Three thousand words

Hi all. If a picture paints a thousand words these should save me from blogging for a while.
Al.









Girl with an apple


Promise of new life in Peru thanks to Compassion.



A reminder of the bitter reality, just look how steep those steps are!

Girl with the amazing eyes

Hi guys - and guyettes. Look at this picture. I have posted it before but I want to re-visit it with a thought that has only just struck me.

When I took this picture I was standing snapping pictures all around me, looking for something that caught my eye that might be poignant. I suddenly just felt aware of something close by, so I looked down and this is what I saw... a beautiful little girl with the most amazing eyes. She was just standing there looking up at me, looking exactly as she does in the picture. She never spoke or sought any attention.
But what has just struck me is this: we often spend a lot of valuable time in our lives looking around us for things that seem important to us, that are of interest to us, but in so doing we miss the really wonderful and important things that are often right under our noses.

Do you get my meaning?

Al.

A new song

Hi guys.

I just thought I would share a song with you - I wrote it in Peru one night during the first week as I was reflecting from my Bible after I met Nicole (my sponsored child). I was reading Psalm 139 at the time and I began to ponder about God knowing me from before the world began, and knowing Nicole in the same way, and where it says that He recorded each one of our days in His book. And then I just wondered if the records in His book ever crossed paths with the records of others - such as our stories and lives crossing paths with those of our sponsored children. Or even our paths, yours and mine, during the trip to Peru.

It's an incredible thought. Our paths certainly did cross and I wonder when they'll cross again. For some of us it might be the conference in June or some other juncture. For others, probably our sponsored children, our physical paths may never cross again but our spiritual bodies will, when we go "home". It's a sad but strangely reassuring thought! I believe that my hand is in God's hand and that He gently guides me and I believe He guided me into the work of Compassion and eventually to Peru. But where He guides me is where I long to be anyway, close to Him within His will.

Anyway, the song. Maybe when our physical paths cross again I'll sing it for you. I hope you like the words in the meantime.

1

My life is in Your hands

And You know my every thought

I live within Your plan and You guide my heart

Every moment You’re here with me

And You hold my hand in Yours

You lead me where I long to be

‘cause You know me and You love me,

For You created me

2

My days are known to You

And you count them every one

By light of day or dark of night

You guide me home

From before the world began

You saw my beating heart

And You know it beats for You

‘cause You know me and You love me,

For You created me

God bless you all.

Al.

Here's my first entry on the Compassion Peru blog - better late than never....

Am struck by the roller coaster of feelings I have gone through over the last three weeks or so. First there was the trepidation at the thought of getting food poisoning or malaria or Lord knows what else.

But then on our first day visiting the child survival project, there was the quite overwhelming experience of being met in a depressing shanty town by a line of children smiling and waving balloons. And what a roar of welcome we heard at the bigger projects! And then there was the contrast between the optimism seen in the projects and the grim reality of the children's impoverished home circumstances.

This week, the upset tum is gradually returning to normal, the joy of having clean running water is no longer so novel, and in SW London there is no poverty to be seen on the Peruvian scale.

But I have missed sharing fascinating experiences with the good friends I made on this very memorable trip to Peru. And maybe I have missed even more seeing the happiness on the faces of the children. They seemed genuinely thrilled to bits to see us, and were so full of their dreams for the future.

One would have thought that with their comparatively great wealth, the commuters and supermarket shoppers I have seen this week in London ought to be pretty happy with their lot. But none of them seem outwardly as happy as the children in Peru. And certainly no one has inspired me quite as much as young Jason did - the little boy whose behaviour so impressed his father that he determined to turn away from alcoholism.

Isn't it surprising what one picks up from a trip amongst the shanty towns in Peru?

Ann

My little Nahara

Nahara's name means 'mother of the corn'.

What an amazing day, it will never leave me. When our children threw themselves into our arms, how good was that feeling? I can't describe it myself, except something similar to how you feel when you hold your new born baby shortly after its born.

The feeling of how it was when we had to leave.... well that is something that i am living with now each day. My letters will forever reflect the dept of love and commitment i have to my children.

