Happy Belated Thanksgiving

I celebrated my 2nd Thanksgiving here in Peru yesterday. What a blessing to be able to share this day of thanks (a bit belated) with so many friends and others who have become apart of my family here (22 in all). I am so thankful for the Lord's many blessings in my life this year: a home, community and an opportunity to use my abilities to serve and share the Lord's blessing and love with those in need.

Hope you all too had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Here are some pictures from our day - complete with me getting our enormous turkey ready, and our apartment decorated for the holidays :)



Blessings to you all,

Lauren

Relief Update

It has been a while since I last posted an update about relief efforts of FH in the area affected by the earthquake. Currently FH has a couple of staff working in an area outside of Chincha in three communities. One of three, Salto de la Lisa, was one of the communities where we worked to set up soup kitchens right after the earthquake.



Similar to the holistic development approach of FH, the activities we have been carrying out in terms of relief and rehabilitation trying to meet the holistic needs of these three communities. Right now we are focusing on helping organize the community leaders and collect information about the communities and families. We are also coordinating with another NGO in helping to meet water and sanitation needs (latrines, water containers, etc.) in these communities. Along with the distribution of water containers, Nancy, my boss from the health education program in Lima, is working do some health education in the communities, and is also organizing and coordinating with local health centers to recruit and train new and current community health promoters.

It has been almost three months since the earthquake, and there are still piles and tons of rubble to be cleaned up. To assist in this effort FH has donated several clean-up kits (wheel barrows, pick axes, shovels, etc.) to the communities to be used by community members in cleaning up their own lots and bringing the rubble to the road, where we will be able to coordinate with the municipality to remove the rubble from the community. We are also hoping to organize some volunteers from Lima churches, or from international teams to come and help work along side these communities in their clean-up efforts.

Beyond clean-up, we are also looking at the possibility of doing a pilot training and home reconstruction project building with reinforced adobe techniques. We are currently waiting on potential donor to see if they will approve and partner with the project. Please be praying that we would have God's favor in being able to do this project, but also be praying for the reconstruction efforts as a whole. That the Lord would guide the national leaders who are responsible for the reconstruction, and that their plans would be just and include help for all families (even those marginalized families who live in rural and peri-urban areas).

In addition to these efforts, we are also waiting to see if we will have funding to do a project to support children and youth in these communities. While some schools has started up (only in the last few weeks) in makeshift straw mat shelters, children still have many psycho-social needs that are not being met. Many parents are preoccupied with clean-up efforts and trying to figure how they will reconstruct their homes. This means that children spend many hours playing unsupervised, around the rubble and destruction left by the earthquake. Our hope is to be able to partner with the two local schools to provide psychological support to these children, and to also organize and support the communities and local churches in providing both academic and extra-curricular activities for these children to help them process and deal with the trauma they have faced in in loosing so much in the last few months. While we wait to start this program in all three of the communities (pending funding), one of the communities, whose leaders are very organized, have already coordinated with the local teachers college to come and provide after school tutoring (or academic reinforcement) for the children in their community. In support of their efforts FH is donating chairs, tables, white boards, paper, art supplies, and other educational games. Please be praying that we would be able to expand this work to the other two communities, and be able to offer more activities to help children process with this difficult situation.

Wedding Bells

So it has been way to long since I have written anything to keep you all up to date with goings on here in Peru. My work with the FH relief effort has kept me very busy these last few months, but I have gotten to have some fun. Last Friday I went to the wedding of a a friend and co-worker, Rocio. Several people from the office came to celebrate their marriage. Here are a few pictures from that night....



One other interesting event also occurred a couple of weeks ago. On Oct. 23rd I celebrated my 1 year anniversary here in Peru. While it seems like the year has flown by, so much has happened (especially in the last three months), that I can hardly believe I have only been here for 1 year. I am so thankful for all the ways the Lord has blessed me and the work I am doing here in this last year. Please continue to pray that the Lord would continue to guide, protect and provide for me in the next weeks, months and years ahead.

Blessings to you all,
Lauren

FH Relief in Chincha Update

I have been back in Lima for about a week, but still very busy - planning and helping to write proposals for projects in the next phase of the response (reconstruction and rehabilitation). I wanted to take a moment though to thank you all for your prayers and the encouraging words you all have sent in the last few weeks. It has been a challenging time, but also an awesome experience of being to serve those in great need. Here is an update about the relief activity I have been involved in these last few weeks with FH-Peru.

