CUDA Update - April 2021
God has provided tremendously for CUDA, and I’m so, so thankful. The Bobbie Solley Foundation, the Tulsa Christian Foundation, the Bell Trust are all contributing financially in an incredible way. Add that to the contributions that individual families make, some stretching to give $25/month, some stretching to give $500/month—and we’ve been able to continue on, and even grow! I, as CUDA Board treasurer, can breathe, at peace with God’s providence, and continue to work toward the future of our work in sustainable development toward justice, wellbeing, and joy in the city. If you have $25 or $50/month to spare and want to be a part of this sort of work in the name of Jesus, would you commit to supporting CUDA for a year? If you can’t do that, but you shop at Kroger or Amazon, would you consider linking your account to our non-profit? All the details for supporting us in any way are right here.
CUDA’s Living Libraries Impact
Schools in Peru are still closed, and will finish out the school year (in December) this way. As you might imagine, that has affected the way we train teachers through Living Libraries. Despite a great learning curve for virtual training, I asked our team—Lucía, Nancy, and Julié—to share some specific stories of teachers who have grown throughout this year, and what they shared is encouraging. And one more thing…
Cool Things and Hard Things and Asking for Prayers
10 Years of CUDA
In 2008 two families, the McKinzies and the Smiths, arrived in Arequipa with the mission of planting churches supported by several people and churches. They also wanted to work in development. Meanwhile, I was in Arequipa working in development as Coordinator of the Peace Corps. As a man of faith I do not believe in coincidences, I believe that God prepares us for what his work should be. That is why everything in my personal and working life worked together to stay in Arequipa and together we started to work to form what CUDA is today.
CUDA: Sowing seeds and kneading dough
The Christian Urban Development Association works for justice, joy, and wellbeing in the city of Arequipa. Urban poverty is a different type of poverty. We want to break the cycles of poverty that don’t allow kids to have a chance. We’re training teachers to improve reading comprehension strategies so that the kids they teach will know how to read, and who knows, maybe they’ll grow up to be teachers that already know how to read and can teach reading—and many will experience wellbeing because of it.
November-December 2017 Header
These are small things that add up to be a huge blessing to us and to the work that we are doing through CUDA. Thank you for supporting us in this way. In this issue Katie writes about forced Sabbath, Jaclyn writes about a cookout we did with the orphanages, Jeremy shares his neighbor Alfredo's story, and Jake gives the recommendation for this month.
Justice, Wellbeing, and Joy in 2017
Thank you so much for being a part of our work in 2017, and working with us toward the future. People are experiencing justice, wellbeing, and joy in Arequipa. Development is a slow process, but it’s transformational. What is now just a seedling of new life we believe is growing into something much bigger.
A Visit to Arequipa by Chris Adams
I wanted to share some of my thoughts after spending just one day with the CUDA team and hope to pass along the excitement I felt working alongside these servant-leaders. I’ve been a member of CUDA’s board for four years and thought I had a good handle on the scope of our mission in Arequipa. However, visiting the city and witnessing first-hand the amazing work of CUDA’s staff and volunteers was an unforgettable experience.
McKinzie Reflections on CUDA 2016
It is with great joy that we are writing to report our findings and impressions following our family's visit to Arequipa in July. We spent two weeks with the church, and we took the opportunity to observe various aspects of CUDA's work and to discuss matters at length with Alfredo and some of our missionary volunteers.