Many of my work teams and readers asked for the songs and videos of the various choreographies that the boys in Kusi and Puerto Alegria do with the work teams that visit. As promised, I have posted the mp3 files of the songs and links to the videos on Vimeo (where you can download them if desired).
You can now find all of this here on my site.
To the work teams, thank you for the construction work you did and the time you spent with the Girasoles this summer. Hopefully we’ll see you in 2010!
During the past few days on my many bus and plane trips throughout Peru, I had the opportunity to listen to a lot of music. One song in particular, Revelation by Third Day, has particularly made me think about what I am doing and where I am headed now.
“Revelation” by Third Day
My life has led me down the road that’s so uncertain
Now I am left alone and I am broken
Trying to find my way
Trying to find the faith that’s gone
This time I know that you are holding all the answers
I’m tired of losing hope and taking chances
On roads that never seem to be the ones that bring me home
Give me a revelation, show me what to do
‘Cause I’ve been trying to find my way, I haven’t got a clue
Tell me should I stay here or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I’ve got nothing without you, I’ve got nothing without you
My life has led me down this path that’s ever winding
Through every twist and turn, I’m always finding
That I am lost again, tell me when this road will ever end
I don’t know where I can turn
Tell me, when will I learn
Won’t you show me where I need to go
Let me follow your lead
I know that it’s the only way that I can get back home
Recently, this song has made me think about the idea of calling and being called to something – whether it be a person, place, profession, etc. How do we end up doing what we do, loving who we love, living where we are? How much of our lives do we try to control and not entrust into God’s hands? What would I be doing if I completely gave into His plan? Would my life be as I envision or want it to be?
Unfortunately these are difficult questions to ask, and for some of them, are even more difficult to put into action. Thankfully though, after doing something like spending a summer in Peru or meeting somebody like one of the many names I could mention here, it is apparent that they were not coincidence, but rather a calling or planned meeting in God’s eyes.
A part of me wonders if I have had difficulty in finding my “career” because I have been selfishly ignoring my calling and looking where I want to be, not where I am called by God to be. It takes a great leap of faith (and sometimes a strong push) to let go of everything and follow your calling.
Stay tuned for more stories and videos from Peru over the next couple days.
I’m sitting 10,000 feet above the States, somewhere between Atlanta and Detroit. Thanks to Delta, I am using a free WiFi service they offered to their passengers today.
The past few days have been filled with traveling, long bus trips, moving suitcases and little sleep, but I love it all. To see people I haven’t seen in months, despite being down here in the same country, has been so nice and definitely made the departure from Puerto Alegria a lot easier. I was able to spend 2 quick days at the Girasoles home in Kusi, which until Puerto Alegria, was one of my favorite sites and I have great relationships with the house parents, family and boys. It was great to see some familiar faces and the cold air! (It was so cold to me that I had to wear long pants and usually three layers. The weather wasn’t any different than normal, but after acclimating myself to a hot, humid jungle, the cool crisp air was freezing. Some of the boys asked me why I was wearing so many layers since they are used to seeing Americans in t-shirts and I said ¡estoy casi congelada, hasta mis huesos! I’m almost frozen, down to my bones… Unfortunately, because of the drastic climate change and dust in Kusi, I have lost my voice, have a horribly sore throat and headache.).
After the quick trip to Kusi with Billy and his family, we returned to Lima on the night bus and as soon as we arrived in Lima, I took off in a taxi to another bus station where I would take a bus to Ica – 4 hours south of Lima. The entire trip, all 4 hours, was only $9. Unfortunately the bus stops frequently to pick up and drop off passengers, so the trip took more like 5 hours.
Once arriving in Ica, I met the Girasoles house father, Augusto and went to the Girasoles home to see the boys before they headed off to school for the afternoon.
The plan is to stay here in Ica tonight and then tomorrow afternoon catch another bus back to Lima, where I will go defrente al aeropuerto (directly to the airport) to catch my flight back home.
This morning was my last little bit to spend time with the boys at Puerto Alegria. Out of anticipation of leaving and wanting to take advantage of the little time I had before departing the house at 8:30, I woke up at 5:45 to shower and pack the few things I still needed, like my tent. If everything had worked perfectly, 5:45 would have been a perfect time to wake up. On my way to the shower, I ran into Lilia, one of the cooks, who informed me that there was no water – somebody forgot to fill the tank with water from the river the night before – and I would have to wait for him to get up and do it. So, I returned to my room and finished packing.
At about 7:30, the boys were all up (I also forgot that they sleep in on Sundays and don´t wake up at the normal 6am!) and ready for breakfast. Since it is Sunday, they didn´t have their typical morning devotional since they were to meet later on in the day and we proceeded to have breakfast – my favorite Puerto ALegria breakfast, pancakes! But before we ate, Willy, the caregiver spoke to the boys about the team from Nebraska that left the day before, about how they had come from such a long way away to share God’s love with them. Atfer mentioning the team, he changed topics and started talking about how thankful the boys should be for me – for the 2 months I spent playing, dancing, hugging, singing, and supporting them in their lives. (Me?! I was only doing what I thought I should be doing.) This made me realize that these were my last moments with them and, of course, made me cry. Things did not get better when they started to sing one of my favorite songs, La Niña de Tus Ojos, a song I woke up and fell asleep to every night while in Puerto Alegria.
When it was time to go, I carried my bags down to the maloca (the gazebo by the river) where all 43 boys were waiting for me. The littlest, Luis (who I have written about before), ran up to me and asked where I was going. I explained that I had to go to my home, that I loved him very much, and that I would miss him. He said that it was okay because he was going to come with me. After telling me this, he ran over to his Papi Willy and told him that he was going to go with me, wherever I was going. After loading my bags into the chalupa (boat), I returned up to the maloca for the final goodbyes. They charged me and one by one, I said goodbye to each boy. Some came multiple times and the whole time I was hugging them, Luis was standing at my feet with his arms around my knees and his head buried in my legs. Of course by this time I was crying and he asked me over and over again, “Why are you crying? Why are you sad?”
At some point it was time to go, time to make the last trip into Iquitos, time to leave Puerto Alegria for the last time on this trip.
(As I write this, I´m sitting in Billy’s apartment in Lima, waiting for our 11pm bus to head up to Huaraz, where we´ll take a little van to Yungay and a taxi up to our Girasoles home in Kusi. Today I will have traveled by boat, plane, bus and car to go from the Amazon jungle to the Andean highlands – all in 24 hours.)