Let's Go to Peru

I told you I would be back. I wonder if you've given any more thought to checking out those blog posts from the Compassion Bloggers in Peru. Just in case life threw you a curve ball or 12 and you forgot, I thought I would tell you about a few of them.

There's a unique thing happening on this trip. While we are seeing the neediest of Peru through  American eyes, we are also getting to see them through the eyes of children. I don't know that these girls are having a different experience than anyone else. I am willing to bet that they are more willing to be honest about their insecurities. This blog post also has great pictures that you don't want to miss. Love truly transcends language and cultural barriers, and you will see that so clearly.

Shaun Groves examines why we give and reflects on an idea that has been rolling around in my head (and my church) that we are blessed to be a blessing. He also takes us on a tour of a home of a child sponsored through Compassion. I don't want to keep pushing (or maybe I do), but you're really going to want to watch it.

My favorite blog post yet is on the other side of Compassion, an employee. But Marco isn't just any employee, he's a formerly sponsored child. That's right, Compassion does what they say they do. They work to break the cycle of poverty. Marco talks about what got him through hard times, and it was a little hard for me to read that it wasn't the student center or the church, but his sponsor's letters. It made me think about what I've been writing and wonder if there are words I need to be saying more often. "Your words to a child in a poverty are too precious to set aside. Too precious to become buried in a list of to-dos. They were all too precious to Marco"

Here's one last picture, from Shaun Groves' Instagram. This one is a culture shock for me.

Join me?

I keep staring at this empty box, trying to put together, in an organized fashion, what I want to say to you. How to make this relevant to you and worth the time that we all seem to be running short of. In a very real way, it's not. It probably doesn't concern anybody you know or anyone you will ever meet, but if you will, just indulge me for a few minutes and I'll try to keep this short.

Next week, there are a group of bloggers who are taking a trip with Compassion International to Peru. They will meet with workers, families, and children and then go back to their rooms and write down their stories for us. I love these trips because they make the world smaller and give faces to abstract concepts like child development centers, poverty, home, compassion. I plan on sharing some of their stories with you and helping to bring Peru as close as your computer is from your face. At that point, it will be relevant. You will have "met" this group of people. Then you will know how to pray for all of those involved, including yourself. Because after you see and read and pray, I think you will want to know what you can do to help. 

Here's a little bit a different blogger learned while in Peru. Which of these six things speaks the most to you? My favorite is "Hugs and smiles speak volumes when the language doesn’t work so well." I hope you'll join in next week and read the blog posts by the eyes and ears Compassion is bringing to Peru and that you will let me know what stands out to you.




You can access the Compassion Blogger posts here.