Lisa’s two worlds become one

The Leadership Summit in Pittsburgh was a dream come true for me because my two worlds became one.

I have lived and served in Latin America for thirty years. I started when I was twenty-two years old and so apart from Mirna Sotomayor and my husband, no other Latin American with whom I work really knows the world in which I grew up in. I feel like an “ahistorical figure” in Latin America, like I dropped into Latin America and no one knew my roots, my family, my upbringing, and the role my churches and friends have played in my spiritual journey. Every day I lived and traveled with my Latin friends on the streets of Pittsburgh (really the North Hills), I felt more and more known.

Below you will find a short video (1.24 min.) of the tour I took the team of Latin Americans on.
(here is the link from youtube.com in case it's not visible from the blog:

Lisa's tour down memory lane (visits to her Pittsburgh homes growing up)

Here is a sampling of their impressions:

• Don’t despise rambunctious kids. Lisa was quite rambunctious and look how well she turned out. (Gloria, Mexico)
• Why would she leave such a nice neighborhood? It must have been a call from God. (Rixy, El Salvador)
• You can clearly see her healthy foundations; she was well invested in by her parents, church, and youth leaders. (Robert, Panama)
• As a child, she never could have imagined returning to these woods she played in forty years later with people from Latin America in tow. We can’t visualize the future—good thing! (Duglas, Guatemala)
• Don’t forget your past because it can be inspiring to others. I feel closer to “my professor” for having seen where she grew up. It’s important for me to understand the person whose leadership is so influential. (Alvaro, Bolivia)