A Peruvian Thanksgiving

Well, I think I am long overdue for a blog update! I’ve had this post about our Thanksgiving 3/4 of the way finished for about three weeks now, but we are exceptionally busy at the church right now in preparation for Christmas and also with the addition of two new cell groups and plans for a group for the youth underway. Unfortunately my blog has been pushed to the very back of my to-do list. I figured I’d start with some pictures so you can put some names with people and places and see a bit of what we’ve been up to!

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Conclusion- it was a very delectable and satisfying Peruvian Thanksgiving indeed.

Can’t have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie.

A theatrical production to explain what Thanksgiving is all about. Clearly I am playing the part of a Native American.

Just ignore the half of the seat in this picture. This is all of us. To the left of me is Francisco, Leo, Luis, Jonas, Dora, Mark and Daniel, Anna, Sara, Lilli, Luciana, Matt, and Saraze.

A little bit of our Thanksgiving spread. At the front is Dora’s Cancha.

Jonas, Dora’s husband, bringing the wine glasses. I wish you could hear this guy talk. The Peruvian version of Ozzy Osbourne (without the whole puppy dog eating thing and other creepy fetishes).

Here is our neighbor, Dora, bringing Cancha (Salty toasted corn) to our Thanksgiving feast. Maybe I’ll ask her to show me how to make it so I can incorporate it into every Thanksgiving!

Now for the Thanksgiving pictures. This is my first Peruvian turkey. Not the prettiest I’ve ever made but certainly tasty!

This is Saraze, my dance instructor’s teacher. Her family has been so loving and welcoming to me. They are truly a blessing!

Nicole! Unfortunately you can’t make out the very innovative Pocahontas costume she has under her jacket… She is the sweetest child I have ever met.

These are Llilda’s kids- Juan Jose being the baby (I would say he is Daniel’s closest competition as far as cute Latino boys go… Daniel doesn’t seem too threatened though), Artur, and Joanna. Love them!

Me and a few girls from leadership before our non-Halloween party (note that Lilli is dressed as a butterfly). Next to me is Eli, Gianina, and Lilli.

This is Pacifico de Villa, the shanty town where we do a lot of our ministry. A picture can’t convey how vast the expanse of thousands of concrete, wood, and sometimes reed houses is. It is quite an impacting sight.

One of the cell groups I help lead in the shanty town! Beside me is Elizabet, Llilda and Juan Jose, Eli, Chirly, and Mark.

My bedroom. Don’t be fooled. It no longer looks this organized. That only lasted for about two months.

The lovely Burgess family! From right to left is Daniel, Mark, Joel, Anna, and me!

Well, a lot has happened in the two months its been since I last wrote. Spiritually and emotionally it has been hard to keep up at times, and I think about a month ago I was going through a bit of culture shock but am steadily coming out of it. I decided to write a post about my Peruvian Thanksgiving because, for me, I would say it was the light at the end of about a month long transition period (a term that we here in the Burgess house, thanks to the book Anna is writing, now have incorporated into our every day vocabulary. Basically we use it to refer to a period of time in which there seems to be a particular amount of difficulties, which could either be demonic or Godly, that precedent a breakthrough in which God’s light shines clearly over the situation.). For me the transition period was the battle against feelings of loneliness, helplessness, homesickness, boyfriendsickness, incompetence, tiredness, and overall a sense of “what the heck am I supposed to doing here?” It sounds intense like if someone was feeling those things all at one time they shouldn’t even be able to get out of bed, but really I only noticed it at first because I had become increasingly more sensitive emotionally, crying at ridiculous things like an ugly hair cut (but REALLY, it was ugly!), getting angry when people stare at me and constantly try to chat me up just because I am white, and thinking I was going to have a nervous breakdown when our internet was only working about 2 out of 24 hours for about 2 weeks (cafes with wi fi are not easy to come by where we live). Then I just felt at the end of every day like I never wanted to talk to another Peruvian again. First, I never wanted to speak Spanish again (it hurts your brain sometimes to think in another language), second, I still find many things about their culture and customs baffling, and thirdly, the problems that many of the people I am close with here are often so far from my realm of experience that I truly feel like every Bible study is a complete stretching experience at least for me and hopefully for the others as well! Nothing about our cell groups has been easy for me. But that is certainly not a bad thing. All that to say that I had been praying, “Lord, please create in me new energy, new wisdom, and a new hope for being here, and most of all, please grow me in love for the Peruvians!”

I had spent the day before our Peruvian Thanksgiving celebrating with some Americans, and I had returned a bit late to have a conversation with almost my entire family as they celebrated Thanksgiving together in the U.S. I had hoped that celebrating an American holiday with Americans would give me what I felt was a much needed retreat to get over my “boohoo I’m so alone in this culture” stage, but unfortunately, coupled with realizing I was missing out on Thanksgiving with my family, it only exacerbated any feelings of homesickness I already felt. Needless to say, when I woke up the next day tired, sad, and with the seemingly impossible task of preparing an entire Thanksgiving meal, I was wondering why in the world I thought having a second Thanksgiving where I’d be playing hostess speaking Spanish would be such a great idea. Not to mention my pants already weren’t fitting correctly from my first Thanksgiving.

