Graduation at Kusi

This past weekend Kate and I had the opportunity to visit our Kusi boys' home. The house parents, Rosa and Angel, invited us for a very special ceremony. Five of the boys graduated from elementary school (Martin, Arnold, Frank, Mauricio, and Kevin), and Eloy graduated from high school. They didn't have the opportunity to have a graduation party with their school, so Rosa and Angel decided to throw a big party for them all at once. I was excited to go, but at the same time I wasn't sure what to expect. Would the boys enjoy this opportunity to celebrate their achievements? What was all of this going to entail?

We were not disappointed and neither were the boys! Rosa did a great job organizing the entire party. She had a whole ceremony set up just as if it were a real graduation. All of the graduates were dressed in a shirt and tie, there were special graduation pictures, cake, and the whole nine yards! Kate and I had brought Bibles for each boy as a small present, and Rosa decided that because of that we would be the padrinos, meaning godparents, for this party. We both had a chance to tell the boys how proud we were of them, how much we valued their friendships, and share a few words of encouragement as they look towards their future.

The graduates

The toast (Sprite, of course!)

I decided that I wanted to share two verses with them. First, I spoke about 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old is gone, the new is here!" Many of these boys have come from difficult pasts. In some cases they have endured terrible hardships that have left deep marks on their lives. In other cases, they themselves have made mistakes that continue to affect their lives today. The beauty of this promise, though, is that in Christ all things are made new. Christ doesn't look at their pasts and condemn them; on the contrary, he is the one who makes all things new. The boys are at a turning point in their lives, and as they look to the future they can rest confidently in the fact that Christ brings renewal each and every day!

Secondly, I shared Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." I wanted the boys to remember where their strength comes from. Some of them have big dreams, and others struggle to dream of becoming anything. But if they learn to rely on Christ, then He will give them the strength to do His will! He is the wind behind our sails. If we rely on Christ, then He will show us the way. If we try to make our way through life on our own, then we will always finish disappointed.

We had a great time of sharing and celebrating together. To finish the party off, a group of friends from town came up to Kusi and joined us in an hora loca. Literally translated, that means a crazy hour. Here in Peru that means a straight hour of dancing without stopping. I am not much of a dancer, but I have to say I had some great fun. Sorry friends, no pictures or videos :-) Maybe next time!

The boys' new Bibles wrapped and ready to open

With Kevin, Mauricio, and Frank

The graduates with all of their other fellow Girasoles

Okay, just one picture of me dancing! Did I mention that some imaginary friends joined us?

I can never quite express how much of a blessing it is to be a part of these people's lives. To comfort them in their sadness and share in their joys and triumphs. Thanks to everyone who is a part of this ministry. God is definitely at work here in Peru!

New Year 2012!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone from Peru! We are already well into 2012, and I am excited for things to come this year. We already have a number of different short term work teams and medical teams signed up to partner with our ministry in 2012, and I know that God has great things in store for us.

We had a great holiday season here in Peru, but it is still funny to celebrate Christmas in the middle of the summer! Kate and I spent part of Christmas Eve at the beach! If you want to read more about our Christmas experience, then I encourage you to read Kate's recent post.

To bring in the New Year Kate and I headed down to our boys' home in the city of Ica. Augusto, the house father in Ica, really wanted to have a pig roast for the boys to celebrate. They had a turkey dinner on Christmas, and for New Year they wanted to do something different. Augusto set off in search of a decent size pig, and he did not disappoint; he came back with a 300 pound monster! They prepared the meat, and then they sent it off to a place that had an oven where they could roast it.

Augusto working on the pig--I'll spare you from seeing the other photos :-)

In the mean time we all headed up to the beach. Ica is a hot, dry desert city, and the refreshing water was quite a treat for everyone. Some of the boys jumped right in, others played making sand castles on the shore, and still others passed the day by searching for snails and muscles in the tide pools that they then used as fishing bait! They even caught a few fish.

Swimming at the beach

Sand castles

Agustito half buried in the sand

Kate and I

We came back to the house that evening ready to say goodbye to 2011 and to bring in 2012! Around 10:00pm we all gathered together in the dining room, and we had a great time of reflection over 2011. We discussed some of the hardships that the boys and the home had been through, and we spent some time praying for God's blessing and provision in the year to come. Around 11:00pm the roast pork came out of the kitchen, and we ate like kings! I wouldn't be surprised if they are still finishing off all of the meat from that huge pig! At midnight we celebrated along with the rest of the country by lighting off all types of fireworks, bottle rockets, and sparklers. It was such a joy to spend time with such a special group of friends. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Girasoles Ica!

My Parents' Visit to the Amazon

Last week was a great time of relaxing and enjoying the company of my parents. It was great to see them after almost an entire year of being away. We enjoyed a few days exploring the Amazon jungle from a lodge. We also got to visit a number of different projects that Scripture Union has here in Peru. Below are a few pictures to tell our experience.

