Lying along the shores of the Pacific Ocean, Lima, Peru’s climate is that of a subtropical desert. Most of the year the weather is dry and warm, which means that the city is quite a dusty place.
The maids of Lima address that issue. Even many middle-class families have maids. The women who serve in that capacity often come from poorer neighborhoods, and take up residence in the top-floor, one-room, maid’s quarters found in most homes. The maid will be busy every day cleaning, washing laundry, and preparing meals.
In a typical middle-class neighborhood, each home has a small grass lawn lying between the front door and a brick wall topped with iron-work fencing. Beyond that wall and fence – the sidewalk and street. One distinct memory of time spent in Lima is the image of maids at work each daybreak, sweeping the sidewalk in front of their employers’ homes. The dust of a dry climate and the debris of daily life in a crowded city must be cleaned up. Everyday the same sweeping duty is performed because everyday more dust arrives.
Martin Luther admitted for us all that the dust of guilt is a regular feature of our lives. “We sin much every day, “ he said. The writer of Lamentations counters that truth and comforts us, Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning . . . (Lamentations 3).
The ELS relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Peru is conducted by the South America Committee of the Board for World Outreach.
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Steve Petersen