In the first two weeks we opened 4 comedores (soup kitchens) and several ollas comunes (a more informal community soup kitchen). We served over 2000 people three meals a day for ten days, and now those comedores are continuing to operate with donations from other entities and/or collected funds from the communities themselves.

We also helped in the distribution of over $1 million dollars worth of medical supplies, and medicine (donated by an associate organization MAP Int., and Johnson and Johnson). Those supplies were distributed between the hospitals in Chincha and Pisco (both of which sustained serious damages), and also to several community health clinics in the Chincha area. In several cases those medical supplies were put to use right after the were recieved.

In additon we distributed 100 tents to some of the most vulnerable famlies we have been working with in the four communities where the comedores are located. Elderly, single mothers, families with many small children were among those who recieved tents. Most other families have constructed make shift shelters using bamboo, wolven straw mats, and plastic sheeting (as seen a a few fotos).

Here are some other pics for our work in Chincha.



In the midst of the destruction and difficulties the earthquake has left behind, it has been amazing to see how the Lord has used the FH staff to bring light and hope to the families and communities we have been serving. Through the organization of the comedores, affected communities were able to bring something good into their current situtation of chaos. Please continue to pray for the families affected by the earthquake, and for those in the governement, and NGOs (including ourseleves), that we would all be able to work together to find ways to help those affected begin to rebuild their lives.

Bendiciones,
Lauren

Progress in Serving the Suffering

Progress continues by the FH team in Chincha. Lauren reports that by Friday 8/24, two of the soup kitchens or comedors were in operation and about 800 people were registered and given meals. By Saturday, the third comedor was on line, and that day about 1500 people were served. The food is simple, made mostly from dried foods such as rice, lentils, beans, and oatmeal, with additional protein being provided by canned tuna. It is the aim of FHI to maintain these comedors for a few weeks and then eventually turn them over to local officials. Lauren is working on securing grants from other agencies to help sustain the long term operations of the comedors until the need no longer is there.

The recovery teams are able to reach the most severely affected parts of the city by partnering with local associations of Pastors who are also among the homeless. Lauren reports of the dedication of these pastors who are working in the comedors to serve the needs of their communities in spite of personal loses and the needs of their own families. Please pray for these local Christian leaders.

One thing that made it very difficult for the Peruvian government to respond quickly to this disaster was that the offices of the Civil Defense for the southern part of the country were in Pisco, the hardest hit of the cities. Those offices were destroyed along with the homes of the civil defense workers. Of course, lines of communication and transportation were interrupted, which made the implementation their disaster plan almost impossible. Remembering our government’s initial response to hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, it is not surprising that Peru has had a difficult time with immediate response to this tremendous disaster, but much progress is now being made. Our telephone connection was not very good on Saturday night, so Lauren went outside in hopes of better reception. After a few minutes, she said “Wow, it's freezing out here, I’ve got to go back inside”, which reminded us that it is winter down there, and there are still thousands of people sleeping outdoors every night. Please continue to keep those people in your prayers. We thank you for your continued support of this important mission of compassion.

Report from Lauren in Chincha 8/23/07

Lauren is unable to reach a computer since she is leading the FH team in the earthquake recovery area. However, through the wonder of mobile technology Mom & Dad talk with her almost every evening since she arrived back on the scene in Chincha.

She reports the team has received over 30 tons of food today from multiple relief agencies and are setting up kitchens in three different communities. They hope to serve around 1500 of the people most severely affected by the earthquake. The team of around 10 workers are divided among several communities assessing their needs and making local government contacts to work within existing structures and support their recovery.

We both sense in Lauren the weight of her responsibilites and at the same time the joy of making a difference and serving the Lord.

We are happy to update her blog for her while she has no internet access, and will do so as we make telephone contact each evening. Thank you for your continued prayers for Lauren's safety and her work.

Earthquake Update - 1st Visit to Earthquake Zone

Yesterday I returned from our first visit and relief effort in the earthquake zone in the province of Ica (south of Lima). The devastation is incredible with 60% of homes being destroyed and another 25% damaged around the town of Chincha. In the town of Pisco, the destruction seems to be total. As we spent the last three days delivering a few supplies (mostly medical goods we had in storage) and coordinating local churches how FH will begin to deliver more relief in the next days and weeks to come, I was overwhelmed by the destruction and the great need of the people. Today I returned to our office in Lima to organize the relief that we will begin later this week. Wed. or Thurs. I will return with a team of staff from our Lima office, to open 3 soup kitchens and distribution centers in some of the hardest hit and neediest areas around the city of Chincha. We will be partnering with the local churches in the area, so that our efforts not only help those in need, but also empower and enable the local church to respond to the needs of all the people in their communities. We hope to reach 2000 people for the next 7-10 days and may be able to do more depending on the outcome of several funding requests.

