Accounts of Peru

2010 Crew Ceremony I

2010-02-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

CREW is very proud to receive 3 new members on the 13th Feb.

It is so wonderful to see 3 new youths make a commitment to follow Jesus personally. One of them was Christian for at least a few years but backslided because of resentment towards God. Recently God used the CREW to impart God´s love and God´s word into him and he was greatly touched. Another one was emotionally depressed recently but he received Christ personnally after almost 2 years in our Youth Club. It was a long journey to acknowledge Christ personally as he didn´t see the need before that. One other female member is someone who is already a Christian but made a new commitment to changing job and serving God and youths more. Indeed, the senior CREW members are excited about the privilege being used to bring His marvellous transforming love to this new members in the process. They are definitely doing a GREAT service to the KOG, snatching back youth after youth from the tentacle of the other kingdom where youths are trapped in gangs, drugs, broken love affairs, premarital sex, promiscuity, teenage pregnancy, etc.

Below are snapshots of the serious and joyful CREW ceremony.

¨When anyone is in Christ, the old has gone...¨ Christ has torn away the old lives of CREWs-to-be.

"Be joyful and quick to throw away your past...."

"....the new has come." CREWs-to-be receive new life in Christ and pledge to join the CREW family.

Pledge of commitment to God's GC and other CREW members

Senior CREW members gave their biggest and warmest hugs to the newbies.

Cool Gifts (Bible wrapped with cool wrapping paper) given to honor our new members! Bravo!

A great great ¨bravo¨ to the leadership and teamwork of Laura, Jonathan, Fiorella, Judith, Kate and Mayra (senior members). We pray that this pioneer team will flourish in their love for God and commitment to the vision, and will lead the new members to raise a new generation of CREWs to shine and reach out to the entire youth world (Called to Reach out to the Entire World).

MANOS Hope 2010

2010-01-20T06:29:00.000-08:00

In line with our "Break Free" series where we talk about breaking free from old habits, hurts and behavioral patterns, the church launched a church cleaning campaign. It is called "MANOS Hope" (Hands of Hope). Last Sunday was the launch and churchwide cleaning, let's see how all MANOS Hope (from the oldest to youngest) was in action!!

CREW Outreach - The Best Brownie Contest

2010-01-19T14:56:00.000-08:00

Vacaciones Utiles - Kids Holiday Program

2010-01-19T06:28:00.000-08:00

Leadership Retreat in Chancay

2010-01-04T14:28:00.000-08:00

We spent our New Year together as a church leadership in a beautiful town called Chancay.

On our first day, we relaxed ourselves by strolling in the town and a light meal in the morning. After lunch, we then spent some time to worship, pray and seek God for our church future in 2010. Together we envisioned and wrote down our plans for 2010.

There are new challenges in Hope Lima this year. Many of us are challenged to take on new roles (ROLES). Many of us need to disciple someone (DISCIPULOS). Many church members are challenged to reach new people (PERSONAS) and build new ministries or strengthen existing ministries (MINISTERIOS).

We set aside some time to pray for God's plan in 2010. Sensing God's Word in Joshua 1:8-9 where it says, "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from you mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written on it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you GO.", we were filled with God-given courage and faith, praying and claiming the future that God has for Hope Lima.

It was a great time seeking God and knowing His will for Hope Lima.

After the planning and praying time, we were very hungry and quickly made our way to the Plaza de Armas (main town square) for late New Year's Eve dinner. At the countdown, the team enjoyed ourselves playing fireworks and watching them around the square. It was a beautiful countdown night. On the second day, it was just pure fun time! We went to the Castillo de Chancay (The Chancay Castle) and the nearby beach. As one of the leaders is a fanatic photographer, many good moments we shared in this retreat were well captured in photos.

Thanksgiving to the Lord!

2009-12-31T07:07:00.000-08:00

Year 2009 was a year where we felt the Lord's favor upon our church after we moved into our new sanctuary.

At the beginning of the year, the Lord impressed upon our hearts the prayer of Moses before leading the Israelites enter into the Promised Land, "If your Presence (Favor) does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" And the Lord said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." Then Moses said, "Now show me Your Glory.".

This prayer was resonating in our hearts throughout the year. Indeed God was faithful to His Word. We felt the Lord's favor go with us in everything we do.

In year 2009, we got many answered prayer corporately and individually.

On a corporate level, the Lord answered our many requests for human resources, financial resources and operational resources. We needed a cajonero, the Lord brought a powerful one! We needed a guitarist in CG, the Lord brought a seasoned guitar player! We needed funds for church rental, the Lord brought many offerings! We needed teaching assignments, the Lord brought us aplenty! We needed bus, contacts for our events and camp, the Lord made sure we were provided for!!!

Individually, we prayed for jobs, business opportunities, more orders. We prayed for protection specifically, healing. We prayed for salvations, receiving the baptism of the HS, heart and character change, commitment to baptism, commitment to ministry. The Lord heard us and answered us. Individually, the faith of many is elevated, the love of many for the Lord is increased, the passion of many to build God's church is raised!

Thanks be to the Lord for all marvellous things that happened in the individual hearts and in our church life! 2009 belonged to the Lord, all Glory and Praise be unto the Highest Name of all!

Thank You, LORD! May year 2010 be a brand new year where Your name is exalted to another higher level in Hope Lima, we want to reach nearer to the HEAVENLY LEVEL!!:)

I Can't Resist to Love This Church Family - Miguel

2009-12-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

Saludos a toda mi nueva familia en Cristo, me siento feliz de haber llegado a este lugar. Al comienzo yo pensaba , que fueron casualidades las cosas que pasaron para que yo llegue aquí, pero ahora estoy convencido de que fue Dios quien me puso en esta senda, y dia a dia le agradezco por este suceso.

Un dia de noviembre del 2008 Juana (mama de mis hijos),y su amiga tomaron un ómnibus para una ruta corta, y Lidia( profesora de colegio de mi hijo David en ese entonces) también estaba allí, pero no se vieron. Sucedió que un hombre molestaba a Juana y a su amiga, y ellas se molestaron, entonces Lidia recién se dio cuenta q estaba Juana y la saludo, y al saludarla le conto que iba a un sitio donde enseñaban ingles a los niños, y la invito cuando Juana ya estaba por bajarse del bus. Para ese tiempo yo había decidido cambiarlos de colegio, entonces ya no iba a ver a Lidia , y esto ocurrió a poco tiempo de terminar el año escolar. Por este motivo se que fue Dios quien hizo que sucedieran todas estas cosas en ese momento, de otra manera tal vez nunca hubiera sabido de nuestra iglesia, Entonces Juana me comento de esto y decidi llevarlos, el dia q llegamos me recibió Andrew, y empezamos a conversar y lo vi tan transparente que rápidamente me sentí en confianza, luego al entrar al salón recién me di cuenta que estaba en una iglesia, y yo estaba buscando una iglesia cristiana para “sacrificarme” para que mis hijos crezcan en un ambiente cristiano, pero no me sentía bien en las iglesias que había ido, ni mis hijos tampoco.

