I have sat down many times to write this Blog…Actually I started this in July!!! Now it is September and I can hardly believe that I just saw something that said its only 100 days til Christmas!!! Wow!!! Let’s just say, we have been busy and we FINALLY want to share all that has been going on. But first some reflective thoughts from me!
Last week, I got an unexpected surprise!! Something I was not expecting to receive which made it all the sweeter. With all the restrictions we have not been able to return to the orphanage that we have spent so much of our time at. But last week, I got the best gift! I got to go visit to drop off a donated Mic-key button feeding tube that was brought to Peru in just the right time for one of the kiddos. It was a short visit; and I didn’t get to see all the kids. But, I did see many who I have wondered about and prayed for all this time, not knowing the well being of them during this time of pandemic. I really don’t have the words to describe how my heart felt, to see them all. It was like coming home. And when I left there, I noted a fullness in my heart that has been a bit empty for sometime. I am so THANKFUL to God for this special gift.
I’ll be honest, my focus has been a bit off lately. I have been focused on all the things we have lost this past year and 6 months. What we continue to lose….We can all name the things that are global and those that are personal to each one of us. The list is sometimes so unbearable to mention all of it. But I am here to tell you of all the things we have gained in this time.
Every moment we WAIT for this adoption to come through, WE GAIN one more day to build a lifelong bond.
Every moment we SPEND on Zoom calls/video chats , WE GAIN another form to be connected despite restrictions, distance and other factors.
Every argument, conversation, discussion we have had as spouses, WE GAIN unity, intimacy, and understanding.
Every moment we have spent in virtual Church, WE GAIN the ability to get to know each volunteer and person with special needs and their parents SO MUCH more .
Every moment we find ourselves without answers is an opportunity TO GAIN God’s strength, wisdom and guidance.
Today, I gained a new appreciation for the simplicity of a visit…What have you gained in this last 18 months? Truly, I continue to reflect and be grateful for all that I have personally and as a church body have gained in the midst of so much loss.
Things that we have celebrated over the past 6 months…
Clever’s birthday
Lisa’s 8 years living in Peru
We have been able to get out and explore a bit more of nature since restrictions have lessened a little.
Kaleb celebrated with many others in Peru National KIDS DAY in August.
Kaleb now knows how to write his name and all the other letters of the alphabet, he is learning letter sounds, and many more things in both languages!
We want to share with you what has been going on with our work here and our personal lives. We apologize for the long gap in time between our writings. Life has been incredibly busy in a good way and there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in a day to get all that needs to be done completed. We thank you for your patience with us, and for your continued support financially and in prayer . These are challenging times but we know that we continue to be where God wants us to be.
Service Area updates:
Our church and 90% of the activities related to church continue to be online. However as of just last week there is a plan to return to in person services at a very low capacity while simultaneously providing 7 online services. We are extremely excited about this considering we have not worshiped or congregated with others since March 2020!
While there is a slow plan to return to in person services and activities, the exception is our outreach ministries that has not stopped serving the people in Peru throughout this pandemic meeting real needs including, food, water, and other provisions. Our team has also started a virtual library for 2 districts where our kids club is hosted for children in vulnerable areas. They will start serving this area on Sundays so that the kids can participate in our small groups online that we currently offer.
Distribution of wheelchairs is also in this area of service and continues to be a weekly event where 10-15 wheelchairs are distributed to those in need in Lima. We pray that soon there will be a way for a few of our team to travel to provide for the need of mobility in other parts of Peru.
In August, we celebrated international kids day (like mother’s day or father’s day) by distributing 10 wheelchairs to kids! It was a really special day because it was the first time since the pandemic started that we were able to serve as a family!!! (see pictures) We took a picture in 2018 of our family giving out wheelchairs and recreated the picture to show you all how much our Kaleb has grown! It was a really wonderful day. Many of the parents cried with gratitude for the love we poured out on them especially during this time.
Along with our already defined service areas of wheelchair distributions, kids special needs area, and coordinating the scholarships for people with disabilities; we spent the past few months training all the staff and volunteers of the church on disability awareness under the direction of our Pastors Robert and Karyn Barriger.
a. We have provided virtual sensibility workshops throughout the entire Camino de Vida church for church leaders, pastors and volunteers. In total we have given 15 separate 2 hour online workshops.
b. We are providing in depth training on how to include people with disabilities in the church in each ministry area. Teens, College age, and Young professionals, family and children’s ministry. Currently the teens ministry has 6 volunteers and 10 teens with disabilities already participating in online services and will soon be participating in small groups that are specialized according to their level of function.
c. We are helping to develop a small group curriculum 24 sessions ( 3 separate 8 week classes) for parents of kids with special needs. We are so thankful for the team who is helping to make this happen and more excited that our families at CDV and maybe even beyond will benefit from this material that does NOT exist anywhere else in this format in PERU.
Our goals for the remainder of this year 2021 and early 2022 will be to fully train and support all ministries, pastors, and volunteers within the church in order to be a more inclusive church in all areas of the church. To help them receive and support families with family members with a disability in all areas of the church in the same form. We pray that this will be both online as it is now, but also in person when the church reopens to in person services in the future.
Personal Update:
Parallel to all the trainings we have given, we are also participating in various workshops, evaluations, etc for the adoption process. The best news is that by the end of September (Lord willing) all of the processes on our part will finally be over and according to the adoptions office here, we should get our YES in the end of OCTOBER 2021!!! Will you join us in prayer that it is so? Once we get the adoption finalized and all the documents are given to us, we will begin the task of filing for his Peruvian passport and begin the process for US nationality. We hope to be in the US by early 2022 and hope to be able to visit many of you in person as we wait for the paperwork to be processed!!!! If you would like to know more about this, or find out how you can help, please contact us by email, or message and we would LOVE to share more. We appreciate your prayers for this as well as we are FINALLY seeing the light of this very long journey.
As always, we are grateful for your continued support and prayers. We are so very blessed to get to do what we are doing here, serving those in Peru with disabilities. As you know, your generosity helps to cover the costs so that we can do what we are doing and we are so very thankful for that. Thank you also for your prayers, your words of encouragement and above all your friendship.
~May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace. Numbers 6:24-26 NLT~