Even though some folk reading this out there haven't met their children, please please think about how much they need you, how much they love you. You are to them, as important as any human being could be. Because of you, and your letters, they will grow to love others, to have self esteem, and to be the kind of people that you would want around you. Write to your children, often, allow God to use you, tell them how important they are. Show them how much God loves them through you. Don't ever believe that your letters aren't important. We saw first hand the depth of pain in a child's eyes who has never recieved a letter. Giving money by sponsorship is brilliant, an amazing thing to do, but adding hugs and kisses with it is even better!

XXXOOO

experience

Life can be seen through your eyes, but it is not fully
appreciated until it is seen through your heart.
-- Mary Xavier

Enduring things: Faith hope and love

A wee taster from my photos.

Alexander from Chiclayo and a typical scene of some homes.

"There are three things that will endure- faith hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love" 1 Cor 13:13 (NLT)

I witnessed this verse in action through Compassion in Peru.

Just a quick blog

Hi all.

I hope you are all feeling well and settling back in to your routine as best you can. I just started back today and it took a little effort, I can tell you.

I don't want to say a whole lot but I feel I want to keep the blog going for a while yet, it still has value as a forum for sharing the pictures we all took. I have included a couple here as memory joggers.
Al.

Well I have washed Peru out of my clothes but will never be able to wash Peru out of my soul.

I'm missing my travelling friends very much and am finding it quite strange to be home. Carpets and wooden flooring seem somewhat excessive. The 28 degree temp difference is quite difficult to adjust to also! Its freezing here quite literally. Brrr

Oh that my church had 18 pastors and needed to move into a large tent and hold 5 services on a Sunday simply to accomodate everyone.

What a contrast to 3 parishes joined into one through lack of numbers attending. How rich in Spirit are the believers in Peru and how poor are we.

So I guess it's in more ways than one that they are hot and we are cold.

Home sweet home

I hope you're all back safe and sound with your respective families again. Sorry I didn't get a blog done last night, too tired.

I see Zandra has done a blog on Moral Turpitude. In case anyone is wondering what that is all about let me explain. On our first arriving in USA we had to complete a Visa Waiver form before we could enter and sign a declaration of our good character. One of the questions was, "Have you ever been guilty of Moral Turpitude?" and Zandra, like the rest of us, didn't fully know what it meant. Therefore, how could we sign something when we didn't know the meaning.

Clare mentioned we might experience more culture shock once we returned to our homes, when we would be reminded of the contrast between our own luxurious situations and those we have just returned from. As I lay down on my own cozy bed after downloading my 738 pictures onto my laptop to review the deprivation we were exposed to I was reminded of the Peruvian homes we visited: 8 people living, cooking and sleeping in a brick building not much bigger than my living room, or the little lady who lived so high in the mountains and lived in a shack her husband built from asbestos sheets, cardboard, plywood and anything else they could lay their hands on (see the earlier picture with the girl in the orange T-Shirt); or the little girl who wept as she told us of her father who had run off leaving her mother and 2 other sisters with almost nothing.

The list goes on... but the sad thing is that it shouldn't. There is more than enough wealth in the world to resolve the poverty issue. Here's an interesting statistic - the combined income of the world's 7 richest people is enough to meet the basic needs of the poorest 25% of the world's population!

Mmmm?!

Al.

Moral Turpitude!

Hi folks
So here it is, the meaning of Moral turpitude: "Moral turpitude is a legal concept in the USA, which refers to "conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty, or good morals".

hmmm

Blessed are the poor...

For many of us we feel as though we are half-way home, just longing at this stage of the trip to be at home with our families. And yet, truth be known, a big part of our respective hearts are still in Lima. Have we unfinished business there?
I see Zandra has posted a blog already about being in Houston, Texas. Good for you, Zandra. My sentiments are so like your own. We had the longest check-in process I have ever encountered where we simply traipsed from one long, slow-moving line to the next. The flight from Lima to Houston was delayed for almost two hours - just as well, too, because we wouldn't have made it otherwise. We arrived at the Departure Gate with only 5 minutes to spare. Still, here we are.
It is just wonderful to have a Holiday Inn hotel room here in Houston during our 9-hour layover where we could have a shower, some (Texan style) breakfast and lunch and put our heads down for a few hours' kip before going back to the airport for our flight back to London. I can't help thinking, though, that this few hours of luxury is such a stark contrast to what we have just come from - abject poverty in all its ugliness. Poverty? Yes, but yet where many of the Christian poor associated with the projects are rich in heart and blessed in many ways we "materially rich" people are not. Would they swap places with us? Would we swap places with them? Interesting questions.
Sorry, no time yet to get a picture for this blog. I will get a picture organised when I get home tomorrow. Or is this tomorrow? I'm not really sure anymore. International travel leaves you fuzzy...
Alastair.