Al escuchar el mensaje me di cuenta q estaba en un lugar diferente que me sentía muy bien y aun me sentí mejor cuando me invitaron a ensayar con el ministerio de alabanza y adoracion, siempre quise eso. Hice muy buenos amigos, hermanos, a los que ahora quiero mucho, y que se han convertido en mi familia y quieren mucho a mis hijos, y ellos son felices cuando están en su Hope kids. Acepte a Cristo en mi corazón de manera sincera y desde ese momento he ido cambiando mis anteriores habitos, poco a poco , pero siempre avanzando, ahora estoy a puertas de dar otro paso, bautizarme, si bien al inicio pensaba que me estaba apresurando, ahora se que después de bautizarme mi relación con Cristo será mas cercana y que me ayudara a seguir avanzando para ser la persona que deseo ser, y que mis hijos , mi familia biológica, todos ustedes mi s hermanos, y también Cristo nuestro señor , se sientan felices y orgullosos de mi, de mi cambio, y de mi nueva vida, gracias al Señor nuestro Dios por todo lo que me esta ocurriendo, por que nunca se olvido de mi y me guardo y cuido para vivir este momento, y gracias a todos ustedes mis hermanos en Cristo por permitirme a mi y mis hijitos ser parte de esta maravillosa familia, Dios los bendiga a todos.

Childhood Dream Came True in Divine Hands! - Jose

2009-12-17T08:01:00.000-08:00

Queridos Hermanos :

He pedido a Dios que este testimonio sea el reflejo de lo que siente mi corazón y mi alma, y a la vez identifique mi compromiso con Cristo, es por eso que he buscado un momento a solas con él, con su presencia, escuchando su voz dentro de mí, para escribir este testimonio de mi fé en un momento tan importante en mi vida.

Iniciare contándoles la historia de un niño, Llamado José que a la edad de 6 años tuvo su primer encuentro con Dios, al estar arrodillado orando frente a una imagen de Cristo crucificado, esto sucedió en el colegio donde yo curse mis estudios primarios y secundarios. Al estar frente a esta imagen y observando su rostro de bondad y a la vez reconocer detenidamente su cuerpo lleno de heridas, sus manos y sus pies clavadas al madero, entendí que su sufrimiento había sido por mi, por nosotros y en mi oración viendo sus ojos le hice una promesa, que un día cuando fuera grande, retiraría cada clavo que le hacían daño y sanaría cada herida que le habíamos causado. como comprenderán la inocencia de aquel niño y su oración las debe haber escuchado nuestro Señor y quizá en mi imaginación de niño pude dibujarle una sonrisa de alegría por aquella promesa tan particular y personal.

Sin embargo pasaron los años, aquel niño se hizo hombre, y mientras su corazón guardaba aquella promesa hecha al Señor sus acciones no eran del todo el resultado de su promesa, porque en lugar de quitar cada clavo que lo sostenía en aquella cruz o aliviar sus heridas, al contrario incorporaba muchas mas heridas a su cuerpo, o añadía un clavo mucho mas fuerte que los anteriores con mis acciones.

Y conscientemente sabía que así era, y cada acción hería mi corazón y amargaba mi alma, sin embargo vivía en el equivocado concepto que los placeres materiales llenaban mi vida y me daban la felicidad, por el contrario nada era como pensaba. Cada vez me daba cuenta cuan equivocado me encontraba y el Señor se encargaba de hacérmelo notar de muchas maneras, estrellando mi equivocado concepto cada vez que el orgullo y la vanidad mas alto trataban de colocarlo.

Esa promesa de niño hacía también recapacitar en mi, y revertir los errores cometidos y las ofensas hechas a Dios, y vivía pensando y orando a Dios asegurándole que no sabía cuando ni cómo algo haría por él, le pedía mucho porque utilizara mi vida para su propósito, había una frase que me acompañaba a diario y era “SEÑOR ALGUN DIA DEBO HACER ALGO POR TI”, aún no se que es, pero tu me mostrarás el camino y me llevarás a ti y a cumplir tu propósito, mi vida tenía un gran hambre de Dios.

Y fue así que el Señor puso en mi camino y en el de mi familia a dos grandes hermanos como son David y Edith, quienes me invitaron a conocer, la iglesia Esperanza, y Dios aquí me estaba esperando, ahora sé que el tenía preparado este camino para mi y desde entonces no he querido fallarle, he tratado de mantener mi obediencia a él..y encomendar toda mi vida, mis acciones, y mi futuro a su propósito, Deseo que él siga moldeando mi vida, que me siga indicando cuál es el camino, ser aquella oveja que sigue a su pastor y que comprende que siempre lo llevará a buenas tierras con hermosos valles y abundantes pastos donde descansar.

Es por eso que al escuchar su llamado para este momento tan importante como el de recibir el bautismo y la renovación de mi fé, he decidido acudir a él, para que sea su mano y su espíritu santo quien llene mi vida, y convertirme en un instrumento del Señor, para liderar mi familia con valores cristianos, para ser mas diligente en mi trabajo y que los frutos de mi vida sean ofrendas a Dios.

Pensé que esta semana me estaba preparando para este gran momento, sin embargo estoy convencido que fue Dios quien ha preparado mi vida durante todos estos largos años para este importante momento donde le entregaré todo lo mejor de mí, en favor de su ministerio y mis hermanos en Cristo. AMEN!

A Young Drinking Father's Life Turned Around - Reuben

2009-12-17T07:53:00.000-08:00

Mi vida desde que nací fue muy hermosa porque tuve un padre que me dió todo lo que un niño puede querer, nunca me faltó un juguete, estudio, ropa ni techo donde dormir.

Crecí en un ambiente familiar donde me hablaron de Dios por lo que en mi niñez y en mi juventud procuré buscarlo en mi vida.

Era un niño muy tranquilo, respetaba mucho a mis padres, no me gustaban las fiestas, paraba mucho en casa, mi hermana a sus 15 años ya salía a sus fiestas y recuerdo que yo le decía: “Que aburrido estar bailando tantas horas con tanto sonido en los oídos , yo prefiero estar en casa viendo TV”.

Pero a los 23 años celebré mi cumpleaños y en ese entonces me gustaba mucho la hermana de un amigo mío que era mayor que yo por 3 años.