When I came home to my apartment here in Lima tonight, I was exhausted and realizing that I am completely overwhelmed by the task the Lord has set before me (helping to coordinate the FH-Peru response). I know that it is only through the Lord's providing of connections, and resources, and through his strength and wisdom that we will be able to effectively serve these families. So my prayer is for just that....provision, wisdom and strength.

My body is tired, and I know there are many long days ahead, but the Lord is faithful to provide and I offer to him all the work of our hands and minds and hearts in the next days and weeks to come. That he would use me and FH to glorify him and to share His love in tangible ways so that His light break through this darkness.

Is this not the fast you have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo
the cords of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share our food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter;
When we see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from our own flesh?
Then our light will break forth like the dawn, and our healing will quickly appear, and our righteousness will go before us;
Your glory, O Lord, will be our rear guard.
Then we will call, and You will answer;
We will cry and you will say “Here I am.”
If we put away the yoke from our midst, the pointing of the finger and the malicious talk, and if we extend our souls to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then our light will rise in the darkness, and our gloom will become like the noonday.

Isaiah 58:6-10

Earthquake Update

Today has been a long day. I got to the office about 9 and the entire staff met for prayer. We then went out to the communities to see how the earthquake yesterday had affected the families there. Gracias a Dios (as they say here), the families were fine, there were no deaths, only a few minor injuries, and the communities suffered minimal damage. We returned to the office to report back (hearing from staff who had visited all of the communities. The people though were quite shaken up and many commented that they had never received any training on what to do in an earthquake.

Here are a few pictures of the damages suffered in the communities....








Tomorrow I will preparing a short training/ debriefing that our staff will be able to share with the communities sometime in the next few days. This will be followed up though by some much more in depth training and planning with community leaders (this is a project I have already been working in my position of disaster response and preparedness coordinator).

The majority of the damage of the earthquake occurred near the epicenter (some 70 miles south of Lima). Here is a brief overview that a friend of mine wrote up: As some of you have already heard, last night two consecutive earthquakes rocked Peru between 6 and 7 pm. They felt like one long earthquake and lasted about 2.5 minutes. The epicenter is about 70 miles south of Peru just off the coast of a city called Pisco. The quake was rated at 7.9. The damage in Lima has been minimal, but reports this morning say that 80% of the city was destroyed. The death toll right now is 337 people and another 1500 injured. Reports are just starting to come in now from our communities in Lima and so far there haven’t been reported any serious damage or injury.

Today I attended a government meeting with the FH-Peru country director and the national manager. From that meeting we have decided to send a small team (of which I will be a part), to go to Pisco to assess the needs, and see what connections we can make to respond to the immediate emergency situation there. Please be pray for safety and wisdom as we travel and try to figure out how to help meet the needs of the people. I should be returning to Lima sometime on Saturday or Sunday (and my parents will be kept informed of my whereabouts while I am gone).

Please also pray for:

The family member of those who have died. May they find comfort in the arms of loved ones. May they see they humble themselves before the makes of mountains, tectonic plates, and fault lines. May they find comfort and strength in the Lord Pray for the many injured and their families and they are rushed to flooded hospitals and some evacuated to Lima. Pray for healing and comfort for these families Pray for the families in the communities in which we work here in Lima. They are built on the sides of bare, rocky hills. Many of the homes are build on foundations held up by rickety retaining walls made simply of rocks stacked on top of each other. This paltry construction leaves the communities very vulnerable to quakes and aftershocks. When these walls fall down, the crush everything in their path as the roll to the bottom of the hills. I will go to the communities this morning to see if there has been any damage. Please pray that this earthquake will bring urgency to a new disaster relief prevention plan that we have been in the process of initiating on a national and local level. Pray for the leadership of Peru as they respond to this crisis. May they seek the Lord’s wisdom as they make many decisions about how to respond. Pray for the rescue workers and thousands of medical personnel that are responding to this crisis. Pray for Food for the Hungry’s leadership as we decide how best to respond to this crisis. But most of all, pray that God’s name will be made great through this disaster. God uses disasters like this to call attention to His sufficiency and sovereignty. May Peru get the message that they need Him. May they humble themselves before Him.

