New Memories

I realize I have been an infrequent blogger, but I am trying to improve. The days have been so filled with activities, especially as we are in the last few weeks of the servant team being with us.

On Saturday May 11th, we had a most beautiful Mother's Day Celebration. There were so many amazing things about the day, it is hard to know where to start. For those of you who may not know, Mother's Day in Peru, is celebrated 2nd to Christmas. It is a very important holiday in the life of this country. Mother's are held in the highest regard and this day is reserved for celebration, and family gatherings all over the country. Many people (especially young people) have small tatoo's and or it is common to hear the expression that says, "Dios y Mi Madre", which means, "God and My Mother". For many this is a joyous and celebratory day. For many of the youth who live on the streets, it is a hard day, that reminds them of their losses and distance from their families. For some of the young moms that we know, it is a day to celebrate and reflect on their lives as Mother's and how they are finding new victories in being the young women who God is calling them to be.

The Mother's Day Celebration with some of our friends who are young moms, marked a new season in the life of the community here in Lima. Another page turned, and another page started. What has been written is just the bare bones - a lot is left for the excitement and the unknown. There is so much to anticipate and so much to live in the wonder of God's faithfulness. We had planned to have the party in one of the local churches, however we were informed that we would be unable to use the church. So, we decided on plan B, which was to have the party in the New Ministry Center Building! Together with around 22 volunteers, 16 kids and 8 young Mothers, the first paragraphs of the history of the ministry center, we written. The men of WMF Peru, generously offered themselves to take care of the 16 children! Bless their hearts! They did an amazing job and all were fully exhausted by the end of the day - rightfully so!

The afternoon started with a beautiful meditation by Anna on new Life in Christ (letting go of the old) and being clothed in the new and leaving our burdens at the foot of the Cross.
We were all impacted and challenged by her words. Then the ladies went upstairs to the second floor where we had prepared 3 different station activities. While one group was in the room making bracelets, the other group was getting massages and manicures. We had a full team of amazing volunteers! We had a calm and peaceful environment and it was wonderful to see our friends interact with others that they might not normally have interacted with.

The last station was a low cost garage sale that we set up, selling clothes for the women and their children at record breaking prices! It is was a perfect time to set something like this up because of the oncoming winter. One of the mother's commented to someone at lunch time, "Yeah, I went to get my manicure and then I went to Ripley!" (one of the large department stores here).


The day ended with rotisserie chicken, french fries and salad - a Peruvian favorite and a special meal! It was exciting to see the body of Christ working together and how each person gave of themselves so freely. I know this is just the beginning of many beautiful moments that we will spend together.

Our prayer is that are friends would be dignified, healed, celebrated and loved upon as Christ loved the woman at the well, as Christ healed the blind man, as Christ received the bottle of perfume that was poured over his feet.

"We must live in community because the struggle of life against death demands united ranks of souls and bodies that can be mobilized wherever death threatens life." (Eberhard Arnold, Why We Live in Community)