Our winter team had an incredibly meaningful and productive mission trip to Peru. They were the first team to ever visit our very own boys in our own home! It was an unforgettable experience! They were able to pray over the home, staff, and boys. The boys learned about what it means for them to be sponsored by individuals like you, and they were deeply grateful.
The team split their time between Puerto Alegria and Iquitos. In Puerto Alegria they served abandoned children in another home. The team built a brand new dock for the home which was much needed since traveling to and from the city, washing clothes, fishing, and bathing is all done from that dock. In Iquitos they served the boys and Peruvian staff in our own home. They were able to lead devotions and spend quality time with all of the boys. They prayed with the boys both in groups and individually. They were able comfort many grieving boys, give them Christmas presents, bring them the good news of the gospel, and show them the love of Christ.
This was our first team ever to serve in the area of Belen, which is greatly impoverished. Our church plant, Divine Grace Evangelical Christian Church, focuses on outreach in this dark area. Our team went door to door inviting children to come to a bible study program. Over 150 children who were either abandoned and/or from extreme poverty showed up each day! For three days our team played with them, gave them food and drinks, and taught them about Jesus through bible study. It was a very emotional experience as many of these children were in very poor condition and begged team members to bring them home.
If there is one takeaway lesson from this trip, it is this: the work is plenty and the laborers are few! There is so much to be done. We are more motivated than ever to fight for the children of Iquitos.
