Giving up being a caterpillar

I feel like there is so much to say yet so little to say. First a little business: if you are interested in calling me, feel free (I think it’s pretty cheap on Skype) but don’t leave a message if we don’t answer because we don’t know the password to our voicemail! My schedule is unpredictable, so it’s hard to know when I’ll be in the house. Second, we have a program blog for Incarnate Word Missionaries and this week my community is writing about our experience, so please visit and read! The website is


Since my last post, we have spent most of our time visiting various important places around Chimbote, including many possible service sites. I’ll share some highlights…

I got to accompany a nurse and doctor with the Hospice program (started and run by the sisters) on their home visits one morning and another morning we accompanied Marcela (community mate) on her house visits. She is currently working with a division of hospice that provides in-house care for individuals with chronic health problems, while the nurse and doctor were visiting individuals with terminal illnesses. It was a powerful experience; as much as I like to think I can handle just about anything, it would a long take time for me to be completely comfortable doing the work that Marcela and the other nurses do. Many of the people they visit have large, raw bedsores that need to be cleaned and bandaged. Many of them need to be bathed and have their toenails cleaned and trimmed. Many need help changing their incontinence briefs. To some extent, this is much more normal in Peruvian culture because of greater comfort with the human body here, but it is still very intimate work. I understand that the work of the nurses here is probably similar to that of nurses in the U.S., but many of the material and medicinal comforts available to patients in the U.S. simply don’t fit within the budget of most families here. The gentleness and respect of the nurses is certainly aiding these individuals to live and die with dignity. We also got to talk a bit with their families while they were receiving care, as most of the hospice patients live with a daughter or son. One man we visited lives alone, and I imagine that Marcela’s visits are a great comfort to him.

We also visited la Comisión de Justicia Social (Social Justice Comission), which is an office within the Diocese of Chimbote. They are involved in a variety of projects, including education and discussion surrounding the terrorism of the 80s & 90s and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations for ensuring that it never happens again. We attended a workshop with a priest here in Chimbote who is very passionate about eliminating discrimination and actively working to establish a peaceful, just society instead of passively enabling the oppressive structure of the status quo. We also attended a workshop presented by la Comisión in our parish about voting responsibly in the upcoming elections (October 3). With only my limited exposure, it seems to me that the majority of the general population is pretty indifferent toward the political system because they are so jaded by the lack of accountability. It seems that few people actually believe their representatives are going to follow through on their promises. This indifference is complicated by the fact that there is a penalty for not voting, so everybody votes despite disinterest in the outcome. So, there is a great need for voter education and empowerment.

Another possible service site is with the congregation of Sisters of the Good Shepard. They provide various ministries to women working in prostitution, including home visits and tutoring for their children, among other things. We attended a celebration there this weekend to celebrate the life of one of their sisters who was killed by the Shining Path while working in the mountains. It was a great opportunity to meet many women and children and begin to build relationships.

Other opportunities are within the parish, and I am very excited about them. We met Frey Tino, a Franciscan brother in our parish who is involved in la Comisión and also teaches Confirmation classes. We also met Padre Miguel, a Franciscan priest from Germany who runs a program for children who work in the streets. They have a home for children a few minutes outside Chimbote and we will be visiting that ministry on Monday. There are also opportunities to get involved in catechesis for First Communion or for the youth between First Communion and Confirmation, in the youth theater program, in the choirs, etc. On Tuesday we will visit CECOPROS, a communications office within the Diocese, and sometime this week we will visit la Casa de la Mujer (Women’s House) to learn about their ministries.

Besides visiting the various sites, we also spend a lot of time in our community house. I have three community mates: Marcela, who is in her thirties and is beginning her second year as an IWM; Kelli, another new IWM fresh out of undergrad; and Catalina, a volunteer from Catholic Medical Mission Board who recently finished nursing school. We are slowly but surely becoming more comfortable with each other and establishing the foundations of our community.

I’ve also been spending a lot of time in prayer and meditation, hoping to continue to strengthen this throughout my two years here. A joy of this ministry is that we build our own schedule, so we are strongly encouraged the set aside times for personal prayer and reflection in addition to our service sites and community time. This has been invaluable for me! As I have written before, embracing this life is still challenging even though I know it is what I want. There have been moments when I just wonder why I didn’t stay in the U.S., live near the amazing friends that I already have, and work with some of the numerous individuals who are oppressed and marginalized in the U.S. Somehow facing the challenges in the U.S. was so much easier and more comfortable with my support group only a text message or short walk away. I know, though, that the growth and change that comes from stepping beyond that circle of comfort is unimaginable and necessary. I was reminded by a book given to me by a very wise friend, Hope for the Flowers, that in order to reach your true purpose and potential, “you must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.” I must understand that while what I had was already good, there is something deeper, some new understanding of God’s love in the world, that awaits me. I have already seen many signs of God’s love through the people here, and I can’t wait to continue to learn and allow that love to flow through me in new, exciting, and sometimes scary ways!