Mission Peru

by Tim Magwood, West London Alliance Church

My name is Tim Magwood and I am from West London Alliance Church. After our team visited the dump on Wednesday, I was having trouble gathering my thoughts into standard words and paragraphs. As I tried to write I decided that lyrics might be easier to work with rather than words because having to rhyme words would guide the specifics but I could still decide on the ideas I wanted to focus on. This is what resulted from it.

When I got off the plane, I stepped into the desert
They said it’s not gonna rain, that they hoped my stay was pleasant
But little did I know and little did I hear
How big of a surprise was about to appear 

We went to the market to get food for the poor
I had no idea what could be in store

As we approached, struck first by the smell
Preparing to enter into a living hell
No door to knock on, didn’t have to ring a bell
I can’t help but wonder how some of them fell 

I spoke to some, prayed for them too
Gave them some food and received a thank you
And through these words I experienced something new
Who knew this simple phrase could cleave my heart in two 

So now here I sit, maybe someday I’ll stand
Hoping to somehow become a better man
I do not have much but I’ll give what I can
To think that I came here concerned about a tan 

While it is broken, some see a sliver of hope
They say that there’s a God, but did I see him? Nope.

That is until I ran into a man named Juan
He looked wise as an owl, gentle as a fawn
A lesson to teach, a purpose to share
Question his words, I did not dare 

I will never forget the words that he said
As they echo around inside of my head
He looked in my eyes and said “God’s a good friend”
Shouldn’t he think God an enemy instead? 

Why isn’t he angry in his circumstance?
He’s fallen so far, lost in life’s dance
I looked at him then, with holes in his pants
How in such poverty, could he give God a chance?

And then I saw it, the joy on his face
Only possible from a touch of God’s grace
So here I am, in this place
Feeling like I’m just taking up space 

I do not know how I’ll sleep tonight
Knowing that so much is not right
In this world and in our community
We start to struggle with a sense of unity 

I’ve learned a new truth
To be grateful with anything
And even in my youth
Keep worshipping the one true King 

A valuable lesson, one that needs to be heard
An anti-depressant, bringing joy through the Word 

But if it brings joy, then why do I feel
This negative emotion, enough to make me reel
These people don’t know when they’ll get their next meal
I don’t understand, how can this be real 

While there you choke on the smoke
While you think of how broke
These people are, the world is, this must be a joke
So as I sit here and stoke, ponder and poke
At this idea 

If God is love and reigns from up above
Inspiring and empowering with a push and a shove
Bringing this world’s people peace like a dove
It is God’s amazing power that I am speaking of 

Then why is this world broken
So many desperate and smoking
Looking for answers in a buzz or a high
Hoping that someday they’ll grow wings and fly

Fly like a bird, like a fish in the sea
How can God use a little kid like me? 

I’m just trying to make it through school
At the same time trying to act cool
Never thought of myself as his tool
Always catching myself acting like a fool 

Trying to live up to expectations
While maintaining all of my relations
Looking at James chapter one twenty seven
But to get it in context you should start at verse eleven

It speaks of religion, pure and undefiled
While we sit at home getting our hair styled
We get so worked up and extremely riled
While they work so hard where garbage is piled 

There is a sense of them spying as we sit here reclining
A definite prying and continuing trying
Compassionately colliding the un-Christ-like inclining
Combating the crying of a generation hopeless and dying 

A simple truth I learned
It came like a knife
I know my friend Juan
Has changed my life