July 11, 2013 - Celebration Day

There are no words adequate to express the joy, relief, and satisfaction for today. We hope the photos below convey the flavor of this day. And yet, 100 more wheelchairs to be assembled next week and another container on its way. The need is huge and the work is God's love made visible. 100 plus 16 lives were changed today; none of us will ever be the same.

July 10, 2013 – Assembly Day!

 

Energy and teamwork were the name of the game as we joined forces with a group of volunteers from Camino de Vida for Assembly Day, a day none of us will ever forget. Indeed, many hands make light work.  Boxes were opened, parts laid out, every little nut, every long screw, axle and more. Each chair was assembled with love and resolve to finish them all in a quality way. Chairs were scrubbed, tires pumped, brakes checked, chair backs laced and by the end of the day, they were lined up like toys under the tree on Christmas Eve. Indeed, tomorrow will feel like Christmas for 100 recipients and their families. We drove back to Hotel San Blas with that good kind of tired feeling, knowing that we did what we came to do and tomorrow will be the reward. We thank you for your prayers and feel your support from miles away where we are wintering this week in Peru.

July 9, 2013 – A Day of Preparation for Tomorrow and the Day After!

 

Like an orchestra experiencing a crescendo, we are feeling the momentum of our trip growing; an amazing distribution of 100 chairs to Comas will happen in two days where people in need of mobility will arrive from nine surrounding provinces. This morning we drove to a warehouse in Ate where we extracted the exact wheelchair boxes needed to haul to Comas – 68 Generation Two and 32 Generation One. A truck met us there and we loaded the boxes of chair parts and chairs, drove for an hour and unloaded them in a giant room. There they sit overnight waiting in neat piles for us to arrive tomorrow morning with our tools for assemblage. Our anticipation is growing and we can only imagine the magnitude of each recipient’s anticipation. Our group is strong, energetic, and synchronized in harmony, well aware that none of this would be possible without God as our conductor.

 

July 10, 2013 - A Day of Changed Lives

Fredy's Story

Our wheelchair recipient today was 30 year old Fredy who, five months ago,  contracted a mysterious illness that left him paralyzed from the chest down. After three months in the hospital where he underwent tests, doctors were unable to determine the cause and sent him home. Home is in a remote impoverished village where ramshackle residences polka dot the dirt hillside. His brothers had been alternating days of taking care of him. Freddy was admittedly depressed with his whole life turned upside down. Fredy, father of a 7 year old daughter, went overnight from went from being a functional individual to being totally dependent. We delivered a Generation Two Wheelchair to him. His countenance at first was shy and embarrassed, but after spending over an hour with us, he wanted to go outside and be in the sunshine for the first time in five months. We prayed over him and he asked us to take his picture before we left. The chair lifted him out of bed to an upright position, but what we really noticed was his emotional and spiritual transformation.

Krochet Kids

Grace Fellowship Church has a ministry they support called Krochet Kids which we were able to visit today. Similar to Don Schoendorfer's experience of traveling in a third world country, three young surfers who went to Bali could not get the impoverished out of their minds. This ministry is unique in that it "teaches people how to fish rather than giving them fish." Krochet Kids launched in 2009 in Uganda, at a time when other Fair Trade companies such as Tom's Shoes were becoming popular. In 2011 Peru was added. The ministry began employing 10 women and has grown to more than 150 women who started out crocheting hats and scarves and are now sewing t-shirts, sweatshirts, and other accessories. In addition to providing these women jobs, Krochet Kids teaches them financial skills of budgeting, saving and managing their money. Each woman has a mentor to grow spiritually, socially and emotionally. Wow! These items are sold in Nordstrom and can be found on line at BingKrochetkids. We were all quite moved at the momentum of this mission and are quite clear they need ongoing prayer for continued success.

Our first day~ July 6, 2013

Sixteen strong, we finally arrived at the inhuman hour of 2:15 am, grateful for safe and sound travel. We are all eager to begin our adventure all in the name of God.

 

 

 

 

One highlight of today was meeting the Chapman family, missionaries with EGM (Every Generation Ministry). They have been in Lima for six years training Youth Ministers of Christian churches, who in turn trigger active faith in the youth of Peru and beyond. Their five point lesson plan is simple and effective:

1. Build rapport with children.

2. Share a meaningful, relevant story which tees up scripture

3. Get into the Word with that scripture

4. Discuss thoughts about the scripture

5. Implement the lesson with an activity that puts the scripture into action.

 

 

Then onto wheelchair assembly!

 

In preparation of distributing 100 chairs next week, we gathered at the church to assemble four chairs – two Generation One and two Generation Two. Some of us are better at the tools and others of us pump up tires and lace the straps really well! We look forward to a home delivery Monday delivering these chairs to a family with two children in need.

 

 

Our group is tired, happy, hungry and bonding beautifully. We thank you for your steadfast support and prayers.  Buenas noches from Lima!