May my heart be broken (and Maria's musings)

"May my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God" (founder of World Vision I believe)
Hello my friend Peter. The answer is yes I did (a lot!!)

We are now in Houston waiting for our flight home later today. After a 3.5 hour check in at Lima we are having very a welcome rest in a Holiday Inn. The chef couldnt quite understand why we really did not want 3 eggs with our bacon and hash browns!

Just going for a shower and a sleep before our long flight back to Gatwick.

The contrast at Houston after Lima is quite dramatic but sadly very easy to slip back into. There were definitely no stretched limos in Lima let alone dedicated parking spaces! The initial smile and laughter in the Ladies when not only did the loo flush automatically, (& Maria was very very pleased to be able to flush the paper down the loo instead of putting it in a bin!) but the tap turned itself on and off (ok I know this has reached the UK) but the paper hand towel also saw me coming and leaped out at my outstretched hand!! Slight surprise and lots of laughter welcome after the joys of negotiating the US immigration procedure!!

My minister said I would be (even more) unbearable when I got back so will be back soon so watch out!

With Love

Peru´s future

"If you want to change the world, if you want to change your community, first you have to start with me." These are the words of Cindi, one of the inspirational LDP students we met last night over dinner. Cindi is studying to be an Educational Psychologist and wants to establish why some children can´t learn and try to address that. She also wants to help "...teach the teachers..." to try and develop change from within the educational system here. Cindi, like the others with their own visions for the future and their desires to improve the lives of others, was a real encouragement to us.

Here were five students who were released from the chains of poverty through Compassion´s child development sponsorship program (CDSP), and then excelled through into this relatively new programme. They were children who had no hope, they were changed by God´s love through being sponsored as children and now, I have no doubt, that they will achieve their dreams because God has had His hand in all of this. This re-affirms our responsibilities as sponsors of young children - these little seeds become buds and these bloom to become beautiful flowers.

These students are Peru´s future.

LDP is Compassion´s Leadership Development Programme where students (who were once sponsored children) have been able to go on to college and university and are sponsored through their higher education.

Yesterday also saw the last project visit - Maranatha PE123. Too much happened here to record it all on this blog, but ask those who were there. Ask about the vocational development, the hairdressing, the cookery, the vegetables, the screen printing... And ask about the banquet we were treated to where the people of the project stayed up ALL NIGHT preparing our lunch...

But when you ask a question of us Advocates who have been here, be prepared for a long answer as there is just so much to tell. But once again I say it, overriding every other detail of this trip has been the amazing provision of God´s love to these people and their willingness to pass it on.

Students from left: Leyder, Jeremi, Daisy, Melissa and Cindi.

Alastair.

Another amazing day

The sights and sounds and love of todays diet of yet more amazing grace, is already blurring and mixing in my mind with all that I have experienced here in Peru.
Today we had a relatively late start but at 10am Lima time we were all ready to head off on our 5th and last project visit here in Lima.
The area surrounding this project had once been a fairly well off area near the airport, with housing made of brick. On the face of it this seemed a little strange compared to the squatters dwellings we are all now so familiar with. There were no fragile huts made with scavenged materials, homemade adobe bricks and asbestos sheeting, but the poverty was just the same. Houses that once held one family now hold many families each having only one small room to themselves and then sharing the communal facilities. I visited a home where 3 families (18 people) share a space no larger than a small one bedroom UK flat. Facilities is perhaps too grand a word as I know with certainty that any British family on a camping trip would be far better equipped than these people. Think "stable" and you may be getting close.

