I have been thinking a bit for a few months about my identity as a woman–my strengths, my weaknesses, my desires, and my fears as they relate to my gender. Last month in Bolivia, through a series of events, the Lord started to challenge me on how I viewed my womanhood. What He showed me, in a nutshell, is that I have not had a very high opinion of women. While I wouldn’t have put these thoughts into words before, I have long viewed femininity as frivolous, desire for a family as dependence, “women’s role” as limited (at best), and the want to be appreciated as weakness.
This month in Peru, we worked for a church called Casa de Fe, a small Christian church in a small, coastal town filled with happy children. Our purpose for the month was to build solid relationships with people in the town, help foster a sense of community within the neighborhood, and create a welcoming space within the church for children and their families. We started with children’s ministry; we hosted kids’ days, VBS, and beach ministry.
We also started reaching out to the women in the city, because what we found in Tambo de Mora was a community largely dominated by women. We would walk through the streets talking to everyone we saw, and the vast majority of them were animated, friendly women. We started hosting weekly women’s nights, where we would invite all the ladies out to the church to paint each others’ nails, make jewelry, and chat. The first night we did this, I was braiding a young woman’s hair, and started thinking about my power as a woman. I was watching my teammates, all beautiful, strong women, and seeing the way that they were going all in in that moment to honor and appreciate their Peruvian sisters. I thought about the ladies there from the community, and how they raise their children, and care for each other, and keep the town running, in a community marked by absent men. I thought about Chloe, operating the Corinthian church out of her home in the absence of suitable leadership. And Esther, how her act of courageous obedience saved her whole people. I remembered all the women in my own life who have had instrumental roles in shaping me into who I am: my mother, my grandmother, Rebecca, Ali, Heather, so many others. I saw this sanctuary full of women, enjoying each others’ company for an evening, and I felt so connected to the entire female world, like we were all sisters, every woman on earth. And I thought about how, sitting there together, painting nails and braiding hair and talking about our lives, we were giving each other life. Suddenly, I didn’t feel silly or weak in my femininity; I felt powerful.
I’m currently in Lima, Peru, getting ready for our second squad debrief. We don’t know what to expect from this debrief, but we do know that this is the first point of our Race where there will be some changes, some shifting of teams and leadership. Tuesday night we hosted our last women’s night at the church, which was also probably the last night that Hijas del Rey will be together as Hijas del Rey. I don’t know what the rest of the Race will look like for me, but I know that I am honored to have served alongside these 5 other women for 4 months, and to have learned so much about what it means to love and live as a Godly woman. Thanks lionesses.
