Peru

While the boys are away, I ask AI to tell me about Peru

and the computer provides, in hazy bullet points, what I might see in Cusco, in Lima

spits out tips to manage altitude sickness, which teas to drink and which plants to avoid touching 

From where I sit in the corner of my own kitchen

the glowing screen gives me fast answers, a full itinerary

one good prompt away from a machine's sterile words attempting to make the world look alive

A week later I ask my boys to tell me about Peru

and they describe a night sky abundant with stars and planets

with great animation my teenagers demonstrate how deaf children kissed their chests goodbye

The boys share all the ways to lose a hacky sack, from roof tops to train platforms

tell about brown rivers and frigid waterfalls, old growth trees and ancient methods of stacking stone

the magnificent feel of alpaca fur at their fingertips

how one ground insect can create six colors of die for yarn

They recall playing rock paper scissors from a cafe balcony with school children down at street level, 

the size of blueberries and snails, the taste of guinea pig, the sight of street cats and all the shades of dust

Count all the ways to communicate in a country whose language is different from their own, sign language and their best Spanish, "six seven" and so many big smiles

The boys tell me what it's like to wander a place long enough that it slowly becomes familiar 

And I wonder at the limits of progress, how we'll ever know we met them

And I marvel at the way memories are held in human bodies, stories that will never hit a screen the way they feel inside a heart

The big boys, along with Broad Street Presbyterian Church friends, traveled to Peru for a cultural immersion experience through PC(USA) and local partners in Peru. The group visited three distinct regions: the coastal desert in Lima, the high jungle Amazon in Moyobamba, and the Andes mountains, including the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. They learned from communities working for justice, heard stories of resilience and resistance, built relationships across cultures, and reflected on what global solidarity and faithful discipleship look like in today’s world.