Let’s start with the hard things.
There’s a lot of suffering in the world. A lot of injustice. People make bad decisions and suffer for it, or others suffer for it. Or both. There are also systems in place from decades ago and centuries ago that hurt people. Some people’s experience of hurt and injustice is so acute, even while others are sheltered from it. Last night we finished a four-part Bible study on the mission of God in Genesis, and along with Peruvian members of the church and other friends who were a part of the study, we have faith that the God who wants to bless all the families of the earth and can work through a horrible situation to save the world from a famine (think the Joseph story), can also be active in working blessing, love, and hope in the midst of despair today. So we hope and pray for the situation as it stands.
A lot of people in Arequipa are doing really well. A lot of people in Arequipa are suffering. The division in experience between materially wealthy and poor has never been more jarring. Hospitals have been at or over maximum capacity for a month and a half now. There’s been a tent set up in the main regional hospital parking lot to act as a temporary emergency hospital, and another temp hospital has been set up because of the overflow of patients who need care. In July, there were 4x the amount of deaths compared to the year ago July. And just yesterday, the 90 year-old mother of our dear friend Manuela passed away from complications related to COVID-19. Such sadness—compounded by not being able to be together. Our two house churches continue to meet on Sundays, praying for each other, caring for one another’s spiritual, mental, and physical health. We continue to hope for God’s healing in the world.
In the midst of the hard things, there are some cool things happening too.
We’ve done a couple of evening virtual Bible study series, coordinated around the time of the city-wide curfew. And while we’ve had some of our regulars participate, there have also been a number of others who have never participated before in a Bible study who have been a part of it and enjoyed it. I’m prayerful that the people who are now thinking about faith and God and the state of the world would find peace in God in these moments—a peace and love that propels more love of neighbor.
We’ve also made a new friend who is connected to different groups of vulnerable populations, and through him we’ve been able to share faith and groceries and blankets and, it seems, will also be able to work with Paty possibly to reboot our micro-loans and vocational training process through CUDA, our non-profit. We’re starting a pilot program with two tiny-business owners, and Paty is working with them to develop a business plan that will help them better to provide for their families in the midst of this crisis. Please pray for Paty, CUDA (who continues to work training teachers virtually, BTW!), and the potential of helping reach some of the most affected by all of this. And you better believe that if there is an opportunity to help more people, we’ll be in touch to ask for donations to help with some small starter loans for people that we’ll be working with.
Thank you for joining in with us in praying Jesus’s prayer, that God’s healing reign would come and intentions would become lived reality, as in heaven, so in Arequipa.
“We pray that God’s healing reign would come and intentions would become lived reality, as in heaven, so in Arequipa.”