Me enamoré tanto que en mi cumpleños que celebré en mi casa la pasé todo el tiempo bailando con ella, y desde los 23 años me empezaron a gustar las fiestas.

Mis padres se molestaban mucho por mis amanecidas hasta las 6 am. Así estuve hasta que mi padre me dijo que si quería hacer esa vida que la haga en otro lugar, por eso que a los 26 años me fuí de mi casa y fui acogido en la casa de un amigo donde permanecí por casi un año. Regresé a mi casa por mi mamá quien me lo pidió. Sin embargo, a los 28 años nuevamente me fui de casa y en forma definitiva. En el cuarto que renté hacía un desarreglo total …..fiestas , tomaderas de amanecidas , no me daba cuenta que mis padres se preocupaban mucho por mi, mi mamá oraba mucho por mi, hasta que cuando tenía 31 años conocí a la mujer que fue mi esposa.

Todo fue muy rápido,nos enamoramos y ni cuenta me di cuando ya convivíamos. Despues de un año, nos casamos muy enamorados el 14 de diciembre del 2002 en la Iglesia Catedral de Lima. Hicimos una fiesta a lo grande donde mi papá me apoyó bastante.

Mi pareja era muy celosa y por causa de sus celos discutíamos mucho hasta el punto que me acostumbré a gritarle. Luego nació mi hija Grecia en el 2004 y cuando ella tenía un año y medio me separé de mi esposa y empezaron muchos problemas para mí….. Me dediqué a salir , a tomar , amanecerme en fiestas y un día le pedí a mi esposa que me entregara a mi hija. Ella me la entregó en julio del 2006.

Parecía que todo ya se arreglaría, que sería el padre ideal pero peque nuevamente y me puse muy triste cuando mi esposa decidió abandonarme y separarse de mí. Felizmente con el apoyo de mi familia me hicieron comprender que la única persona que me debería interesar era mi hija Grecia y que por ella debía trabajar mucho y decidí dejar de tomar el 13 de marzo del 2009.
Mi hermana Diana estaba muy contenta de mi cambio y me invitó a la iglesia “ESPERANZA” el 21 de junio por el “día del padre”.

Ese día fue muy especial para mi, sentí la presencia de Dios, en ese momento lloré mucho y confié mucho en mis hermanos a quienes les confesé en una reunión de mi obsesión por regresar con mi esposa. Desde esa fecha, siento que asumo mis responsabilidades y el control de mi vida con el apoyo de Dios, lo mismo también deseo para la mujer que fue mi esposa.

He estado reuniéndome con la Iglesia sin faltar ningún solo domingo y el 16 de agosto del 2009 acepté a Jesucristo como mi Salvador y Señor.

Estoy muy contento de tener tantos hermanos en quien confiar en Hope Lima , Iglesia Cristiana , es por todo esto que he decidido este sábado bautizarme y empezar una nueva vida con Cristo.

6th!! C3!!

2009-12-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

Year 2009 marks the 6th year of Hope Lima church into Peru history.

We had our 6th anniversary camp on 5 & 6 Dec. The camp was themed as C3 (C-cube) camp. It does not mean "Camu-Camu (A Peruvian fruit that is rich in vitamin C) Con Vitamin C, but "Comprometidos con Cristo" (Committed to Christ). We talked about the significance of making commitment and renewing commitment as individuals and as a church in moving our lives and church life forward.

With much anticipation, our church family, in a "bus-ful" load of more than 60 people, went to "Tikva" (casa de retiro OR retreat house) in Cienegella (a small town, one hour drive from Lima). There were a lot of fun and memorable moments we shared as a church family.

First, we witnessed our brothers making new commitment to Christ. Three brothers (Jose, Reuben and Miguel) were being baptised to publicly declare their faith. As all of them came from a catolic background where the families baptised their babies for the sake of blessings or healings rather than in the spirit of commitment to God, going for water baptism again would oftentimes invite family persecution and friends' rejection. However, they decided to take this step of water baptism with a lot of personal faith and conviction in God's Word although it was against their family tradition and friends' opinion. It was a moving time when some of them shared their conviction on how they personally experienced the divine call of God in their lives when they first came to our church. They were also very emotional and excited during the baptism. In the baptism pool, one of them excitedly swam to the baptisers....the cheering crowd then hilariously declared that this brother was "self-baptised" (ya bautizado).....it was indeed a hilarious baptism. With great joy, the whole church witnessed and celebrated their heart commitment with a new sense of gratitude and encouragement that God indeed did a miracolous work in the little hearts of 3 big men.

The church had a "good long" time of learning the WOG. There were 3 sessions of teaching. We believed the teachings were fundamental yet important for the foundation of Hope Lima in her commitment to God and to the church. The church was challenged to be committed to God fully, not partially or half-heartedly; fully in the quantitative and qualitative sense, out of our willing heart of love for God, even at times we don't feel like it.

Practically, we spent the first night renewing our commitment in our blood families and to our church family. The marrieds made new pledges according to the WOG to love the wife and submit to the husband's leadership. The parents and children made pledges to each other in which parents would train the kids in the way of the Lord and children would obey the parents. All of us also participated in piecing up a NEW HOPE LOGO puzzle, signifying that everyone is significant in building Hope Lima together.

Also, in response to God's Word and the moving of the Holy Spirit, the church was challenged to build more strong small communities (CGs), and build more ministries. Many adults and youths responded out of their willing heart to obey God. It was definitely an amazing work of the Lord among our church in Lima where commitment to God and church is rarely preached or emphasized, let alone being challenged and practiced. We are encouraged in the new level of commitment people are making to the Lord practically in their lives.

We did not only learn through teachings, but also through experiential learning. In our respective teams, we were being tested in our trust and commitment to commitment to each other through various physical activities. The finale was extremely exciting where our team cracked brains to make our own speed boats (out of plastic bottles and straws) that would speed across the swimming pool in a race against other teams. Everyone took great initiatives in contributing to every part of the boat making process. When the boats were ready to race, it was a highly explosive time. People were shouting and screaming as if the race was real boats in the real ocean. We realised how competitive our brothers and sisters are to win.....we like this kind of winning spirit. The team made up of Nancy, Laura and others finally won the race. A feeling that lingered after the race that went like this, "What a wonderful boat race!! How wonderful the victory won in a committed team!"

Before we closed the camp, our very first "COPA HOPE" (Hope Cup) was inaugurated by our oldest (74, Benedicta) and youngest member (3, Alvaro) of the church. Holding the "Olympics torch", they ran to the female statue of COPA HOPE with great animated enthusiasm. After the parade of the participating teams (Romanos, Galacticos, Filipos, Coloscos) round the field, the teams went all out in all matches (consisting of telematch and ball games), vying to bring home the COPA HOPE trophy. The Galacticos team made up of David, Frank and others brought home our first COPE HOPE.

