Amy's Story

Peru was an amazing experience. There is no way that words can convey what happened on that trip or the impact it will have on my life. That week in Peru was amazing, humbling, inspiring, sad and joyful all at the same time. My heart was broken and then filled again; broken for the children and their hunger - physical, emotional, and spiritual; filled by the smiles, kisses and hugs from the children, by witnessing the hand of God at work, and by experiencing God's provision in all things.

I learned so much about life and what's really important. We focus so much on things and waste so much! These children have so little and let nothing go to waste, yet all they really want is someone to love and pay attention to them, and to have hope for their future. I also learned more about God. We went in with a plan and that plan was soon turned upside down! Every time something went "wrong", we made adjustments and found that indeed, God had a greater plan. God's provision and direction were so evident. So, does that mean I'll no longer plan things? Of course not! I love to plan and I believe God has given me the gift of organization. What will be different for me is that I'm going to try to be more flexible and aware that when things don't go according to my plan, God may be at work, and be open to whatever He may be doing.

When I've been on mission trips in the past, I've tended to focus on details and logistics. My thinking is always to take care of as much of the organizational work as I can, so that others are free to build relationships. I just don't see building relationships as my strength. I approached this trip the same way, focusing on details. By the end of the week, I was building some relationships in spite of myself and one little girl in particular really captured my heart. Her name is Yessenia and she is 11 years old, the same age as my daughter. She was very bold and obviously a leader among her friends, perhaps being a little bossy with them at times. I usually would not be drawn to such a child; but rather to a shy child, like I was when I was young. But this girl was different, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about her and praying for her. I believe God has special plans for her (actually I know this, because He has special plans for all of us!).

I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to take this trip and am already making plans to go back. I have fallen in love with the country of Peru and its people - especially the little ones!

Nancy's Story

My first time to see "la comunidad" or the orphanage was wonderful. I really had no expectations about it, so it was really neat just to see it for what it was. Miguel, founder of the orphanage, shared his story with us and showed us around the community.


We also went to visit with the little boys, and that moment changed my life. This was one of the few times that I have seen unconditional love coming from a human standpoint. These boys were absolutely precious, and all they wanted was for you to love them. They already loved you.











I was so glad that the others on this trip were spiritually strong. There were questions that I was asked and did not know the answer to. The people here are so very hungry to hear about Jesus coming to save them, but it's something many of them have thought hard about. Having a relationship with Christ means a life-long commitment, and they do not take this lightly.

There were so many ways that God moved during the week, and just a few moments that I never want to forget are the impromptu worship service, talking with Wilbur, listening to Lauren share the gospel COUNTLESS times, the smiles of the children, sharing the gospel, sitting on the roof top reading the Bible with Jon, salsa dancing lessons with the girls, beading, and then some funny ones like accidentally telling the french man I love him, hearing Lauren say "mi nombre" and our waiter thinking she said "mi hombre!", sicknasty bathroom that Michael cleaned, kick-a herbal serum, miranda's blister (poor thing!), sun burns, lack of showers/hot water, Stephen's dance, and so very many more. Feel free to ask about any of these, and I will tell you. There is just too much to write for me to record more about each event individually.

In addition to getting to know these awesome kids, I now have 30 new friends who accepted me into their family even though I had never met some of them. The members of Southmont are absolutely amazing and I consider myself so very blessed to have been able to go on a trip with them. They were my family during this week, and I still consider them family.

Wendy's Story

The following was written by Wendy while we were still in Peru:

The appointment I came for!

When I was moved to come on this trip I had no specific desire or calling in mind I just knew that God spoke to my heart and I had to get up and move in a big way. Having never been on any mission trip at all I think that leaping out on that limb and going to a rural orphanage an hour outside Lima, Peru is a stretch. Even as we signed up for assignments on this trip I still had no idea where my piece of the puzzle fit in. About three weeks before we came I was having doubts creep in about where I fit in the grand scheme. I tossed most of the night and prayed the other half. By morning God had given me the answer I had been looking for... I wanted to float to each area and make sure I could learn from them all. I thought it was because I was uncomfortable with leading some of the activities. That was the reason before the trip.

Now that we are into the homestretch of our visit I can see that God had a much bigger vision than the small piece he gave me before the trip. I am so grateful that He is in control and has the map. This day I would consider to be a pearl on my necklace of miracles.

