Education Campaign 2014

I remember sitting in the library office with Lucia dreaming about what could come for the future of Living Libraries (more than a year ago). We tossed several big ideas around that day, but one that became a reality this past month was an international education campaign that included speakers from the U.S. and Peru. I am excited to share my reflection of this event.

We began Living Libraries because there isn’t a culture of literacy here in Peru. Educators’ opportunities for professional development are few and far between. We start libraries, but one of our biggest goals in Living Libraries is to equip teachers with strategies for the classroom. In the school where we work this year, teachers from each grade level (1-6) attend a once-a-month staff development meeting to discuss the strategy we model throughout the month. I cherish this time with the teachers. It builds our relationships with them, and I know how beneficial the time can be to discuss the strategy as professionals without students present.
 
While our man power is low, and we can only manage to work with 2-3 schools each year, a door was opened for us to spread professional development to close to 100 teachers. Lucia worked countless hours to make the campaign a reality. She scored a way for us to host the campaign on one of the city’s most esteemed university campuses. She contacted and communicated with several big names in Peruvian education to come and speak at the campaign, along with several professors from the hosting university. It was a wonderful week, and a fantastic first campaign. There were, of course, a few glitches, but if there is something our NGO knows it is “live and learn.” We learned a lot from this first experience.
 
CUDA is blessed beyond measure to have two of its board members specializing in education. Dr. Clara Carroll and Dr. Ileene Huffard made the long trip to Arequipa to participate in the campaign, check out the Living Libraries in action, and meet with CUDA staff in person. It was an honor to be named their week-long tour guide. It was an absolute blessing for the two of them to see the library this year. The school surprised them with a show of traditional Peruvian story and dance. Both doctors spoke 3 different times in the areas of literacy formation, child development, instructional strategies, and reading comprehension. They were a huge hit with the Peruvian teachers attending the conference. It was an absolute delight to have them share their expertise with many hard-working teachers who don’t have access to new materials in the education field. We were beyond thankful to have them as keynote speakers.

Two other speakers that I really enjoyed meeting were Javier Arevalo and Manuel Herran. Javier is a Peruvian author who started an NGO in Lima called Recreo. His NGO starts libraries in schools, but they have a strong emphasis on parental involvement. We really enjoyed sharing ideas with Javier, and there is potential for an alliance to develop between our two groups in the future. Javier is also responsible for a Peruvian law that was passed for a national reading plan in the public schools. Manuel is a professional story-teller. In his talk, he presented Jim Trelease’s work on the “Read-Aloud.” He tours the country of Peru speaking on behalf of the publishing company, MacMillan. He has agreed to come and tell a story to our school this year the next time MacMillan brings him through Arequipa.

The campaign was every evening (M-F) from 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm. All that attended received a certificate of professional development hours for 120 hours stamped by the ministry of education (these hours also included extra technology and follow-up on the topics presented). Their certificates can be applied toward incentives from the ministry.
 
For me, the major highlights that came from the campaign were (1) CUDA’s name getting out there; (2) the new relationship that CUDA has with Recreo; and (3) Clara and Ileene seeing the work in person. The final day, a teacher approached me and asked, “When will you all be offering another opportunity like this?” That comment was icing on the cake. Living Libraries will be seeking out other opportunities in the future to help and equip the education professional community of Peru.

Covenant

My family and I have been in Arequipa for just over 5 months now. During that time, I have accompanied Alfredo and Greg to a nearby pueblo in Mirador to assist in a community develop project that has since fizzled out. Also, I tagged along with Paty and Greg to listen to a business ethics class that our borrowers are required to attend. I have not yet taken the opportunity to be at the school for the library program, but the photos of the excited children provide a good assessment.
 
For my part, I have been involved primarily with CeDeTe, the center for theological development, as a student. This class is a great foundation for any new Christian or not yet believer. It is also beneficial for our Peruvian church leaders to increase their knowledge and their ability to talk about God.Thus far we have studied the story of Israel within the Hebrew Bible. We are just over half-way through the first trimester. Greg has done a wonderful job instructing, and I am increasing my biblical Spanish vocabulary. Just this week we discussed the covenant God made with David, and Greg pointed out how integral this occasion was for the people of God. In 2 Sam. 7, the prophet Nathan outlines the covenant God is making with David. I only want to point out two important features within this covenant. First in v. 13, God tells David that his son will build a temple and that David’s reign over Israel will continue forever through his descendants. Second in v. 14, God says that He will be a father to Solomon and Solomon will be his son. This language is powerful covenantal language from God who longs to dwell with his people (temple) and have an intimate relationship with them, never removing his love! This type of relationship between God and humanity was was to set in motion Israel’s calling from the days of Abraham to a blessing to all nations! Even in spite of her stubbornness, God, through the monarchy of David, would once again reign over Israel. And what would this kingdom look like? In Psalm 72 David prays for his son’s kingdom and his theme, I think, captures the essence of what CUDA stands for. Here is an adapted portion and may this be our prayer too.

