Greetings from Lima!

Billy just finished leading another iteration of the Trauma Competent Caregiver training. The training was 5 weeks and had two modalities this time. A group of 30 people met virtually on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for 2 hours each night and another group of 17 people met for 4 hours in person on Saturday mornings. This was the largest training group that we’ve had thus far and many of the participants were contacts that were made during the ACH conference we wrote about in the last update. This trauma training is the first step in becoming a volunteer mentor at the Puericultorio Pérez Araníbar, the children’s home we are working with in Lima. Now that the training has concluded many of the participants have expressed interest in becoming mentors and will begin the application process. Join us in praying for these new volunteers!

Billy also spent a few days at the Girasoles home in Urubamba where he met with the staff as they work as a team to develop more individualized plans for each of the boys currently living at the home. In the context of a group home, creating space in regular day-to-day life in the home where each the boys’ individual needs can be considered and where their specific voices can be heard is challenging, but it is so important. The staff is also working with each boy to create a plan that moves toward a holistic sense of wellbeing. We talk about individual plans, but the hope, really, is to help the staff develop safe and secure relationships with the boys — where they are in tune with each boy’s emotional, cognitive, social, spiritual and physical needs and where they can be available to help them meet those needs.

Also on this trip, Billy met with the new volunteer mentors that will begin working with some of the older boys at the home. The volunteers have completed the trauma training, application process and have been interviewed for the program – all virtually. This was the first time Billy has able to meet with them all in person and get to know them and discuss the program. The mentoring program at the Girasoles home will launch next month in June!

A few weeks ago Billy was asked to share at a meeting with the outreach team at our church, Camino de Vida. The church has a huge outreach program called Servolución (Servolution) and Billy gave an overview of caring for the vulnerable. The Servolución team serves in many different areas across Lima, including two prisons and a community kids club. At the end of the overview of trauma, he invited them to participate in an upcoming trauma training so they can improve the care they provide.

Earlier this month the mentors hosted a social event for the teens at the Puericultorio. Every few months the volunteer mentors put on an event for all of the teens (including those that currently do not have mentors) to spend time with them and so they can get to know Paths of Hope. Previously the events have entailed cupcake decorating, watercolor painting, water balloon games but this month’s event was to watch the movie Wonder (August, a boy who suffers from facial deformity, enters a private school in fifth grade. At the school he endures bullying from his peers but finds a way to overcome them with his friends and family) and discuss it afterward. The night before we prepared many bags of popcorn for the event!

If you missed our last update, United World Mission is now Mesa Global. Mesa is the Spanish word for table. The table is an important place in our homes; it is where families come together for sharing life and laughter, as well as hard times and tears. The table is also a place for mentoring and studying, planning and prayer. Jesus chose the table as a place to welcome sinners, wash feet, form disciples, and open the Scriptures. We certainly see this in Paths of Hope’s mentoring ministry – much of our work happens around a table, sharing together. You can read more about this change in our last update.

As a family, we have had a few fun events over the last couple weeks.

For the first time we celebrated Will’s birthday with a friends party. His birthday is in February but we finally celebrated him with friends from school and church last month. His request was to have a Pokémon soccer party. He was so excited to be the birthday boy and have all his friends together playing and having fun.

We volunteered with our friends and the church’s outreach team to assemble wheelchairs to be distributed to disabled children and adults. The team assembled 20 wheelchairs and then were able to hand them out to their new owners.

Earlier in May, Will had a week off from school for fall break and we spent a few nights outside of Lima with friends. They have a son who is the same age as Will and they have become great friends. Both are bilingual third culture kids and only children so it was entertaining to see them playing together, constantly switching between languages and sharing the experience. We made pizzas, roasted marshmallows, and spent lots of time outside. On the final night the guys all spent the night in a tent in the yard, which the boys loved!

Over the last few months Will has been participating in our local park district’s track and field program. He told us he was interested in practicing running so he would be faster at soccer and tag during recess at school. He has been training the program two days a week since March and has participated in a few competitions where he has earned medals (which he’s super excited about). The most recent competition was the Peruvian Track & Field National Children’s Championship where he participated in the 30 meter sprint, long jump and softball throw for the U8 age group. He did a great job in all three races but he earned a gold medal for the U8 Boys’ softball throw!

Unfortunately by the time the awards ceremony was held the silver and bronze winners had already left.

