Dear Friends,
Wow! It has been a busy three months! I’ll try not to tell all the details, because that would make this newsletter the size of a novel, but I’ll give a quick synopsis of what has been going on since my last letter in March.
At the end of March Martin and I were priviledged to be able to be a part of handing out Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes in Huaricolca. It was so neat to see all those excited kids; there were about 300 of them! Their faces shone as they opened up the boxes and examined the treats inside. Moms and grandmothers were just as excited as the kids!
April was a busy month. We were able to meet several times with our lawyer in Lima and we signed many of the papers related to the NGO we are forming. We also had a meeting with the director of the government department that concerns itself with the welfare of women and children. There is a missionary from Newfoundland, Sherry, who also lives in Tarma, and we have decided to help her start a project that is similar to ours in the city of Tarma. She will be caring for kids who spend a lot of their time begging in the streets, providing a place for them to do homework, to play, and to learn about God’s love for them. We are excited about working together with her. We celebrated Easter with an American missionary family, and enjoyed some North American style food, at the traditional Peruvian time for eating lunch! (Around 2pm) In April I also made a quick trip home to Canada for my grandfather’s funeral. What a blessing to be able to be with my family at that time, even if only for a few days.
At the beginning of May we had a visit from my pastor from Peterborough and some of his friends. Our friends Jason (from Canada) and Rocio (from Peru) got married, and we kicked off our Sunday school program in Huaricolca. Thanks to the GEMS girls in Chatham who raised money for us, we were able to buy treat bags for the kids and fill them with pencils and erasers and candies. We sang lots of songs and played some games, and we had about 25 kids come. Sunday school has continued every other week in Huaricolca while we have been in Canada, but we are planning to make it a weekly occasion once we return.
Also in May Martin and I were pajes (part of the wedding party) in our friends’ wedding in Tarma. It was a new experience for both of us, as weddings in the mountains are very traditional and highly coreographed! Our friend Pastor Omar had a visitor from the U.S. who lead a leadership conference for all the leaders in the community in Tarma, and I had the honour and challenge of translating for him in the mornings for the conference, and in the evenings at church. It was very tiring, but God was faithful and kept my brain from shutting down!
Thank you for praying about Martin’s visa. In April we received the news that he had been accepted, and in May we came home to prepare for the wedding. Things were a bit stressful and Martin had a bit culture shock, but we survived and in June the wedding was beautiful, even though the weather was a bit strange!
And finally, the best news yet... we just found out that land has been donated for the centre! There was a complicated mix-up regarding land for the church that our friend Pastor Guillermo is starting to build in Huaricolca, and the end result is that the town provided land for him, and for the centre as well! Praise God! We are looking forward to returning to Peru in July to begin building the centre and being Christ’s hands and feet right there in Huaricolca.
Thank you for continuing to support this project and may God bless you richly!
Please pray!
· For buildings materials and labourers
· For the quick finalization of our NGO
· For favour with community officials
· For a van to drive kids around
· That God would bless the efforts we make with these children and their families
June 29, 2009
June 8, 2009
Oh Canada!
Hello friends!
Since the middle of May Martin and I have been in Canada where we are getting ready for our wedding (which is just 12 days away!) and making connections with churches where we are planning to hold information nights. My mom has been keeping Martin busy in the garden where he is learning lots of new skills, and I am learning new organizational skills and making lots and lots of phone calls! We are enjoying our time here, but we are also missing our friends in Peru.
We started a Sunday school program in Huaricolca shortly before leaving, and it has been taken over by our friends Karina and Oscar, who recently got married! Karina and Oscar are both teachers and are members of the church we are working with. They are a great help to us, and also great friends. So even though we are here, the work we began is continuing, and we plan to jump right back in once we return to Peru, which will be on July 13th.
Thank you for keeping in touch with us, hopefully we will see some of you on this trip, some of you we may already have seen! If you'd like to talk with us while we're home in Canada, please email me, or call me at my mom's house!
God bless you!
Since the middle of May Martin and I have been in Canada where we are getting ready for our wedding (which is just 12 days away!) and making connections with churches where we are planning to hold information nights. My mom has been keeping Martin busy in the garden where he is learning lots of new skills, and I am learning new organizational skills and making lots and lots of phone calls! We are enjoying our time here, but we are also missing our friends in Peru.
