Change

July 2009- Another Summer in Peru
Back again! I love my Peru and am so blessed to have returned. Two years ago I was doing what many are right now, making preparations to live in another country for 9-12 months. Scared, excited and absolutely clueless as to what I was about to get myself into. Here I am now, on the other side of my Peru life, returning to befriend those as they arrive and help them as they hit the ground running. Life in Peru has changed and AMOR Projects has made many new developments. It is so hard to get used to having electricity, which includes a fridge and a washing machine. This is so odd to me and I will selfishly admit I also find it a bit sad. I know that development and progress are both good and necessary, but nothing can ever replace the feeling of candlelight dinners and worship, or washing your clothes by hand. It is however wonderful to not have to worry about leftovers spoiling or using 3 much needed hours sitting at the well. Person after person continues to arrive, and I love watching their reactions. Faces of awe and surprise, many questions and long glances. I am so excited for the day where those faces reflect a look of comfort and home. Still full of awe, but awe in a grateful and blessed manner. Where what they see is life, not questionable newness. When every street becomes familiar and people become friends and family. Language may always be somewhat of a barrier, but actions, as they learn to use them, will speak so much louder and will change them in ways they never new possible. Here, change is key. And even though at times I selfishly regret it, change of the land brings progress, and change of the heart brings joy and peace. As the soul, their inner being, is slowly given away and exchanged for a piece of this new life, this new world, developments will take place that they didn´t even know were necessary. Change can come with difficulty and change can come unnoticed, but the one thing I wish for each of these new volunteers is that they allow themselves to be changed. I hope they return home different...keeping of course their prior good, but embracing and viewing life as so much more. Pray for them as they journey, pray for them as they LIVE, and pray for them that they always keep what they are sure to discover here. Life as they never knew it before and as they will never know it again. Change can be good no matter where you are. Look for it, embrace it, grow with it, and live the life God has given you...no matter how many changes it may entail. Be they easy or tough they are bound to bring you to a place you would have never found yourself otherwise. A place of good and discovery...and maybe, like these volunteers, even a place called Peru.