And don’t allow yourselves to be weary in planting good seeds, for the season of reaping the wonderful harvest you’ve planted is coming! Galatians 6:9 TPT
Happy New Year, Happy Valentines Day, and Happy Easter!! So, as you can see, it has been quite a while since we have done an updated blog. This is NOT for lack of progress. On the contrary this has been an incredibly busy, challenging, and stretching time for us… So we wanted you to read all about what we have been up to both personally and in our areas of service.
Personal Life Update:
Life in Peru continues to be way behind the US. We have been in 2 lockdowns since January. The entire month of February, and then again the 4 days leading up to Easter. We try to get out for walks when we can around our neighborhood. One of the pics is of Kaleb hugging a neighborhood dog named Peppa. He would love to have a dog. We are praying about that one still. As you can see in another picture, when we enter any place including the doctor, we have to wear face shield and mask. Masks are required outside and in public places at all times. We have entered our second school year virtually. More people have been infected, hospitalized, searching franticly for their own oxygen and also for ICU beds at any hospital, and many have passed away. It has been a very hard season for many of the members of our church with no end in sight. Vaccine roll out has been very slow. And this past Sunday April 11 was the primary presidential election with the final election in June. All in person. Mandatory voting required. The future of Peru is uncertain with the 2 presidential candidates who are now up for the final elections. Will you please join in praying for Peru?
Our family has been able to stay healthy, thank God, all this time. The physical church remains closed, so 95% of our work is online at home. As mentioned before Kaleb has entered his 2nd year of online preschool. Small children are definitely NOT meant to learn online, but we try to do our best to make it fun. We have also become a peer in his class…participating in all preschool activities; as well a teacher when not connected online. Kaleb is very interested in how things work now, and has grown very fond of using a small screwdriver to take apart anything he can get his hands on!!! Kaleb continues to grow like a weed! We are sure that he will be taller than both of us before he is a teen. We keep telling him to stop growing, but that hasn’t seemed to work yet!
We continue to wait on the adoption process. It is slow and sometimes halted due to issues of the lockdowns. We continue to pray and believe in God’s perfect time for all of this to be completed. Please continue to pray for this process and for our patience.
Area of Service:
The church Camino de Vida celebrated 1 full year of online services in March. It is indeed a celebration since NOT ONE SUNDAY since we had to close the physical doors have we been without a church service. Not only that, but we are thriving. One thing I have learned in this time is that we keep looking forward. Continuing to find ways to grow, and reach as many people we can for Jesus. Some areas of the church like the outreach ministry has not stopped. They have reached more people in this last year than any other year in the past and now with a much more limited amount of volunteers able to help. Take a look at our recap 1 year video!!
As mentioned, there is much growth in this time, and we are part of that growth. Lisa continues to lead the area of kids with special needs in the children’s ministry called kidsHD. In addition to leading a team to adapt, rewrite, and then record a weekly lesson that is aired every SUNDAY on you tube, there are also live small groups with kids with special needs each Sunday. If you would like the link to watch a class, please let us know! It is all in Spanish. Below are some pics of the smalls groups for kids with special needs with their volunteers.
Lisa and 2 of her dedicated volunteers provided a 2 day workshop on zoom to other churches in Latin America who were interested in how to start a special needs area in their kids ministry. More than 200 people connected each night from churches in many different countries including Argentina, Mexico, Columbia, Chile, Peru and even Switzerland!! We are so excited about this opportunity to share what we have learned with other churches across Latin America! Please watch the video recap below. It is in Spanish, so the key frases are written below:
“Don’t underestimate the potential of a person with a disability.”,
“The best we can do for a child with a disability is believe in them.”
“Focus on the ability, not the disability.”
“The volunteers are there to ensure that the kids are safe, have fun, and learn about God’s love for them.”
Following that training, Clever and Lisa have been asked to lead a small team of volunteers in order to help provide trainings and a plan to include teens, young adults and older adults into their perspective ministries. We are also developing a small group study for parents with special needs. We are very excited for this new opportunity to create a space where all people with disabilities will be welcomed and have a place in Camino de Vida! We know that over the years, the growth and success shown in the kidsHD program has provided for this now much bigger opportunity. As these kids who once were in kidsHD have now aged out, the need for them to be supported in other ministry age groups has led to this moment. We are sure that we have been waiting for such a time as this, to help provide a space for everyone. Will you join us in prayer for wisdom in how to best to do this?
Clever continues to lead the area of coordinating the area of the LSEE (Laurie Schoendorfer Endowment for Education) scholarship program. As mentioned before, it is a program developed a few years ago by founder of Free Wheelchair Mission to honor his late wife. It helps young adults with disabilities, who are interested in further education be able to study with the help of scholarship money. Clever not only coaches the potential applicants, but also maintains contact with each scholar throughout their studies to help them have success. It has been a very successful program so far. Recently we were able to have a meeting with a few board members of LSEE and the very first scholar Juan Jose. He was 19 years old when a stray bullet hit his car that he was driving as a taxi driver that paralyzed him from the waist down. 3 years ago he received a FWM wheelchair. 2 years ago he received a small scholarship from LSEE to take 1 tech class about cars. He is now enrolled full time at a university with the help of the scholarship and hopes one day to do design the very first Peruvian adapted car. What a privilege it is to be a bridge to help young men/women like Juan Jose have a brighter future.
Clever also continues to be part of a small team that gives wheelchairs to people in Lima who are in need of the gift of mobility. While there continue to be a lot of restrictions on the amount of people gathered in one location, the small team is able to distribute about 10 wheelchairs each Saturday, mostly to family members who are in good health. Clever was also able to train a team of volunteers from another ministry to expand our reach to deliver wheelchairs in other parts of Peru. With each wheelchair, the message of the hope of Jesus is shared.
As you can see, we continue to serve the best way we know how with what we are allowed to do. We are seeing the fruit of seeds planted years ago that are now coming life. We are thankful for your continued support, your prayers, and encouragement. As missionaries we do not receive a salary with the church. So, without you, we would not be able to continue to do what we are doing and so we do thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness and generosity. We pray that you all are well, with good health as you prepare for the upcoming summer. We know you are all busy, but would LOVE to have a conversation with each one of you. Please let us know if you have time to chat on a zoom call or a regular call. We would love to hear how you are doing and what new things are growing in your life as well. May God Bless you and keep you .
Love,
Clever, Lisa, & Kaleb