Everyone went home, with an exhausted body yet a full heart. God must be glad when He saw us share a camp with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of each other. Someone says, "The best is yet to come...", yet the experience of a better and better church life each year motivates us to look forward to the best!

Let Hope Kids bring the KOG to KIDS, Cool!

2009-09-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

We threw a Kids Party at the end of our 2-month Super Hero Program last Sunday

It was a party after a normal service .... Because of the party, many new parents came with their kids, Praise the Lord! Our church service saw a record high of more than 80 attendees! Close to 30 kids shouted that God is their super hero!

The new families that came enjoyed the program and the members' service and warm friendship. We really had a good laugh with a "Payasito" (clown in Spanish). He is indeed a great entertainer ... not just with the kids but with the adults. To add to the fun, Because He is a Christian clown, so he has a Christian message to every show he does. What a purposeful Christian for His Kingdom ... we were really blessed by his performance:)

The family group once again coordinated the serving of food led by Edith, and the New Kids team coordinated the whole party program led by Ruth and Lydia. It was a job well done and a great success! Because of this party, many parents are more interested in what the church is doing and can do for their kids. We pray that more parents' eyes are open, to see not just the physical benefits of a good kids program, but what God is doing in the attitude of the little hearts, in the inner being of the little souls, that the parents will be convicted that being in God's church with God's presence is life-changing experience to their family life.

"Let the little ones come to me (come to know me), do not hinder them, for they shall inherit the Kingdom of heaven." When our kids are brought to Christ intentionally and in an unhindered way, we are sure it bears far more positive implication and influence on their future than we could ever imagine! Praise God that He's going to use our Hope Kids in a bigger way from now on .......

FestiHOPE 2009 (Part III, Musica Criolla)

2009-09-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

FestiHOPE 2009 (Part II, Noah's Ark Show)

2009-09-01T11:33:00.001-07:00

FestiHOPE 2009 (Part I)

2009-08-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

Peru celebrates its Independence Day on 28 & 29 July.

In line with this nationwide celebration, the idea of FestiHOPE was brewed in the hearts of the leadership. The hearts tell us that people cannot be oblivious to the fact that a great church in this nation is emerging...:) We really need to get the word out.

The leadership was excited about the possibility that more people would know Hope LIMA. The leadership was excited to do this new FERIA (bazaar and festival) for the first time.

So we communicated to the whole church on a Sunday. It was communicated in conjunction with our new growth campaign called "HOPE en accion". The congregation down to the 3-year old kids was then very excited to get into ACTION! So there we ACTed!

Teams were formed. Preparation work was underway.

A food team made up of the "senoras".

A dance team made up of the church youths. A music team made up adult guitarists, cajoneros and singers.

A decoration team made up of the church youths and kids, including face painting. On the day of preparation, the kids and youths were blowing 100 over balloons, shifting tables and chairs. They are as young as 6 year old, but were ALL in action!

Everyone had a role to play on the actual day, setting up projector and music equipment, ushering, explaining about the church, serving food, playing the guitar, cajon, singing, leadin games, acting, dancing, it was the whole church being mobilised into action. Most importantly, we've a total of about 40 new visitors who come to know us! PTL! Our church members and visitors are mingling around in great fun of games, singing and dance competition. What a festive day!

Many would never have imagined a small church like our could organise a celebration of such scale where the number of visitors is more than the number of people organising it...BUT we did it! Many were proud to be in their respective teams and even more, even the visitors are PROUD of being part HOPE LIMA!

The Powerful Prayer of A Father

2009-05-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

We've just finished a series of 6 preachings on "Spiritual GYM" where the church learned about how to be blessed by the Bible, worship and prayer practically. The preachings were fundamental yet important for growth. We believe many of us have brought home many key spiritual truths to grow our spiritual muscle. We are now continuing a purposeful living series entitled, "A Life Worth Living". We believe spiritual muscle should have a place to fulfill its purpose, if not, just like any muscle, it can turn into just mere flesh and fats.

We are thankful to what God is doing in the church through the weekly services. While the memory is fresh, we thought to record this great testimony of a regular visiting family.

Last Sunday, at the end of the service, one regular visitor (Jose) came forward to request to give a testimony. This regular visiting friend, together with his wife (Diana), has been attending our church regularly for 3 months now. We have seen their eagerness to learn and practise the WOG in their lives. He then began to share as below:-

"Last week my son was hit by a car. He was immediately sent to the hospital. I went to the hospital and found out that he was badly hit. The doctor told me that, at the first examination, my son's clavicle bones had been broken and needed more examination. I was really worried for his life. This is the son that always brings a lot of joy to me. I don't want to lose him, neither anything bad happened to his life. I then prayed to God to save his life remembering some prayer scripture. After a while, the 2nd examination showed that his head was perfectly alright. I continued to pray. The following examinations again showed that the rest of his body was uninjured. I was so relieved. I really thank God for answering my prayer. I also remember you my church family who has been with us and praying for us. To my son (who is present in church for the first time today, with supporting plates on the shoulder), I believe God has a purpose for you to be here!"

We were touched by the heart of the Father, at the same time, amazed at the prayer powerfully answered. Indeed we believe when we walk right with God, our prayer life is powerful. "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16b. And God'll reveal the great and wonderful things to our lives. "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 3:33

Feliz Dia Mama

2009-05-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

Our church youths have their unique way of remembering and appreciating their mums. Watch the first CREW production for mamas!

How Religious Are We?

2009-04-20T15:21:00.001-07:00

In line with the Holy Week (Semana Santa) Celebration, The local newspaper, "El Comercio" published a full page article about the religious beliefs in the City of Lima. There are some really helpful survey results (we love it because in Peru, there is little official statistics) as follows:-

1. To which religion you belong?

Catolics 74%
Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Christians, etc 11%
Jehovah Witness/Mormons 2%
Adventist 1%
Judaism 0.4%
Others 1%
God-believing but no religion 6%
Not God-believing and no religion 5%

2. If you belong to a religion, how do you consider yourself?

Very Religious 10%
Quite Religious 22%
Little Religious 62%
Not Religious 5%
Not sure 1%

3. Apart from weddings, funerals and baptisms, on what frequency do you attend a mass or service?

More than once per week 9%
Once per week 22%
Once per month 22%
Only during festive season 21%
Once a year 11%
Less than once a year 6%
Never 9%
Not sure 1%

The findings of the survey indeed help us to understand the religious profile of the City. There are about 70% of people out there that are hardly churched. We really have a big field. Only let Hope Lima members meet more of these souls each day, let there be more opportunities for good exchanges and build friendships beyond our families. Our church walls need to be torn down more to get the message out and bring them in:)

Easter Hope Kids Presentation

2009-04-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

The presentation is far from perfect or professional. But Jesus says, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." There is a role for children in the KOG, perhaps one of them is to make us laugh..:)

Easter Outreach - El Mejor Amigo en Parillada

2009-04-12T13:35:00.001-07:00

Great Feast in preparation.......

