Mission Peru

Yesterday I had the privilege to not only visit the city dump, but to also visit my Compassion child Maryori. On our way to the mall where we would be meeting them, I was trying to process through all that I had seen in the garbage and prepare for the amazing once in a lifetime experience that was about to take place. I prayed for peace to calm my nerves and for things to say. As we entered the mall I felt so out of place. My clothes were stinky and I was dirty from the dump and all I wanted to do was find the nearest washroom to get into my clean clothes, but then I saw her beautiful face. I forgot about all the worries in my head as I saw her running up to me. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me. I then realized that my stinky clothes or disheveled hair didn’t matter. The fact that I had come to see her made her and her mother so excited and happy. From the moment they saw me, her mom was filming me and taking picture after picture. She couldn’t stop grinning. I was blown away. How could I make such a difference? And the power of God I felt in that moment was incredible. I knew that God was there and He was the reason all the children, sponsors, family. and translators were there. He was the reason that a Canadian like me could build such a relationship through just a simple letter to a young girl thousands of miles away.

We went for lunch and ordered Maryori’s favourite food which was, of course, chicken. The conversations that happened are something that I will never forget. There’s something powerful about talking to someone in a different language through a translator. I realized that God doesn’t need my voice all the time. Sometimes all he uses is a smile and a hand to hold. I saw her mother’s phone on the table as we were eating and I learned that she was recording our conversation. Our translator told me that she wanted to have it so that Maryori could listen to my voice after I was gone. Thinking about it now brings tears to my eyes. How much more could I be praying for this child? How much more seriously could I be taking these letters and gifts I was sending? We bought a much need ice cream cone and headed to the arcade. After, we headed through some stores and came to an escalator. The translator told me that they had never ever been on one before! I had to guide Maryori on and the translator helped her mother. I was so humbled. This child had never ever been in a mall!

After going shopping, I was able to buy her one of my favourite things, Starbucks. She was overjoyed. Then on our way back to the meeting point, we decided to find a quiet place and open some gifts. I handed her my bag that I had brought and with an indescribable joy in my heart I watched her open all the gifts and presents. I handed her mother some plates and cutlery and she was completely overwhelmed. I had been wearing a pink bandana that day and I had brought one for Maryori. She had been complimenting me on my hair up in it all day and I was so excited to place one on her head too. The kisses and hugs and tears are forever in my memory. The joy that we both felt in that moment will always make me smile. As we were finishing, she handed me a bracelet and two key chains that she had made and a letter. She pulled them out of a scrapbook that she showed me which included all the letters and pictures and stickers I had sent. She had them all decorated and laid out on the pages. To see my own hand writing on those papers and how she cared for them overjoyed me. I remember when I sat down at my kitchen table and wrote them. The power of seeing them in her hands and the power of our relationship through them touched my heart.

In her letter Maryori included the verse Proverbs 17:17 which says, “En todo tiempo ama al amigo y es como un hermano en tiempo de angustia.” This is translated to “At all times love a friend. That friend is like a brother in times of difficulty.” To love a brother is to love when it gets tough. It’s to love when it seems like loving is impossible. To love a brother (or sister in this case) is to love a little girl across the world when it seems like it cannot be done. I have been shown what true love is through this child. After I had prayed for her there were tears in her eyes as she said that she was truly blessed by me and that she wanted to visit me in Canada. I will never forget her. I do not know if I will ever see her again, but I know that the community of the Lord is a powerful thing. He connects us all and enables us to do things far greater than we can even imagine. I have experienced the results of Compassion and truly believe with all my heart that there is immense power in a letter.