We started a Sunday school program in Huaricolca shortly before leaving, and it has been taken over by our friends Karina and Oscar, who recently got married! Karina and Oscar are both teachers and are members of the church we are working with. They are a great help to us, and also great friends. So even though we are here, the work we began is continuing, and we plan to jump right back in once we return to Peru, which will be on July 13th.
Thank you for keeping in touch with us, hopefully we will see some of you on this trip, some of you we may already have seen! If you'd like to talk with us while we're home in Canada, please email me, or call me at my mom's house!
God bless you!
April 8, 2009
Hello!
I see it´s been a while since I´ve written, and some interesting things have happened in that time. Last week we went to Lima to sign the constitution for our association. We have to go back again to sign something in the notary office, and then we´ll offically be an association, registered with the Peruvian government. Once we get there we will be able to buy land. We have tentatively decided on land that a lady from church is selling. I thought at first that it isn´t perfect because it´s a little far from the centre of the town, and it means little ones will have to cross the highway. It´s not an incredibly busy highway, but big trucks go flying down it. I´m a little worried about that, but we are also praying for a big van, so then we could pick up the little ones and drive them to the centre. The land isn´t really big, but beside it is another plot of land that is owned by the community and is not being used. Perhaps they will donate that land to us, and then we would have a great sized property to use. By this time next month we could be ready to start building!
In the meantime we have been talking with some friends here in Tarma about starting a similar project for the children of Tarma. There are a lot of kids who ask for money in the streets at night, and a lawyer who we met with to talk about our ideas explained that the police believe there are several adults who are exploiting these kids. Our idea is to feed them a big lunch, help them with their homework, and play with them. In the future it may be necessary to start a kind of children´s home where they can live here in the city. Or perhaps God will use our project in Huaricolca to provide a safe place for these kids to live.
There is so much need here in this region, but God is so faithful. This week is semana santa, and a lot of tourists come to celebrate here in Tarma. It is a very popular catholic festival. There is also a group of missionaries from Lima here this week, running an evangelistic conference. God has his eye on this place, and he is busy at work! It´s such a priviledge to be part of it, especially where kids are concerned.
If you´re praying, please remember us and the mountains of Peru. Pray that I´ll get good at waiting for God´s timing and not be discouraged. Also, we applied for Martin´s visa to go to Canada. We have a meeting at the embassy on the 16th of April, pray about that too! We know that God is always good!
Thanks for reading and following our adventures!
In the meantime we have been talking with some friends here in Tarma about starting a similar project for the children of Tarma. There are a lot of kids who ask for money in the streets at night, and a lawyer who we met with to talk about our ideas explained that the police believe there are several adults who are exploiting these kids. Our idea is to feed them a big lunch, help them with their homework, and play with them. In the future it may be necessary to start a kind of children´s home where they can live here in the city. Or perhaps God will use our project in Huaricolca to provide a safe place for these kids to live.
There is so much need here in this region, but God is so faithful. This week is semana santa, and a lot of tourists come to celebrate here in Tarma. It is a very popular catholic festival. There is also a group of missionaries from Lima here this week, running an evangelistic conference. God has his eye on this place, and he is busy at work! It´s such a priviledge to be part of it, especially where kids are concerned.
If you´re praying, please remember us and the mountains of Peru. Pray that I´ll get good at waiting for God´s timing and not be discouraged. Also, we applied for Martin´s visa to go to Canada. We have a meeting at the embassy on the 16th of April, pray about that too! We know that God is always good!
Thanks for reading and following our adventures!
March 11, 2009
Arrived!
Yesterday we left Lima at 7 am with the car packed as full as possible! We arrived in Tarma at about 1pm after a long, winding, but absolutely beautiful drive through the Andes. (I`ll post some pictures soon!) The highest point we passed was 4,800 meters (about 15800 ft) where there is a crystal clear lake and snow. We stopped to take some pictures, and when we got out of the car we were really dizzy! When we decided to keep moving, the car stalled! We were a little nervous after that, but our little warrior car made it! We unloaded most of the stuff at the house where Xochi and I will be staying, and after some lunch and a very needed rest we unloaded Martin`s things at the room where he will be living.
Today we had lunch with Sherry, a Canadian missionary, bought some things we needed, and then went to Huaricolca to go to church with our pastor friend. We went early hoping to meet up with the mayor, but he had already gone home. So a lady who attends Pastor Guillermo´s church invited us to her home. As we were waiting for her we saw two boys go by with two donkeys. One boy jumped onto the bigger donkey and lay on it on his belly, hitching a ride Huaricolca style! The smaller boy jumped onto the smaller donkey to do the same thing, but his donkey stopped. He hit it on the rump but the donkey wouldn`t move. We all know donkeys can be a bit stubborn! So he jumped off and hit the donkey again, but this time the donkey took off running and the boy had to run behind it. We laughed so hard! I guess donkeys can be pretty smart too!
