Sweaters for Peruarbo

On Saturday we were able to give away sweaters and vitamins to children in Peruarbo thanks to the Halversons of Winter Haven, Florida. They donated a large suitcase full of beautiful hand-made sweaters and vitamins.  You should have seen the joy on the faces of the children!  Wow, were they thrilled!  They all send their thanks to the Halversons and especially Shirley who put so much time into knitting each piece so lovingly.

Peruarbo is a very poor area on the outside of Arequipa where the mountains begin.  The people in this area are poor and many have no education, therefore it is hard for them to find a good job.  Some work for tiendas (small stores), some in the chacras (fields) and others in the sillar mines (white volcanic stones).  Many have no work at all.  Children are left at home all day with no one to watch over them.  It is not unusual for a 5 year old to be alone and often in charge of a 3 year old.  Most have nothing to eat all day.  There are many orphans in this area.  Some are being watched by relatives and some are staying with neighbors.  There is simply a need for almost everything in this poor area, including water, electricity and sewage disposal.

We are working with Pastor Guiliana Anchante, a missionary from Lima who runs a feeding center and church.  Guiliana also lives with us and totally depends on donations.  She live on faith each month just as we do.  If you would like more information on this ministry, please contact us.

Enjoy the pictures of the children with their new sweaters.

Bless you,

Lew

 

Packages

Some of you have been so kind to mail us packages from time to time.  You are so generous and I know you go out of your way to send these packages.

Let me explain the procedure the last time I received a package through the mail service here, so you will understand why I am asking everyone to forgo sending packages through the mail unless it is something vital.

I received a notice at my house and went to the post office (there is only one for this town of one million people) in the afternoon to pick up the package.  They only give out packages at 8:30 – 12:30 and 2:00 - 4:00.  When I arrived in the afternoon there was a sign saying they would only service 8 people each afternoon and 15 people every morning.  Of course, the 8 people were already signed up.  So I returned the next day at 8:30 a.m. but 15 people were already signed up for that morning.  I returned the next morning at 7:30 and praise God I was number 13.  I waited in the post office all morning and at 12:15 when it was my turn they told me that I would need 2 copies of my passport.  I ran to get a copy in a nearby store and managed to get back before they closed the office at 12:30.  I gave my paperwork to the clerk and he looked at everything and said I would have to go to another line and talk with someone else because there were errors on the papers.  They were not my errors but theirs.  The notice which came to our house has my name as Lew Davis Cayma.  My passport says Lewis Davis and Cayma is the area where we live.  So they told me that it would all have to be sent back to Lima and redone and I would have to return to the post office when I received a new notice.  That means a whole morning in line again.  Since they wanted to send it back to Lima, I directed them to just return it to the sender because I know that packages returned to Lima usually manage to get “lost”.

Of course, every time I have to go to the post office it is not easy.  I have to take a taxi and as you probably know, that can be dangerous here.  I spent $6.00 in taxi fees and would also have to pay a tariff for the box at the post office.  The only thing that doesn’t cost is a bubble envelope.  Feel free to send bubble envelopes because the pick up process is much easier with shorter lines.

So, I did not get the last package that was sent.  We have had other lost packages here and the mail service is just not dependable at times.

I don’t want to discourage you from helping when God puts it on your heart, but I just want to suggest an alternative.  You can contact us and we’ll let you know when someone is visiting us from the U.S.  Then you can mail the package to them in the U.S.and they can bring it on the plane without any trouble.  That way it will cost you less and we’ll be sure of getting it.

Bless you sooooooooo much for understanding.

Thank you for your heart for missions.

Lew

Hunter Project

On Saturday, April 14th I went to the district of Hunter to evangelize and give glasses to the people in that area.  This was a great outreach project in that poor area.  Many of the people spoke Quechua and, in fact, at least half a dozen of the older ones only spoke Quechua.  Students from the Bible Training Center joined in the project with some handing out tracts in the neighborhood and doing street evangelism, others inside helping test the patients for their glasses strength, and others counseling after they received their glasses.

We say over 150 people and fitted 125 with new glasses.  After they receive their glasses, they go to the counselors.  The students did an excellent job.  Of the 125 who had counseling, 46 received Christ for the first time.  That makes it well worth the busy, tiring day.  I got home about 9:00 p.m. but I was so glad we went.

This project was possible due to Faith Fellowship Church.  They have been so faithful with the glasses project and missions support here in Peru.  I want to thank Pastor David and the congregation.  I also thank Pastor Mitacc and Pastor Freddy who made it happen without any snags here.

Here’s some pictures for your enjoyment.

Bless you,

Lew

 

Baptism in Chaguata

Today I baptized 7 people in a cold river in Chaguata.  Freddy was one of the people baptized.  Some of you may remember Freddy.  If you have visited us in Arequipa, you probably met Freddy at our house because he has adopted us as parents.  I also had the privilege of praying with him to receive Christ 2 years ago. 

We had a wonderful time praising God beside the river this morning and I thought you might enjoy a few photos from the baptism.