As I cooked I prayed that God would give me energy that I felt I didn’t really have to love and engage and host what would be the first Thanksgiving for the two Peruvian families I had invited. I thought about how awkward it could be with two families with seemingly few similarities meeting for the first time with me playing host… in Spanish. Whew, wasn’t feeling up for that either. “Please bless our Thanksgiving tonight and bring friendship and community from our time together,” I prayed as I attempted to not give myself over to anxiety as I realized I had just used cream that had gone sour in my potatoes au gratin. 6:00 rolled around, the time when I told everyone dinner began, and around 7:00 the first family arrived (That would be right on time in Peruvian time). We were enjoying each other’s company, my food actually seemed to be turning out alright (all except for the stuffing… someone please give me a pointer), and I was beginning to relax. Around 8:00 (Now that is even considered late in Peruvian time), Dora and Jonas and their sons Leo and Luis arrived with baskets full of Cancha, salty toasted corn. So they were two hours late and I had to keep reheating the food? The smile on Dora’s face made me feel ridiculous for having silently grumbled against the whole Peruvian population’s complete indifference to time. She had clearly worked really hard and was trying to bless me for hosting her in our house, and I couldn’t help but be very grateful for her and her delicious toasted corn.

After dinner we had a small theatrical production explaining the history of the first Thanksgiving (which, by the way, Jonas knew better than I did. Embarrassing.), and afterwards we all shared what we felt thankful for that year. Well, since Thanksgiving is an American holiday, I decided to express my gratitude for being in Peru and for all the people I have met American style… brief and to the point. While what I said was heartfelt, it seemed quite cold in comparison to the 1o minute speeches gushing with gratitude from the Peruvians. Man, those Peruvians sure can give a speech. While a bit embarrassing because much of it was pointed towards me and the relationship I have developed with the two families, I took it to heart and felt blessed to know that, although I had been feeling like a fish out of water for the last month, there were at least two families here in Peru who seemed not to have noticed at all. In fact, quite the contrary, they felt I had assimilated so naturally into their lives they here they were calling me their American daughter! Well, by the end of all of their speeches, I felt so thankful for all their kind words and, especially, for the open arms that they had accepted me with during my time here in Peru, that I gave another more Peruvianesque speech that was much longer and included tearing up a bit! It marked the beginning to the end of a transition period for me, because since that day I have gradually come out of my emotional funk and have been growing in appreciation for the Peruvians and their culture and even, I think, the oddities between us that we have to work around in the relationships I have with them. How could I not feel incredibly blessed by the fact that Dora took me shopping the other day and bought me a $.50 Peruvian souvenir to show me that it was special for her to spend time with me that day? Or that Sara calls me when she makes chicharron so I can try the first batch of sandwiches? Or that Belen, although at times she can’t even afford to buy dinner, when she has money makes the entire church fresh pineapple juice after our services on Sunday? Or that Shirley, although she is easily the poorest in our church and lives with an abusive father, a drug pushing brother, and her 16 year old sister who is preoccupied with her two year old son, always comes to Bible study with the most beautiful smile on her face and sharing hard candy she bought for us at the corner shop? How could I not love a culture that is so loving, serving, caring, open, and giving in nature? How could I not love a culture that is so open and ready to receiving God and experiencing His miracles? How could I not love working with people who are so humble and completely unaware of how extraordinary they are to be growing exponentially in love and faith for God and His world, even when they seemingly have everything going against them? How could I not love a culture that takes responsibility for the needs of their neighbors, whether it be financial or otherwise? I am consistently amazed and convicted by these qualities I see amongst the friends I have made here in Peru (and even in many of the strangers).

Its funny that the Peruvian Thanksgiving we celebrated was certainly not the traditional Thanksgiving I have celebrated in the States my entire life, but it was probably a bit closer to the original. There were no relatives present, instead of a chilly Autumn breeze we had a damp, cloudy, summer day, no after-lunch family craft time, we ate Cancha instead of cranberry sauce, no football, and no English. While I had invited our neighbors thinking I wanted to show them all about my great American holiday, I think that they probably taught me a lot more about Peruvian culture than they learned about American culture that night. In the attempt to open my house to them and serve them as my neighbors and friends, I realized that they, like the famous Native Americans we celebrate during Thanksgiving, had been opening their homes, families, and lives to me while I had my head stuck in America all because of a silly haircut and some cultural differences. Like the pilgrims and Native Americans, our first Peruvian Thanksgiving celebrated two cultures that before had been strangers, and now I, the lone American pilgrim, have been lovingly accepted into Peruvian life where they have and continue to not only invite me into their lives, but continue to challenge the way that I love God, His Church, and the world. And for that, I am thankful.