Now to savour food in great company......

Song presentation by 2 lovely female CREW singers.....

Laura shares her heart-warming life testimony on

how Jesus is the BEST Friend in her youth life.

On the Easter weekend, the youths were excited to come to Hope Place. Some brought their gaseosa (soda) , some their chorizo (Peruvian sausage), some came early to start the parillada (BBQ) fire, some came to decorate the place, some eagerly practised their songs....the youths were streaming one group after another to Hope Place. There was a total of 23 of them. All in their full enthusiastic spirit for a great time of parillada.

We themed the event "The Best Friend in BBQ". This is a celebration of Friendship series we started a month ago. After enjoying the BBQ, the youths were gathered for a mini concert where our in-house female singers, Laura and Katherine showcased their angelic voice:) Laura then shared her life testimony. It touched many hearts because the friends could really sense how Jesus can be their BEST Friend through Laura's testimony. 7 youths responded to receive Jesus right after! Praise The Lord!!!

It's amazing because amongst 7 of them, 3 are youths that we have been sowing regularly but 4 are new friends who have joined us for just one month! The Bible says, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." May God add to us youth Christ followers and grow the CREW towards forming a youth service!

Note: There was a miscount of new believers in the first published entry. But It was a GOOD miscount!

CREW Discovery CG on Friendship

2009-03-23T01:12:00.000-07:00

CREW discovery CG is a youth group (15-20 years old) that helps the youths to discover and develop a strong relationship with Jesus. CREW stands for Called to Reach the Entire World. We think big and global but act small and local, starting with our Peruvian youths. We pray that the seed potential of this youth group will grow and multiply.

Last Saturday, we began a 4-week friendship series as we we welcomed new youths joining the group. The youths are a bunch of energetic people. You don't need to teach to play...they love to play games, and they play a lot every time they gather! Laura, our youth leader with her team had great fun playing and learning from the Bible about the topic on acceptance.

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Tim 4:12

Touching lives, Transforming families

2009-03-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

Hope Lima, being in its small beginning, we always say in church that, every life counts. It is the real lives & real transformations that show forth the real power of His love and His word. A Sunday ago, during the service with the sermon entitled, "His Amazing Grace that Transforms Us", a member who has joined our church for about 2 years now, shared his real life transformation. We've asked for the permission to share this. The account is as follows:-

Me llamo Gonzalo Palomino y quiero empezar mi testimonio diciendo que he sido bendecido por Dios tremendamente porque estaba pasando por una situación muy penosa en mi vida.
(My name is Gonzalo Palomino and I want to start my testimony by telling you that I’ve been tremendously blessed by God because I used to be in a terrible situation in my life.)

Primero, quiero contarles cómo llegué a la iglesia, llegué por una deuda y así conocí a Lidia que me informó de la Iglesia Esperanza de Dios y que hablaban inglés y me interesó para que mis hijas vayan. Así que mandé a mis dos hijas, Gabriela y Laura, pero yo no quería ir porque mi corazón era muy duro y yo decía que estas cosas no son para mí.
(First, I want to recall how I came to the church. I came with a debt. I knew Lidia who told me about the Hope of God church. The church spoke and taught the Bible in English. That made me interested for my daughters to go. So I sent my 2 daughters to go, but I didn’t want to go because my heart was very hard. I said, ‘These things are not for me.”)

Mis dos hijas siempre iban a la iglesia y me contaban algunas cosas pero no prestaba atención, estaba en problemas económicos y familiares, con mi esposa, con mis hijos y hasta conmigo mismo.
(My 2 daughters always went to the church and told me things of the church but I paid not attention because I was in economic and family problems with my wife, my children and myself even.)

Un día mi hija Laura me dijo que se iba de campamento con la iglesia y que iba a traducir para el pastor y además Gabriela se iba a bautizar. Así que decidí ir a ver a mis hijas, ahí conocí al Pastor Julian y al escucharlo hablar me impactó realmente con la palabra de Dios que se metió sinceramente en mi corazón duro.
(One day my daughter told me that they were going to a church camp. And one of my daughters was going to translate for the pastor and the other one was going to be baptized. So I decided to see my daughters. There I got to know Pastor Julian and listened to him speak. With the Word of God, it was really impactful on me that God told me that I had a hardened heart.)

Como pasaba problemas con deudas y con mi familia, empecé a escuchar más la palabra de Dios y desde entonces he ido cambiando poco a poco y además todo se está resolviendo poco a poco.
(I decided to listen to the Word of God more. From then on, I was being changed little by little and my debt and family were being resolved little by little.)

He cambiado mucho en mi carácter y hasta mi forma de tratar a las personas.
(I’ve changed much in my character and the way I treat people. I used to drink, smoke and angry with many people. I don’t drink and smoke. I am enjoying better relationships with my family and people now (added during service).)

Y todo eso es gracias a las enseñanzas de la Palabra de Dios en nuestra iglesia y a nuestros pastores que nos guían mediante las enseñanzas de la Biblia que es la Palabra de Dios y he sido bendecido con una familia más grande y que quiero que crezca día a día.
¡Alabado sea Dios! ¡Amén!
(And all thanks to the Grace of God through the teachings of the Word of God in our church and our pastors who guided us through His Word. God has been blessing me with a bigger family and I want to grow day by day in this family. Praise be to God! Amen!)

Gonzalo's whole family is in our church now. His daughter, Laura is part of our core team. Gonzalo and His wife Gloria has started to share God's love with many neighbours and friends.... some of their Godchildren and neighbours have recently joined our church as well. Their touched lives transform their own family, a transformed family touches more families....... Our prayer is: More and more families in Lima will be transformed by His Grace as His church is being built by transformed lives and families.

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
2 Cor 3:18 (NIV)

"Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." Mark 4:30 (NIV)

God graciously saved our member

2009-02-17T04:24:00.000-08:00

Since early February, we have started our morning prayer meet. With our team new in the Peruvian culture and people, we are so humbly impressed in our hearts that we cannot minister based on our old experience and skills. We realize that at this stage, we can be interesting foreign friends to our church members, but we can't minister to their hearts. Only the Lord is able minister to their hearts. Even more, from time to time, the Lord impressed upon us that "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain." We realize that when we work we merely work, BUT when we pray God works! We felt really driven to pray rather than "ought to pray".

