Arriving In Peru and Meeting My New Community

August 19, 2011

Kelli, Emily, Me, Kyle, and Marcelle

 

Tonight is my first night in my new home of Chimbote, Peru. I have such a vast range of emotions right now, but mostly I am excited for this new adventure that I am so honored and humbled to be starting!!

We flew into Lima on August 15 after a 3 week-long orientation to the Incarnate Word Program in San Antonio. Orientation was wonderful, so informative and so great to meet the IW Sisters and form a community with the other two volunteers in our send-off group (Jelly who is staying in San Antonio to work in a house for homeless women and children under 12, and Kirsten who is going to live in Mexico City for two years working in the parish and a daycare). We had workshops on Ecclesiology, Christology, Living in community, Catholic Social Teaching, Violence in mission, Spirituality and prayer, Culture shock, Psychoanalysis, Health in mission, Social justice and peace-making, etc.

Kyle is from Harlingen, Texas and is living here in Chimbote with me for the next 2 years. He graduated from Saint Mary’s University in English Literature and Political Science. He is going to be working in a small town outside of Chimbote called Cambio Puente with women’s empowerment groups and be the ‘feet on the ground’ for an organization called Women’s Global Connection. WGC has women’s empowerment groups and workshops in San Antonio, Mexico, and Zambia as well. I am really happy and relieved because Kyle and I get along really well. We have a similar sense of humor and both seem pretty open-minded about this journey we will be experiencing together, so that is great!! He is really nice and funny and considerate and I am grateful to have him to share this experience with.

Once we arrived in Lima on Monday night, we met our two other house mates and community members!! The program tries to have 4 IWM volunteers in the Chimbote house at one time, so there is always 2 that have been there for one year, and 2 that are just entering the program. The two girls that have been here for a year are Emily and Kelli. Marcelle is finished with her two years and left about 2 days after we arrived.

Emily is from Nebraska and graduated from Creighton University. Here in Chimbote her primary work is in the parish community, teaching confirmation and first communion and planning activities with the youth group.

Kelli is from Minnesota and went to DePaul University. Her main work here is working with women who have been a part of prostitution/sexual exploitation and their children, to educate them and support them to stop this cycle in the future.

         Lima was great!! We stayed with one of the Incarnate Word sisters who is living in Lima. We walked around the city and saw the President’s mansion, the big cathedral, a smaller Franciscan cathedral, had our first Peruvian meals, got our residency cards, and got to know Emily and Kelli a little bit more. Now after an 8-hour bus ride north along the Peruvian coast, we are in Chimbote!! And I am so excited to be here in my new home for the next two years.

P.S. WE HAVE A KITTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fidea