Thank you for your prayers. I will be updating you as soon as I know more information.

Blessings,
Lauren

7.5 Earthquake, but I am Safe and Sound

Many of you may have heard that there was a very larger Earthquake tonight that struck near Lima, Peru, magnitude 7.5. It was very strong, very scary, a few items moved around in my home, and books off the shelves, a few new cracks in the plaster, but I am ok. I was actually on a bus when it struck and only felt the tail end of the almost 1 min. of shaking. We don't know yet how the earthquake has affected the communities where we work (the homes there are built on steep hill sides, and on very unstable ground and rocks), so please be praying for the families there, that everyone is safe. I am going out there tomorrow morning to see how things are and will let you all know.

Thanks for your prayers.

Lauren

Family, Friends & Vacation

This last month of July I was blessed by a visit with my family and a couple of friends from home. It was such a great time to show my parents and sister and her husband all about my home here in Lima, to meet my Peruvian friends, my Peruvian family, and also visit the communities where I serve. It was so good to reconnect in person with my family, and being able to share with them my life here in Peru. Sometimes I have these moments when I realize - I live in Peru, and I it takes me by surprise as if it were a dream. But having my family here to exerience my life here has helped me to feel that my life here is real, that the Lord really has brought me here to serve Him, and that He is here with me, providing for me, helping me to serve and love the people of Peru, and transforming me in the process.

During my family's visit, we also traveled with a couple of other friends to Cuzco to visit Machu Picchu and explore other Inca ruins in the Sacred Valley. All I can say is INCREDIBLE(as you can see by the pictures below). The more time I spend in Peru the more I am learning to love this incredible country and its people.

Blessings,
Lauren

Winter in the City, Summer in the Country

For the last couple of months it has been winter here in Lima. No snow of course, but foggy and cold. Last friday though I got to have a day of summer during a hike with some friends a few hours outside of the city. It was beautiful and awesome example of how diverse is the country I get to call home for a while. Peru is awesome!

Bendiciones (Blessings),
Lauren

Nica, Agua, Disasters, and a Fiesta

About three weeks ago I got back from Nicaragua where I participated in the FH Latin American Regional Conference. It was a great time of sharing, learning, and reflection, and to add to the fun I got to see my dear friend Carolina and visit Casa Asis (the orphanage where I have volunteered over the last 5 years).

Here are some pictures of the trip.



Upon returning it was full steam ahead with two important events. One was our first Museo del Agua (Water Museum), a kind of interactive learning fair where individuals from the communities get a chance to learn about the importance of water and how it affects our health. The favorite part of this for many was our microscope station where we looked at sample slides of parasite eggs, other microbes and also samples of water from taken from the community to see if it was truly clean for drinking. Along with the technical aspects of importance of clean water, each station of the ¨museo¨ also communicated some key Biblical worldview principles such as the importance of caring for our health because we are made in the image of God, along with the idea that it is our responsibility to be good stewards of the resources the Lord has granted us.




The other event that has taken much of my time lately was the planning for a meeting we held last week here in our office in Lima with two guests (the relief director from FH and the LA regional director). The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the plans FH-Peru has for disaster preparedness and mitigation, as well as how FH-Peru could work with churches in helping them be better prepared to respond to disasters out of the love and compassion of Christ. I learn a lot during our meetings and even though I do not know how we will arrive at the target, I now have a much better idea of what the target is: helping us be better prepared to respond to disaster, helping the church in Peru be able to respond and helping the communities where we serve be prepared and take action steps to mitigate disasters. I also have a better idea of how my role as coordniator of disaster preparedness and relief fits into helping FH-Peru reach the target.

On top of all of this we finally got a chance to celebrate my and my friend Mesha´s birthdays with all our friends and co-workers. Though the fiesta was month late, we had a blast getting dressed up and dancing the night away. The foto here is of our friends from the FH-Lima office.

07 Birthday Party

As always it has been a busy and blessed time here in Lima :) Hope you all are well and enjoying the Lord´s blessings for your lives too.

