Passover Remembered

by Alla Bozarth-Campbell

Pack nothing.
Bring only your determination to serve
and your willingness to be free.

Don't wait for the bread to rise.
Take nourishment for the journey, but eat standing.
Be ready to move at a moment's notice.

Do not hesitate to leave your old ways behind-
fear, silence, submission.
Only surrender to the need of the time-
love justice and walk humbly with your God.

Do not take time to explain to the neighbours.
Tell only a few trusted friends and family members.
Then begin quickly, before you have had time
to sink back into old slavery.

Set out in the dark.
I will send fire to warm and encourage you.
I will be with you in the fire, and I will be with you in the cloud.

You will learn to eat new food
and find refuge in new places.
I will give you dreams in the desert
to guide you safely to that place you have not yet seen.
The stories you tell one another around the fires in the dark
will make you strong and wise.

Outsiders will attack you, and some follow you
and at times you will get weary and turn on each other
from fear, fatigue and blind forgetfulness.

You have been preparing for this
for hundreds of years.

I am sending you into the wilderness to make a new way
and to learn my ways more deeply.

Some of you will be so changed by weathers and wanderings
that even your closest friends will have to learn your features
as though for the first time.

Some of you will not change at all.

Some will be abandoned by your dearest loves
and misunderstood by those who have known you since birth
who feel abandoned by you.

Some will find new friendships in unlikely faces,
and old true friends as faithful and true
as the pillar of God's flame.

Sing songs as you go,
and hold close together.
You may at times grow confused
and lose your way.

Continue to call each other by the names I've given you
to help remember who you are.
Touch each other,
and keep telling the stories.

Make maps as you go,
remembering the way back from before you were born.
So you will be only the first of many waves
of deliverance on the desert seas.
It is the first of many beginnings-
your Paschaltide.

Remain true to the mystery.
Pass on the whole story.
Do not go back.
I am with you now and I am waiting for you.

Monies

I have sent out fundraising letters and talked to a few important people and have raised roughly 3/4 of my fundraising goal! Hooray!

If you think you would like to support me and my fellow YAGMs financially, here are the rules:

1. Make the check payable to Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
2. Write "YAGM- Amanda Martin- GCS3079" in the memo line.
3.  Send it to:

           Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
           PO Box 71764
           Chicago, IL 60694-1764

I also have a GoFundMe account, however, it is not tax-deductible. If it would be easier for you to donate online and you aren't concerned about tax-deductions here is the link.

I am so thankful for all of the support I have felt so far. I really couldn't ask for better friends and family. I recently read a quote from Maya Angelou that says,

I am grateful to have been loved and to be loved now and to be able to love, because that liberates. Love liberates. It doesn’t bind. Love says, “I love you. I love you if you’re in China. I love you if you’re across town. I love you if you’re in Harlem. I love you. I would like to be near you. I’d like to have your arms around me. I’d like to hear your voice in my ear. But that’s not possible now, so I love you. Go.”

This is the love that I have felt from you all this summer. I am so incredibly thankful for your love that frees me to go where I have been called, and I hope that I can return the favor someday.

¡Vámonos!

Things got real today. In less than a month I will be leaving Seville for Chicago. Then one week later I will fly to Argentina to begin my year of service with Young Adults in Global Mission through the ELCA. Today I got my placement!

I will be living and working in La Plata, Argentina, which is just an hour south of Buenos Aires. It is a university city, and my first placement, San Timoteo Congregación, is a church who ministers to college students. I will be joining them in their young adult ministries and aiding in plans for a new homeless ministry. I will be living in a student residence connected to the church (sound familiar?). 

My second placement is a comedor which is a safe space where children in situations of poverty can study, play, snack, and be kids. It sounds like I will be doing work similar to what I did with La Casa de Panchita in Lima. 

Basically, this is all very exciting news and I am relieved that it somehow fits me so well. I'm looking forward to meeting my new friends and family! 

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” Luke 18:29-30

And like that, I'm home.

Okay so I probably should have written down the things that I did my last week in Peru. Now that I have been home for a week and a half, I will attempt to remember them for the sake of remembering.

