perales

Since arriving a month ago, I have been in search of a church or some kind of fellowship, something with which I could get involved. Work with SOLAC has been quite slow lately, so I have to find more things to get me out of the house as well. And after several weeks of contacting people and waiting, the Lord provided a contact at an evangelical Presbyterian church located in a poor community on the outskirts of the city. After talking with the director, Moises, he invited me out to meet the community and see if I would be interested in helping out. We met at KFC (ha) and went on our way, about a 30 minute bus ride to the area in a district called Santa Anita (see map). The community is poor, similar to that of Huachipa (which I will expand on soon, I promise), but has a bit more city feel to it, whereas Huachipa is kind of out in the middle of no where. After getting off the bus, we walked through the neighborhoods a bit, making our way to the church, which is located in a community called Perales. Definitely got a few looks, as gringos are not seen often in these parts. However, a few churches back in the states off a bit of financial support and also send groups one week out of the year to run a vacation Bible school, which Moises described as being a ¨huge blessing and encouragement.¨ Anyway, they put on a small church service that night for about 15 of us there in total, complete with singing hymns, an offering, and a teaching. And after, Moises introduced me to everyone and they warmly welcomed me into their community. Lots of smiles, laughs, hugs, and kisses. It was an awesome night and really what I needed.

Over the past week I have been going back quite often and meeting more people...kids, adults, everyone. And I can´t help but have a vision for what this could be there. There´s already an earnest people, willing to learn and committed to being involved. And for that reason, Moises and I have been sharing ideas. After only knowing this guy a week I can´t help but be struck by his passion to see the Lord work. He´s also a very solemn, patient, and grateful man, who wants these kids to know the Lord and to succeed in life. He´s someone I will be learning from for sure, but I also feel like I can teach him a lot through what I´ve learned from my experiences. In addition to normal church services, we have been discussing possible programs to implement such as English teaching, nutrition checkups, sports, music, and much more. But, in order for the ball to get rolling, we need manpower more than anything. So I´m in the process of contacting just about anyone I know who might want to give a week or two or more and come down here and volunteer. Or possibly a church is looking to send a group somewhere or support a people...I don´t know. But if you´re reading this an you want to get involved or know someone who might, please contact me! (sceubank@gmail.com)

Exciting things ahead for sure. That is all for now. But first...

Fun/Depressing Fact: Because of the Humboldt Current, Lima is covered in fog seven months of the year. Lima gets very little rain throughout the year and the sky is almost always overcast.

Woop woop