I was taken off guard the other day when someone asked if I had started to write my sponsor letter, signifying that I have now been in Peru for over a month. What’s even more mind-boggling to consider is that it was barely this time last year that I first contacted Heart’s Home to learn more about the Mission of Compassion. As I have said many times before, during my first visit this past March to the Heart’s Home in Brooklyn, I was immediately struck by the sincerity and warmness of all those I met. I returned to Brooklyn in June along with five other American volunteers for two weeks of formation before we all departed for our respective missions. For me, it was a comfort to meet other people my age who were sharing in this common experience even though we were each from a different part of the United States. This feeling has reverberated tenfold with every new encounter I have with the international Heart´s Home family here in Peru.
When I arrived here on September 18th, I was welcomed at the airport by the members of my new community charging toward me armed with hugs and kisses. All six of us then proceeded to pile into one taxi and head for our home in Barrios Altos. At this point in time I immediately went into sensory overload, which I am just now starting to come out of. Lima is a bustling city, to say the least, full of crazy taxis and micro-buses, street vendors boasting sizzling skewers of anticucho (translation: marinated cow’s heart on a stick), fresh produce, flowers, and trinkets galore, and 8 million people roaming to and fro. As is the case in many large cities, even though Barrios Altos (our neighborhood) is a mere 15 blocks from the touristy and historical “Centro”, it is a world of its own. Once you cross over a large street, you are welcomed by the sight and odor of dog droppings and trash heaps, but moreover you are welcomed by a myriad of familiar faces waiting for you with open arms.
My new brothers and sisters have been my official tour guides and teachers for it all. As they have so graciously introduced me to all of their friends, let me introduce them to you: Tim is 27 years old and a fellow Gringo (the colloquial way to refer to an American). Alejandra, 21, and Cecelia, 24, are both from Argentina. Benjamin is Chilean and 24 years old. Our household Central American is Jessika, 23, from El Salvador. They have given the word “hospitality” a whole new meaning for me. Not only did they immediately share their food, bedrooms, and bathrooms with me, but they have been by my side every second of every day helping me do everything from navigating the book of prayers to washing my laundry. However, I must admit that accepting their help has been a bit of a battle with my pride as I like to consider myself a fairly independent person. But perhaps that is exactly why I am here, away from my home, away from my country, and away from my language. I have been told many times that in order to share love and compassion with other people, we must first allow ourselves to be loved and cared for. As simple as that sounds, it is a true struggle for me; it is an act of humility that I don´t think I have ever been fully open to. It is admitting that I am weak, that I don´t have all the answers, and that I desperately need the presence not only of other people, but moreover the ever-faithful presence of the Holy Spirit. Here in Lima, I have no other option than to accept this reality. Somehow this acknowledgement of dependence is utterly liberating.
THE NITTY GRITTY
But Charlotte, what exactly is it that you do every day? What does your house look like? What type of food do you eat? These are the questions that many of you have asked and I pondered before arriving so I will do my best to fulfill all of our needs of mental images, but first let me begin with this disclaimer: our mission is to try our best to be fully present to the reality of our neighborhood; to share in the joy and suffering of everyone around us. As we all know, reality is highly unpredictable so our daily schedule is more like a framework that we work within.
I’ll begin by describing the physical framework that I live in. Our house is comfortably situated at a dead end of a street, adjacent to a market, making for less car traffic and more foot traffic. When you come through the front door, you find yourself on a patio with a room to your right where we welcome the children who come to our house. Continue on into the house and you will stumble upon the kitchen and the chapel (every Heart´s Home has the grace of having a chapel with the Blessed Sacrament). In the back of the house are two hallways, a bedroom and bathroom for the boys and the same for the girls. There is also a narrow stairway that leads to a room for visitors and the roof where we wash our clothes.
We all rotate daily being in charge of the house. If it is your day, that means that you will lead all prayer, go to the market prepare all the meals (chicken, potatoes, rice, and maybe a salad are pretty standard), and remain in the house in the afternoon to welcome the kids.
On an average day, we wake up at 7:00 for morning prayer, read for thirty minutes, and then eat breakfast. Depending on the day, we do different things throughout the morning: Mondays we go to the market and the post office downtown, Tuesdays we clean the house, Fridays we help at a special needs home, and Saturdays we play with the kids whose parents sell flowers near the local cemetery. At some point in the morning we have an hour of Adoration (silent prayer and reflection) and we eat lunch at 1:00. If time permits, you might be able to sneak in a little siesta before we open our front door at 3:00 to pray the Rosary. After this, one person stays at the house to play with the kids while the rest of us go in pairs to visit our friends in the neighborhood. We then all reconvene at 6:00 for evening prayer and then go to Mass, followed by a bite to eat and then four nights a week people our age come over for a few hours to hang out. At 10:00 we gather once more in the chapel for night prayer and then slowly make our way to bed. Wednesday is our day of rest.
However, as I said, this is but a mere framework. These past few weeks have been a little different due to a couple of things. First, Tim is leaving on Sunday after being here for nearly two years, thus there are countless people inviting us to their house to share a meal and final conversation. While it is hard to realize that Tim is leaving, these past few weeks have been a beautiful opportunity for me to see the true friendship that exists between the people of Barrios Altos and El Punto (p.s. Heart’s Home in Spanish = Puntos Corazón). In the same way I described the hospitality of my immediate community, the people of the neighborhood don us with an incredible amount of familial love as we are far away from our biological families. Moreover, many of these people have been friends of our Punto since it opened 16 years ago and remember all of the missionaries who have come and gone. For me, this relationship with Heart’s Home is a reflection of our relationship with God; while people come and go in our lives, God’s love is never ceasing.
Secondly, there was an exposition of photos for two weeks in one of the main parks in Lima to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Heart’s Home. There were large panels scattered throughout the park displaying photos from Heart’s Homes all around the world throughout the past 20 years. Everyday there were 3-5 people representing Heart’s Home to offer more information to the passer-byers (in Lima there are four communities: my house in Barrios Altos, another in the Puente Piedra, a house of Heart´s Home nuns right out the city, and a solid group of ex-missionaries who live in Lima. Needless to say, I love being part of this vibrant community and you will surely hear more about it in the future). For me it was not only a chance to put my Spanish-speaking skills to the test, but an opportunity to reflect upon what exactly the mission of Heart’s Home is. At the end of one conversation, a man asked me why I talked to him while a steady flow of other people passed by. I simply responded that he was there in that moment and willing to converse with me, but it hit me how rare it is for a person to show a sincere interest in another. As over-simplistic as our mission of compassionate presence might sound, it is something that we are all in desperate need of.
Again, I can never thank all of you enough for all of your support. Without you, Heart’s Home would not exist and I surely wouldn’t be in Lima, Peru. The words of Mumford and Sons, a band my friends introduced me to this summer, constantly run through my head, “You are not alone in this. As brothers we will stand and hold your hand.” Thank you for holding my hand. Know that my community prays for you daily. Please never hesitate to contact me with specific prayer requests.
¡Hasta pronto!
Peace and Love,
Charlotte
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