Will also has continued with soccer classes and recently played in his first tournament against other teams from Lima – they ended up losing the first game but won the second. Will also got to go to his first professional soccer game, a friendly match between Perú and Paraguay. Even though the game started after he normally goes to bed and ended in 0-0, he was so excited to cheer for the Peruvian national team alongside our friends.

As always, thank you for your prayers for our family, the mentoring ministry and the people of Peru.

– Billy, Kate & Will

And just like that we’re already into the second quarter of 2024!

Quite a bit has happened since we last shared an update. January and February are summer break from school here south of the Equator so we have had a bit of an erratic schedule between trips, summer activities and the mentor program.

Since we were not here last summer (and previous summer breaks were clouded by COVID), this was the first opportunity we’ve had to enroll Will in some summer activities while on break. In addition to continuing with soccer lessons at a nearby field, Will also participated in an amazing archeology day camp put on by a neighboring district at an archeological site/museum. Every Tuesday and Thursday for 8 weeks 20 kids from 6-12 years old got together to learn about pre-Incan cultures that occupied the pyramid, make adobe bricks, and so many different crafts like weavings, masks, clay figurines etc. Every session Will came home completely covered in dust but smiling and excited to share what he had learned that day about the Wari or Yschma cultures and recount what happened during the 3-hour session. They even did their own excavation dig during the final sessions where they found bones, ceramics and other items left over by the previous inhabitants.

Will with Huaca Pucllana in the background

Billy was recently asked to share about caring for vulnerable populations during the monthly outreach team meeting at our church, Camino de Vida. He shared a reflection from 1 Kings 19, on what we can learn about caring for the vulnerable among us in light of knowing how the Lord draws near to us in our own vulnerability. It is always a joy to share and serve alongside a great group of people with servant’s hearts!

In the middle of February we made a quick trip back to Michigan for a family wedding, for Will to gain a new aunt, and to spend as much time as possible with the cousins. We have really enjoyed having many different family members visit over the last 8ish months but it is always great to visit the Mitten.

Most of our time recently though has been occupied by getting ready for the Latin America conference hosted by Alianza Cristiana para los Huérfanos (ACH) and Perú por los Niños. ACH, an organization based in Guatemala, hosts a conference about caring for the vulnerable each year. In recent years ACH has decided to take the conference from being held in Guatemala to different countries around Central and South America, and in 2024 it was held here in Lima, Perú. As members of the Perú por los Niños network of organizations, churches and individuals, Billy and I were part of the organizational team helping with publicizing the event on social media, coordinating the event space, lots of printing, and the volunteer team.

A lot of spreadsheets were created and Zoom calls had leading up to the event

The event was held Thursday through Sunday and over 400 people participated from across Peru and South America. In addition to the participants, there were another 40 presenters/speakers and an amazing team of 40 volunteers. We coordinated the volunteers and they were a dream to work with – they anticipated needs and stepped up before we even asked. The volunteers really made participants feel welcome and made the event a success.

Perú por los Niños team with the presenters

A small portion of the amazing team of volunteers at the end of the first day

Perú por los Niños coordinating team with the leaders of Alianza Cristiana para los Huérfanos (ACH)

During one of the plenary sessions, Billy co-lead a panel about various ways we can care for vulnerable children. An adoptive family, foster family, a mentor, a mentor family and a family with a child with disabilities shared about their experiences in being part of the child welfare system. The panel shared that while we all might not be called to adopt, there are varying degrees of caring for the vulnerable and we can all do something.

Patricia (floral dress in the middle) is one of the Paths of Hope mentors at the Puericultorio.

In addition to helping coordinate, Paths of Hope was also able to have a presence during the event. I created fliers and materials to share with prospective volunteers and finally got the Paths of Hope website ready in Spanish for a Peruvian audience (see it here in Spanish)! Many of our volunteer mentors were able to participate in the conference and also staff our table and share about their experiences as mentors at the Puericultorio Pérez Araníbar. We were able to meet many people who are interested in becoming mentors and learning more about Paths of Hope.

Since the event ended with the Sunday morning services at the church where it was held, despite not having participated in the conference itself, the church congregants heard a moving testimony and message about caring for the vulnerable. At the end of both morning services the pastor invited the congregation to learn more about Perú por los Niños and how they could get involved in mentoring, foster care or adoption. Billy was able to share our vision for mentoring with many people from the church and meet many others who are interested in doing something.