Tuesday I went with Amber to El Museo de la Nacion. The first floor was all pre-Incan artifacts, Incan artifacts, and colonial art. Also a little modern art. We had kind of seen most of these things before so we went through quickly since we had gotten pretty lost on the way there and had much less time than we had hoped. The sixth floor of this museum is the most talked about. It is dedicated to the years of terrorism experienced in Peru from the 60s to the early 2000s. It was really interesting and very powerful. There are bare concrete floors and white walls. Most of the pictures are in black and white. Thankfully, the captions on the pictures were in Spanish and English, or else we would have been there all day. When you get off the elevator, you are greeted by a guard who asks you to sign in. They want to keep track of who has seen this exhibit. Then you see a timeline of the terrorism that takes up two walls. There are so many events, that it is hard to take them all in. Then you proceed through room after room, detailing each major terrorist event. There are pictures, video, and voice recordings. It was striking to learn so much about events that had barely been mentioned to us before this. My host family spoke a lot about insecurity in Venezuela, but never about the terrorism in Peru. Later, they asked me what I thought was most interesting about the museum and I told them this exhibit. My host dad basically was like, "Oh, terrorism and it's effects?" and I said, "Si." and that's it. No one wants to talk about it. I don't think we even talked about it in my socioeconomic realities of Peru class. It's still very real to them. And kind of taboo. So it's cool that there is this museum. Parents and grandparents were there with their kids, whispering their own experiences into their ears. I tried to eavesdrop a few times, but my spanish isn't good enough for that yet.

Thursday was our last day at the biblioteca. We had to leave early for an elap meeting, but the promotoras didn't want us to go. When they realized it was our last day, they said we couldn't leave. Then they sent all the kids home and closed the door and brought out a cake, mini empanadas, and coffee. We put a candle in the cake and sang Happy Birthday to no one in particular in French, English, Bulgarian (I think), Finnish, and finally, Spanish. Talk about a cultural experience. I miss those girls already. They were so sweet.

Friday Amber and I visited la Iglesia Santo Domingo downtown. They have the skulls of two saints on display there and the bones of another. I found it strange. I don't really understand the veneration of saints, but it's probably because I'm not Catholic. The church was beyond beautiful, though. Then we went to Saint Rose's house. We saw the well that she made and the prayers that people throw in there. That was cool. Then we got ice cream at 4D for the 4th and last time. Sad face. We were supposed to meet Andrew there, but he caught up to us while we were walking. He came up behind Amber and I and put his arms around us, like a surprise hello, and I was 100% sure I was being robbed again. Later, Maria tried to grab my arm and I freaked again. I was a little more startled by my run-in with crime than I had thought. I'm better now that I'm back in the states.

My host mom was really sad to see me go. She cried. Apparently I was just what she needed. The girl before me had been a little high-maintenance and then I showed up and didn't ask for anything. It was nice to be appreciated for that weird quality. I guess I don't like to be a bother. I'll just blend in to this wall over here. Don't mind me.

The flight home wasn't bad. I hardly slept, but my bags weren't searched, so that's great. My suitcase was 88 lbs which is way over the limit, but the guy let it go this time. I don't know what he will do next time I see him. I had to lug this and two other bags around the Newark airport after doing something to my back while getting off the plane. Don't worry, I'm tough, and I heal.

Basically, I didn't sleep again until 4 in the afternoon when I took a 20 minute nap. My first meal back was an oriental chicken salad and turkey avocado sandwich from Applebee's. Nothing glamorous, but that's fine. I guess I eat at Applebee's a lot. I think it's been 3 times since I got home.

Since I have been home I have been on a boat once, I have been in Ft. Wayne, I have been in Columbus, I have been in charge, and for the last 3ish days I have been quietly at home. Also I went to a vineyard. And watched all of season 7 of The Office. I'm processing. I can tell you about it later.

Hang Ten Failures

Today is Monday of my last week in Peru. WHAT?! I will be getting on a plane in just 5 short days. That seems pretty crazy. This trip has had its ups and downs with homesickness and tiredness and crazy schedules and that one time when I got robbed and also the beauty and history and adventure that exists in Peru. As incredibly happy as I will be to go home, I will also be sad. I like you, Peru. Let's stay friends.

Okay, so I got robbed. I didn't really want to post about it because I know that other people read this sometimes and I didn't want you to get nervous for me. Here's the thing. I was in a bad part of Lima because that's where I work. There are poor people there. It was scary and a little violent, but no one was hurt or even threatened. I was waiting for a bus with one of my fellow volunteers when three guys ran up to me, broke the strap on my purse, and ran off. My wallet was lost, but the only valuable thing in there was some cash and my debit card, which was set to expire at the end of the month anyway. The thing that makes me the most sad is that the book that I bought at the book fair and had signed by Daniel Alarcon was in my bag. It's not of any value to those guys, just to me. So that's sad. I still have my cheap Peruvian cell phone and my credit card was at home in my desk drawer, so everything is fine. It's just annoying and it happens all the time. I was in shock for about 15 minutes but as soon as I had to talk to someone about it I cried for about 40 minutes. Anyway, the important thing is that I'm fine and I have money to get me through the rest of my time here.

That was on Wednesday before work. After work, we had to go straight to our elap meeting with all the other volunteers in our program. I got free Starbucks! Afterwards, we went to get dinner at a little place right outside La Plaza San Miguel. They had anticucho which is barbecued cow heart for 12 soles. It was super cheap and a lot of food. Super good.

