I can’t believe that it has already been a month since I
came to Peru! It has been one of the most interesting months of my life. It has
been full of so many new and different things then I am used to, and has truly been
an adventure. It has been such a learning experience for me. I could write a
book about what has happened here in the past few weeks, but I will try to just
hit the highlights for now.
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| Shopping for Food in the Market |
The training wheels came off after about the first week and
a half of being here in Peru. Ron Hawkins and Dr. Gow-Lee, who had come down
here to help us get started, had to return to the States. I have to privilege
of being the assistant site coordinator here at Amor this year, which also
means a lot of responsibility. Those first couple weeks on our own were defiantly
weeks of prayer for me, as felt completely in over my head, but God is good,
and he will always give you the strength and wisdom to make it through if you
trust in him. I also must mention that the group of missionaries that I am
serving with are such a great group. They are a great group who are positive and
willing to work to reach out to those around them. Together we have been able to figure out the details
of living in Peru, and all the new things that may entail.
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| Apparently is a tradition to get eggs and flour dumped on your head on your birthday here in Peru. |
Things are a little different here at Amor this year than in
previous years. Dr. Mathew who used to live here and run the clinic, has went
back to school for continued education. This has brought some changes, but God
has a plan for this place, and although our jobs have changed a little the
mission is still the same. We have a doctor who comes from Lima for one week
out of every month. During that week we do clinic for the people. We use our
clinic here at Km 8 as well as do mobile clinics in the surrounding area. For
the other three weeks we are going out into the community and educating the people
about public health. There is such a need for this education here, and the
people really appreciate our effort. This also allows us to build closer relationship
with the community. The end goal here is to introduce these people to Jesus and
the Adventist message.
Another ministry that we really working with now is the orphanage.
There is an orphanage here that is an orphanage for disabled kids. As you can
imagen there is so much to do there. There is a strong medical need, and the
kids need help with homework, physical therapy, of most of all they just need attention.
These kids will steal your heart so quickly.
It will humble you to realize how little these kids have, yet they are always
willing to help each other out. It is very humbling to play with a group of
kids, when more than half of them cannot play a simple game of tag, due to some
disability. Yet, they are some of the happiest kids I have ever seen. It is truly
a blessing to get to work with them.
Although there is so much that I could continue talking
about, I will close by saying. My time here in Peru has had some ruff moments.
There have been times that I have wondered why I am putting myself through some
of the hard ships, but those thoughts are short lived. Because every day we see
the sick, the pour, and the hurting who are looking for something better. We
have something better to give, both physical and spiritual. It is the moment
when you are standing at the bed side of a woman who had an aneurism six months
before that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt why you are here. She is breathing
out of a trake, and is fed by a feeding tube. She is paralyzed, and because no
one has the time or money to give her the proper care, her muscles are so tight
from laying there, that limb can barely move. When you have the opportunity to
help someone like that you realize that it’s not about you. It’s about others
and it’s about God! No matter where we are in this world, there are people
around us that our hearting, and it is our commission to help them.