However, I really must not focus on the physical and material aspects of the wonderful people I had the privilege of sharing time with, but on their amazing riches!
Their eyes convey a love deeper than any I have ever seen before, and all that they do is Christ in action.
The humbling generosity of the welcome we recieve at each project and sheer excitement of the children blended with a deep desire to fully express a gratitude that is far larger than I personally can begin to grasp.

Over the last 10 days I have learned many things.
The first was that I fully grasped as heart rather than head knowledge, that we are all the same. The child playing in the project in Lima or Chiclayo is no different to my own son playing at school in Scotland. It is only their own individual circumstances and location that differ. That nasty dirty entity that is poverty, a lack of hope that strangles a new born baby, child, teenager or adult of his God-given potential.
Poverty has many ugly faces and I am beginning to grasp that it is the same the world over wherever it is allowed to flourish, whether in Peru, the slums of any other developing country, in the life of a homeless abused teenager on the streets of Aberdeen, or even in the heart of a materially wealthy millionaire who does not not know Jesus.

This has been an amazing life changing experience and I thank all who have made it possible and all who have shared this time with me here in Peru.

Back in Lima

Just to let you all know that we are back safely in Lima. We arrived back at our original hotel, tired and sweaty at around 1.30am after a late flight from Chiclayo.

Another project visit, our last one, lies ahead of us today. We are all so tired from the travelling in the heat and yet buoyed up by each other. We have all been so close, strangers a week ago, and now we know each other so well. We have shared so many incredible experiences already and, while we all miss our homes and our families, in some ways we feel like there is so much more we want to be a part of here. Or is this just me wanting to know more about these beautiful people and being more involved in the blessed work here?

The whole Compassion team, both local and from home, have been outstanding and all encouragement must go to them for their organisational skills and the professionalism and understanding they demonstrate daily.

God bless you all.

Alastair.

P.S. Caz - it´s metres!

A day of contrasts

We are just about to head back to Lima in the next few minutes, just time for a quick blog.
Today was another amazing day. A day of contrasts in many ways, different home situations again to anything we had seen before. Inspiring, though, and incredibly uplifting and humbling in a profound way. Each heart was touched in a different way by this project. The welcome was powerful, the people were warm and humble and very generous. So many beautiful people with beautiful smiling faces, the people of Peru are wonderfully welcoming.
Chiclayo was a beautiful experience and the settings of the two projects we experienced here were totally different to the city projects. It is a shame in some ways to be leaving it behind.
Pray for our next few days back in Lima, we still have so many challenges ahead of us.
Alastair.

Poverty.

Poverty is an interesting word. For most of us when we consider the word poverty we come to the conclusion of lack of Money. To give the issue deeper thought would mean having to admit it is not only a simple lack of financial necessity but a lack of opportunity. An opportunity to do better than the previous generation, an opportunity to take control of your future and change your surroundings. Most people I have come across in Peru, through no fault of their own, will no doubt remain in this type of poverty for the rest of their lives. They are stuck in a vicious cycle with no chance to escape. As negative as this sounds there is a glimmer of hope…

The Christian Peruvians that I have come across seem to live a joyous life, although by no means easy. Their total reliance on God makes them a strong breed, a trait that has certainly challenged me to review my own life. Not only are these people grateful for what they have, as well as being full of, what can only be described as, the Joy of the Lord, I have also witnessed them to be extremely servant hearted. They are prepared to bend over backwards for you with not even a mutter of a complaint. They would NOT share their last piece of bread with you; they would GIVE you the whole thing and not take no for an answer. I find myself wondering would I honestly do the same…I am saddened by my own response (another area I need to review) Yet here are these people, like so many others all over the world living out our perhaps overused phrase WWJD.

What makes them this way? Do they do it to impress us - These rich folks from afar? Are they seeking out a reward from us for all their hard work?? Or perhaps they are trying to achieve status amongst their neighbours by having honored guests in their homes??? I truly do not believe any of these to be the case. They do it for the Glory of God and His alone, and this, quite inexplicably, shines out of each of their smiling faces.

Compassion will never resolve the world’s poverty; it may not make doctors and lawyers out of every single child within the programme. It can however reach each family with the unconditional Love that only God can offer, Hope for a better future, and of course the greatest gift of all - Salvation.

A very pensive..

