Last year, at the end of January, Jake and I visited Peru. The first day we were here we went to the beach for celebration Sunday with the church. It was a fun day but we didn’t really know anyone and couldn’t go much further than “Hello. What is your name? How are you?” This year we started planning the annual beach trip at the beginning of January. I was so excited!
After over 6 years of investment in Arequipa, Peru, I can attest to this truth. I see beauty all around us. The family of faith, young though it may be, is beautiful. Their love is real, their desire to know and follow Jesus better is true, and we are better for having their unique qualities and experiences in our midst. Things have not occurred easily over the years, which is precisely why each success is so valuable, and even the struggles provide a chance for deep learning.
One of my favorite movies of all time is Fiddler on the Roof. It’s a story of a Jewish man named Tevye and his family in a small, turn-of-the-century Russian village. It’s cheesy and it’s a musical, but the reason I like it is that Tevye’s whole life revolves around God. He’s a peasant milkman, not a rabbi or a priest, but every facet of his life is shaped by his relationship with God, with whom he’s constantly talking. I want to be like Tevye.
“Jóven” translates to “young” or “young person” and this has been our latest project since about September last year: working with the young people of Arequipa. We had noticed that a lot of young people only had the option of drinking and going to clubs as a hangout but also found that a lot of young people do not have a space where they can explore their faith, ask questions, and be young. We were inspired to help some of the younger people in our church to connect in a way that was more real for them, to build future leaders, and encourage strong faith and community among these youth.
What began as four American missionaries sitting around a living room with one Peruvian listening to his ideas for development projects has grown into something much bigger. In 2009 we had one library functioning with an impact of around 20 people, in 2015 we will impact at least 650 lives in the library program alone. We have helped over 200 small business owners through loans, business management training, technical training and private management counseling...God has done more these last six years than we ever imagined, and shown us that there is so much more to come.
The kids’ Bible class in home churches on the Peruvian mission field looks very different from our homeland experiences. It is often much more chaotic and informal with a mixture of lighter and darker faces and the English and Spanish languages. However, the same principle remains: instilling in the children of our church the foundation of faith.
On the 14th of January, we officially celebrated our first year in Arequipa. What a journey we have been on and it’s only the beginning! While we do have mixed emotions about this past year—saying all those good byes along with the challenges before us for this next year—we are confident in God’s provision.