 

Settling In

Well, I’ve been in Peru for almost two weeks now, and I guess its about time for an update! I’m really not good with blogs, so you’ll have to forgive me if these posts are rather sporadic.

For those of you who do not know what I am doing or just need reminding, I am living in Lima, Peru until next June. I am living with Mark and Anna Burgess, their two boys, and our Peruvian housemate Lily. Mark and Anna moved to southern Lima earlier this year and have begun a church in their home that sprang out of a Bible study they have been doing with mothers and children since last year. Over the next several months I will be observing, learning, growing,, and hopefully assisting them as we do ministry here together in Lima!

The transition process of settling into life in a completely different culture has thus far felt quite natural. It has been made infinitely easier by Mark and Anna who are very understanding and encouraging to live with and  from the day I arrived have been a joy to be around. I even like their children, which those of you who know me will find this to be miraculous. I think they may even like me. The word “Ally” has now made it into Joel’s limited vocabulary, and maybe the 3rd or 4th day of being here Daniel booted his father from sitting next to him at the table because he wanted me to sit next to him! That hasn’t happened since but, you know, it felt nice at the time.

The hardest part has been finding a schedule that works for me to stay productive and challenging myself to be ministering on my own and not just through the Bible studies/ cell groups/ relationships that Mark and Anna have already set up. I am praying for God to be guiding me in the different areas He wants me to be pouring my time and energy, and the only thing I know for sure is He wants me to take a dance class with a woman that lives on our street and I need to pursue a relationship with a girl I met in a supermarket the other day that is in need of Christian friends. This week I will also begin an English conversation class with some of the girls in the church, but we are praying that through it we can draw in some males (seriously lacking in the church presently) and some other people who may be interested in the church/Christianity. I will also begin English classes this week with our neighbors’ son, and I am excited to see what will come of that because Mark and Anna have told me that their neighbors are people of peace who have shown a lot of interest in Christianity and what Mark and Anna are doing here.

The last two weeks I have been following Mark as he meets with his three cell groups (discipleship groups) and his “Mums and Tots” group. It is neat to see the women’s portrayal of the Spirit , such as through their generous hospitality even though most of them are very poor and through their willingness to take care of one another and their families, even at such a young stage in their faith and most of them with only a very basic understanding of the Bible. We have been talking in church and cell groups a lot about different creative ways we can be growing in the faith. For instance, some have trouble reading whether for eyesight problems they don’t have the money to correct or because they just never learned how. Since learning scripture is still an important part of Christianity regardless of whether you can read or not, Mark and Anna have been challenging them to find ways to overcome this obstacle, such as through memorizing and meditating on one passage or verse each week or finding someone who can read and organize a time with them to read the Bible together daily.  Even though they are so very young in their faith and in such a seemingly uninviting atmosphere for spiritual growth because of their culture, poverty, and home-lives, they continue to exhibit great commitment and desire to grow with Jesus, creatively and with passion, and I really admire them for that.

Anna reminded me a couple of Sundays ago that the early church was full of people in very similar situations as the people who are attending our church. Many of them were poor, society’s lowest, uneducated, most probably couldn’t read, and yet they were continuing to grow in number and devotion (Acts 2:42), transforming the communities they lived in by the love they received from Christ and going down in history as, for me at least, the golden standard of what a church body should look like.

I think that it would be very easy to walk into one of our cell groups or into our Sunday service and see no sign that these women will be changing lives and history through their love and devotion to Christ as the early church did. In fact, I think that most people would find it incredible that these women are able to hope even for their own lives to be changed, as dysfunctional as many of them are. But the fact is that they not only hope for Jesus to be changing their own lives, but they are hoping and believing that He will be changing their family’s, friends’, and community’s lives. I am not saying at all that over the past two weeks I have seen them all live with unwavering faith that God is in fact working in them to do this. All of them certainly have doubts, fears, shame, and disappointments they deal with on a regular basis, but this Sunday as we baptized four of them, it was clear as they spoke of the peace and hope they had found in Christ that overall they are resting in the assurance that they are not hoping in vain because Christ Himself is living in them. I know that they will be world changers because they have this hope and assurance, and I am praising God that He always chooses such unlikely candidates to do His work! I am praising Him for the hope that He brings and the lives that He changes, and I am praising Him for bringing me to be a part of something so beautiful here in Lima, Peru that testifies to His goodness and grace. I hope that all of you are blessed as you follow the progress of our little church here in Lima, Peru over the next several months.

“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” 2 Corinthians 4:5-7

Leaving on a jet plane.

I am heading to Lima tomorrow at 6am! Once I get there and settled in, I will start making appearances on this 🙂

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