Caz

P.S Al, the rock is 430Ft

Rural Chiclayo

Today was a baking hot day in a project named after John Wesley. Greeted by a church full of singing and cheering young people of all ages, this was a well-established project in a rural area some distance outside Chiclayo.
It was Jeanette's birthday and the children sang Happy Birthday for her. A young praise band then sang for us and genuine enthusiasm lit their faces. Two sixteen-year-olds then gave their testimony, reflecting on how God, through the work of Compassion in their area, had changed their lives and home situations and given them hope for the future.
We got to serve the children their lunch and the chanting and clapping we received for this simple act was heartwarming.
This project was in a completely different setting to the ones we have already seen. Miles out in the countryside this project is remote. There's a much different kind of poverty to that of the big cities - plumbing and sanitation for example and electricity supply. The homes are different too, slightly larger on average than the city homes, but still a far cry from our homes in the UK and Ireland. The homes tended to be either adobe mud (mud smeared over sticks and dried) or mud brick.
We visited one family in their home where the parents weren't Christians and this reinforced the fact that Compassion, in the projects, is selecting the neediest children who might not attend church and bringing God's love into where it might not otherwise have been.
The children in this project were fantastic, scrambling to have their photographs taken beside us until we left on the bus. This was a beautiful day, a real joy to have been a part of it.
Alastair.

Worshipping in Lima

We went to church this morning - Peruvian style, a shade over three hours long but it certainly didn´t feel like it. Church was a huge marquee with billowing sides holding around 1500 lively worshippers. Imagine the heat inside. The worship was led by a team of musicians and singers and while we didn´t know many words we certainly clapped along. Worshipping God after all comes from the heart and our hearts were certainly full of praise and worship this morning.
We were delighted to be worshipping in this church today because 11 formerly sponsored children were graduating from the Compassion programme. It was a joyous occasion. The senior pastor (one of 18 pastors - necessary because of five services per Sunday), made an appeal for folk to come forward and accept Jesus as their Lord. To see so many people (who clearly possessed nothing) come forward and receive the most precious gift in all the universe was a real blessing.
We were treated to lunch with the pastor and the graduates and had time to reflect on the occasion. The smiles and joy on the faces of everyone we´ve met who are involved with Compassion in their respective projects, and particularly the graduates today, is a real encouragement and reinforces that what you, the sponsors are doing is life transforming.
We heard today that all our sponsored children who made the trip from all over Peru to meet us on Wednesday have all arrived safely home - praise God.
Tonight we fly to Chiclayo for two days. Please pray for protection for us all as we travel and because we are moving into a new area with a totally different set of challenges.
Alastair.

A day of extremes

Today we visited project PE-444 in the outskirts of Lima, high in the mountains - not far from the foothills of the Andes. We were welcomed warmly, as we have been everywhere and again made to feel so very important; it was incredibly humbling. The children from the project all came out to meet us and greeted us with songs, cheers, huge hugs, and smiles so wide and beautiful.

Girls in traditional costume danced to a Peruvian worship song and then a younger group of girls added their own dance, all with incredible enthusiasm. We shared time with the pastor of the associated church and his staff and were shown around each of the project classrooms. Once again we were amazed at the dedication of the leaders and tutors. The Compassion literature is excellent and we could easily see how the children just love coming along.

We then visited a number of homes further up in the mountains and were met with stunning views as the bus trundled ever so slowly up steep pot-holed roads: however, the magnificant views were paled by the sights of extreme poverty around us as we drove through a wide expanse of ramshackle buildings. Almost all of the homes were like those in this picture.

When the bus could go no further we walked for another few hundred yards upwards before having to climb again up more than a hundred of the steepest set of steps I have ever climbed.

This little girl lives with her mother and two brothers. The mother and children walk three times a day down to the area near the project (from where we got the bus) and back up to this high dwelling - and she does it all with her smallest child strapped to her back! They live in this small building the size of a garden shed. The living area was divided from the bedroom by a few strips of rough material. All in all the entire building couldn´t have been more than 10´x 8´ and the heat inside was stifling.

And here is the strange paradox, in spite of this extreme poverty this was a home where Christ lived. He was evident in the smiles and the warmth of the small family. And the little girl treasured the letters from her sponsor - another powerful reminder of the impact of writing letters to your sponsored child.

