When I imagined visiting in Peru, I expected a lot of what I'm experiencing now: The cold showers, the hot weather, the difference of culture. But in my mind, since it was a capital city I kind of expected it to be mostly westernized, with small comforts of home, people here and there who speak English, things that would make it an easier transition. And I was kind of right; Miraflores is the part of the city on the coast, the part that is mostly touristy, with the large expensive stores and the big beautiful parks...and since many of the tourists expect English, most of the people working in and around there speak at least a bit of English. But I didn't get over there until day 4. For the first three days of my trip, all I saw was inner city - downtown, what they call El Centro. I saw a bit of Rimac as well (The old city, with the colorful buildings), and I got sucked up in the vibe of downtown. It was so tough because, I couldn't figure out why I had started out here! And there are so many things that got to me, the small things at home that I take for granted everyday that I am suddenly finding myself without. Staying in a dorm with people who also don't speak English, in a city that is always loud and is always moving - there is no place to go to be alone, to be in silence, to cry, or just pray - but at the same time feeling SO alone. And it got to me so much that today I woke up absolutely hating this place.
I've never been somewhere like this before. Other times when I traveled, alone or with others, I've always soaked it in. And there are things, for sure. But it's so easy to get stuck on the things that I'm missing and feeling like I can't catch my breath.
Today Jesus reminded me of a few things:
There's a reason He directed me here, to the inner city. When I was walking around Miraflores, the richer, touristy area of the city, I noticed the behavior of the locals. They were serving tourists, going to University, studying at coffee shops, hanging out at the park - it was literally like walking around Edmonton. And it felt off, like for some reason I actually was excited to go back to the beat of the car-horns and whistles, like I was actually getting used to the flow of the city. It's such a fast pace down here that I can hardly keep up, but at the same time the people move so fast that time seems so slow, and the days go by like weeks. I've seen more in 4 days here than I saw in Europe in two weeks, which is insane - so much that I can't even write about it all (Unless I actually write a novel)!
Mainly I want to update you guys on two big things: Jesus moving, and Food, because they're both so good.
Every time I start to feel alone, or down, or super uncomfortable, it's almost like He uses that to dump these huge revelations of Himself into my lap. I always heard the saying that discomfort breeds growth, and it's actually annoying how legitimate it is. The first day I was here, I saw a
man sitting on the side of the walkway with a hat out for money. He only had half a face, because the other half had been burned off by some sort of fire or acid or something, and it went down his body and his arm. I remember feeling so overwhelmed with compassion for him and like I needed to pray for him to be healed, but I had so much anxiety about the fact that I didn't know enough Spanish to actually pray for him or encourage him. And I didn't realize how much stock I put in my words. Here, at home...So much of my obedience has been about going and speaking to someone, praying for someone so they can hear and be encouraged, or just giving people encouragements. And I do realize there is power in encouragement. So I told myself that I would go back to my hostel and learn the words to say, and if I saw him again THEN I would pray over him.
I did see him again, the very next day. I went and sat beside him, put a few coins in his hat, and silently prayed over him. We didn't talk, there were no words, but people who had previously just walked by him started noticing and coming over and giving him money and words of encouragement in his own language, and I just sat there. I was so overwhelmed by how much this man was loved by God - I could literally feel it, so much so that I wanted to just weep, so I touched his shoulder and just told him that Jesus loves him. And He lifted his head and looked me straight in the eye, took my hand, and shook it, and put his head back down. And then I left.
Guys, I put so much stock in words. But that moment is probably one that I'll never forget, where he just looked at me. He didn't say anything, I don't even know if he could talk, but it didn't matter, because He felt it, and I knew, and that was all I needed to be there for, to sit beside a guy whose name I don't even know, and be present.
Today, I went to a church in Miraflores. It was one I had stumbled upon so randomly on facebook, and I really didn't know what to expect. But the minute I got there I was met with people who were SO kind, and so welcoming; a 19 year old girl that I didn't know was on the worship team who came over to where I was sitting alone so she could pray for me, introduced me to a bunch of English-speaking missionaries who live here in the city: one of whom translated for me, and the other who works with kids close to where I'll be when I live here who wants to have coffee and girl-time. And the worship - the worship was in Spanish, but the words were in both Spanish and English and they sang a lot of the songs that we sing at home, at Gateway Family. And it felt like home. There was power there, and even though I always knew in my head that God wasn't just a local God from home that travels with us, but I think today I actually realized that He's the God of the world - not just mine, not just belonging to our little Gateway family, or Edmonton, Canada, or North America - everywhere. Going to a place that has no reason to feel like home, and feeling like He resides there just like He does at home, it clicked something and I got a glimpse of the knowledge that He actually has a plan for me here, interwoven with other people here that He loves so much. I 'knew' that, but I actually
understood that today for a moment. And I knew the timing was perfect, because I woke up today feeling like I was done, like I didn't want to go through the trouble of pushing through the culture shock and just give up - I didn't even want to go to church, because I felt like there would be a language barrier and I was just tired. And then today happened. And I feel full, like today gave me the reminder and the eye-level adjustment because while I was sinking Jesus caught me by the hand and said 'it's okay, just re-focus your gaze'. And tonight is the first night I've had the dorm all to myself. There's so much I'm grateful for in being here, and it's hard to remember that in the quick pace. So maybe a good thing that tomorrow is my last day before I hop on a bus and explore Cusco for a bit. I'm excited to come back here though, so that's a good start ;)
Alright, two minutes for Food:
Food is good. Huge portion sizes, but I think it has so much to do with the culture - food is an experience here. At home, we're so used to eating small portions of stuff so we can stuff it in our face quickly for energy and go along with our day. But here, it's like the portions are designed to keep you sitting down for the maximum amount of time, because there's noooo way you're putting all of that food away in 5 minutes.
And it comes to you in courses - it doesn't matter where! You go to a tiny place and pay 8 sols (like $1.50 CAD or something ridiculous like that) and they bring out a giant appetizer (ceviche, mmm) and then a HUGE entree, and a big pitcher of fresh squeezed pineapple or papaya juice, and sometimes dessert. And that's just lunch. Crazy. What is super interesting is how much they know about the food they eat. I went on a tour of the market, and the guy was telling us about how each fruit and vegetable and even each type of fish has a purpose in the diet. For example, granadillas (the orange thing in the pic, we have them at home) are really good for easing digestive issues.
And a fruit called a tuna (pink inside) is good for some stomach problems, there's one for fever, and one of the green vegetables is good for helping with weight loss and thyroid stuff. And that's how they decide what to eat. They eat food because it helps heal them, and it provides nourishment - where a lot of us just count our calories and decide what to eat based on our cravings and only eat food because we'll get hangry without it haha.
Anyways. That's my two-cents, I have no other wisdom ;) It's still hot, it's still noisy, and it's still different...but I'm still here.
Love you guys! Be well.
-B. <3