As we were waiting it started to thunder and there was lightening. We were waiting there with some kids and Martin was pretending to be afraid, but later he confessed that he was a little unsettled because it was the first time he had heard thunder like that. We got into the house just in time as it started to rain really hard. This home has a tin roof, so it was loud. Soon it started hailing, and then conversation was impossible! Once it calmed down outside we went out and saw that enough hail had fallen to collect handfuls of it. In the car the windshield was foggy and it reminded me so much of Canada! Since it had rained so crazily church was cancelled and we headed back down to Tarma.
Driving through Huaricolca (which takes no more than three minutes, and only that long because of the pot holes!) we saw so many kids. They are well behaved, they all say hello as they walk by, and we are so excited to begin getting to know them better and to work with them. We are planning to use the municipal building until we get our own place to run an after school program and have Sunday school. So the next investment we´ll make will be in school supplies and some books and toys and balls and things like that. Please pray that moms will let their kids come to play with us instead of dragging them to the fields after school.
And thank you for praying for our move! It went really, really well, thank you God!
Oh yeah, the day before we left Lima we had a meeting with Yois, our lawyer, and she is starting the process of forming an NGO. At the end of the month we`ll go to sign the first set of papers. We´re advancing! Praise God!
Thanks for reading!
Today we had lunch with Sherry, a Canadian missionary, bought some things we needed, and then went to Huaricolca to go to church with our pastor friend. We went early hoping to meet up with the mayor, but he had already gone home. So a lady who attends Pastor Guillermo´s church invited us to her home. As we were waiting for her we saw two boys go by with two donkeys. One boy jumped onto the bigger donkey and lay on it on his belly, hitching a ride Huaricolca style! The smaller boy jumped onto the smaller donkey to do the same thing, but his donkey stopped. He hit it on the rump but the donkey wouldn`t move. We all know donkeys can be a bit stubborn! So he jumped off and hit the donkey again, but this time the donkey took off running and the boy had to run behind it. We laughed so hard! I guess donkeys can be pretty smart too!
As we were waiting it started to thunder and there was lightening. We were waiting there with some kids and Martin was pretending to be afraid, but later he confessed that he was a little unsettled because it was the first time he had heard thunder like that. We got into the house just in time as it started to rain really hard. This home has a tin roof, so it was loud. Soon it started hailing, and then conversation was impossible! Once it calmed down outside we went out and saw that enough hail had fallen to collect handfuls of it. In the car the windshield was foggy and it reminded me so much of Canada! Since it had rained so crazily church was cancelled and we headed back down to Tarma.
Driving through Huaricolca (which takes no more than three minutes, and only that long because of the pot holes!) we saw so many kids. They are well behaved, they all say hello as they walk by, and we are so excited to begin getting to know them better and to work with them. We are planning to use the municipal building until we get our own place to run an after school program and have Sunday school. So the next investment we´ll make will be in school supplies and some books and toys and balls and things like that. Please pray that moms will let their kids come to play with us instead of dragging them to the fields after school.
And thank you for praying for our move! It went really, really well, thank you God!
Oh yeah, the day before we left Lima we had a meeting with Yois, our lawyer, and she is starting the process of forming an NGO. At the end of the month we`ll go to sign the first set of papers. We´re advancing! Praise God!
Thanks for reading!
March 3, 2009
Step One
So, to be able to accomplish what we`re hoping to do, the first thing we need to do is to form an official association. This is the first step towards forming an NGO. Once we have an association, we can aquire property in its name and begin construction. The reason it´s necessary is so that the government knows who we are and what we are doing. Also, it entitles us to exhonerations from some taxes. The process to form an association takes about a month and is going to cost a little less than $1500 Canadian dollars. We may not decide to take the next step to become an official NGO, because we aren`t planning to import a lot of things, so that may not be worth the time and money it would cost. So right now we`re photocopying things and talking with people to work out the details. There is a lawyer from Emmanuel, a big chuch here in Lima, who is very lovely and has been very helpful. She is guiding us through the process.
