Come on Over

to the new blog -- Tomáses in Trujillo.  We have had a little makeover and moved!

Check out our new site at www.hermesandalleen.com

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

If I tried to tell you about the cute kids in the clinic, I would never be able to capture (even in more than a thousand words) how adorable these faces are!

It really is true isn't it?  Seeing something is so much better than hearing about it. If you can come visit Peru and see where we work and live you will have a deeper understanding of our lives and what the Lord is doing here. If not, then we can try to share with you in words. We can talk until we are blue in the face, but you'll not feel the dirt on your skin, see the poverty and happiness all rolled into one, see the change in the churches as more and more members come to know Christ, and more. So what is the next best thing? We hope video of our lives and work here. We have partnered with Silent Images for them to come and work with us to capture in photos and film what the Lord is doing here in Northern Peru. They came and served with us for a week and did an incredible job!  I cannot wait to see the end project. . . but we all have to wait a little longer for that. Until then, check out these photos of their time with us in Trujillo and Cajamarca. To learn more about Silent Images and the work they do, check out their website.

A Foretaste Divine

Every short-term team that comes has a different point of view, a different background, a different style of worship maybe, and different experiences.  There is, however, one thing they almost always agree upon -- a highlight of their trip to Peru is the worship service on Sunday.  It is such a glimpse of heaven.  I recently saw this blog post (thanks to a friend who shared it as a basis for why he is a part of a multi-racial church back in the US).  I thought it captured perfectly what I am privy to each Sunday and what Hermes got to experience back in the US as he visited various churches -- all in a language that is not his first language.  May we never forget that God's kingdom is truly worldwide!

A Great Multitude and a Great Hope by Kevin DeYoung

Where Does the Time Go?

I came to the blog to write about another subject and saw how long it had been since I'd blog and was downright embarrassed!  We did get the visa!  Praise God!  And that resulted in a whirlwind time that has just now settled down.  We left for the United States on October 20 and had 2 wonderful months to visit family and friends and mainly, raise more support.

The trip to the US was really great on so many levels and deserves its own blog post.  A quick summary for now is that my family got to meet my husband!  We were blessed to share in the holidays together and a wedding!  Hermes got a full tour of the Southeast. . .beginning in Washington, DC and ending in Oxford, MS, and plenty of the in-between.

World War 2 Monument in DC

With our Nephews!

He also learned a lot about the fundraising side of being a missionary.  He brushed off his English and set about to share with so many what the Lord is doing here in Peru.  We visited old friends and made many new ones. And in addition to the work of raising funds, we were able to meet with some of the teams that are scheduled to visit us in 2013.

Visiting Heather and Calin Cunia

Hermes playing traditional folk music for a group we shared with in South Carolina.

Finally, we got to meet the accountant on the US side of things!
Thanks Rebecca for all you do!

Planning for Twin Lakes Peru with Andrew Vincent and Zack Owens

We are so thankful for our time in the States and how the Lord provided for us in many ways.  We are still short on our funding, so please continue to pray that the Lord will raise up the needed funds to complete 100% of our budget. We hope to have a more detailed newsletter about that soon.

We returned from the US on December 31 -- just in time to start camp with Twin Lakes and Point Pleasant.  It was a huge success and you can see the photos here from camp.  After camp, we dove straight back into work with the mission, never a dull moment, and are just now taking time to catch up on some blogging, general work. I hope to get a full newsletter out soon.  Until then, thanks again for all of your prayers and support!  We are so thankful for you.

Your Change Can Bring Change

Read more about how saving your change -- hopefully a $1 a day -- can bring change to the lives of the people of Peru!

Your Change Can Bring Change

And please remember to pray for our visa process.  We have an interview tomorrow morning at 9 am in Lima.

A Moment Captured

Our cell group went last Saturday to help build a house for a young lady that has aged out of a local orphanage.




Me and Alyn (pronounced just like Alleen). My namesake! :-)

Location:Prolongacion Fatima,Victor Larco Herrera,Peru

Mothers and Fathers

The photos of Mother's and Father's day in Cristo Rey is a stark reminder of how we need to reach out to the men in our community and draw more fathers into the church to be a godly leader in their families and the church. We are so thankful for the men and Fathers in our congregation and pray for those we are ministering to!

And the Madness Begins!

Well, short-term team season is here!  I LOVE short-term teams, but this season is my craziest time of year. Thanks be to God, I actually get energized by the work and the people that come and visit.  I leave this Thursday, the 7th and will be picking up Auburn Avenue in Lima.  From that point on, I will be hosting teams for 30 straight days until July 7th.  After a break, we'll have another team and then another break and another team.  So after this initial rush, the pace is much more laid back.  Please be in prayer for my time management and stamina during this time.  

We just finished our first team of the season.  This year I will be posting photos during the week on my FaceBook page and then blogging on the Peru Mission website.  So, to keep up with my work and what the Lord will be doing these next few months, check out the Short Term Team Blog or like my FaceBook page.  Since we have already had one short term team, I'll give you a sneak peek here.  One of the things this team did was give fluoride treatments in a loca school.  It is fluoride on cotton that the kids put in their mouth and hold it there for 2 minutes.  It tastes like strawberry and is not really bad (yes, I've personally tried it!).  But as the photo shows. . .some liked it and others not so much.

