I sit here in my favorite spot on the couch in my apartment overlooking the incredible and vast city lights, writing this and eating my dinner of bread and avocado at 10pm at night. I am alone but on a high from a great evening of climbing with friends and I am hit with waves of emotions as my mind is flooded with so many memories from this past year. There were difficult and challenging times but also new experiences and life giving moments. The past few weeks I have really been struggling with loneliness as my time living alone grows longer each day, but God continues to remind me and show me that I am loved and cared for here in Arequipa. A year ago I honestly had no idea what this time was going to look like. I planned and prepared, but it has been so neat to see how God has shaped and guided me week by week to where I am today. I have endured challenging seasons but I am overwhelmed with gratitude for Peruvians, who were complete strangers, yet welcomed me with open arms and took me in like family. That is the love of God.
Moving to a new place and building new community and relationships is difficult for anyone, and these experiences and emotions are not just because I decided to move to a different country. I saw that and still see that with all of my college friends as they too have moved away from home to start a new chapter of life. But I feel extremely blessed to be where I have landed with the people that God has placed in my life. From the beginning, the Daggetts have taken care of me and helped me with things big and small, answering all my silly questions as well as giving me guidance and wisdom. Letting me live with them for several months was definitely a sacrifice and I felt spoiled in many ways, waking up to the most delicious breakfast every morning and coming home to a home cooked meal was something I took for granted. They have been great mentors, as well as family away from home.
Paty has always invited me to eat lunch with her and her family before we leave for the orphanage. At the beginning it was difficult to communicate as I was just a beginner in Spanish, and it was also super tiring because I would have class for 4 hours in the morning, then eat with Paty’s family, and then go to the orphanage. (When you are first learning a language, everything is taxing and your brain gets really tired.) It always felt like such a long day but little did I know that my relationship with Paty would become so important to me. I have several “moms” here but Paty is definitely the primary one. She gives me food, checks on me if I am feeling sick, reminds me to be careful around the city, asks me if I have a boyfriend, invites me to do things, listens to my countless stories, gives me advice and encourages me in my faith.
I met Betty, my Spanish teacher, on my second day in Peru. At first, I did not like her very much because she was pretty strict and would laugh at me when I made mistakes. But now, I would consider Betty to be another one of my “moms'' here. I always look forward to class with her which recently has looked like telling each other funny stories from the week for the whole 2 hours without realizing it, but we also have conversations on just about every topic - addiction, religion, political problems, racial problems, Peruvian and US American history, weapons and war and different cultures. She takes care of me and checks in on me when I am sick or need help navigating life in Peru. We share in so much joy and laughter together but also the hard things that come with life.
I met Zenet, the owner of the hotel where HULA is housed, when I was a HULA student in 2020, and I would see her every once in a while but it wasn’t until this year's HULA group arrived that we started spending a lot of time together. She is another one of my “moms” here that I don’t see all the time, but when I do it is always so sweet and comforting. She feeds me, teaches me how to cook Peruvian food, lets me borrow things, is convinced I have a boyfriend that I am hiding from her and always hypes me up and encourages me.
Read more about Caily’s connection with our church community, with Arequipa’s rock-climbing community, reflections on building relationships as ministry and learning Spanish, her work in a children’s home and with a medical campaign, as well as more reflections on life in Peru in the latest issue of her newsletter. She closes with these words:
He’s making all things new. He’s not finished yet.
Lord,
For every sheep and coin and child called lost,
may you pull us close and whisper found.