On March 9th we´re planning to move to Tarma. There are some properties there that we can look at, but our main reason for the move is because we want to be part of the community there. We are planning to start our programs in the street, or in the municipal building (the mayor of the region is very interested in this project and has done everything he can to make things easier for us). We think it is important that we get to know the kids and their parents, and that they get to know us. We want to understand the way they think and what their culture is, and we want to learn about their specific needs.
Please pray about this move! Currently we don`t know where we are going to live when we arrive (obviously we need two separate places until we get married), and we have to send my little fridge and mattress with a moving company that we haven`t found yet! Also, pray for Martin`s car. There are a bunch of things we need to fix because it´s a little bit old, and the extreme altitude change may affect the compression, so we´re praying that we´ll make it!
Thanks for reading! Please don`t forget to pray for the kids of Huaricolca.
On March 9th we´re planning to move to Tarma. There are some properties there that we can look at, but our main reason for the move is because we want to be part of the community there. We are planning to start our programs in the street, or in the municipal building (the mayor of the region is very interested in this project and has done everything he can to make things easier for us). We think it is important that we get to know the kids and their parents, and that they get to know us. We want to understand the way they think and what their culture is, and we want to learn about their specific needs.
Please pray about this move! Currently we don`t know where we are going to live when we arrive (obviously we need two separate places until we get married), and we have to send my little fridge and mattress with a moving company that we haven`t found yet! Also, pray for Martin`s car. There are a bunch of things we need to fix because it´s a little bit old, and the extreme altitude change may affect the compression, so we´re praying that we´ll make it!
Thanks for reading! Please don`t forget to pray for the kids of Huaricolca.
March 2, 2009
Wecome!
Hello! Welcome to our blog!
Centro Ruhamah is (well, soon will be) an educational centre for children in a village called Huaricolca, in the mountains of central Peru. Our desire is to bless the people of this village, starting with the children, by helping them to be prepared for the future. We have lots of plans about how to do this! At first we´ll be a fun, safe place to play and experience new things, we`ll offer a homework club, and we´ll have Sunday school. We also want to invite people to come and teach different skills to the kids here (like carpentry or baking or sewing or crafts or mechanics). We`ve met some people in Tarma, the city nearby, who are interested in helping out, which is so great! We´re planning to construct extra rooms so that visitors can stay with us at the centre. So you can come from near or far to share with these kids!
Maybe you wonder why we believe we should be preparing these children for the future. The fact is the education system in Peru is quite antiquated, even in the capital city. In rural areas it`s even worse, and resources are very limited. Huaricolca doesn`t have the internet, and cell phone signals don`t reach there. Opportunities for these kids are very limited, but we want to be part of changing that. So helping to expose these kids to art and music and helping to improve their education is important to prepare them for the future. But the most valuable thing we`re bringing is God`s love for them. Teaching children about how much God loves them, about how Jesus gave his life for them, about the plans and purposes their Heavenly Father has for them is the greatest way we can invest in their future.
Centro Ruhamah is (well, soon will be) an educational centre for children in a village called Huaricolca, in the mountains of central Peru. Our desire is to bless the people of this village, starting with the children, by helping them to be prepared for the future. We have lots of plans about how to do this! At first we´ll be a fun, safe place to play and experience new things, we`ll offer a homework club, and we´ll have Sunday school. We also want to invite people to come and teach different skills to the kids here (like carpentry or baking or sewing or crafts or mechanics). We`ve met some people in Tarma, the city nearby, who are interested in helping out, which is so great! We´re planning to construct extra rooms so that visitors can stay with us at the centre. So you can come from near or far to share with these kids!
Maybe you wonder why we believe we should be preparing these children for the future. The fact is the education system in Peru is quite antiquated, even in the capital city. In rural areas it`s even worse, and resources are very limited. Huaricolca doesn`t have the internet, and cell phone signals don`t reach there. Opportunities for these kids are very limited, but we want to be part of changing that. So helping to expose these kids to art and music and helping to improve their education is important to prepare them for the future. But the most valuable thing we`re bringing is God`s love for them. Teaching children about how much God loves them, about how Jesus gave his life for them, about the plans and purposes their Heavenly Father has for them is the greatest way we can invest in their future.
If you´d like more information, if you want to come and visit, or if you´d like to donate supplies you can email us at deniseleyann@hotmail.com
If you´d like to donate money to help us get the centre up and running, visit www.iatw.ca (Into All the World is our sending organization.)
Thanks for your interest in the kids of Peru!
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