For a better future…
It was a simple moment. I was just tying a rosary for someone. Her name was Heidi and she is 10 years old. The picture is not actually Heidi but one of the other girls in the group. Heidi is the youngest of three siblings who moved to Pamplona with their Mom and Dad three years ago. I will never forget her. I will never forget her answers.
Children love to watch you when you tie a rosary. There is just something amazing about the way that you can understand that it will eventually be beautiful and complete at the end, but somewhere in the middle of a knot it just looks like a confused mess. Looks of astonishment accompany every completed knot, especially if the children are seeing it done for the first time.
Heidi was part of a group of 5 little girls that I was able to pull in from the raucous of laughter and play. I asked her if she would like a rosary and her smile lit up the already bright mountain side. I tied the knots and tried to make small talk while I did it. They giggled at me when I stumbled over my Spanish, trying to find a line of conversation while also not losing my place in tying this rosary… I started to make a game of asking simple questions like:
“How many siblings do you have” – “Cuantos hermanos tienes?”.
“How old are you?” – “Cuantos años tienes?”
“What’s your name again? I think I forgot.” – “Como te llamas otra vez? Pienso que olvide..”
“What’s my name again? I think I forgot.” – “Como me llamo? Pienso que olvide…”
This one got a great big chorus of laughter from the whole group, amidst the din of the community gathered, it was the most beautiful sound.
“How long have you lived in Pamplona?” – “Cuantos años has vivido aqui en Pamplona?”
And then the moment that simply pierced my heart.
“Why did your family move to Pamplona?” – “Porque mudaron aqui en Pamplona?”
I don’t know what I was expecting. I almost asked the question by accident, some reflex part of my brain reaching for small talk while trying to finish the rosary… and then she said the words that I am still not sure how to process…
“Por un futuro mejor…” – “For a better future…”
She said it with a smile. I understood the words but the concept and reality were so far outside of my mindset that something just didn’t compute. I confess that I have a hard time not seeing Pamplona as a problem sitting on the side of a desert mountain waiting to be solved. However, that same part of my brain recognizes that there is no “viable” solution.
That’s not how the people see it. It is home. It is beautiful. It is filled with hope for tomorrow and not some far off distant tomorrow … like when each shanty will have running water, sewage, and electricity. Pamplona is filled with a very near hope. A hope for the good that will be encountered today.
Jesus loves Pamplona. The Father (in heaven) has been working here for a very long time. His work is so different from what I would have expected, but I never would’ve expected that Heidi would move to Pamplona for a better future. I am excited to spend the next several days making Pamplona better for Heidi.
-Dr. Nic Wagner
St Dominic Peru Mission 