Canopy Tour Zip Line -- After a 120 foot climb into the canopy, we got to zip-line and rappel back down!

Dorilla, the monkey, enjoying some bananas in our boat

Swimming in the river with my dad and with the pink dolphins!

Dad caught a piranha. He was happy until he realized that they were going to kill it and cook it.

Mom, Dad, Gerlo (our guide), and I

The family plus Kate taking Christmas pictures at the mall.

Arriving to Iquitos

In Iquitos these grubs are a highly sought after snack.

Mom, Dad, and I in front of a huge tree.

This frog tried to escape, and it ended up attached to Mom's leg. I wasn't sure if the frog was going to end up in the water or if my mom was.

Also, I just wanted to take a chance to make you aware that you can now sign up online for recurring donations to support me and my ministry here in Peru. Hopefully this new tool will make the process of signing up for monthly donations a little bit easier. All you have to do is click here to go to my missionary profile page on LAM's website. From there, click on the "support this missionary" link, and follow the instructions. Please prayerfully consider participating in this ministry through your financial support.

Christmas Around the Corner

I can't believe how fast this year has flown by! It seems like just yesterday that I was helping out with our January summer camps on the beach. This year I have been busier than ever, and I am so blessed to be a part of Scripture Union's ministry here in Peru. Apart from the camps at the beginning of the year, I have also continued to support the work at our boys' homes across the country (two of which are brand new this year)! I have taken some sign language classes and participated in our ministry for the deaf. I have traveled with Pastor Emilio to help in the distribution of Scripture Union's daily devotional guides. I have hosted numerous short-term missions teams that have helped with construction and maintenance of our homes, medical outreach ministries, vacation Bible schools, and so much more! If you want to learn more about my work here in Peru, I encourage you to visit my new LAM missionary profile by clicking here. You will find more general information about me as well as a link to my most recent pictures.

Now we are approaching the Thanksgiving season. Most of us will take a moment to stop, reflect, and thank God for the blessings that he has given to each of us. We serve a great God who is worthy of all our thanksgiving! He freely gives us his love even though we are all undeserving of it. God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to those around us.

This year we are once again raising funds to provide a nice Christmas dinner and gifts for the children in each of our homes. While many people enjoy family time this season, many of our boys are reminded of the family that they never had, or worse--the family that didn't want them. While the boys are in our care we take our calling very seriously. We are their family, and we want to show the children that they do have value. We want to be reflections of the Father's love in their lives.

If you are interested in supporting our efforts, then please click here for our full letter with further information on how to partner with us. If you have any questions, always feel free to email me (bgreenman@latinamericamission.org).

Girasoles Christmas in Ica

In addition to financial support, we would greatly appreciate your prayers. Below are a few prayer requests:

- Construction is underway at our Cusco home that washed away. Pray for the project to run smoothly so that our boys can move into their new permanant home as soon as possible.
- Scripture Union will have a new general director at the beginning of the new year. Pray for the transition process, and pray for wisdom for our new leader.
- Pray for our schools ministry. This work is expanding, and we are hoping to start schools work in new regions of Peru's jungle and mountains.
- My parents are coming to visit Peru for Thanksgiving this year. Pray for a safe and healthy trip. Pray for quality time with my family this coming week.

Yems

Yesterday morning I found myself sitting in a small office as I was anxiously waiting to meet Yems, one of the children who I have been sponsoring through Compassion International for a few years. What will the day be like? What are we going to do? I hope he enjoys the day. I have been living in Lima for two and half years already, and I figured that I needed to take advantage of the fact that Yems and I are living in the same city. I contacted Compassion in the States, and they were more than happy to set everything up for me.

Yems and his mom walked through the door, and they were presented to me by some of the staff workers here in Peru. It was a surprise to them that I was able to speak Spanish. They were worried that it would not be very easy to communicate through a translator. We had a really nice day. I was able to take them out to the "Parque de las Leyendas," a very large zoo / archeological attraction here in Lima. After our very full morning at the zoo, we went out to lunch. As we walked around I had the opportunity to learn more about his family and his dreams. Yems wants to study to be a translator. He wants to learn English and Italian. He also really enjoys art. Time flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to say our goodbyes.

Throughout my travels in Peru I have noticed a similar quality in many people here who are living in poverty--they often don't believe in themselves or think very highly of themselves. In a way they begin to accept their place in society. They begin to accept that they are sub-par human beings. One of my greatest joys in life is to help people recognize those lies and to tell them about the hope that they have in Christ. In Christ we are heirs to the throne (Gal. 4:6, 7), we are free from condemnation (Rom. 8:1), and we are more than conquerors (Rom. 8:37). I was greatly blessed by the opportunity to spend time with Yems and his mother yesterday. It was a perfect opportunity to affirm them and build them up, to encourage Yems in his studies, and to remind them that they are loved.

Yems, his mother, and I