Last Sunday after the sermon on "The Amazing Grace that Saves", one member by the name of Edith came forward on her own and asked for permission to testify God's Grace. Her testimony is as below.

"On Monday, I was driving and passing by an intersection at Puente Nuevo. At the intersection, a car suddenly stopped. I was panicky, as I am a new and slow driver. My response time is usually very slow. But I can't afford to be slow at this time. The next immediate moment I saw 4 guys stepping out of the car with revolvers, I was shocked! I almost died of panic not knowing what to respond. But somehow I managed to press the accelerator and turn my driving wheel. My car just turned and went off to "shave" past the robbers' car. I sped and sped and finally reached a safet place. Then I could feel my breathing coming back! Upon reflection, nobody helped me through the situation. It can only be God who saves! Thank God for His gracious salvation to my life!"

The congregation was very touched by the testimony and felt the grace of God in their lives. We prayed to give thanks for God's protection and undeserved blessing and favour upon our lives. It was a great time. The team realized that God really ministered to the people. We were truly humbled. We later realized also that on Monday morning, we were led to pray for our families. The Holy Spirit moved our hearts to pray for each family by name specifically. The prayer was indeed divinely inspired. We now feel like David who says, "Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him."

Thank you, God, for your gracious touch on our lives and our church!

Impacts Huaycan

2009-02-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

Impacts Huaycan - A pilot kids project being run during this summer with a local NGO in Huaycan, a shanty town with homes to many below poverty line.

Through this project, the kids get to learn English and values at the same time through tried and test methodologies meanwhile contextualized to Peruvian kids. It was indeed a great time. At the end of the project, it is fulfilling to see the volunteer teachers and kids have fun in teaching and learning, the parents' faces are radiant with smiles and thankfulness to what we brought to their kids. God must have been smiling too.

"He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." Proverbs 14:31

A field day in Hope Kids

2009-02-08T19:26:00.000-08:00

It was a chaotic time last Sunday.

We began our Hope Kids International enrichment class in English and Mathematics. We saw quite a few new kids, together with our regular kids, they were a big group of energetic kids! AND there were only 2 pairs of hands to catch them! The adult teachers Lidia and Siew Yee felt like they were nannies in a nursery home. The kids are very communal, especially in the toilet business. When one is on, the next thing you see is the rest follow suit. The teachers were literally nannying them and teaching them toilet business one after another. Lidia and Siew Yee really had a lot of hard work and "fun". They are nonetheless, excited to see more kids as Hope Kids hope to begin a regular mini Sunday School for the older kids. We pray that these kids will stay with us, the parents will bring them and they join our church as well. Kids are really lovely and precious to the parents and to us. We want to train in good values and behavior, to be mentally, emotionally and spiritually strong kids.

Snapshots of kids' play time.

Snapshots of kids' break time

Snapshots of kids' learning time

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

Muchas Gracias, Julian, Serene and Ailay!

2009-02-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday was the last Sunday Julian, Serene and Ailay spent with us in church.

The church members secretly planned and prepared a great feast to farewell them. Each of them brought different food. Some brought pails of trucha fish, some brought mountains of papas, and Pacamanca chicken. The women came together right after the service to fry the fish, and to prepare the Pacamanca chicken, etc. Imagine the scene in the kitchen, to prepare a feast for a group of at least 50 people, the women were shorthanded, some husbands and children who never even cooked joined to support the wives and mums, the kitchen was resounding with shouting for utensils and laughter of passing wrong things. I tell you, I've never seen the kitchen in such chaos!! But I can tell that the people really had great fun in the kitchen preparing this one meal they've long been waiting to serve.

The food, without fail (in our church), was delicious. Everybody ate with great satisfaction. The stomachs were full and satisfied.

The core team then put up a funny imitation skit. It made people laugh rolling on the ground as they remember through the skit the real lives of Julian, Serene and Ailay that have served us with their lives, that are so close to our hearts. We were full with laughter and sweet memories of them. Many members went on to share how they have been helped and blessed by the three of them, how they would miss all three of them because they are so much part of their lives. During this powerful time, tears were flowing down from one cheek to another, though many trying to hold back their tears, yet they were just unstoppable..:)

We were heart-full of many memories as well as blessings for all three of them. Thank God so much for their lives sacrificially and powerfully lived for Jesus and His kingdom in Hope Lima. Thank you so much, Julian, Serene and Ailay!

Core Team Retreat

2009-01-14T15:56:00.001-08:00

On the way to the retreat place (Huancayo), the screnery was simply breathtaking.

Huancayo is a city situated app. 3200m above sea level. There are snow peaks and highland animals.

We visited a church on top of a hill (La Huayca). A farmer and pastor was literally building the church with planks and bricks.

Left: A painting drawn by the pastor. The background is David and Goliath, and 2 modern David & Goliath (Laura & Keng Suan) at the foreground.

Right: Siew Yee hugged tight with a cute girl named, "Jocy".

Artesania carved by hot coal on Mates (a kind of pumpkin fruit).

The famous "Trucha" fish, pinky meat like salmon. Muy rico!!

Visit to Ingenio, the "Trucha" Fish Farm.

Left: Childlike fun amongst the childlike adults and kids.

Right: The coreteam (KS, Oscar, TK, SY, Lidia & Laura) had great fun making MAD looks. We are set to work and pray like MAD for Hope Lima in 2009.

Bienvenidos, 2009!

2008-12-31T21:15:00.000-08:00

New Year's eve is a noisy night. People in Peru enjoy playing fireworks. We go to our roof top and bask ourselves in a myriad of sounds from the fireworks in our neighbourhood. We are really excited to watch and hear fireworks at such close proximity!

We are excited to welcome the New Year. Before saying goodbye to 2008, we want to say to a big THANK YOU to 2008, a great year of blessing!

We want to thank our members who are committed to Hope Lima. Their giving to the church through FEleton and continual commitment of serving the church really inspire us.

We want to thank also our kingdom partners from Singapore who gave to support missions and Hope Lima. Thank you so much for your kingdom partnership through giving and constant prayer!

We look forward to a whole New Year of God's blessings, His favor and anointing upon the church.

Bienvenidos, 2009!

Christmas Eve Party

2008-12-25T13:37:00.000-08:00

Aprecia La Cultura China

2008-12-23T08:05:00.001-08:00

After the camp, we have been excited to continue bringing in more crowds into Hope Place.

Before & after Christmas (while Christmas will be a warm in-house party), we are going to have a series of outreach events, of which the first being: Aprecia La Cultura China (Appreciating the Chinese Culture).

The history of Chinese in Peru dates back to the 19th century, where the Chinese immigrants took a 4-month trip from Macau and settled in Peru as "contract labourers" or "coolies". Just as what most other Chinese immigrants did in other adopted homelands, brought along with them was the rich Chinese Culture.

