It's not 'Adios' it's 'Hasta Tarde'.

Today us a sad day for us. Not because of Michael Jackson's funeral, but because it is time for us to say goodbye to Peru. We've had an amazing experience, and have witnessed the mighty work that God is doing here. But we'll really miss all the people that we were working with that have so quickly become our friends.
I think the biggest impact for the team was meeting some of the families suffering from poverty that Agape are seeking to serve. In twenty minutes we leave for the airport, but it is a great joy to know that God is staying and the work he is doing through Agape will continue.
Thanks to those who have been reading our blog and partnering with us through prayer. More reports and photos will be posted on the regular site when we get back.

Soy Pollo!

Yesterday was Sarah's Birthay, and it was 'estupendo'! The day started with her being showered with gifts from our new Peruvian friends, and ended with Ruben serenadimg our driver Victor with an emotional rendition of 'I can be your hero'. She also recieved her second surprise party, thanks to the overwhelming generosity & hospitality of our cook Nelly who had beautifully decorated her home with toilet paper and streamers for the event. The people we've met here have such a real love for God, and we feel genuinely cared for by them.
On Thursday we helped some of the Agape staff hand out flyers promoting their services. We went to Zone H of Huaycan which us notorious for its high levels of abuse. We went with Yolanda who explained to us that because of the low literacy rates most of the victims feel too ashamed to report the abuse to the police. So she goes there, talks to families and helps them find justice for the crimes that have been comitted against them. She is recovering from an traffic accident, her leg still hurts, and she walks with a limp, but four times a week she climbs all the way to the top of the hill to visit all the families. It is a difficult job, and she often gets shouted at herself, but she is called by God to do this work, so she goes serving him. She was a great example of someone who is living out the theme verse of our trip by loving mercy, acting justly and walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

Taxi drivers strike all over the world.

We're stuck at our accomodation this morning because all the drivers in Lima are on strike, because the government wants to raise the price on the plates! Sounds very familiar.
Anyway it would be too dangerous for our driver, Victor, to come pick us up, so we're here waiting to see if we can get out to Huaycan. So it seems like a good time to update the blog.
Over the last few days we have been involved in a variety of projects. On Thursday we were using our dramatic skills to write and act in a drama about domestic abuse. We were preforming at a School to an audience of young children and thier parents, with the aim of promoting Agape and the services they offer to those who are victims of different kinds of abuse.
On Saturday we took a group of children from troubled families to the Zoo. We each had a child to look after, and we guided them through the park with a lot of pointing and adding an 'o' to the end of words to make them sound Spanish, like penguino and camelo.
Yesterday was a public holiday, St. Peter's Day, which gave us an oportunity to see some different parts of Lima. It's hard to believe that 20 minutes away from the poverty of Hauycan, where there are people sleeping on dirt floors, with no water on there home, there are expensive seaside boutiques and luxurious shopping malls that would make Dundrum jealous. It's challening travelling between these two worlds, it makes the whole team realize that such contrasts, though maybe nit as exteme, exist in Dublin too.

PERU; we´re finally here. Firstly, we want to thank God for his grace and mercies upon us. And then of course a big THANK YOU to all those who supported us as a team. You don´´t know how much it means, thank you!

So let´s get down to it. Lima; the capital. What´s it like? Well I guess different is a word that definitely comes to mind. Alot of things are alien to us as expected. The food is different but definitely good, the weather is more than acceptable, traffic can get a bit crazy at times, but the hospitality of the Agape team here is more than we could ask for and we are extremly grateful for that.

So, we´ve been here for four days now. They have been four eventful days. The first day, Monday, was pretty much an orientation day. We got introduced to the Agape team, the way things are done here and a quick history of the organisation. Next on the list of introduction was the locality we would be working with, Huaycan. At first sight I think the thought that was going through eveyone´s mind was how priviledged we are. Looking at the neighbourhoods I immediately felt compassion. The living conditions were definitely lower than what I had expected. Adding the fact that the average famliy in that neighbourhood lives on about 5 dollars a day made the sight even sadder to behold.

The next day involved visiting some of the families and showing support to them. This proved to be a success as one of the local leaders is now interested in working with Agape to help the neighbourhood. The next day we visited two families and did our best to clean and rearrange their homes in an attempt to improve their living conditions. And today saw us puuting our heads together to present a drama on family violence to children, teachers and parents in a local primary school.

One of the things that I can say has propelled us to help the people we see here even more is their gratitude, their love of Christ, their absolute dependance on Him and the hope they have in Him. It poses a challenge to those of us living more comfortable lives, beacause in the midst of all the suffering seen here, Christ is still put above everything and prevailant in the lives of the people here.

To the Airport.

Packing is done and I think we're ready to go. Please be praying for safe travels, we leave at noon today and arive in Lima at about 7am GMT tomorrow.

Stoked Stork

We just had our last meeting before we go! We're all so excited about what God has planned for us to do in Peru.

Muy Pronto!

This day next week we'll be in Peru! After over a year of planning the time is almost upon us.

Praise God! He has generously provided us with every cent we needed for the project! And now we will be able to give the parter a financial gift to further support their work in LIma.

Please pray for the team as they prepare over the next few weeks; that as we pack and get organized to travel, God would be close to us all readying our hearts and minds for what he has planned for us. Pray for safe travels and the learning of Spanish.

Thank you for your support.