A House is not a Home

That is how the saying goes.   Makes a person think.

Where is home?  I would say Trujillo, Peru.  But I still own a house in Jackson, MS . . .  and it was a great house and a blessing while I lived there.  But it is now stressful!  I am not there.  My renter is moving out next week.  And I have no renter and no buyer yet.  I need to sell this home!  While I know God has plans for me, (and those plans are to prosper me and not to harm me), I cannot help but ask, "God what is the deal with my house in Jackson?"  He will provide for me, but that does not mean He will sell my home and for a profit at that, right now.  I know this, but still I must confess my lack of faith and doubt.  I worry.  He says not to, but I do.  I know He will provide.  He has done so abundantly in the past for me and I know He will again.  Know anyone that needs a house in Jackson? I have one for sell.

And even as I look at this photo, I am a bit sad to be selling it.  I really love this house.  It was the first house I owned that I nested in.  I actually did yard work, planted trees and flowers, and put up curtains!  (The one before this I lived in for 5 years and still had completely bare living room and dining room windows--drove my Mom mad, but never bothered me.)  I did home projects and stained concrete by the front door in this house.  The neighborhood is nice and fun and I even decorated for Christmas.

So, I know I need to sell it, but am a little sad to know I will never live there again.  But I cling to the promise of my Father, who prepares a house for me.  My real home is in heaven.  It is not here in Trujillo or Jackson.  This is temporary.   And my real home is much more grand than anything I've known before.  It is much more homey and I will nest there for eternity.  I am thankful to know that a house is not a home.  It is good to have faith and comfort in knowing where "home" really is--especially in stressful and/or sad times.  Thank you Lord for providing me an earthly home (whether it be my favorite house or my Peruvian apartment), but even more so, thank you for preparing a room for me in my heavenly home!

Welcome Back Trinity Pres!

We were excited to welcome back Trinity Presbyterian Church from Tuscaloosa, AL.  It is always fun to have friends return for a visit.  This year they brought an energetic 14 people to host medical campaigns in our poorer neighborhoods.   This team worked tirelessly for 4 straight days.  We started in Parque Industrial and then held a clinic in our Arevelo church for 3 days.  It was a wonderful week of serving God's people through the mercy ministry of medicine.  Many people were introduced to the church and provided much needed medical help.  The physicians even made some house calls to house bound patients.  Finally, we were able to share the gospel through evangelism activities and visiting a school one day for an impromptu VBS.  Overall, it was a great week with our friends from Tuscaloosa and we look forward to their return next year!

Jose and Pastor Steve (who entertained our kids with balloon animals and hats such as this one!)

Me and Karla, the red-headed triage team (she was the nurse and I translated)

We even were able to administer breathing treatments in our make shift clinic.

And our pharmacy run by some friendly smiling faces!

No Man Left Behind

The clinic continues to benefit from our short term teams!  A group from Kosciusko came and worked tirelessly helping build a storage shed on top of the clinic.  This included hauling bricks up several floors for one whole day and sand, and gravel.  Rumor has it that some of the boys got good enough at catching bricks they could do it with one hand!

The week was filled with hard work and lots of fun fellowship.  And I must confess, my first man left behind!  Thursday as we headed out of the hotel and into our taxis, I assumed we were all there.  We arrived at the clinic, visited with our friends at the clinic as we made our greetings and started the day.  Pastor Phillip Palmertree was conducting the devotional when he quoted someone from the group.  It was not until right at that moment that we realized, we had left someone at the hotel!  Luckily, he was back at the hotel waiting for us and no one was too mad.  His entire family was on the trip so I didn't have to worry about what they'd say when they found out I left their son behind.  And he had a great attitude about it.  He said he had come out of the hotel to see the taxis driving away and thought we were playing a joke on him and would be right back.  Oops!  not a joke.  But he joined us very quickly after I called Wes Baker to retrieve him and bring him to the Clinic.  And at the end of the day, it was a story with a happy ending.  Whew.  Never a dull moment around here is it?

Thank you First Presbyterian Church Kosciusko!

Michael Holman and Dale Ellison checking on the progress of the storage shed atop the medical clinic.

Pastor Phillip Palmertree and his daughter Ruth Ann working on top of Sinergia.