Dios les bendiga,
Lauren

Off to Nicaragua

Just wanted to let you all know that I am off to Nicaragua for a conference/ meeting with representatives of the other FH offices in Latin America. I am really looking forward to this opportunity to learn more about what FH is doing in the region, and how God is using the organization to transform lives.

I am also excited for this trip, because it means that I get to spend some time with my dear friend Carolina.

Please pray that I will be safe, that the meeting will be a good experience of learning and growth and that Carolina and I have a great visit.

Blessings,
Lauren

Birthday, Moms and a Baby

This past Sunday I celebrated my first birthday here in Peru. It actually started at midnight on Sat. night with being serenaded ("happy birthday" in two languages) in front of the airport by a group of about 10 friends. (We had been at the airport to say farewell to a dear friend and fellow missionary, Katherine, who is returning to the states to finish her degree)

The rest of the day on Sunday - I was blessed to spend the day with my host family (mom, dad, sisters, niece and even the extended family - pictured singing to me). We not only celebrated my birthday, but also mother's day which is very important here. Sunday evening I spent with my other family here in Peru (the other FH missionaries). It was definately one of the most memorable birthdays I have ever had. Below are some pictures of the festivities :)

My 29th Birthday

Blessings to you all,
Lauren

A New Little Boy :)

Junior and Family

The Power of Prayer and Antibiotics

For those of you who have been praying for Junior (the little boy with a severe case of impetigo - see the last entry for more info) and his family. I wanted to thank you for you prayers - he is doing so much better. In the entry above there are some before and after pictures of Junior and his mother and a few of his siblings. The day after I met him, Nancy (a Peruvian FH staff member) took Junior and his family down to the health center to get checked out. A few shots and antibiotics Junior is like a different boy. Just a week ago he was a quiet boy who did not smile or even cry because it hurt his face too much, but now he is all smiles and when I went to visit him last Thursday, he was excited to tell me about how he is going to be starting school now. It is amazing to me that just a week ago this boy had an infection that was covering almost his entire body, and now he is better. I know that antibiotics have been the primary reason for this, and I am so thankful to God that we have the knowledge to use them, but I believe prayer has also played an important role in his getting treatment so quickly and his recovery. It is in part through prayer that he and his family have experienced a little of God's love through this physical act of healing.

When I met with them last week I realized also that there are other difficulties the family is facing that antibiotics alone will not heal. So please continue to pray for them - that the father would find work here in Lima to support his family, that they would be able to save and work towards building their new home (right now they are living behind a relative's home in a one room shack made of woven mats), that they would feel welcome in their new community, that they would become involved in the transformation of the community, and that they would continue to experience more of God's love for them as He walks with them on their journey.

Blessings,
Lauren

Hermana Lauren, Hermana Lauren!

Ok, ok...again it has been too long since my last update. It has been a blessing to be so busy with work, friends, and translating a bit for visiting teams (short-term mission teams that come to help with special projects or training in the communities). I come home exhausted most days, but it is the good exhaustion of being used by God.

I know that when I say that I have been "busy" some of you might be wondering what that means...what does a "busy" day look like? Here is a glimpse....This last week I have started doing some visits on my own in the communities (up until now I have always been with Nancy or Mirian, but in trying to cover more ground we have been splitting up for part of the day so that we spend more time doing follow up training and home visits with the newer health promoters). Currently we are trying to support the local health center in dealing with the issue of Dengue (a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes) prevention. This is currently a serious health risk as there have been several reported cases of the illness in the district where we work. The health center has asked that the health promoters go house to house in their communities, making sure that people know about the disease and how to prevent the spread by keeping water containers sealed so that mosquitoes can not reproduce.

With this in mind, here is what my day looked like Yesterday along with some personal reflections I have had about it. I go to two communities do visits with a few health promoters (Gladys, Juana, Anna, and Silvia). Climbing up and down hills, we visit about 10-12 homes in the morning, and we find several tanks of water with mosquito larva of which we collect samples for testing.

At lunch time I walk to a local restaurant (la Madusa) to meet my boss, Nancy, and some other FH staff. On the way I am tackled by a little girl from one of the communities. She runs up to me yelling "Hola hermana (sister) Lauren, hermana Lauren!" Sister is a common greeting in the communities revealing a connection and relationship much like that of a family.