Through the "coolies", a lot of small businesses were established, of which the most widespread would be the "chifas"(Chinese-Peruvian restaurants - the word is derived from chī fàn, or "eat meal" in Mandarin). In fact, in some places, it is easier to find a "chifa" than the local restaurants. Indeed, the Chinese food is already very much part of their lives. Among the many Chinese cuisines, Chinese Bocaditos, (e.g., wanton,etc), "chaufa" (Chinese Fried Rice), "Ti Pa Kay" (PI PA JI in Mandarin) are the locals' top favourites. They love other parts of the Chinese culture too. Always they are fascinated by the use of "palitos" (chopsticks in Spanish), the Chinese Langugage, etc.

Of course, we realized that we Singaporean Chinese have a lot to offer to enhance their appreciation of the Chinese culture. We then organized 2 sessions of "Aprecia La Cultura China" on the 19 & 20th.

During the 2 sessions, we had a short time of workshops on Chinese tea appreciation, the making of Chinese bocaditos/use of "palitos" and Chinese games. The visitors enjoyed the time with new discoveries of the Chinese culture, in its rich cultural values. Also, In line of the current business climate (with Peru having signed FTA with China/Hong Kong), Keng Suan shared about the uniqueness of the Chinese Business Culture. She did a great sharing. After the sharing, the visitors were asking again and again for more of such talks!

The turnout was pretty good. We were actually pleasantly surprised to meet some new friends from the neighborhood, one dropped in from the street, and one family from the nearby restaurant that we had frequented. Interestingly, the son of the family shared that for 2 years they'd been looking for some Chinese language and culture learning courses, and here they found us! In our hearts, we were really excited that God linked us up through this cultural exchange. We enjoyed some really good exchanges with the family, and planned to have more exchanges about secret food recipe in future!

God gives the Chinese a rich culture (including the food culture too!). It is enjoyable to share and use purposefully for the Kingdom!

5th Anniversary Camp: 247 FUN Camp!

2008-12-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

We came together as a church to celebrate our church 5th anniversary.

The 5th anniversary camp is themed at 247 FUN! 247 because we believe as God is for us, we will experience Acts 2:47, growing in quality and quantity. FUN means Familia Unicamente Nuestra (our unique family). Together we indeed had a great family time. Many went away with loadful of good fun and meaningful moments.

Not only that, the church was very encouraged to witness 6 regular visitors being baptised. We were prasing God at the baptism pool (which is a waterfall!), while the Sun was shining and water was pouring. It was indeed a beautiful time. One baptisee shared how his life has been changed since becoming Christian. There were also other great testimony times of how our members are captured by the love from the church community. Our hearts were so filled with thanksgiving for many lives that are making their new commitment to God and our church vision.

Acts 2:47, "They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to thier number daily those who were being saved." This is coming to pass more and more....we are excited to ask more after 247 FUN Camp!

Some highlights of 247 FUN camp:

We grew!

2008-11-30T23:37:00.000-08:00

Since moving into Hope place, we've never stopped praying so specifically for a breakthrough growth in our church.

For the past one month, the word of God has encouraged us from Acts 2:42-47 and other scriptures time and again to build a community with quality and quantity will follow. Our members continued to come for service despite needing to travel further than before for some. Some weeks some of our members came tired and sick because of their personal work and study. Our spirits were encouraged by their commitment and love for this community. We continued to affirm them and encourage them to join us to build NOT a traditional church but a community of friends and families who love Gods and loves the church.

God is good. He continued to provide for the church. As Lima is a big city with lots of traffic, most people visit churches near their house as it is a hassle to travel. We needed to help visitors overcome this problem. 2 weeks ago, God provided us with a mini bus (with a good rate) to take our visitors to church.

In the first week we saw some new visitors, both in service and in HopeKids. The second week which was last Sunday, many of the visitors returned, and our members brought more friends with them. We were so excited because the church saw a record high attendance of 60! And the hall is almost full!

Even HopeKids grew, as they had 10 kids in their class. For them this was more than an 100% increase! Now the children's room (aka Creation Room) is filled up with kids.

Hope Place was almost full as well. The visitors enjoyed a good time of fellowship with us and with our members.

We were very encouraged by the return of new visitors and some of them have already started to get involved in church. Even the kids want to come back again!

Our first service in our new sanctuary

2008-10-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we had our first service in our new sanctuary. It was a great time together for all of us.

More than 40 people turned up -- our members brought many friends, and it was a record turnout for us for the past month.

We had a blessed time praising and worshipping God and listening to his Word. We took this opportunity to dedicate this place to God, that his purposes would be fulfilled here.

Everyone prayed for the sanctuary, that God would fill it with his presence; for the youths' CREW Zone, that the youths who gather there will rise up to become leaders; for the kids' room, that the kids would learn to walk with God; for the kitchen, that we would learn to serve each other there; and for Hope Place, that we would become a community that gathers as often as possible.

After the dedication of our new house we took time to write a few words of blessing on the floor boards of the stage and to sign our names on it.

We also visited the various parts of the room prayed for and then everyone gathered in Hope Place for a good time of sharing and eating. Many of the members were glad for the bigger sanctuary and for this new place. We thank God for giving us this new place and hope that his Kingdom will be extended from here on out.

Towards Completion of Hope Place

2008-10-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

Some photos showing the latest works in progress, completion is near.....:)

September Updates

2008-09-07T21:49:00.000-07:00

We have got another new place! Yes. You read it correctly. We have gotten another new place because God intervened in our getting the other place that we showed you in our last blog entry.

The renovation work of the new place 1 we secured earlier was slow… to be exact, there was hardly any area renovated after 2 months of waiting. Despite many promises from the landlady, the place remained unprepared and not renovated. We decided to wait it out until the landlady herself told us that we could look for another place. So we did, trusting God to provide a place that would suit our needs.

And God did just that. He provided a place with an equally large hall, a better district (Miraflores, a upper-middle class district), right smack by a main avenue, enough rooms for our community projects, and even room for the new team to reside in! Well, who says God is not interested in breaking the best plans and replacing them with better!

Here are some pictures for you to ogle at, and be jealous about. Church-planting does have its perks, especially if God provides them.

However, with this new place, the monthly rent has gone up. However, upon doing up our calculations, we discovered that our budget would remain the same. This new place would require less renovations, and less furniture, as we would be re-using what we already have from our current place.

Based on the latest account, to cover for expenses of the new place until end 2009, at least close USD 4k is required, that is if the faith pledges that the units in Singapore have so kindly given come in.