I visited a casa with Kathy while she told the legend of the candy cane. The pre teen girls slowly began to ask questions after the story. Kathy answered them and as they began to ask more about sin and forgiveness I began to answer them also. I asked how many of them ever prayed to Jesus? Many said they do when they are in trouble. I went on to explain that God is with you in good times and bad. We shared that God meets you where you are and is Jesus is the ONE who will always see you as perfect! I shared with them that God had helped me because I had prayed for weeks about coming to Peru. One girl then started speaking rapidly telling us many things and began to cry as she spoke. In short she was embarrassed that we came all the way to see her in such a low place and that she is not a Christian. She thanked us very much but she was not worthy. She would like to know more about Jesus but she had done bad things And did not know if He could forgive her. By the end of her talking and our response she was sobbing. It tore my heart into pieces to see her struggle with this because it is so familiar. I had the same questions and it took a long time to understand that once you take the step to ask Jesus into your heart He will never leave you and you are a forgiven and new person. Once we answered her questions I went over and hugged her, she simply broke down in tears and she just shook. I held her in a huge hug until she stopped crying and when she finished she had a look of release and calm on her face.

Kathy & I finished up in their casa with candy canes and pictures. It was very hard to move on to the next casa! This struggling young girl might not have accepted Christ today but she heard how to get the unconditional love and acceptance that we all crave and deserve. She felt comfortable enough to open up and share with me very raw and intense feelings and then felt the Holy Spirit as I held her and she let go of maybe just a tiny piece of that doubt, unworthiness and shame. I hope to see her again tomorrow before we leave the orphanage. I will pray for her and so many more that they will come to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Susan's Story

There are so many special times we all shared while at Hogar Sagrada Familia Orphanage. It’s hard to choose just one. So I’m choosing two…

At one of our Peru planning meetings, Lisa asked for ideas for activities for Friday. She mentioned that the kids loved temporary tattoos. I told the group that since I had quite a lot of temporary tattoos at home for my grandson, I would be happy to do that activity. So I purchased some additional tattoos and spent several hours cutting apart and sorting them to make things easier when we arrived. To say that our plans were “liquid” while at the orphanage would be a major understatement. They changed, daily, hourly, sometimes minute by minute. But always the change was good and was a far better plan than we could ever have hoped to conceive. Talk about God being in the details! Not long after we arrived we realized that our Friday “plan” was not going to happen. So I just assumed I would not be using the tattoos and would leave them there for the teachers. Then one evening at the hotel as we were working on one of the craft projects for the next day, Amy and I were talking about the tattoos and not being able to use them. After a brief discussion she decided to modify the craft project and incorporate the tattoos in the activity for the day. It turned out to be a terrific decision.


The next day it was all available hands on deck to apply the tattoos. What a blessing that was! Quite a few in our group were able to hold the hands and touch the faces of those precious children as we applied the temporary tattoos. I was lucky enough to be able to participate in that activity. As we applied the tattoos some of the children who spoke English enjoyed practicing their skills by having a conversation with you. And then others just enjoyed the attention - their smiles were incredible! That is something none of us will ever forget!


But my favorite moment of the trip was our last day in the Baby House. On Monday, Lyn and I, along with our interpreter for the day, Hiroshi, went to the Baby House, our “planned” primary assignment for the week. I don’t think the house parent, Olinda, was expecting us. She seemed a little confused and definitely cautious as she agreed to let us work there. During the rest of that day and the first part of the next day, she continued to be very gracious but guarded towards us. By the end of the second day, she was smiling more and seemed to accept our being there. On Wednesday she was completely at ease, laughing with us, and was able to be her adorable self around the children again. There are typically 30-35 children living in the baby house. She had several of the older girls to help her every day, but Olinda was incredible. She played chase with them, stood on her head to entertain them, sang songs, and was completely loving and joyous. I was humbled and privileged to be part of their world for those few days.




On Friday morning, Lyn had gone to one of the casas to share with some of the girls and I stayed at the Baby House with Olinda, the children and our adorable interpreter Roxana. As I was preparing to leave I asked Roxana to translate something to Olinda. I expressed to Olinda how much I admired her and what she did every day, and how honored I was to have been able to work with her. She told me thank you for coming to work in the Baby House and for loving the children. Both of us had tears in our eyes. Then she took my hands in hers and said “You will be back…” She was right…

Joni's Story

My story is about the young man named Alfonzo that heard about my class from Jeff Cole and came the last two days. He is interested in becoming an ESL teacher. So all I can think about is how can this be arranged. I gave him information in our talk about getting on the internet and finding out about scholarships and ESL programs in border states that teach ESL but I think that there is more that can be done. I want to contact North Texas and TWU, where I got my credentials, and see if they have any possibilities. Lauren is hopefully going to find out his last name. I gave him some materials from the things that I had brought to teach with like books and a dictionary. His English is really good already! I think that one of the team members mentioned that she has space for someone to live in her home. I left my email address with Mario for him to give to Alfonzo. Also, the students knew so much English in the beginning that I had to change to harder material, which I had prepared. And my partner teacher, Ada, was a great help with her interpreting and teaching.