Friday I finally got my credit card figured out and went to Miraflores and wandered around Parque Kennedy by myself. It was nice. I ride through there on a bus everyday but never get out, so it was good to get to do that. I bought a book and a couple shirts to wear when I get home and a new wallet. It was good (cheap) retail therapy.

On Saturday I went surfing! Michelle, Danielle and I met in the morning and took the bus to Larcomar in Miraflores. We made our way down to the beach, not really knowing what to expect. We took our swimsuits with us in our bags so we ended up having to change in a porta potty. Gross. As soon as we stepped foot on the beach a guy was asking us if we wanted to learn to surf. He was going to offer us a great deal. We told him we would come back after we checked out the other companies. We made our way to the Pukana surf tent. This was the company recommended by our program. One of the girls who worked there is from Cincinnati! Small world. So we got an even better deal with them. It was cold so we had to wear wetsuits which is cool except that they are super hard to put on. We had a quick lesson on land about how to stand up on your board. The instructor made me do it extra. I was pretty sure that was a bad sign. Then we got our boards and got in the water. Somehow I ended up in front of my friends even though I got in last. Maybe the instructor was pushing me. I don't remember. But I had to go first. On my first try I was able to get up on my knees. It was exciting and fun! Much easier than expected. However, getting on your knees is not one of the steps to standing. Even after the instructor reminded me many many times that I was not supposed to get on my knees, I still did it every time. I don't know what was happening in my brain, but it was not correct. Between the near constant paddling and getting knocked off my board a few times, I was really really tired by the end. They never told us how to get out. The beach was really rocky so we weren't supposed to ride our boards all the way there. I got knocked off my board right by the shore so I just tried swimming it and had a wave crash right on top of me. Not a great experience. I was ready to be done. But I would do it again. Just maybe next time in the sand. And when it's warmer. And after my muscles stop being sore.

After we finished, Michelle's dad met us at the beach and drove us to Parque Kennedy where we got hot chocolate and churros rellenos from Manolo. SO GOOD. We also got sandwiches in the park. Later that night, I got ice cream at 4D for the third time with some other friends. It was a sugary day. 

July 28 is the independence day of Peru. Basically, people take off work for the whole weekend. I don't have to work today (Monday) or tomorrow (Tuesday). Honestly, I'm a little bored because most things are closed and I don't really want to go to a 3 hour long military parade. Tomorrow should be better. I have plans to go to a museum and a church. And then I will only be 4 days away from coming home.

Just things in my life right now...

So I was thinking about the classic picture that every girl takes on her mission trips abroad. You know, the one where she is surrounded by native children? It's like, "Look at me! I like babies in other countries too!" I don't know. Maybe that's not the motivation. I'm probably being rude. Anyway, it bothers me so I wanted to make sure I didn't do that while I was in the Dominican Republic. I was younger then and didn't know what I was getting into. Hahaha. Let's just let the weight of that sentence sink in.

My journey through the photos took me back to that hot and humid July when I first left the country and subsequently fell in love with the Latin American culture. Gosh, I really didn't know what I was doing. I got thrown into what life is like for the vast amount of people in this world who live below the poverty line.

There are very few times in a person's life where they can say, "That decision is what changed the course of my life. That steered the choices I made from that point forward." I can honestly say that the Dominican Republic changed my life. Because no one in my family speaks Spanish, hardly anyone in my community speaks Spanish, yet here I am in Peru, trying to fit in and learn the language.

More than that, now that I am well into my internship I am looking poverty straight in the eyes. Yeah, it's not like the poverty I saw in the mountains of Haiti, or the garbage dumps in Guatemala, but it's still  poverty. I'm translating a book about child domestic work for my internship. Did you know that of the 10 million minors living in Peru, 45% live in conditions of poverty? Only 57% percent are in school and of those who are in secondary school, 37% are behind a few grades. And that percentage is not for areas of poverty or extreme poverty. SHOOOT.

You probably can't tell, but that hill in the background is covered in houses.

This is a picture of where I work. San Juan de Miraflores is about an hour's bus ride away from where I live in Lima. During the financial crises starting around the 60s, people began flocking to the city for work. Many of them ended up living in barrios just outside the city. They grew and now the city is huge. San Juan de Miraflores is one of these barrios. This is one of the most populous parts of the city. And one of the poorest.

A lot of the kids that we work with are child domestic workers. Most of them don't realize that what they are doing is work and they aren't getting paid for it. Usually it's stuff like taking care of baby siblings while their parents are at work or cooking or cleaning. Maybe they do those things for a neighbor or an aunt or uncle. Unfortunately, it is more than what we would consider "chores" in the US. On Sunday, Lizbeth asked our room full of 9-13 year old girls how many of them did the cooking at home and almost all of them raised their hands. Some of them aren't even tall enough to reach the stove.

One of the beautiful girls I get to hang out with, Daniela.