(Reflection) As I have been getting to know some 18 communities I am often overwhelmed by trying to keep track of all the faces and names (I have to admit that while I recognize the little girl, I can not remember her name), and this is something I have been struggling with a bit. My roommate, Claire, works in only one community as a child development promoter. She knows the kids, their moms, the leaders and all the goings on of the community. I on the other spend just a few hours in each community every few weeks, and until recently I have always been with other people who already have strong relationships with the community members. As a result I have often felt like a silent, invisible observer, as Nancy and Mirian do all the relational work. Even as I have started to do some teaching and sharing with health promoters, I have been wondering if I would ever build relationships. The whole work of FH is focused around walking with individuals and communities as they develop the gifts and resources God has given them. Relationships are essential in this process, and the little girl's greeting reminds me that I am actually starting to be apart of that process.

In the afternoon I met with another community health promoter, Susy, and we scramble up and down a rocky hill for two hours visiting 10 more homes. In the first home visit with Susy, she timidly turns to me and says “you start." I look at her and try to convince her that she can do it, but I end up doing most of the talking. Little by little though, Susy starts to add more and more to our spiel, and by the 3rd or 4th house she is doing all the teaching. By the end of our time I tell her that she has done a great job and that she really didn't need me, but she just laughs. Later in the evening, Claire tells me that she has seen Susy headed down the hill of the community. When Claire asks her where she is going Susy proudly says with a smile that she is headed to the health center to turn in her trabajo or work that we have collected (a home visit record sheet and water sample with mosquito larva we found at one of the houses).

(Reflection) Spending the afternoon together has given both of us (Susy and me) some increased confidence in our ability to do our jobs. I am so encouraged to see her using her gifts to serve her community, to see her pride in the work she had done, and to know that I have had the honor of serving along side her.

At the very end of the day, I go on one last home visit to the house of a boy Claire and I have in the community where she works. The boy, Edgar, has a scabby wound on his ear that looks like it could be infected. It is dusk and as I scramble over rocks trying to keep up with Edgar who is showing me where he lives, I hope that I will be able to meet his mom and see if there is something we can do to help her get medical attention for her son. When I get to the house, I do meet Edgar’s mom, Maura, and she tells me that she and her four children are new to the community, that they moved there four months ago from the central Andes. She is living with a family member and she does not know anything about FH and what we do in the community. As I start to explain to her who we are and how we might be able to help, I spot one of her younger sons stepping out of the curtain draped door way. As I see Junior's face, my heart leaps. His entire face, neck and other parts of his body are covered in scabby wounds similar to his brother's ear. My guess is that it is probably a severe case of impetigo that has gone untreated because his mom does not have the proper identification to enroll her son in the gov. insurance program offered free to all children. Today Nancy, my boss, will be visiting the family and will try to work something out so that we can help the boy get treatment sometime next week.

(Reflection) A day later, I can not stop thinking about Junior. Please keep him, Edgar, Maura and her other two children in your prayers. Pray that FH staff will be able to form relationships with the family, that we would be able to serve them, and walk along side them as they make a new home here in Lima. Pray that Junior and Edgar would be healed.

I leave Maura and her children, and go to meet Claire and Maria (FH staff psychologist who is starting our new family violence program) so that we can get a taxi together for the office. We are leaving the community about an hour later than usual (it is about 6pm). In the taxi, I can't stop thinking about little Junior, his family. I also think about the threat of Dengue facing our communities and how important the work of the volunteer health promoters will be in preventing it from being a really big problem. I wonder if they realize what an important resource they are to their communities. At some point I stop thinking because my brain is so tired, and then I realize how tired my body is from hiking up and down hills all day long. Then I think about how the families in our communities deal with this same physical exhaustion every night. When I get home (about 8pm) I am so thankful for safe clean apartment God has blessed Claire and me with. I literally collapse on the sofa and try to debrief the day with Claire. We both wish we could have more time in the communities, there never seems to be enough time to deal with all the problems.

(Reflection) The problems we see every day are bigger than we can deal with on our own and we pray and have hope that our God is big enough to reconcile all these things in His time. Though it doesn't seem to be enough, I am so thankful that I get to be a part of His work, that I get to be His hands and feet in the communities we serve.

Retreat to Arequipa

HC Retreat to Arequipa (me and my roommate Claire in the Arequipa Plaza de Armas)

Forgive me for being so delinquent in updating you all with the goings on here in Peru. Much has been happening (as always), but in particular I wanted to share some pictures from the retreat I went on with the other FH international staff (hunger corps)a couple weeks ago to Arequipa. It was such a great time to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and be restored with some great fellowship, and time to enjoy God's amazing creation here in Peru (I even got to walk in the rain on a cold night - just like home). We explored the city of Arequipa, and went on a crazy hike up a river in the Sierra mountains- very wet, but lots of fun! We also explored the halls and rooms of a 400 year old Santa Catalina Monastery.