Good Friday and Easter Services

We had a wonderful Easter celebration, with Good Friday services, a vigil on Saturday night with our cell group and then a glorious resurrection celebration on Sunday!  We also celebrated 2 years at Cristo Rey on Sunday.  Praise the Lord for how He continues to shine and pour His grace on us!

Good Friday Service

Esdras and Hermes lead our prayer vigil 

Prayer Vigil in Santa Maria

Sunrise Service with Cristo Rey in a local park

Sunrise Service

Celebrating 2 years at Cristo Rey!

Easter morning service at Cristo Rey

Maundy Thursday

We had a wonderful Maundy Thursday service at Cristo Rey. A full house with 92 in attendance.



We enjoyed a meal together and reflected upon the Lord's last supper with his disciples. Pastor Allen Smith shared God's word. After hearing of the last supper, we too celebrated the Lord's Supper to end our time together.

It was a great time of fellowship among the church family. Below is a photo of some of our church members.




And fellowship with visitors and new friends. Below is a photo of Hermes' boss and family. We were glad to welcome them to Cristo Rey.



The kids had been to camp with Twin Lakes in January. They were at our wedding in March. The wife told me seeing our community at the wedding peaked her interest to know even more about us. The kids were saying they want to come back on Sundays. Pray that the Lord would work in their lives and give Hermes and me the words and deeds to minister well to them.

A Moment Captured

Inauguration of the Clinic in Parque Industrial

IPC Memphis

We just finished a great week with IPC Memphis. They worked all week having medical campaigns in neighborhoods and churches near our clinic in Wichanzao. We also visited the orphanage our last day and were able to love on the kids there as well as provide dental and medical care. It was a great week with friends from home and many Peruvians were served. These dear saints were the hands and feet of Jesus as they mirrored his ministry all week long.

To see my photos and updates, check out my Facebook page here. Thank you IPC from Memphis, TN for sharing your love of Christ with the people of Peru for a week! We are so grateful for your service.

Church in Lima after an all night flight Saturday night.

Dental clinic in Clementina

Medical Clinic in Clementina

Precious children of Clementina

Triage in Arevalo

We had a great time with the youth of Arevalo and Wichanzao!

Visiting the nursing home in Trujillo

What it is all really about . . . sharing God's love -- this time through prayer.

A Moment Captured

Saturday Night Fun. Addressing Invitations.

RUF VA Tech

The day Twin Lakes left, we welcomed RUF Va Tech to Peru. It was a joy to receive this group and its RUF pastor, Andy Wood. Andy visited us on a vision trip back in 2010 and it was great to see him again as well as welcome his students and two church members from Grace Covenant Church in Blacksburg, Va. This group was able to put the finishing touches on the clinic in Parque Industrial. They not only put a sidewalk in front of the church, but also wired the clinic for electricity, installed the water pump, and hung doors on the bathroom. Thanks to the hard work of this group we look forward to having the inauguration in just a few weeks and will start seeing patients one day a week. You may read a more personal perspective on our website.

Starting to make cement. . . mixing sand and rock.

Still mixing, but with the dry cement added this time.

This team also did some electrical wiring for the building.

Added a much needed sidewalk.

Pouring cement (after hours of preparing it).

Enjoying an afternoon at the local archeological site.

Twin Lakes Peru

It has been a busy 2012 already! This year started with a focus on the children. We hosted the 4th annual Twin Lakes Peru Summer Camp. Over 150 children learned about the gospel through the story of Daniel. Each day they enjoyed traditional summer camp activities that were started with a devotional to reinforce the lessons taught each day in the general assembly time. We are so thankful to First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS and Twin Lakes as well as Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah, GA and Point Pleasant Camp. These two groups worked long, hot days to bring the gospel to the children of Peru. To read more about there trips, check out this more in-depth article on our website. 

Orientation on Sunday before camp.

Learning new silly songs for camp!

Interesting visitor during devotionals Day 1.

The pool is a big hit even for the small kids who stay in the kiddie pool.

Camp had a few interesting visitors each day!

Debriefing after day 1.

Fun during morning assembly.

Peruvian and American staff enjoy a farewell party.

A Moment Captured

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You expect to see a vicuña in the mountains, but when we passed this one on the street of Trujillo, not far from my house . . . well, to say the least it was a surprise!

Soles4Souls

"Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him." John 13:5

The day begins with two chairs and a basin of water and a towel. As each participant comes in, the worker humbles himself and washes the feet of the recipient before placing the shoes on the feet. Here in Peru, many of the roads are dirt. People wear sandals just as in Jesus' time. We have some insight into what it means to wash another's feet. It is a powerful thing to see and participate in. This is how our week with Soles4Souls is spent.

A group of 8 energetic and inspiring team members joined us with their leader to give the gift of shoes and the gift of hope to many of our neighbors for a week.  We had four donations in the neighborhoods where we work and at the orphanage we partner with. We served close to 1000 people over these few days. We are so thankful for Soles4Souls and their generosity, servant hearts, and the time and hope they gave the people of Trujillo. To read more about this trip, please visit the Soles4Souls blog.