Soles4Souls

"Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him." John 13:5

The day begins with two chairs and a basin of water and a towel. As each participant comes in, the worker humbles himself and washes the feet of the recipient before placing the shoes on the feet. Here in Peru, many of the roads are dirt. People wear sandals just as in Jesus' time. We have some insight into what it means to wash another's feet. It is a powerful thing to see and participate in. This is how our week with Soles4Souls is spent.

A group of 8 energetic and inspiring team members joined us with their leader to give the gift of shoes and the gift of hope to many of our neighbors for a week.  We had four donations in the neighborhoods where we work and at the orphanage we partner with. We served close to 1000 people over these few days. We are so thankful for Soles4Souls and their generosity, servant hearts, and the time and hope they gave the people of Trujillo. To read more about this trip, please visit the Soles4Souls blog.

Maggie working at Parque Industrial

A smiling face admist the crowds waiting for new shoes.

The Soles4Souls team at the orphanage, Hogar de Esperanza.

Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah GA

This past September we were tremendously blessed by the presence of our dear friends from Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah, GA. IPC Savannah comes faithfully to Peru every September and usually visits both Cajamarca and Trujillo to do both a medical campaign and a construction project.

This year the IPC medical team did some house visits and also campaigns in Parque Industrial and Manuel Arévalo. In addition to those campaigns, they also worked in Bethesda Clinic in Wichanzao for two days.

The IPC construction team finished the work on the Parque Industrial medical clinic and gave the church a new look with paint and flowers. They completely landscaped the garden at the clinic which was a great touch and really made a difference!

Thank you IPC medical team!

Natalie Brown (assisted in the medical campaign) Paul Carpenter (pharmacist), Cindy Carpenter (assisted her husband Paul), Dr. Todd Fruitt (dentist), Dr. Ryan Moody (pulmonologist), Kindri Van Pufflen (registered nurse)

Thank you IPC construction team!

Alton Brown, Frankie Daniell, Paul Jeffrey, Patrick McClean, Joe Van Pufflen

Christ the Redeemer Church in Parque Industrial gets a facelift!

Frankie Daniell puts some finishing touches on Christ the Redeemer Church in Parque Industrial.

Pastor Percy prays with patients before a medical campaign.

The team enjoyed a night of Peruvian folk music with the band Muyumpampa.Paul and Cindy Carpenter handle the pharmacy at the Parque Industrial medical campaign (photo credit Nate Henderson).

Dr. Todd Fruitt does what he does best . . . out in the open air! (photo credit Nate Henderson)

Dr. Kris Whitehead and Chad Brown, PT

The Betesda Clinic in Wichanzao has continually been blessed with doctors and other health care professionals that come to serve the people of Peru. Our most recent visitors were Dr. Kris Whitehead and Chad Brown, PT. We were so thankful to have these men join us and work in our clinic and serve the greater health care community.  Dr. Whitehead gave a lecture at a local hospital and also assisted in surgery. They both worked several days in our local clinic and attended a meeting of young Christian medical students. We have enjoyed facilitating this energetic group of young physicians-in-training and offer them a Christian perspective to their profession.

Dr. Whitehead with the medical students

Dr. Whitehead working in the clinic and teaching Dr. Julton Tomanguillo

Chad Brown with a physical therapy patient

The week that these men spent with us in Trujillo was a great blessing to many people, patients and medical personnel alike. We are so thankful for the sacrifices they made to be with us for a week and share their time and talent with us.

Thank You Kris and Chad for your visit! (pictured with clinic staff)

If you are interested in coming to work with the medical team of Peru Mission, please contact Alleen McLain.

Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church

Our short-term team "season" came to a close with a visit from Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church. This group was really impressive! One interesting fact was that half of the team was fluent in Spanish (one team member was from Brazil and spoke Portuguese also and one was from Columbia). This certainly made for lively conversations as we worked and labored with our Peruvian friends out at Parque Industrial.

This team was the third group to work on our medical clinic in Parque Industrial. They were able to finish many of the smaller items that needed completing as well as tear off the roof to make room for the new one and dig a trench that was as wide as the property to prepare for a security wall that will be built soon.This gave a whole new meaning to working in the trenches together!

In addition to tirelessly working all week on this construction project, they brought their Senior Pastor, David Moran, who was able to teach a seminary class each night. The students loved his teaching and it was great to see him preach in Spanish without a translator. He did a fantastic group and it was one of our best attended guest lecturers.

Thanks to Key Biscayne for your endless dedication to spread the gospel and show God's love through your words and deeds.

Christ Covenant Presbyterian (Hernando, MS)

Two churches worlds apart, yet so similar. This is one way you may describe Christ Covenant in Hernando, MS and Cristo Rey in Trujillo, Peru. They are both in the infancy years as a church; they both are reformed Presbyterian churches; and they both love the Lord and want to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. They joined together for a special week in July to labor together for the Lord. We are so thankful for this partnership.

Christ Covenant wasted no time in jumping right into their mission work. In their first year as a church, they brought a team of 15 to Peru to build relationships with the Cristo Rey church as well as continue our work in Parque Industrial's medical clinic. The first night in town, they met with a cell group from Cristo Rey and began helping with a community project. We painted signs to post in the neighborhood parks. It was a fun night of painting and pizza!

The next day we gathered at the local parks to split up into groups and post the signs in the parks as well as pray for the neighborhoods and invite our neighbors to join us Sunday night at our cell group. It was a fun way to spend the day getting to know the congregation at Cristo Rey and work alongside one of the cell groups to widen their gospel community. Below is a photo of the Christ Covenant group and the Santa Maria cell group from Cristo Rey together in one of the parks.

This hard working team also made great efforts out at Parque Industrial and helped us further the work on the medical clinic. Everyone had a great time even though it was hard work. The rocks kept coming as before. This one below was too big to move out of the hole we were digging for the cistern so we just made the hole bigger and moved it over. Made for more work, but was easier in the end than moving this monstrosity out of this deep hole.

Even the women were impressive as they learned new skills such as how to bend rebar in a manner that becomes a form for a new cement roof structure. These women were hard workers and never tired!

In addition to working on the construction site all week, the saints from Chris Covenant also found time to meet with the deacons from Cristo Rey and the ladies group from Cristo Rey. And we all enjoyed one final evening together at the end of the week to praise God for all the blessings He bestowed upon us this week and for our future relationship as partner churches!

Thanks to Christ Covenant for your love, support, hard work, and encouragement. We look forward to many more years together and eternity to come!