Perusing Peru

Peru, that strange mysterious country which ever since childhood carries with it that air of mystery and adventure, home of the Inca, the towering Andes and the steamy Amazon… well I finally got there.

Before arriving in a place you never know how your expectations will survive their impact with reality, you know you will have perceptions changed and reinforced, but you can never guess the wild ways in which they will change. You never know what will strike you… Returning from a week and a half with Anthony DiLiberto producing two videos and gathering photos and information I can safely say the biggest thing I learned is that Peru is a place teeming with opportunity. Poverty, beauty, history, and tragedy were all things that I soaked in, but what strikes me still at this moment is the opportunity; opportunities to share the Gospel through our faith in action, through showing Christ’s love for these people. It seems that every single conversation led to this dire need, people are truly hungry for the Gospel in Peru.

Poverty is rampant in Peru, nearly half the population can be considered below the poverty line, many homes barely have a roof and some are large enough only for a single bed and use woven mats for walls. Peru is also home to some of the worst extreme poverty in Latin America, the farther away from Lima you go the more likely you are to encounter families who cannot even put food on their table. The Gospel hope can be shared with these people in so many ways, most importantly through our words and actions among them.

Peru is a beautiful country with beautiful people, humble and generous. Anthony and I spent hours and hours just sitting with the people of Lucumo (where we are doing the majority of our work as LCMS World Mission) and talking and sharing in their food that they generously gave. We produced a video which I will soon be posting about these humble people, look for it soon.

We have incredible opportunities right now in Peru, and Christel and I are working hard back in Panama to help LCMS World Mission in Latin America take advantage of these opportunities. We just finished an exciting leadership meeting here in Panama with Jorge and Olga Groh and Bruce Wall one of our new team members who will be coming with his family soon. There was lots of discussion about how to meet the needs for mission in Peru and other places, keep our Latin America team in your prayers!