Life in Lima is going well. My work with the FH-Lima Health project is keeping me busy, and I am now starting to work on and develop the relief and disaster preparedness program (my second job). In addition my roommate, Claire, and I have taken on the other responsibility of being the International Staff Coordinators. So Life is busy, but good. Sometimes I don't see exactly how God is using me here, but I know that I am right where He wants me, and that is a joyful place to be. There is lots more to share (and I promise I will try to post again this weekend), but its late here, and my pillow has been calling me for the last half hour and I am afraid I can not resist its plead any longer.

I hope you are all well.

Blessings, Lauren

P.S. Happy Easter too you all - How awesome it is to follow a living God and King.

My First Pasa Calle

Lava, lava, lava bien! Tapa, tapa, tapa bien!

Saca el dengue de tu casa!

Click here to see more pics. of the Pasa Calle

This last Saturday I woke up early and traveled out to Cesar Vallejo, one of the communities where I work, in order to participate in an important community event. Imagine 50 little kids and 10-15 mothers/ community health promoters chanting the above and marching around dusty roads following a big Land Cruiser truck plastered with posters proclaiming similar messages, as they handed out balloons and flyers educating their neighbors about how to prevent dengue. What was it? A circus or parade? No - only a simple community based public service announcement.

In most of the communities were we work there is no running water, and people get their water from delivery trucks twice a week that deposit the water in large containers near the road plastic or metal drums or concrete tanks). Not only is this system of water delivery inadequate as it does not provide enough water for each family to do all their cooking and cleaning, but it also poses a health threat by creating excellent breeding grounds for mosquitoes. On Saturday we passed through several communities to educate about how to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the water tanks by making sure they are clean and cosed with a lid of some kind. A simple, but important message delivered in a simple way. The event was a success in terms of raising awarenenss about dengue prevention. But more than that success, the event was also a success in building community in bringing members of the community together to serve their community.

What am I doing here in Peru...?

Here are some pictures of the beginning of the year training meetings we (FH health ed. project) with community health promoters. Below are two other posts that explain a little more indepth how things have been going the last month or so.

Hope you are all doing well.

Love,
Lauren

Training Sessions with Health Promoters

Mirian - A Story of Change

(Mirian with baby of one of the health promoters at a community meeting)

Here is the "Story of Change" I wrote about my co-worker and friend, Mirian . The story was included in a report to FH-US. Hearing and telling Mirian's story has helped me better understand the work the Lord has called me to in Peru, and I hope it gives you some insight as to why and how FH works to transform lives.

Hacia el Desarrollo is young community founded in March of 2000, where FH-Peru works as a part of the Cost Center of Motupe. The community is located in the district of San Juan de Lurigancho (SJL), about an hour east of the downtown Lima, the capital of Peru. San Juan de Lurigancho is one of the most populated and poorest districts of Lima.

One of the community members of Hacia el Desarrollo is Mirian (22 years), who comes from the Peruvian department of Tarma. Miran lives with her parents, Orlando (43 years) and Mery (43 years), as well as her three siblings, Ever (21 years), Pilar (18 years), and Wilian (14 years). Their home is a small wooden house with a kitchen living room and two bedrooms. Mirian and her family have lived in Hacia el Desarrollo for the past 4 years.

In the beginning years of its existence, Hacia el Desarrollo faced many problems as well as failures in leadership which affected the life of the community and its development process. In 2003, FH-Peru initiated work in the community introducing the Child Development Program (CDP), and the Health and Nutrition Education Project that works to educate families on issues of health through the formation of local community volunteers or health promoters. In the three years that Hacia el Desarrollo has been working with FH, much progress and change can been seen and Miran Puchoc has been a part of this process.

Mirian says that before FH came to her community, there were many problems in the community. The streets were dirt, there were no stairs, nor was there a local community center or other basic community services. In addition, because community leaders were not unified, the community was not able to work to resolve these problems. With the help of FH, the community began to unify itself and work together towards solving the problems facing their community.

