From Pam Tullman, CFCI short-term missionary in Peru
Pam is in Peru serving for eight months.
In
Cañete this past Saturday, I was noticing how much the kids have grown in the
past few months. I see them just about every week, but on Saturday I was amazed
at how much they are growing.
The
road to the area the kids live was basically a giant hole in the ground due to
construction they are doing, which meant we could not get the chairs to where we
meet with the kids since the moto taxis could not drive on this road. It is not
ideal to sit on a dirt road with a group of kids, trying to do arts and crafts
so LLilda and I put on our thinking caps. We decided we would take the kids to a
small plaza close by and play games, sing songs, do a small lesson, and take
lots of photos (most of the kids love having their pictures taken)…a change in
scenery from time to time is always good. Lilda did an awesome job at coming up
with games and creating a lesson on the spot, which actually turned into a
little drama acted out by the kids!
As difficult as the kids can be at times,
they do something to my heart. They bring me joy. I love just sitting back and
watching them play. I love seeing them smile and laugh whole heartedly. I love
the little things. Like when Patty wants to play the trust game with me over and
over again (She closes her eyes and falls back until I catch her); or when
Brittani wraps her arms around me and wont let go. Like when Pricilla is
carrying her baby brother Fabian and comes up to me and tells Fabian, ¨Besito
besito besito¨ and he gives me a little kiss on the cheek. I love when Juan
Diego flashes his beautiful little smile even though it is full of mischief, etc. etc etc. This list could go on forever. These kids have really made
an impact on me. So many times I go places with the intention to be a blessing
to the people…but I feel like the opposite happens. I go places and I don’t know
if they realize what a huge blessing they are to me.
Prison
ministry has been going really well. Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to pray
with a woman from Germany to accept Christ in her heart! I look forward to going
to the prison each week and seeing the women. Last week Kim was unable to go, so
I went by myself for the first time. It was a new experience for me, but I am
thankful for the time I had to share with the women a little more about who I am
and how I ended up in Peru. I felt like it was a special time to be able to be
stretched by the Lord, step way out of my comfort, and grow trust between us.
The highlight of my visit to the prison last week was seeing one of the ladies
laugh to the point of tears. She literally had to get up and walk away from the
group she was laughing so hard! You may be thinking, what’s so special about
someone laughing so hard? It was really special to see that, because she is not
a lady who typically laughs. When you are in prison in a foreign country, to see
a full heartfelt laughter is something really special, it doesn’t happen very
often there. Her laughter became contagious and we were all laughing! It’s the
little things that mean a lot.
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