What shall we say then?

The Huánuco “region” is one of the seven poorest regions of Perú. I don’t know if it’s #1 or #7. In these seven regions:

“66% of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition,
79% of households have no piped water,
94% percent lack sewerage, and
94% of families use wood as their cooking fuel.”

Sadly, this data is right on. (Source here.) This is what life is like for the women and their families that we were visiting last weekend during the most recent Women of the Bible workshops. While leaving the last town, we stopped to snap this photo of a little girl waiting for her mom and big sister:

“Clean water

and health care

and school

and food

and tin roofs and cement floors,

all of these things should constitute a set of basics that people must have as birthrights.”

--Paul Farmer qtd. In Mountains Beyond Mountains

Huaylas NT Dedication

The Huaylas New Testament was dedicated at the beginning of August in the city of Huaraz. Most of you probably have already heard about the dedication because you get my email updates. If you'd like to start getting my (monthly) emails, just let me know!

We started the dedication day with a march (photo above), something most memorable occasions begin with here in Peru. There were around 2,500 people at the ceremony which included the presentation of the New Testament hot off the press. Carrying in a box of books might not look glamorous, but after hearing the stories of the sacrifices and joys since 1964 when this project started, it was an exciting moment.

But the story of God's Word in this part of the world is just beginning, because having the Bible in their own language is a turning point for many of the churches and believers in this area. They are excited to read and study the Bible themselves and many have a heart to share the Good News with their neighbors and even the world. These ladies below are sharing a song of praise as part of the celebration.


The celebration continued with a cuy lunch and a local music festival. That's guinea pig I'm eating, a delicacy here! Doesn't that make you want to come for a visit?

Earthquake Report

Updated August 27.
An 8.0 earthquake occurred off the southern coast of Peru late Wednesday night, August 15. Authorities are reporting over 500 dead and over 1000 injured. Already impoverished areas are suffering the greatest loss of life, health, and property. 85% of the homes in the town of Pisco, nearest the epicenter, have been destroyed, as well as 1/4 of the buildings in the nearest large town of Ica.

While we are fine here in Huánuco, we are praying for our brothers and neighbors to the south who are hurting. Please pray for the injured, for those who have lost family or property and for protection from after-shocks. You can find out more in this story from cnn.com, and can give through a reputable relief and development agency (that I used to work for) by clicking here. You can also give to the Peru Earthquake Relief fund that we will use to provide aid to those in need. Just ask me for the details.

The best thing you can do is pray. Here are some ideas of what to pray for:

• Pray that people would receive the comfort and health in the person of Christ and through the love shown them through the relief effort.
• Pray for wisdom for the government and organizations as they strive to meet the needs of the people. Pray that relief would be deployed quickly and effectively.
  
• Pray that people will be patient and calm and have wisdom in how to care for their families and communities.
  
• Pray for healing for those that are injured.
• Pray for the families of those that have died. Pray they receive comfort and peace from God and from those around them.
• Pray that cities and communities can come together to build again, interpersonally and structurally.
• Praise God for the response from those here in Peru and around the world. People are contributing food, clothes, water, and money daily. Pray that these supplies will make it safely to their destination and into the hands of those that most need it.
  

Huascarán!

At 22, 204 feet, Huascarán (Wahs-kah-RAHN) is the highest mountain in Peru. You can see the orange trunk of a queñal tree in the foreground. They are believed to grow at a higher altitude than any other tree.

While in Huaraz for a Bible dedication, we spent an afternoon at Lake Llanganuco, which sits at 12,464 feet on Mt. Huascaran.

Mount Foothill

My home city, Huánuco, is surrounded on all sides by the foothills of the Andes. They rise higher and higher to the west, peaking at the continental divide and then plummeting quickly to the coast. Last Monday, several friends from church, a guy from San Diego who grew up here, an intern from Belgium, and I hiked up one of those foothills. What a view!

Just behind us in the picture below is the mouth of the cave we had come to explore.

The initial drop is almost straight down, aided at the end by a rickety wooden ladder, which you can see in the upper right corner of the photo below.

Most of our group continued on to slide down crevices and see how far into the earth they could go. Another girl and I were satisfied to hang out in the main level of the cave with the local kids that decided to be our tour guides. Peru is a hiker/climber’s paradise, and it was fun to get outside and see some of the “neighborhood”.

Above: Celine climbing through the angled crevices. All photos thanks to Peter & Celine.