Some more reflections....

There was a shock that caught me by surprise one day, when a parishioner in my little congregation in Peru prayed (during the prayers of the people) for those who have nothing, those who live several miles from "us". He prayed that we remember the "humble, poor". It was remarkable to this young, naive, new pastor, new to this mission, new to Peru. I believed I was already serving among the humble poor, and he thought those who lived further up the main street were the poor ones.

It was a shock, yet that realization has formed and transformed me deeply. There are those who, quite literally, are orphaned, homeless, suffering with addiction, subjected to violence, suffering with illness, who cannot provide for their children or even themselves, and with next to no government support and limited medical care, these ones are, essentially abandoned by society, living with next to no hope. Those who Carlos named as the humble poor, those abandoned by their families because of their disease or illness, because of conflict or addiction, those left with no support, limited resources and often with challenges to find stable work, beaten down by the many layers of systemic injustice. These are the humble poor, and it is for these that the congregation of San Juan exists: to welcome all with the love and grace of Jesus, to provide tutoring, nutrition, health, and spiritual support and accompaniment as we witness the transformative power of Jesus Christ in our midst.

Those I served called themselves "los humildes", the humble ones. And although many struggled to provide the basics for their families, they did not consider themselves the humble poor. They were able-bodied, they had a home, a humble home but still, a home, shelter. They had some work, they had support of their families and everyone contributed to the household. It is this way because oftentimes several generations live in one household. Providing enough, that which is sufficient, meant focusing on the basics: power; potable water; food like rice, potatoes, chicken, beans, cooked vegetables. Generally for "los humildes" providing that which is sufficient means no frills, not all the cutlery or plates will match. Napkins are 1/4 of what we would consider "normal". Sometimes there are serving dishes, more often than not, food is dished up in the kitchen then served in the large dining/family area. And care and attention are given to ensure that nothing is ever wasted. Even the peel from the pineapple used in making juice for dinner.

These are the humble ones, because work can still be found, most of the time. Not a living wage, mind you, but it is something.  The humble poor may not have family or friends from which to borrow, but the humble have other resources, others willing to help, either family or friends. And sometimes, it meant they could sell a toy, a tv, cut off the power for a few days just to survive. And as was experience, most everyone in Peru and many developing countries, know how to make a dollar stretch, they re-purposed and recycled long before it was popular. How wonderful their trust in the Lord to provide, they are humble in every wonderful sense of the word. 

Ministry among the humble taught me that we can reuse and re-purpose almost anything. In our parish, we would keep and store everything, as there would be a time that it would be of use to us again, and indeed, it happened time and again. That which I would have thrown out in at attempt to clean things out, was seen as wasteful and at first, Haydee would have to stop me. What did they think of this strange, wasteful Canadian pastor? If there was any possibility of fixing that which was broken, certainly Carlos could fix it, if not his brother or cousin, or the other handyman down the street. Old plastic chairs were somehow molded together again, a new wood leg added to the old wood table to make it more sturdy. Every rusted nail kept. Even in our ministry with the children and youth, pencils, crayons and pencil-crayons were used until they could no longer be sharpened. I'd never seen such a short pencil before! Yet the necessity is there to use each item to its fullest purpose. Precious money is not invested in anything "new" until it is necessary. This is perhaps why I still use my 7+ year old lap-top with one key missing and letters hardly visible!

These years, the impact of what my Peruvian parishioners taught me is all still being reflected upon, debriefed, and integrated into my life in Canada. I hope to share these memories and value the learnings from those much more wise than me. And I also hope, as a good friend suggested, to never fully re-integrate into "northern" living but instead to be a hybrid and value both parts of my life and experience...

So...some more reflections as I pray God to keep me humble, to help us all become more humble so that we may trust in God more fully, more deeply and know a richness and depth of faith that "los humildes" experience and live each day.

With peace and grace,

Pastora Fran