“May we judge your people with righteousness,
    and your poor with justice!
May we defend the cause of the poor of the people,
    give deliverance to the children of the needy,
    and crush the oppressor!
May we fear you while the sun endures,
    and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!
In our days may the righteous flourish,
    and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
For we deliver the needy when he calls,
    the poor and him who has no helper.
We have pity on the weak and the needy,
    and save the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence we redeem their life,
    and precious is their blood in our sight.
May there be abundance of grain in the land;
    on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
    may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
    like the grass of the field!
May people be blessed in us,
    all nations call us blessed!
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    who alone does wondrous things.
Blessed be his glorious name forever;
    may the whole earth be filled with his glory!
Amen and Amen!”

— Psalm 72, adapted

Health Project Update

Three or so months into our adventure in the development of a CUDA health program within the city district of hunter and we are slowly building traction.
 
As it seems with all programs and projects started within a Developing country dictate that all things take a while to ‘develop’. Our presence is growing in the health centre. This is positive and encouraging given the nature of health centres, changes happen frequently and people come and go but people are learning our names and bit by bit we are making connections with all the staff and nutting out ways of collaborating and improving health outcomes. We are currently solely working in the area of Diabetes diagnosis and prevention (which, to be honest is an excellent place to start given the nature of diet and health practices in Arequipa). We fill out simple forms with people and do a simple test to uncover potential diabetes. However by far our most useful and potentially far reaching aspect of our program is Education on nutrition and lifestyle for the prevention of diabetes for which has received very positive reaction from patients. We have currently seen 130 patients and lead to the potential diagnosis of 4 patients (of which we refer to the Doctors in the centre). These are humble beginnings but there are a lot of exciting opportunities to come.

Outreach

If you haven’t heard about CUDA’s community development program, you should visit the CUDA blog and read this post.
 
Recently, some participants in this program and other neighbors began studying the Bible.  It is always our hope that CUDA beneficiaries will be interested in talking more about faith or reading the Bible, but we try not to make anyone feel pressure to do so.  Instead, we talk openly about our own faith and make invitations to have personal conversations.  Very often these invitations come to nothing, but sometimes a seeker will take us up on the offer.  
 
Then there are the times when program participants invite us to share more with them.  That was the case for the community development program.  After we had got to know each other a little, some of the ladies in the program were chatting with me after a meeting, asking what I do in Arequipa.  This is a common question, and I usually explain that I moved my family to Arequipa because we want to tell people about the kingdom of God by serving in different ways, such as through CUDA, and by sharing the Bible with people who are interested.  Before I could get to an invitation, they asked if I would be willing to study the Bible with them.  Those are fun situations for a missionary—when you can just say yes.  This is not a fairytale story, though.  These women live hard lives, and they work whenever they can.  It is difficult to find a time to meet with them, so our studies are sporadic.  I’m praying that we can find a regular time and really get into the story of Jesus together.
 
Another Bible study has come out of a loan group.  After finishing the biblical business ethics class that is part of their curriculum as borrowers, a few of them requested to continue studying.  Paty and I meet every Thursday with this small group to read Mark.  Alcoholism afflicts one participant’s life, and we have tearfully begun to work through difficult family dynamics.  Paty and I were glad to have Mark Clancy visit from Lima recently and play an encouraging role in the study.  Sometimes it is hard to see they way ahead, but we trust that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.  It is a blessing to be reminded of that when other Christians visit and reflect the light.

CUDA: Year in Review

This year has been a great year for CUDA.  The Living Libraries program has had a great year, as you’ve seen in our newsletters.  Students have improved their ability to read and teachers are better prepared to teach future students.  In the micro-loan program we surpassed our goals for both no-interest and low-interest loans.  Interest in the program remains strong and we have been blessed recently to begin a new bible study with members of one borrower group.  We are prayerful that more opportunities for in-depth bible studies will present themselves next year.  
 
The reality of all development (and mission) work is that without supporters it is impossible to sustain.  We have taken steps to generate funds with Cafe Connection (Arequipa), Passport Language School (Arequipa) and in 2014 we will begin selling CUDA Coffee in the USA.  These business ventures will help us but they will not be able to provide all of the funding required to sustain our staff and programs.  The fact is we need your help.  Giving has been down this year and we find ourselves without sufficient operating funds for the coming year.  We have been soliciting grants and there are still possibilities for funding in that area, but the processes move more slowly than our needs.  We are asking that you, as you all have done many times in the past, decide to help.
 
If you want to make a donation there are a few ways you can help:
 
Go to www.cudaperu.org and donate to our operating funds or to a borrower with an open loan.
 
Go to www.purecharity.com/living-libraries and donate to the installation of one new Living Library in 2014.  We want to open 3 new libraries and it takes $6000 to install just one.
 
You can send a check made out to “CUDA” to:
    c/o Mark Adams
    1200 Cedar Lane
    Tullahoma, TN  37388
 
Once we begin selling CUDA coffee (very, very soon!) you can buy a bag, ten bags, or a subscription.  We’ll be sure to mail you once everything is ready.
 
This isn’t the first time that we have been short on funds.  Every time people have risen to the challenge, often surpassing the need.  We are grateful for the way God uses you to keep us working here in Arequipa. 

