments that make life beautiful and fun. Sometimes you just have to reach out and grab them – making a memory as you go.

As I walk through my - dare I say it? – late twenties, I realize how quickly opportunities and moments can fade away if we don’t act on them. So I’m trying to grab as many as I can.

With that in mind, I’m off to Peru on Wednesday to serve kids at Compassion and Kids Alive. I’m nervous and scared – but also exhilarated at what the twelve days in Peru will hold. And thankful that God provides these moments as reminders of how good and generous He is. I hope I can reflect that to the kids I encounter in Lima.

Internet-willing, I’ll be posting from Peru – stay tuned!

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Living stories

In my various forays into the blogging world, I’ve always hit the same roadblock. The posts falter… and then they stop. Sure, life is busy but in most cases, don’t we all manipulate our schedules for something we really want to do? Coffee with a friend. The magazine that just arrived in the mail. An unexpected – but welcome – phone call. Or that addictive reality show promising “the most dramatic episode EVER”.

So why do I stop blogging? What roadblock am I hitting?

I’m only telling part of my story – and it’s hard to constantly edit your own life. My writing is always driven by the fear of “What will people think?”

That’s not to say that I’ve got some skeletons ready to burst out of the closet. Or that I’m throwing all discretion to the wind. It comes down to this:

An effective story is relateable.
Editing a story down to a “safe” version is not.

So here it is: I’m going to tell the story or I’m not. Period. I don’t want to water it down. Stories are for relating and growing together. So I’m going to tell my story and I hope in some small way, it will encourage you. Or at least make you laugh.

Let’s turn the page, shall we?

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