| Peru 2010 |
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Lima, Peru Because my family first loved me, I am able to trust others, and encouraged to explore this world. Aware of an immense privilege to choose my teachers, my influences, and my environment, I want to continually place myself in the care of people who are dedicating their lives to the pursuit of peace. This is why I volunteered for World Service Corps. I knew that it was a risk to leave the comfort and safety of home for 3 months, but I also knew that I would be in good hands. I set out to learn the practice of love and community in another culture. When I arrived, I was welcomed into a generous family, appropriately named Paz [peace]. Immediately, I was impressed by their ability to welcome a stranger into their lives as one of their own. These months have been some of the most difficult of my life, missing home, struggling to learn a new language, and witnessing first hand the contrast between the material haves and have-nots of this world. But I have never felt that I must endure these lessons alone. Not only did I have the church family in Peru, who are willing to tackle tough questions with me, but daily I was reminded by e-mail that I was in the hearts and prayers of so many loved ones at home. I was also blessed by a group of women in the village of Monte Sion, where our church offered weekly classes for children and teenagers. A few weeks after I arrived, they asked me to teach a class for adults. It was difficult for me to keep up in spanish conversation, but they treated me with tender patience. I began to prepare simple lessons on those things I hold most dear: the golden rule, the power of prayer, and the importance of community. A group of 5 women attended consistently, and we discussed more difficult life concerns, building a circle of trust with each other. When I reflect on my experiences, I overflow with gratitude. I have opened myself to this world, and have been blessed in abundance. I can love without fear because I was first loved by unguarded hearts. I have been moved to give my life to God, to this spirit that connects us all, because I know that every moment is an opportunity offer all that I've received to another soul, as we grow together into new expressions of radical love. Nelda Kerr
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