Join us in praying that these connections from both the conference and after church conversations turn into committed volunteers so we can provide more mentors to the teens at the Puericultorio.

Also this summer our adventure-loving, thrill-seeking, curious and active little boy turned 7 years old! He was very happy to be able to celebrate with extended family during our quick trip to Michigan (cousins!) and again on his actual birthday here in Lima.

The fun summer months finally came to the end and Will returned for another year of school. He is in second grade now and in the Mozart classroom (first grade classes were all artists, second grade are now composers). Typically here the 25 to 30 classmates you start school with will be the same kids in your class every year until you graduate. Will’s school mixes up the students in the classroom each year like they do in the United States so it’s a different batch of kids each year and new friends to make in the classroom. Unfortunately his close friends from last year are all in different rooms but they still see each other during recess. Nevertheless, our outgoing extroverted child has already made some new friends over soccer and Pokémon! We’re excited to see what he learns this year and how he develops and grows.

We want to thank you for your generosity that has allowed us to be here, serving in Peru. Your support and prayers make it possible young men and women who have graduated from children’s homes to have access to mentors once they have left the home.

You are making a difference in the lives of many who greatly desire and long for community as they navigate independence. Your generosity is a testimony to your love for God and your willingness to share in the burdens and blessings of others.

To continue this work we are needing to raise additional monthly support.

We’d be grateful if you would prayerfully consider increasing your current giving, beginning a new monthly commitment or giving a year-end gift. If you feel led to partner with us, you can support us through United World Mission.

Your financial support is providing community and guidance to teenagers as they age out of residential care. We believe in this ministry and see its impact, and we are deeply humbled to get to serve in this way with you.

As always, thank you for your prayers for our family, the mentoring ministry and the people of Peru.

– Billy, Kate & Will

The last 6 weeks have been busy as we wind down 2023!

In November, we hosted our second integration event with the teens at the Puericultorio Pérez Araníbar. Our volunteer mentors organized an afternoon of games and activities to do with the 24 residents. One of the activities the mentors led was cupcake decorating, so Will and I prepared 4 dozen chocolate cupcakes and buttercream frosting and sent all sorts of Christmas-themed sprinkles so they could decorate their own cupcake. Some were quite creative and patient with their designs, others were looking to maximize the amount of frosting they could get on their cupcake!

After the integration event we shared a meal with a few of the volunteer mentors and spent time getting to know them outside of planning an event or discussing how their mentor meetings were going. We thanked them for their time and dedication to the ministry.

Earlier this year we created a short video about the Caminando Juntos mentoring program. We were able to interview the director of the Puericultorio children’s home and also two of our volunteer mentors. We invite you to watch it here:

Billy led the Peru por los Niños virtual forum in November. PPLN is a network of organizations, churches and individuals, and the topic for this month’s forum was presenting the various organizations that make up the network. Each organization had a few minutes to share about their programs for working with orphans and vulnerable children while Billy moderated the discussion.

Since Thanksgiving is just a regular Thursday here in Peru, we gathered with a group of Americans from our church to celebrate together. It was a lovely afternoon meeting some new families and spending time with friends.

At the beginning of the month we hosted the president of the Paths of Hope board, Susan, here in Lima. It had been more than five years since Susan had visited Peru, so her trip was an opportunity to spend time with POH staff, meet in-person with ministry partners, visit the Puericultorio and visit with some of the former Girasoles children’s home graduates that we work with today.

Her trip also coincided with Huberth’s college graduation. Huberth has been one of Billy’s mentees for many years and received an educational scholarship from Paths of Hope to finish his degree in architecture and urban planning. He finished his final semester at the end of July and participated in the graduation ceremony at the beginning of December.

To celebrate his accomplishments we hosted a graduation party for Huberth at a Chinese restaurant. It was a lovely evening with his friends and important people in his life.

The two men in patterned shirts grew up with Huberth and we have known them for years.

Will’s school had a Storybook Character Day and he decided to dress up as Joe Hardy. We’re on a big Hardy Boys books kick right now and he was so excited to go as one of the teen detectives!

We recently had lunch with Paul & Marty Clark. Unfortunately with the pandemic it had been almost 4 years since we saw them last, but it was lovely to see them one last time before they moved to the US. We met the Clarks in 2001 when we first came as mission trip volunteers for Scripture Union, and they played a part in us being here today.

We have been fortunate to be in Michigan for the last couple Christmases, so we never ended up decorating our apartment. Since we will be in Lima this year it has been a joy to sit in the living room in the evenings with the tree lights on!

