View from the mountain behind the university
Well, I’ve been here for a little over a month now. I really wish I could summarize everything that’s happened so far into a neat little blog post, but even then it would be too long!
Back home, when I thought of Peru, I thought of lush green jungles, Machu Pichu, and The Emperor’s New Groove. But that just represents one area of Peru. I’m near the capital city, Lima, which is on the coast. This city is huge! Almost 8 million people live here.
To be honest, Lima is the exact opposite of an exotic jungle. The whole city is covered in a layer of brown dust and dirt. There is a constant fog* that hangs low over the city and turns the sky a hazy, gray & brown color. The streets are loud, dirty, and driving here is like a life-or-death version of Frogger.
However, underneath all of its initial un-attractiveness, there’s A TON of beauty in Lima's history, art, and archaeological wonders. So far, I've been able to explore skeleton-filled catacombs underneath Monastery of San Francisco, see the Magic Water Circuit, and visit the pre-Incan ruins of Pachacamac.
About an hour or so away is a place unlike downtown Lima —the Universidad Peruana Unión (Peruvian Union University). The campus is really nice with flowers and has a small waterfall. There's an old mansion on campus with swans that live in the trees in front of it. The are some pre-Incan ruins right on campus, sticking out of the mountainside. The people are super friendly here and come from all over Peru and South America.
Change of Plans
Former student missionaries weren’t kidding when they said all your plans change the moment you arrive at your destination.
Instead of teaching university students (like I signed up for), I was told I would be giving private classes to the university president, vice-president of finance, wellness director, and a group of office workers.
Even though it wasn't my ideal situation and was at first bummed out at first, I decided to keep trusting God. I couldn’t shake the feeling that God knew what He was doing even though I couldn’t see it. Perhaps this was better for me.
God Is Up To Something
Now that a month has passed by, I’m starting to see that maybe I’m here for a reason. I decided to stop trying to make it about what was most fun for me and instead focus on what I could do to serve others.
Since then, I've really been having a good time here! I love my students and I really want to see them do well. I’ve been able to help the administrators regain self-confidence in their English speaking skills.
I've also gotten a lot more opportunities to have a richer educational experience than if I had been a regular teacher. I’ve been gotten a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the challenges university leaders face in running Adventist educational institutions. I’ve also been able to use skills related to my major to advise the university in their creation of promotional material that would connect with a North American audience.
I love trying to learn the culture, the expressions, and the “why” behind people’s way of thinking. My theory is that if I can understand where these people are coming from and how they view the world, then I'll be able to make better personal connections and share Jesus in a way that'll “click” and be most meaningful for them. It's best not to impose yourself or try to be the center of attention, but to instead learn from them first and show genuine interest in people for who they are.
Translating for world church leaders
This week, the presidents of Adventist universities from South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Thailand, and South Korea got together here for some meetings. I was asked to translate for many of those presidents as well as for Dr. Ella Simmons (general vice-president of the Adventist world church), Dr. Lisa Beardsley-Hardy (director of education for the Adventist world church), and Dr. George Knight (well-known Adventist historian). Dr. Knight and his wife remembered me from when I interviewed him at Southern for a news article.
Things got extra tricky when the people I had to translate from or for mainly spoke Portuguese or French (I don't speak either one of those languages!). At the start of the week, I didn't realize I would be visiting ancient pre-Incan ruins or negotiating prices at the Incan Markets with these world church leaders! :)
I’m really looking forward to whatever other awesome opportunities God has in store for me! I have the feeling that this might just be the tip of the iceberg. I'm praying that I'll keep trusting Him even when I can’t see why things aren’t going the way I thought they would.
Didn't Read The Whole Thing?
If you sort of skimmed and skipped your way down here, here's the gist of what I wrote: change of plans, cool things are happening, God is leading… to be continued! :)
*Not too convinced that it’s actually fog. Looks like a smog/dust/pollution/cloud-of-death.