During this process, an opportunity for change also presented itself to Miran. Since she was studying nursing at a local technical school, Mirian was elected to be one of the Health Promoters for her community, and so began her training on topics of holistic health and disease prevention. Mirian had always had a heart for service, but with the presence of FH in her community she now had an opportunity to become more involved in her community as she was able to serve using her gifts and talents. Little by little she began to see changes in the community as a result of her service as a health promoter

While the leadership in the community became more unified and was working towards improving the community through projects like organizing a community soup kitchen, constructing a community center, and starting a preschool, Mirian saw another opportunity to serve her community, and joined the board of community leaders as the Health Secretary and the Social Welfare Assistant. In her service as a health promoter, Mirian also began to help in the public health center near her community, and to visit other communities in order to help in the training and organization of other health promoters. Now she works part time for Food for the Hungry, helping to organize activities of the health project that FH-Lima carries out in 18 communities in SJL. Thanks to a scholarship from a sponsor, Mirian is also continuing her studies towards a university degree in nursing. This educational opportunity has holistically improved her quality of life and is giving her an opportunity to continue to develop her capabilities in order to better serve her community.

However, why does she serve – not only her own community but also other communities? When her neighbors ask her this question, Mirian says “because I want to serve, and when I serve I receive more than I give.” She says that during her time of community service, she has learned that this is part of the purpose God has for her life; she has discovered more about herself as she has used her gifts and talents, and has experience more of the love of God.

Mirian explains that her faith in God and the love she has experienced in Christ have convicted her to serve, but that before there was not a way for her to take that conviction and turn it into action. Because of the changes that have happened in her community, Mirian now has an opportunity for God to use her as his instrument. For Mirian, the physical changes in her community (construction of stairs y latrines, the prevention of diseases, and care for the environment) that have occurred since FH initiated its work are important, but not the most influential. For her, the changes that have made the greatest impact are the attitude of service and development of leadership, which FH has brought to her community. We thank God for people like Mirian who desire to serve their neighbors with love, and contribute to the Vision of their Community as the participate in the expansion of the Kingdom of God.

What am doing here in Peru?

(me opening with a devotional - in Spanish- at a meeting held with community health promoters)

The last few weeks I have been asking myself this question - what am I doing here in Peru? This is not to say that I do not still feel as if God has called me to be in this place at this time, but in moving to new home in a different country, living in a different culture, speaking a different language, making new friends, and trying to figure out a new job, I have been a little overwhelmed in figuring out what God's purpose is and will be for me here in Peru. Of course, God's timing in revealing this is a process, and at the same time I am learning to rejoice in this process of trusting in Him to work out all the details.

One area which is becoming clearer to me is in the area of my work with FH-Peru. What does transformational holistic development really look like?, and how is God calling and equipping me to be a part of the transformation process are some of the questions I have had that are beginning to be revealed. Over the last few weeks I have been spending a lot of time in the communities where FH is ministering, getting to know the communities, and in particular the volunteer health promoters in each community. My guide for many of these visits has been Mirian, our health project assistant, who also lives in one of the communities. Mirian is an awesome servant of God, and it has been a blessing to get to know her and learn from her the insights she has about what is important to her about the work of FH.

Recently I was asked to write a "Story of Change," a report that FH uses to depict in a more personal way what transformational/ holistic development looks like. Mirian's story is an excellent example of how the work of FH can impact lives with more than just physical development, but also spiritual development. Hearing and telling Mirian's story has helped me to better understand what FH does here in Peru, and how important relationships and incarnational (living out your faith in all areas of your life) ministry are to the transformational development process. It has also helped me to see that one of the most important things that God has called me to here is the same as it has always been - to be in relationship with the people He puts in my life and to invest in them with the love He shows me.

Amazon Rest and Relaxation

Ok, so some of you have by now received my newsletter and heard that the last few months have been super busy (good times, but exhausting). So when the opportunity for a little R&R presented itself, of course I snatched it up - and of to the Amazon (near Iquitos, Peru) I went with my fellow FH-missionary friend, Mesha, and her friend visiting from out of town. As they say here, fue spectacular; it was awesome. One of the best things was the rain. After 3 months without any rain, the down pour we received was like a drink of cold, fresh water to my soul. God is awesome - and His majesty is so evident in the beauty of His creation :) Below is a link to some pictures from the trip....when I get a chance later this week I will add some comments and descriptions to them….

Trip to Amazon_Iquitos

Hasta Luego,

Lauren