The Words of the Davis Family
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The Words of the Davis Family |
Let me take you into the heart of the Special Task Force (STF) two week service trip to the Latin American country of Peru. As a group of ten 2nd Generation Unificationists lead by the STF Director, Roland Platt, we understood that we had crossed thousands of miles for the sake of opening our hearts and serving the Peruvian people.
Peru, in so many ways, was a culture shock for us at first. On February 23rd we landed at the Lima airport with Spanish being spoken all around us, and were driven into the downtown of the city. The brilliant colors and people overwhelmed the senses as our cars wove precariously in and out of the lawless traffic. Locals selling trinkets swarmed around stalled cars trying to make a living and would step deftly out of the way as traffic lights turned green. Driving in Peru was a whole other experience. The road had no rules and car horns and quick reflexes kept us safe and sound.
This was our first taste of Peru and afterwards came a rush of wonderful Peruvian days. A key person who contributed much to our experience was the spirited Francisco Cutiba. As the local coordinator he was highly instrumental in all of our projects and, even though he has a family of five children, he constantly worked with Roland to make sure we always felt loved and welcomed.
Most of our service work was in the poorest of slums that spanned hills outside of Lima. It was through this that we realized the true meaning of gratitude. These makeshift cities were the result of 20 years of political and guerrilla warfare throughout the 80s' and 90s' that wreaked havoc in every corner of the country. Communist regimes and corrupted dictators had fought for power at the expense of the people. Families fled by the tens of thousands to Lima to seek protection from the terror.
Our projects in the Lima area were diverse and varied. We did 'food raising' in the gigantic wholesale fruit and vegetable markets and distributed the produce in the poorer areas, and in the dusty slum of 'Pachacutec' we helped to rebuild the roof of the Church. We also helped with work in a 'comedore' (literally a food distribution center) for poor families.
As the week moved on, we traveled to a small town called Tembladera 10 hours outside of the main city of Lima. Far into the mountains, it was a small town secluded from the rest of the world. A 2nd Generation couple, Nathan and Milene Haft are serving there as Peace Corps volunteers and they helped us organize our projects. For a public elementary school we drew a mural. STF bought the materials and we worked through the sun, rain, and mosquitoes to paint a five-by-eight map of the World. Another team worked to create guinea pigs enclosures, a project to help young people learn about caring for animals and generating an income. We also exhausted ourselves with playing with children of the community.
Our leaders made sure we had time to recharge. Afternoons and free time was filled with wandering around the colorful arts and crafts 'Inca Market' or going on treks into nature. In Tembladera we visited emerald green valleys with ancient rock sites and formations and gazed upon lush rice paddies. Around the slums we visited beaches and let the beauty of the sunset fill our souls with the love of the earth.
The faith of the Peruvian people moved us. Just as early American church members pioneered America, so were the members of the Peruvian church pioneering even the deepest of slums that spanned the many hills in the outskirts of countless towns and cities. They truly love God and True Parents and give their blood, sweat, and tears to build the walls of tiny church centers and share the resurrection they found in our Heavenly Parents.
As an experience that brought our team of 10 closer together, it was something that impressed upon us a deeper desire to reach out to our world community in the future. The fact that we were able to go to Peru and actually touch lives showed us that we can make a difference. We are grateful to Heavenly Father, True Parents, and In Jin nim for giving us this amazing opportunity to go overseas. It was a time to broaden our minds and shape our lives, and an experience we will never forget.
Written by Eika Davis, STF participant
STF (Special Task Force) is a one year educational program which is designed to help build character and leadership in young people through outreach, international service, workshops and more. Participants are primarily high school graduates who defer college enrollment for one year or take a gap year during their studies. The overall purpose of the program is to prepare young people to strive for internal and external excellence throughout their lives.