Heading back to Peru

So - I am heading back to Peru today. It has been a great 6 weeks visiting family and friends, and I am excited to be returning back to Lima. When I get in I'll post some fotos from the last couple of weeks in Baltimore and NY.

Blessings.
Lauren

Happy New Year!

Just want to wish a Happy New Year to all. I am still in the Seattle area enjoying the snow, and visits with family and friends. Here ae some pics from the last week or so.



I also wanted to send out a thank you to all who have supported me and the ministry the Lord has called me to in Peru this past year.

Throughout 2008 I have been blessed to see the Lord’s faithfulness in both the challenges and joys both in my work and ministry as well as in my own personal life...

• Challenge and joy of learning to coordinate and manage the reconstruction/ rehabilitation projects Food for the Hungry carried out in 3 communities in Chincha (the area affected by the earthquake in 2007)
• Challenge of learning new skills to negotiate and coordinate with Peruvian government officials responsible for reconstruction efforts
• Joy of getting to be a part of a project that is helping families to rebuild their homes with safer adobe construction
• Mothers at a community center started by FH helping children with an art projectJoy of watching children enjoy learning and playing in community centers started by FH and seeing mothers from those communities gain skills and self confidence as they volunteered their time to run the community centers and serve the children in their community
• Joy of seeing families and communities restore and rebuild damaged homes from the earthquake but also restore relationships with spouses, children and neighbors that had been broken long before the earthquake hit
• Joy of meeting my new niece, Ella, born this past April
• Joy of getting to minister to my Peruvian friends (Guili, Jannina, Nancy, Karina and others) and my Bolivian friend, Ruth, who worked on the reconstruction project
• Challenge and joy of getting to learn to be more flexible and gracious in those cross-cultural friendships
• Challenge of being asked to do things I have never done before, and joy of seeing the Lord’s faithfulness and sufficiency in providing me the strength and wisdom to carry on when I didn’t think I could
• Challenge and joy of learning to trust the Lord more completely with my heart, work and life

Wow – what an awesome year it has been! Thanks be to God and thank you for your support of me and the ministry the Lord has called me to these last two years in Peru. Because of your generous giving, prayers, and words of encouragement people are experiencing the love of God in tangible ways as communities are being rebuilt and families and lives are being restored. I am so blessed to participate in this work, and I thank you for your willingness to be used by God to make this possible.

May the Lord bless you and your family with His spirit of love, joy and peace in the 2009.

Bendiciones,
Lauren