On Thursday, we had the morning off. I was in the mood to just be alone and have some time to breathe and think. So, Candice, Kari, Bri, and I hopped in a taxi which took us across town to a park in Villa El Salvador. We got there and quickly dispersed from each other, something that is hard for Peruvians to understand. They can´t grasp the idea that we would go
together to a park then not sit together. Anyways, I found a nice table and chairs under an umbrella overlooking a lake that had monkeys on the island in the middle. I was surrounded by green grass and flowers. Something that is very foreign in the sand dune, dust-filled streets and air of Villa El Salvador. I remember thinking in my head, actually I think I said it outloud to the girls, “Ahhhh! There
IS hope for this place!” The flowers, the greenness, the fresh air, the life in this park admist the dust, dirt, and garbage outside the park was refreshing. I looked at the beautiful lake and could look past it to see the rest of the city, I began to realize how that is often how we see people´s lives. Many times all we see is the outside – the dust, the dirt, the mess, the garbage, but in each person there is that greenness, that fresh air, that life!
(Here´s the park. Can you see Villa El Salvador in the background?)
I want to tell you about a woman named Rosa. She is one of the women that I have be-friended on the street that we adopted in Llomo de Corvina. She was one of the first women I met in Llomo de Corvina. When I first met her all she did was open her window and we talked through the bars not very interested in what we had to say, but we came back again another day. This time she opened her door. At the next visit, we sat outside her house in the sand and rocks. Then on Thursday, we went to visit her and she invited us into her house. Each time we came, each time we listened, each time we loved, she recieved it and she began to open up to us. We sat in the cool shade of her house that day commenting on the nice breeze and her children´s artwork. After sitting with her and listening to her for awhile, we explained that due to our unpredictable schedule, it might be the last time we saw her, the smile on her face dropped. She explained how she liked talking to us and looked forward to our visits because she usually has nothing to do during the day. She explained how she doesn´t usually invite people into her home because she feels people judge her, yet she knew that we would not judge her. We were able to pray with her, yet I left somewhat frustrated because I thought, “Finally, I made a connection, a friendship with someone and now we have to go and no more time to invest.” But as I thought about it more, I realized how Rosa opened up.
I could see how Rosa´s life was similar the park. At first, all we could see was the garbage, the mess, the hard outside shell, but as we continued to love and not give up, the layers of the dirt and dust began to fall away and we began to see that inner greenness, the beautiful life inside of her that is just waiting to grow and explode. Rosa is not a Christian and she did not accept Christ while we were with her, but she did receive love. She felt cared for, wanted, and important. She said that many people, who call themselves Christians, have come to her door in the past, but were not like us. We were able to plant a seed by loving her and giving her positive experiences with Christians and hopefully soon, another Christian will come along to harvest that seed.
