All this week, we are sharing reflections & pictures from the team that just returned from Lima, Peru. Their journey was part of an effort our community made to share gifts & hope with a community we’ve worked closely with for seven years. After raising nearly $7000 between our group and others @ WBCC, we were able to buy Christmas gifts for kids in Lima, Pachacutec, and Iquitos. We also bought two brand new moto-taxis as sources of income and employment for the church and those they reach-out to. Finally, we completed funding several smaller infrastructure projects that weren’t yet finished at El Shaddai.
POSSIBLE FOR ALL OF US Katie Cooper
I don’t think I knew what Peru would become in my life the first time that I went. I knew that I would enjoy it since I had done similar trips with the church in Mexico, but it has taken on a role in my life that I may not have anticipated early on. Now that’s not to say that every time I’m there I’m totally comfortable and at ease, or that I love every minute, because I don’t think that is it at all. But I fit in some way. I’m not always totally comfortable in my life here at home either, nor do I love every minute, but I have a role and a place here. There are obvious differences between the two, since my roots here have developed with friends and family for the twenty-four years of my life. Still I can’t help but feel that the bond that continues to grow with our friends at El Shaddai, this relationship we have worked for, hasn’t happened by accident. That even though I didn’t know what Peru would become, God obviously did. He must have had a plan for it. And for the record, I don’t really find myself saying that as often as some, since I’m usually rather unsure of God’s plans.
I’m really excited about the projects we were able to represent during this trip, and I’m thankful that I was able to tangibly see where the money was going and help with the process. One project was buying the Christmas gifts for the Kids in Lima and Pachacutec. Some of us were a little sad that we wouldn’t be giving the gifts personally, as the church is going to pass them out closer to Christmas. However, this was still a project that was incredibly meaningful. At times I’ve wondered if gifts are a project we should be doing, since these impoverished cities have so many more immediate needs. I’ve since realized that it is a very worthy project, especially alongside the other projects we have done or are participating in, that do more directly address those other needs. Coupled with these other projects, I think that gifts for the kids are another easy way for our group to offer them our love. A gift is something so simple to us, and yet it is such a great expression of what our group has to offer, whether physically there in Peru or not.
The moto-taxi project is also a great representation of our group. West Bowles has always been a church that has emphasized service, and I have found this to be a consistent topic in our group as well, helping me to see what things I can do for others. Also in this discussion of service, I feel like we have been able to take it a step further and address ways in which we can empower people and communities to provide and take care of themselves too. That is what I love about this project. I hope it works as something that can provide for the church and for some of the youth that Elsa is helping, because this could grow and eventually provide countless opportunities for them to continue their work for God’s kingdom.
Peru is quite the place. And I realize as much as anyone that trips like this are not for everyone. Being mission-oriented in our lives however, is possible for all of us. I just hope for this to be something that our group can continue to support and learn from. And I believe this is possible for those who go to Peru or have gone, as well as for those who may never go. There is much for all of us to learn from this relationship with El Shaddai, and there is much for all of us to offer too.
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