After praying with the family we picked our way back down to the bus and returned to the project where we had lunch with the staff. We all prayed with the Pastor and project workers and they prayed for us.

This ended another incrediblly powerful day spent with people who have almost nothing but who are prepared to share it with us anyway. Tonight at dinner we shared our experiences of the day. It was good to share and talk about what we had seen today. We needed to open up.

Alastair.

Meeting our sponsored children

Today was quite unlike any other day I have spent in my life. Those of us on the tour got to meet our sponsored children today and nothing could have prepared us for the emotional high it proved to be.
We had been advised that the children might be shy and reluctant to bond with us, but this did not happen; we had been told the children might want to do their own thing with the the other children and that we should expect to be left following them around, but this did not happen. Instead, there was an instant bond, a bond that was somehow different than anything we had experienced before. And then I realised, the bond had already been established through our letters and today was simply the physical meeting of hearts that had already connected. It can only be through the love of Jesus in our respective hearts and the anointing of the Holy Spirit that this bond was already established.
Compassion, through magnificant organisation and the choreography of bringing our sponsored children from all over Peru, had arranged a wonderful venue for us all to meet.
I met Nicole, one week before her eighth birthday. She saw me on the bus as we arrived and ran to meet me as I stepped off the bus, throwing her arms around me and reinforcing something in my heart that I had previously read in her letters. What a day! It seemed to fly too fast.
It would be unfair to the other members of the tour for me to focus on myself alone. I know the others will take the opportunity to tell their own experiences and blog when they get the chance. However, I think I speak for us all when I say that the day was an unforgettable experience and a day that will live in our memories for ever.
Saying goodbye was tough; but really, was it goodbye? No, we were simply establishing the next stage of our united hearts, a unity that would be completed in eternity.
Alastair.

A day in the office

We spent today at the Peruvian Compassion office. We were greeted very warmly and were greatly blessed by joining in worship with the office staff, singing songs in both Spanish and English. Appropriately the songs were, I´m trading my sorrows and Light of the world You stepped down into darkness. Within the Peruvian office it was clear to see the blazing light of God´s love shining in the midst of extreme poverty.
We met the Peruvian country director, Cristina Zavala, an inspiring woman of deep faith and conviction and a very evident passion for her work with Compassion. Cristina described the impact of sponsors´ letters on the life of the child and gave examples of how life-changing the letters can be. Some formerly sponsored children now work in the office and described their own experiences with Compassion and how they now want to serve God through Compassion, impacting other children as they were.
We received a full office tour, seeing first hand how the administrative "clock ticks" so to speak. The translating of the childrens´ letter writing came across as an incredible activity. With a team of 39 translaters each translating between 200 and 500 letters per week it was easy to see the enormity of the task and understanding why letters can take 3 months to turn around.
If we took away anything from today it was that writing letters to your sponsored child is probably the most important thing you can do regularly - the children get so much from the encouragement you put in your letters.
So keep writing!
Alastair.

It's getting real now

We have just returned from our first visit to Compassion in action in Lima. Wow, what an uplifting, moving, humbling and eye opening day. We were treated like royalty and made to feel so welcome. There is no doubt that God is very much at work here, you can see it in the eyes of the people, and their hearts are bursting with enthusiasm and thanks for what God has done and is doing. We were all very moved through the visit to a Child Survival Program, the little church who partners with Compassion in the area and a few home visits. People kept telling us we were a blessing to them by our work with Compasion, but today, we were the ones who were blessed.
Al.

Safely here

Just wanted to type a quick post to let you all know we have arrived safely in Peru (after a very long flight!)

More news soon!

Clare (Compassion)

Not Long Now

Looking forward to meeting up with everyone on Wednesday, I'm told it's looking hot!!

People too busy packing to blog?

Hey all.
Hope you're all doing well. It's gettin' close and it seems like the months have flown by and all of a sudden it's almost upon us. How're you all getting on with the packing? Getting the right balance between the essential, the stuff-I-wanna-take-but-haven't-got-the-room and all the rest? I packed the other night as a trial run and then re-packed a couple of times since. I might need to repack again.
C'ya.
Al.