Latest update from Feleton: We have reached 48%. 52% more to the target… the church members were further challenged to continue to give and fundraise. Of late… one member has done up 22 sets of handmade bookmarks.
Delia has brought those bookmarks (plus other Artesania) back to S’pore for 14 Sep bazaar sales. Hope Singapore will have a chance to buy some Hope Peru made souvenirs, or even order them for Christmas.

We are praying for God to bless our church with more heart and ability to give and more fundraising ideas. We still believe God will provide for the rest the amount to be raised.

How far to run from here...

2008-07-27T00:29:00.001-07:00

Last night we calculated again, as a church, how much we’ve raised so far and how much we still need to raise.

Below are our calculations…

We hope to be able to rent out our church auditorium to other organizations in order to have some income to cover rent.

We’ve also received generous donations from Singapore – USD 3450 – that will help to cover the cost of 3 months of rental in our new place.

Taking into consideration our future income and the amount donated, we recalculated how much more money we need to raise. We did not include the amount of money our Peruvian members are raising as that will go towards buying chairs and an air-con for our auditorium, so that we may rent it out.

The conclusion is, in order to be able to pay the rent for the whole ofnext year, we need to raise USD 11220 more. This is a huge leap of faith for us right now! Please pray for us that God will bless us and enable us to raise that sum of money.

Our FEletón

2008-07-20T00:18:00.000-07:00

There are approximately 40 members in our house church. This past 6 weeks all of them, together with us, have been contributing towards a church building fund program called the FEletón.

Why is it called the FEletón? In South America they have programs that encourage them to call in to donate sums of money towards the needy. This kind of program is called teletón – in English, telethon. The word for faith in Spanish is fe. Therefore, FEletón is a combination of the word “fe” and the idea of giving – giving by faith and giving through faith.

Indeed in these few weeks our Peruvian members have demonstrated what was written by Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:3:

“...they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.”

This is what we’ve seen them do.

As a church, we’ve set a goal of raising USD 20000 in order that we can cover the rent of the new place from August 2008 to December 2009, so that we will not have to worry about how to pay off the rent of this place every month. Part of this goal also goes towards renovation costs – that is, buying chairs and an air-con for the auditorium so that we’ll be able to rent it out for income. Right now, our church is working towards covering the costs of renovation.

Our church is made up mostly of families, with a few youths and single adults. Many of them work hard, for many hours, in order to support their families. In Peru, it’s not unusual to find people who work two jobs a day, or hear about professionals who work 12 to 16 hours a day, as the wages in this country is low and the unemployment rate is still high. The average worker earns only 987.20 soles per month – that’s about USD 348 or SGD 494.

Below are the records of giving for the past 6 weeks towards the FEletón.

These results are not accumulative. That is, the amount for the 3rd week was what was collected the 3rd Sunday, and not a sum of what was collected the first two weeks. As you can see the offering has been increasing!

And here are the accumulative results of our FEletón so far.

There was almost a 100% increase from the 5th to the 6th week!
How did they do it? Many of them gave sacrificially towards this drive. In fact, one teacher gave his entire yearly bonus to the FEletón!

And this is a picture of our FEletón notice board, recording our progress using pictures of chairs and fractions of an air-con.

For the youths in church, who do not have such a great ability to give, they have contributed by using their time and effort to make alfajores (pronounce al-fa-hor-es) – something like an Oreo cookie, but in Peruvian style. For the past two weeks they have gathered in our kitchen to make alfajores, and so far they have been able to make and sell 24 boxes (with 20 alfajores inside). The alfajores they make are top-notch… the cookies are selling like hot cakes after the first week!

Yummy alfajores!

We have been so impressed with the ability of our members to give so generously and with such enthusiasm. We thank God for working in and through their lives and we anticipate his abundant blessings in their lives!

In search of a place

2008-05-30T00:10:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months, we have been concerned over the lack of seating space in our garage on Sundays. The church has been expanding and most of the chairs were occupied. While this is a good sign, it also means that we have to look for a bigger place in order to contain the growth.

So for the past two months we have been looking for new places for our church and NGO to use – either with living quarters attached or without living quarters.

As we teach English to children and youths for free and help them to build character through our NGO, we would need to look for a place with many rooms to provide space for our office and classes, and we would also need to have one extremely large room that would be the sanctuary on Sunday. The rental of this place would have to fit within our tight budget as we have to consider the expenses of our kids and youth programs, in which we do not earn anything.

Therefore it was not easy to find a suitable place for all the activities that we organize… either it was too expensive, or it was lacking in the number of rooms or in the size of the rooms. On top of this, the need to look for another place was pressing. As we continued to look, God continued to bless us with a “full house” almost every Sunday.

Thankfully we have just “acquired” a new place that is able to accommodate the activities of the church and the NGO that’s within our budget. :D

The manner in which we “acquired” this space is a testimony of God’s grace and his hand leading us...

Firstly, this building was not advertised in the newspapers. We had gone to visit a house in our area and met a housing agent there. However, as we were looking about the house, we discovered that two men were already in discussion with the owner to rent the house.

The agent, upon talking to us and finding out our requirements, told us about another house (House B) she was contracted to sell. Julian and Serene fixed a date to visit House B with her to meet the owner of the house. They found the house to meet our requirements, although there were some points of concern. The house was in a good location in Lima, but unfortunately in close proximity to other houses. This would cause problems between our neighbors and us if the children in the kids program were to be rowdy.

While they were there, Julian and Serene spoke to one of the manual laborers working there and they began chatting. The worker turned out to be the adopted son of the house owner, and upon hearing about the requirements we had, recommended another site to them. Upon discussion with the agent and the house owner, they arranged to visit this other site (Place C) the next day.

Place C turned out to be a much better fit for us than House B! It had a small auditorium with a stage in the basement, and on the first floor it had 6 rooms -- easily accommodating an office and the classes we conduct every Saturday. However, the price was a bit steep… the asking price was USD 1500. We wanted to keep our rental at about USD 1000 as we had considered our income and the need to continue to rent a living space.

Delia and Serene inspecting the place.

The negotiation over the price of the house, and the agreement of the house owner to rent it to us at USD 1150 per month, was already a sign of God’s blessing, as property prices were quite high. However, just after the house owner agreed to rent it to us, she immediately received 2 offers to rent that place at higher prices than what we had offered! One buyer was offering USD 1500 and another offered USD 3000 per month for the same place!

Amazingly, she turned them down as she said that she had given us her word. It is not common to run into people who keep their word, and turn down a better offer because of that. Furthermore, we had not signed the contract with her and she could have legally rented it to the others, but she did not. Praise God for that!

Aili talking with Oscar and Lydia, our Peruvian DMM members

So finally after a few months of searching, we have acquired – albeit verbally – a place which suits our needs and is within our means to pay. This is truly the work of God.