Green Coffee

We have a new project in the works here in Arequipa.  As some of you know we have a new team of missionary families joining Team Arequipa in the field beginning in January.  One great asset the new families bring is medical knowledge.  Four of the eight adults are medical professionals so we decided to capitalize on that incoming expertise and come up with a way that CUDA can help communities be healthier.  To that end Alfredo has spent the past few months planning our 2014 health initiative and we are in the final stages of having it approved by the local and regional governments.  We’ll report in detail on the program later but I’d like to ask you all to begin praying for our collaboration with the health-network in the district of Hunter.  The doctors and administrators in charge of the network there have been very supportive and quite excited about the potential possibilities our partnership will provide.  We are equally excited to begin working in Hunter and hope you’ll remember the program in your prayers.
 
In other news our first shipment of coffee has made it to Lima and soon embarks on its maiden voyage to Texas.  As soon as possible we will be shipping fresh-roasted gourmet coffee right to your door.  Though we tried our best the coffee won’t arrive in time for Christmas delivery.  If you want to give the gift of CUDA coffee we plan on selling a gift certificate redeemable for individual bags or subscriptions.  Once all the details are finalized we’ll send out the word via email, FB and Twitter so you can be guaranteed delivery from our first roasting session.  For years you’ve bought every pound of coffee we could bring back with us and we hope you’ll support this new enterprise.

16 huge bags (151 pounds each!) of coffee in a Lima warehouse.

Seeing Growth

I wrote some time ago about the launch of CeDeTe (Center for Theological Development).  The first class is now in its second trimester, which focuses on the New Testament story, self-awareness, contextualization, and the disciplines of meditation and fasting.  I very much enjoy teaching, but the true satisfaction comes with the students' assimilation of the material.  While on furlough, Paty and Alfredo decided to begin teaching the church from the first semester content.  I was joyfully surprised.  They are excited about sharing what they have learned and convinced that the church needs to understand the whole biblical narrative as the story of God's purposes.
 
I pray that a second class will form soon, that the program will grow and evolve, and that more and more doors will open to teach substantial biblical theology in appropriate ways in Arequipa.
 
Another interesting opportunity has arisen through our new community development initiative.  Those of you who contributed to flood relief will be glad to hear that a few of our contacts in the area we helped have come on board for a long-term development project.  After working hard to communicate the need to transition from a relief relationship to a development relationship, most relief recipients moved on.  This is the norm and the reason we do not usually invest in relief.  But the upside is that three motivated young mothers are now committed to collaborating with CUDA for the good of their community.  

I'll leave the details of the program for another article.  The new opportunity arose when I asked one of the three women, Lila, about studying the Bible.  She had expressed cautious interest before I left for furlough, so I was following up to see if there was a time she would like to meet.  One of the others, Irma, piped up to say that all three of them wanted to study and asked if we could just do so when we come for the development meeting.  So, Alfredo and I will start the book of Mark with Lila, Irma, and Delfina this Saturday.  Thank God for the opportunity.  Now we sow the seeds of the kingdom and pray for growth.

Aussies, Coffee, and TA 2.0

The Aussies

Recently a new couple joined us in Arequipa for a two year stint as “apprentices.”  Bethany and Andrew Gray come to us from Australia (east cost, Brisbane) after being connected via Gary Green from ACU.  They are excited to work with our development programs, especially the new health initiative being planned, and to get to know the Peruvians in our church network and minister alongside them.  First things first though, they’ve begun intensive language learning at our language school.  Twenty hours of Spanish classes each week take a toll on you mentally, emotionally and physically.  Will you pray for them to have the stamina and dedication to their studies?  Advancing as much as possible in their language classes now will help set them up for a good two years of ministry here in Arequipa.

Coffee

We are this close (imagine my hands held up really close together. . .) to being able to deliver fresh-roasted CUDA coffee stateside door!  Once the international leg is worked out, a literal ton of CUDA coffee will head that way, with two new varieties in addition to our standard Tunki. After it arrives in Texas, we will start fresh-roasting and shipping orders around the end of November in time for Christmas.  In a few weeks, we’ll send out emails with details on the coffee we have to offer as well as some gift combos that should make great Christmas gifts.  Thanks for your support of CUDA in this new venture.  We hope it will contribute toward sustainability for the NGO in years to come.

TA 2.0

With 2013 drawing to a close we are getting ready for our new teammates to arrive in Arequipa.  Four families (the Frouds, Morgans, Blairs and Daggetts) will begin arriving in January with the last family set to arrive around August.  Recently we have been celebrating with the Morgans and Frouds as they have finalized their support with two different churches.  The Frouds will be supported by the Cloverdale church in Searcy while the Morgans will partner with the Pleasant Valley church in Little Rock.  As the Frouds and Morgans enter into their final 3-4 months before the move be praying for them.  It is a hectic time full of change and goodbyes.  Pray for their last few months spent with supporting churches; that strong relationships would be formed and solid support structures put into place.  Pray for their last goodbyes to family members and for their arrival (Frouds in January, Morgans in February) in Arequipa.  We are ready for them to be here!