We want to thank you for your generosity that has allowed us to be here, serving in Peru.

Your support and prayers make it possible young men and women who have graduated from children’s homes to have access to mentors once they have left the home.

You are making a difference in the lives of many who greatly desire and long for community as they navigate independence. Your generosity is a testimony to your love for God and your willingness to share in the burdens and blessings of others.

As the year comes to a close, we are aiming to raise $1200 more in monthly support.

We’d be grateful if you would prayerfully consider increasing your current giving, beginning a new monthly commitment or giving a year-end gift.

If you feel led to partner with us, you can support us through United World Mission.

Your financial support is providing community and guidance to teenagers as they age out of residential care. We believe in this ministry and see its impact, and we are deeply humbled to get to serve in this way.

As always, thank you for your prayers for our family, the mentoring ministry and the people of Peru.

– Billy, Kate & Will

And just like that another couple months have passed!

A few days after our last update we headed to Colombia for the bi-annual United World Mission South America retreat. Since the retreat ended up being during Will’s mid year school break we were able to spend a few days visiting a few different cities before heading to the retreat center in Armenia.

The UWM retreat was 5 days of fellowship and meetings with staff from the office in Charlotte, NC. We were able to spend time with families we met in December 2021 at the small Peru-Bolivia retreat that was here in Lima. It was a refreshing time to learn about what other UWMers are doing in South America, spend some time talking about support raising, and finally meet UWM staff in-person!

The last large UWM retreat we were able to participate in was here in Peru in 2017 and Will was just 2 months old. This time, Will loved going swimming in the pool and spending time with the other TCKs (third culture kids) who were from Bolivia, Colombia and Paraguay.

Since the retreat was held in the coffee region of Colombia, one of the days we visited the Parque del Café, a coffee-themed amusement park. Will very much loved the roller coasters and the cable cars to get around the park.

On the final night, UWM staff recognized various families for their years of service on the field, ranging from 10-35 years of service.

The third Sunday in August is Día del Niño (International Children’s Day) and is a big holiday in Peru. According to Will, it’s like a birthday for all kids on the same day! To celebrate our little boy, we took him fishing in a bay in the ocean where he caught a bunch of fish and the following day, he invited a friend from school to come to the celebration our church hosts every year.

Always curious, Will asked if the seeds inside an apple would grow into a tree and produce apples, so we planted the seeds to see what would happen…

We spent a mid-week holiday at Lomas de Lúcumo hiking into the clouds.

After a few months of our mentors meeting regularly with their mentees at the Puericultorio Pérez Araníbar, a few of our volunteer mentors hosted an event for all of the teenagers at the home. It was a great afternoon socializing with the residents, getting to know them through sports, board games and painting. Since this event, we have added a 2 more mentors to the program.

At the beginning of September Billy helped lead a forum about mentoring for youth. It was a great conversation about how it is important for residential care graduates to have a person who can guide and advise them as they navigate life after leaving the home. This was part of the monthly virtual forums hosted by Perú por los Niños where organizations, churches and individuals in Peru can share and learn from each other about how to improve the care they provide for vulnerable children.

We recently participated in a Sunday evening Bible study at Ward Church. Before he passed, this is the class that Billy’s grandpa faithfully led for many years. Since the pandemic the group has been meeting on Zoom which made it easy for us to join in from Lima. It is always a joy to see the familiar faces and share about what Paths of Hope has been doing!

At the end of September Billy traveled to the States for 10 days. He was able to meet with prospective supporting churches in the Charlotte area and participate in the annual Paths of Hope board retreat. The board was able to reflect on the year so far, to plan for 2024 and to hear from Billy in person. Board members hail from Michigan, Tennessee, South Carolina and across North Carolina so it was a special time to fellowship and meet together instead of the regular Zoom meetings.

After the board retreat, he traveled to Oklahoma City to attend the Christian Alliance for Orphans’ annual conference. It has always been a wealth of information and provides many opportunities to meet other like-minded people and organizations working with orphans and vulnerable children. Between the pre-conference intensives (where Billy learned about recent research on family strengthening programs and also transitioning from residential models of care toward family-based solutions) and 3 days of workshops and general sessions, this year’s gathering did not disappoint.

Some of the organizations that make up Perú por los Niños were also able to attend the conference.

