Greetings from sunny Peru!

Since we are south of the Equator, we’re in the middle of a very hot and humid summer here in Lima right now. The last few days have been unbelievably hot and we’ve found ourselves seeking out air conditioning at the grocery store, the mall or just anywhere we can find fan to catch a breeze. The strong air conditioning inside the bank sure makes standing in long lines less of a chore!

While it is hot along the coast, it is the rainy season in the Andes Mountains and the region as a whole has received more rainfall than usual. The added rain is causing some of the worst flooding and mudslides in its recorded history not only in the mountains but here in Lima as well. The river beds in Lima that are normally dry or with very minimal water year-round have turned into raging torrents.

Apart from the excessive rain in the mountains, the city of Lima has received several inches of rain in the last few weeks (a typical year is about 1 inch total). We know that “several inches” of rain does not sound drastic, but it is devastating for Lima which does not have the proper infrastructure to handle even these small amounts.

The situation is so bad that Sedapal, the government water company, periodically shuts off water to the entire city of 10 million people for certain hours of the day. There is so much debris in the river water from the landslides that they cannot open their water intake lines without damaging the system. Last week we they shut off water for about 12 hours and again right now it is off until 6am tomorrow. It sounds like this will be a recurring event while it continues to rain in the mountains and city, which could be through March. Thankfully many buildings (including our apartment) have water storage tanks which fill when the water is on ensuring we have a constant supply. We still need to ration our water and end up filling a couple buckets just in case, but it still is a little worrisome.

While the flooding is primarily affecting the outskirts of Lima and has not reached the part of town where we live, it is a great concern for the city as a whole. Roads have been closed, some bridges have been washed away and many people have had considerable damage on their homes. The Central Highway, which takes you out of Lima towards the east and to Kimo (one of Scripture Union’s campgrounds) has been shut down because of flooding and landslides. This video from the El Comercio newspaper was taken about 1 mile from the Scripture Union Peru office downtown.

The city of Ica has also been affected by heavy rainfall in the mountains. Again, being a desert city that receives very little rainfall each year, the infrastructure is not set up to receive flash flooding or landslides.

Thankfully, the Girasoles home in Ica is on slightly higher ground and is not affected by the flooding, but surrounding areas like the neighborhood where the boys attend school and the shanty town where we used to deliver water with work teams are flooded. The river, which normally sits dry year round, is far above flood stage right now.

Please join us in praying for Lima and all of cities that are affected in this natural disaster. Pray that the rains will let up, the streets will dry up and water levels in the rivers will go down. It is not only hard for people to get around the city, but the water is also filthy and unhealthy. Pray for the safety and health of those living in these flooded areas.

– Kate & Billy

Happy 2017!

We started our Christmas celebration on the 22nd with a day at the beach just south of Lima. Frank, who used to live at the Girasoles Kusi home joined us for a day of sun, sand and salty water since he was unsure if he was going to have to work when we did our Christmas celebration. It’s still hard to get used to Christmas in the summer but we had a great day!

Unlike in the States, Christmas is celebrated here on the evening of the 24th and the celebration continues into the night and the 25th is a day of rest. Like last year, we invited a few of the boys who are in Lima on the government scholarship to come over on the 24th for the traditional Peruvian Christmas celebrations. Billy and I spent the day cleaning the house, making a bunch of sides and Christmas cookies and getting things ready for their arrival.

Jesús, Frank, Huberth, Landeo and our friend Carmen arrived between 7 and 9pm and we all sat down to have Christmas dinner with a mix of American and Peruvian foods about 10:30pm.

After dinner, we all headed out to the street at midnight to watch all of our neighbors light up the sky with hundreds and hundreds of fireworks. It really is quite impressive and one of my favorite Peruvian traditions.

We returned inside and like everybody else in Lima sat down to open a few presents. For the first time, we did a Secret Santa gift exchange where everybody brought a 20 soles gift (about $8) to exchange. We weren’t sure how this would go since none of the 4 guys had participated in one before but it ended up being great! It was fun to see their creativity in what they brought.

We were also able to give the four guys a couple other presents thanks to a donation made by the parents at Ward Church’s summer day camp this year. It is super common to receive a canasta (Christmas basket) from friends or employers. Typically the basket is filled with typical Peruvian food staples like rice, vegetable oil, noodles, evaporated milk, lentils et cetera. Knowing that most of the guys just rent a room here in Lima and do not have a way to cook their own meals, we took the traditional canasta and turned it into something like a care package you would send a college kid.

We spent the rest of our time together talking about Christmas traditions and reading the Christmas story from Luke 2 before everybody got quite tired and decided to head home.

For the first time we did not have a volunteer group between Christmas and New Year so we were able to take advantage of the office being closed to visit with some friends, work on various projects and take an impromptu getaway from the city.

We returned to Lima to ring in 2017 with our friend Carmen. We spent the evening catching up before yet another fireworks show at midnight!

As we look towards 2017, we are excited for what will be this year. We will celebrate our 4th anniversary and 8th and 6th years here in Peru. We will also welcome our first child this year and all of the excitement and new that comes with a new child. 2017 will be a big year for us.

Would you join us in praying for the following things?

– Grateful for a wonderful Christmas celebration with some of the older boys here in Lima.
– Grateful for some slow time together between the holidays.
– For Kate’s health in these last few weeks of her pregnancy and a safe and healthy delivery for both her and the baby.
– For the 2017 year and what God does through us in our ministry here in Peru.

– Kate & Billy

As we celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family today, we are thankful for the blessings in our lives and for our supporters and prayer warriors who have partnered with us over the years. We’re thankful for each one of you and for your contribution towards our ministry in Peru.

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.
– Henry van Dyke

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

– Kate & Billy

Join us for a pancake breakfast on Saturday, November 26th anytime between 8-11am to catch up and hear what we have been doing recently in Peru.

Saturday, November 26th between 8 and 11am
42406 Ravina Lane – Northville, MI

The Beresford family has been so kind to host a pancake breakfast for us while we are home and needing to raise personal support. We are thankful for this opportunity to see you and be able to share about our ministry in Peru with Scripture Union and the children’s homes!

In the few days Billy and I have been here in Michigan thus far, we’ve had the opportunity to see some of you around town, but we wanted to find a time where we could see as many friends and family as possible. Come by before (or after your early-bird) Christmas shopping for some pancakes and fellowship!

Check out our Facebook event for more information.

If you’re able to make it, we would love to see you!

– Kate & Billy

Last week Billy and I had the opportunity to help host a Scripture Union International community group meeting in Kawai. It was a small gathering of general directors and board of directors from Central and South American countries where Scripture Union has a presence. We were asked to assist with coordinating logistics and translation for the event.

During the week we had the opportunity to listen in on the sessions and spend time getting to know what Scripture Union is doing through ministries in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, Honduras, and of course here in Peru.

In addition to the country presentations, we got to know staff from Scripture Union International and hear them share about the history of Scripture Union around the world, the purpose of the Latin American community group, and how to develop sustainable ministries using local resources and local community networks. It was also a space for the country directors to start to dream about how they can collaborate to support each other and work together in the future.

It was a blessing for us to be a small part of the conference and exciting to see how God is working through Scripture Union movements across Latin America.

– Kate