Some of our brilliant brick catchers!  Heather, Chris and Nathan.

And then there were 6

Out of the 36 team members that traveled to Cajamarca, 6 continued their trip for a few more days and visited Peru Mission in Trujillo.  We were so thankful to host these 6 brothers and sisters from FPC Jackson.  It was a great chance for them to see what all Peru Mission is doing in Trujillo.  We enjoyed visiting all of our churches (Cristo Rey where we worshiped on Sunday, Wichanzao, and Arevelo), the medical clinic, Sinergia (micro-finance program), the woodshop (Parish furniture) and even the ladies of Peru Paper.  Additionally, the group visited our new offices and got to see some SALI conversation classes in action.  Thanks for extending your trip and coming to check out things in Trujillo!

Carey Johnston and Danny Story at Parish Furniture

The smaller group of 6 visiting with the ladies of Peru Paper and their manager, Oscar.

FPC Jackson, MS visits Cajamarca

Thirty six people made the long trip from Jackson, MS to Cajamarca, Peru!  This is one of the largest if not THE largest group we have all year.  FPC Jackson has been a part of Peru Mission as long as it has been in existence and we are so thankful for their faithful support and part in our work.  This year we had the best numbers we'd seen in 10 years.  Over 1000 people were seen in the medical/dental clinics.  Also, we enjoyed 4 great days of VBS in local schools where many children heard the gospel and saw God's love.

A small word of encouragement can go a long way.  One lady came in with her children for a check up.  She also had a downs syndrome child.  Dr. Craig Flowers was great as he saw her and encouraged her.  We had the opportunity to encourage her and let her know she was doing a good job.  I asked if we could pray with her before she left.  As we concluded our prayer, I looked up and she and her daughters had tears streaming down their faces.  Such a small thing -- a word of encouragement and prayer, but oh so powerful!  The Lord moves in mighty ways.  We also had a dental patient that had a good deal of bleeding after having 2 teeth extracted.  As he waited in our clinic to be sure everything was okay, I had the chance to visit with the daughter.  She told me of how her mom had died recently and she is taking care of her Dad.  It is hard.  I understood.  Again, the Lord provided a chance to offer some words of encouragement and a quick prayer.  And again, it was met with such gratitude and tears.  How often do we forget what it can mean to someone to share a kind word, encourage them, pray for them.  What does it mean to show God's love?  More than we probably know or appreciate.  Maybe the next time you are provided a chance to offer a word of encouragement or pray for someone, you will remember these precious women in Cajamarca and pray for the people of Cajamarca and Peru also.  You too can be an encourgement through the power of prayer even from the United States.  You do not have to travel 3,200 miles to do so. . . you can do it from the comfort of your own home!  Please remember to pray for the people of Peru.

On the topic of encouragement, for me it was a very special week full of much needed encouragement.  This is my home church back in Jackson, MS and it does the heart good to have a visit from home!  Thank you FPC for your continued support of all we do and making the annual visit to minister to the people of Cajamarca and surrounding towns!

Dr. Flowers in the medical clinic and Isaiah Toler translating.

Dr. Jeff Glover and his son Porter with a surgical patient.  She asked that we pray before her surgery and even asked if all the doctors were Christians.  It was a great chance to explain why these doctors take a week out of their work to come to Peru!

Dr. Tramel and his assistant, Stephen Kruger, busy in the dental clinic.

The team from FPC Jackson, MS

THANK YOU!!

Gulfport FPC Visits Trujillo

Thanks to 7 dedicated friends from Gulfport, MS, the clinic in Wichanzao now has a new coat of paint!  What a difference this paint job made and especially in conjunction with our new tile (see previous posts).

They worked diligently all week to paint all of the first floor and part of the second floor.  Here are a few action shots.

In addition to providing a fresh new look for the clinic, its patients, and staff, we enjoyed a wonderful week of encouragement from our brothers and sisters in Christ.  It was a wonderful time to visit, share in the word, and encourage one another.  We even managed a little site-seeing.  After work one day we visited the Huaca de Luna y Sol.  This photo includes our guide and another couple that was on our tour--we made new friends from Greece! (man in black and the woman to his right and our guide in her brown vest)

Thank you so much Gulfport FPC for your hard work, faithful service, and encouragement!