Since Billy was going to be in the States for a couple weeks, my mom came to visit and accompany Will and I. We were able to take a tour of the Palacio del Gobierno (Peru’s equivalent of the White House), spend time together in Lima and visit all her favorite spots.

Saw a beautiful bougainvillea tree in a parking lot and had to take photos with it.

Shortly after Billy returned, we hosted some of his family for a visit. Since it overlapped with Will’s spring break we headed north to Máncora (about 2 hours from the border with Ecuador). A week of sun, sand, salt water and sunsets was splendid. Will went surfing for the first time, we saw humpback whales daily playing off the shore and it was a nice week with family. Billy’s parents stayed for a second week and were able to take Will to school and help with some projects around our apartment.

Last week we traveled with the Living Waters for the World group from Nashville who were here visiting sites where they have installed water filtration systems. In 2015 the Living Waters team installed a system at the boys home in Ica and we were part of the install trip. Thanks to a teacher in-service day we all were able to make the trip to Ica for the night and assist with translation and teaching about the importance of clean water.

As always, we appreciate your prayers for our family, the ministry and for the country and people of Peru.

– Kate, Billy & Will

The last couple months have been extra busy with school activities, quick getaways and lots of travel and trainings for Billy!

Billy and Jocabeth (our Paths of Hope co-worker) traveled to the boys homes in Ica and Cusco to launch the Comunidad Girasoles program we are working on with Health Bridges. The Comunidad Girasoles program works with current residents and recent graduates of the two boys homes and provides orientation, a mentor and the opportunity to apply for a scholarship for transitional expenses or continued education. Since launching the program, a few young men have applied for the scholarship and we have had interviews with them about their goals with continuing to study.

For the past couple years Will has had his heart set on visiting Loreto and its capital city, Iquitos. Loreto is the largest Peruvian state and is located in the jungle region and home to the Amazon River. After finding inexpensive flights over school fall break, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend a few days in boats out on the rivers and seeing all the animals we could! Will was able to fish for piraña, play with monkeys at Isla de los Monos and scratch off another state from our map.

Once we returned from Iquitos, Billy hit the ground running on leading three different trainings on trauma competent caregiving. He led a 4-week training on Saturday mornings at a Christian Missionary Alliance church (which we wrote about in our last update) for 22 people from three churches who are interested in volunteering as mentors for our Caminando Juntos mentoring program.

He also was leading two separate trainings for staff at the Puericultorio Pérez Araníbar. The first training was for the caregivers who provide day-to-day care for the kids at the home. The group was split into two shifts for the training and met for four weeks to get an overview in trauma to better equip themselves. The second training was for 34 teachers and psychology interns who work at the Puericultorio. They met twice a week – in person on Wednesdays and virtually on Saturday mornings – using the Trauma Free World curriculum.

Huberth, who Billy meets with regularly, has been studying architecture and urban planning at a university in Lima. He finished his final semester earlier this month and found out that his final project was approved so he will be graduating in December. He came over after the final class to celebrate and brought the model he designed and built with him. We’re excited for him and proud of his accomplishments these past 5 years!

At the end of June we went on a road trip with dear friends to the mountains for a long weekend. Jimmy and Anna have family in a small town in Pasco (a new-to-us state) and we visited them for a few days. It always amazes me how quickly we can go from sea level to crossing over the mountains into a completely different ecosystem. If we weren’t in the car, we were outside enjoying the fresh air and peacefulness of the small town.

Billy returned to Ica and Cusco, this time for the Comunidad de Excelencia (Community of Excellence) program we are partnering on with Health Bridges. The Community of Excellence started with Phase 1 during the pandemic with weekly Zoom meetings with the staff at both homes. Since then, they have been working on developing Phase 2 and recently spent two days at each home meeting with the staff. Phase 2 focuses on self-care and how by providing for themselves, the staff can improve the care they give to the children and teens in the home.

July 28th is Peruvian Independence Day and schools spend much of the month learning about Peruvian history, culture and regions. As part of the school celebrations, Will was selected to dance a tondero Guarangito with some of his classmates in an assembly. Like in previous years, they rented dance outfits for the presentation.

Up next we have a trip to Colombia for the bi-annual UWM South America retreat. We’re going to be spending time with UWM missionaries from across South America in Armenia, Colombia. The last large retreat we were able to participate in was here in Peru in 2017 and Will was just 2 months old!

As always, we appreciate your prayers for us, our ministry and for the country and people of Peru.

– Kate, Billy & Will