We Carry Many Stories in Our Bodies: Journeys in (Re)Forming and (Re)Narrating Cross-Cultural Experience and Spiritual Growth in the UK and Peru

This chapter recounts my process of cultural adaptation and spiritual growth after moving from Scotland to Peru to work in rural development projects, social scientific research, Christian pastoral ministry and English teaching. It uses the concepts of narrative and embodiment to describe how my understanding of Peru and my presence there has changed over time. I focus on five orientating narratives (narratives of international development, narratives of mission, critical narratives, family narratives and biblical narratives), exploring their intersections in my life, and their capacity for being reformed in light of new experiences. My journeys to, from and in Peru have revealed to me the way that we carry narratives of many kinds in our bodies. The way that our various orientating narratives interact with each other (internally) and with our experiences of connection in the world (externally) produce creative tensions that are generative of opportunities for personal and spiritual growth.