Joni and Alfonzo:

Lyn's Story

When I went to Peru, I thought it was to just rock babies; however after arriving, I soon learned God had a greater purpose in mind.

One of my special God moments was with one of our translators as God gave me a special relationship with Roxana, a young mother, during our week in Peru. This is a picture of a very special moment I had with Roxana one day after she had shared her personal story of how her husband had left her when she became pregnant with her two year twin daughters, leaving her to raise her girls without a father or financial support. God brought to my mind the verse, Jeremiah 29:11, as I told her this verse was special to me when I had been going through a difficult time in my life. I quoted the verse to her since I did not have my bible with me that day to show her where the verse is located, but she told me she had her Spanish bible and when she opened it, her bible fell open to Jeremiah 29. Only God could provide moments like these to encourage others and provide His hope to them. Roxana is a Christian; however, I believe God wanted her to be reassured how He is leading her in her journey to trust Him each day and to strengthen her faith. Also, God reminded me how important it is to hide His word in our hearts for us to be able to share scripture at those unexpected moments when we may not have a bible handy.

Susan happened to be walking behind us and caught the moment on camera. Susan posted the picture on Roxana’s Face Book and below is Roxana’s response:

That was really great! Lyn was telling me about a passage in Jeremiah that she likes a lot and I told her that I had my bible with me but in Spanish, then I just opened my Bible and I opened the book of Jeremiah, chapter and verse that she was talking about!!! I almost cried.

Teacher Training Report

This report is from Lori:

What a wonderful privilege it was to spend time with the teachers this past week!!! It was a tremendous blessing. Here is a list of the items we gave them and a brief run down on our discussions.


Items:
10 sets of Addition/Subtraction Quizmo (40 cards per set)
5 sets of Multiplication/Division Quizmo (40 cards per set)
5 sets of Fraction/Decimal Quizmo (34 cards per set)
10 sets of colored translucent chips (1000 chips per set)
1000 bathroom sized cups
5 sets of Pictures – Changes in Matter
5 sets of Pictures – Animals
6 sets of Pictures – Solar System
6 sets of Pictures – Ocean Life
6 sets of Pictures – Insects
6 sets of Pictures – Rocks and Minerals
6 sets of Pictures – Jungle Animals
Balance
Weighted Numbers to be used with the balance (2 and 3 weigh the same as 5)
Flashcards – color & shapes, counting 0-25, Go Fish – in English and Spanish
4 packages Vis a Vis markers (8 colors per set)
2 overhead projector caddies
2 overhead projectors
Transparencies
Overhead angle viewer
Overhead 100 chart and tiles
Overhead spinners and templates
2 sets Overhead dot dice
Overhead decimal tiles
2 sets Overhead fraction tiles
Overhead place value tiles
15 Pocket Charts (34” x 43”)
30 packages of Sentence Strips (100 per package)
2 sets of Unifix cubes (1000 cubes per set)
4 extra large stamp pads
Rubber stamp set of 3 clocks
2 rubber stamp sets of fractions
Rubber stamp of grid
6 rolls of cash register tape (to be used with the rubber stamps)
Picture set with 62 cards showing people in a variety of settings (for language development, discussion of feelings, etc)
4 hand pointers
4 2” foam cubes (numerals and operations)
Human heart model
Human body model
Metamorphic rock set
4 magnifying bug viewers
2 27” inflatable write-on Globes
1 2’ x 3’ floor puzzle of the Solar System
3 large boxes of geometric foam shapes
3 plastic placemats with Animals – English
3 plastic placemats with Colors – English
3 plastic placemats with Solar System – English
150 9” x 12” dual sided marker boards with markers
150 packs of Kleenex
2 sets of glow-in-the-dark solar system models

Carol talked to the teachers about Resiliency of the children and Learning Styles. This was similar to the FODA program that Peruvian teachers use with their students. The teachers were very open to this, felt encouraged by it and had great conversations between primary and secondary teachers.

I talked to them about:
Barna’s research on children
“Did They Get It?” – a variety of ways to test for comprehension
“Will They Remember It?” – a variety of ways to make learning fun and memorable
“Top 10 Things I Learned From My Students” – classroom management, discipline, rule setting, organization, etc.

On Monday, I asked for ideas on what they wanted to know more about, and that prompted a wonderful discussion!!!! I wrote down their questions and I used them to steer our time for the rest of the week.

I was impressed with their obvious love for each other and for the children. They are a friendly and optimistic group. They choose to be grateful for what they have rather than focus on what they don’t.

It would be a toss-up as to whether or not I taught them as much as they taught me!