Who Needs Hands When you Have a Skirt?

Today we had our final GAM (Grupo por Ayudando Mujeres) of the year in Callqui, the small pueblo just above the city of Huanta, about an hour from Ayacucho Proper. Remember Callqui (the Presbyterian Church specifically) was the sight of the grizzly slaying of 6 or 7 men, including several youth, during a prayer service in December 1984 at the hands of the Peruvian military.

So Ruth, Milagros, and I set out with Raul our driver. This was going to be a chocolatata and afternoon of games. We brought each mama a paneton of their very own to take back and share with their families on Christmas, and also some to share right there. We also brought the women a lunch of Pollo a la Brasa (Rotissere Chicken) which is one of my favorite things to eat here in Peru. The women brought the chocolate minus the milk for the chocolatata, potatoes, and a salad to add to lunch. That is something that I have really liked about my visits to Callqui. Our bi-monthly gatherings, from our workshops to a snack have been collaborative rather than us always bringing and giving something/evverything, thereby creating dependency. The women have really taken ownership over their GAM and it is delightful. They often suggest or have issues they want to work on and demonstrate an innate ability to take care of one another. I know this because I witness it. My understanding of Quechua has gotten profoundly better now I just need to work on responding back in Quechua.

This day we took our chocolatata and pollo a la brasa out to the local park for a picnic. The women spread out thier manatas which are their brightly colored, multi-purpose blanket/backpacks and WALAH!! instant picnic. The verb in spanish for ¨to picnic¨ is picnicar. Okay no really it isn´t I just made that word up along with Carol from the office, there really is no such word. Before we ate we played soccer and other games, as well as sang some hymns. One of my favorite Quechua hymns is Dios Tatayllay or the 23rd Psalm. Yes, I want to repeat, women played soccer together in Peru, CALL THE PRESS!!! They suggested it. Piluta qaitayta yachunkichu? I asked. Do you want to play soccer? (in Quechua) Everytime I asked, Mama Concepcion Quispe would stick her foot out from under her skirt, kick, and laugh like she was playing. Classic. Imagine four Quechua mamas in their 70´s playing soccer with a gringa, and her two Peruvian office mates. Concepcion played goalie or archero for my team. She is good. Mama Paulina was the goalie for the other team. When the ball would come near her Concepcion would sort of squat down and instead of using her hands she WOOSHED it up by scooping the ball into her skirt. How resourceful. She saved a lot of goals that way.

We also played a game where you race to see who can wrap the other teamate in toilet paper the fastest, then another round to see who can return the paper to the roll the fastest. It was called moomi or mummy. Before lunch we had a brief hymn sing and time of prayer. All of these women are evangelical Chrisitans, Presbyterian infact. It was truly a great day. So in this blog entry is in honor of my friends in Callqui. Concepcion, Amyra, Sabina, Junana, Paulina the mamas of Callqui who continue to care for one another and each other while trying to walk in soldarity down a path of grief that had been suspended for some thirty years. For what I offered them, but most of all for the lessons they taught me through laughter, fumbling, humilty, cross cultural pastoral care and love for the stranger.

This is Mama Concepcion Quispe and I celebrating a GOOAALL-AH!!