Today I have a lot of hope, though. La Casa de Panchita is doing a lot of work. They are educating women and children on the rights they have as domestic workers. These workers are now asking their employers to pay them fair wages, give them time off, and let them go to school. My favorite part of all of this, though, is that most of the women who are in charge at La Casa de Panchita used to be domestic workers or are currently domestic workers. Their current campaign is called "Child Domestic Workers Supporting Child Domestic Workers." I think this makes a big difference in the work at La Casa de Panchita because those in charge know intimately the issues that these women and children are dealing with. They know how to make the biggest impact because they know the issues. Because of that I am proud and very blessed to have had the opportunity to work with this organization.

Warning: This Post Contains Anthropology Terms

I'm having a lazy Saturday! After last month's constant busyness it is strange to have days like today. I changed things around on here a bit the other day. How do you like it? I took that picture in the background. Yeah, the sacred valley is pretty marvelous.

Yesterday (Friday) I went to the Museo de antropología, arqueología e historia. I was supposed to meet a friend there but he ended up coming later than expected and I forgot my phone across town. So I went in by myself. The museum is located in what used to be Simon Bolivar's home. You know, the liberator of Colombia and Peru. It has two gardens with rooms surrounding them. That's the basic layout of the house. It's beautiful, or I'm sure it was when it was actually a house. Now there are display cases everywhere instead of furniture and a bit of construction that makes the whole place smell like paint. But I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The museum basically starts as far back as it can, with the evolution of humans in Africa. They have some (replica?) australopithecus, H. habilius and H. erectus skulls and then they have a little model of humans interacting with megafauna. It was small and simple. Then we got into the actual cultures in Peru. There are a lot and they all had their own pottery styles. So a good majority of the rest of the pre-Incan culture area was ceramics. They had some pipes like what we find from indigenous populations in the US, only in the shapes of things like cuy, llamas, and owls. It was cool. 

In the Incan section they had a giant model of Machu Picchu. I had been following some groups of students from local elementary schools all morning, but somehow I ended up in this room alone. So I saw everything that I saw a few weeks ago on a smaller scale. It seems smaller when you are there. Like, when we walked from one side of the complex to the other, I didn't feel like we were going terribly far. But the model made it seem huge. So that brought a different appreciation to the experience.

After the Incan section began the Spanish conquest and on section. You go through a room about the Amazons and then Francisco Pizzaro is staring at you. I was mad that my camera died at this point. How often do you get to see a portrait of the guy who changed everything for South America? So the rest of the museum from this point on is mostly portraits of important people and small artifacts. They did have shackles in the same section as crosses which bothered me. Not because they chose to place them there, but because it made sense to place them there. For the tens of portraits of Europeans there were about 5 portraits of Incan leaders which was pretty cool. Atahualpa had his portrait there. He was the last king of the Incas.

Eventually the museum moved into more modern history, up until the 1960s. By this point my brain was fairly saturated and I couldn't take much else in. But I managed the learn a little about economics and the revolution against Spain. That was good of me, since next weekend is independence day. How festive.

So I was getting close to the exit and the kids were all about gone when one last room caught my eye. Tuberculosis through prehistory. Interesante! I can still remember the first time I learned about tuberculosis. I don't know why, but it was in 4th grade when we learned about Ellis Island. So anyway, I was excited about this one. 

When a person is suffering from tuberculosis, they often develop a hunchback. There is a buildup of fluids on the spine so that there is a visible ridge behind the shoulders. In these two rooms, there were all kinds of ceramic and lithic figures with this ridge behind their shoulders. Some of them were from 1100 BC. CRAZY! Also, people here in Peru still die from tuberculosis. Also crazy.

But the craziest part of this tuberculosis display was the mummy. When I came in, the guy told me there was a mummy, but I thought it was supposed to be with the Inca stuff. I didn't see it so I thought they were probably restoring it or something. But no! I found it. So I was looking at the little statues and the guard says, "mumifera?" and I was like oh yeah! and he opened a little door and let me into this room with like 3 humidifiers, 3 informational signs on the wall, and a mummy in a glass case and then shut the door behind me. It was just me and the mummy. I think we all deserve a little one on one time with a mummy. It makes you remember your humanity a little. The guard kept peeking at me through a window to let me out when I was done. Weird, but cool.

After I got back we had pizza for lunch because it was my host mom's birthday and we decided she shouldn't have to cook. Then I went to my friend Becca's apartment. We each bought 2 desserts (8 in total) and ordered more pizza and drank pop. We had a little dinner/movie party and laughed for a few hours straight about giant crickets (I told them about Scratchy), guinea pigs, and just felt like Americans again for a bit. We watched Enchanted on Netflix and shared our desserts. It was great. I think I would be able to manage living here longer if I had more nights like that.

Also, they found out that I'm funny. Now the pressure is on.