Greeting from hot and sunny Lima
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.
Since my last prayer letter a lot of changes have been happening here in Lima. With lots of joy in January we welcomed a new staff member Monica. She is joining us as the new servant team coordinator.
Also in January we chose to close the doors of Casa Job as we begin looking for a new location. There are multiple reasons for this move. The location that we are at now is no long sufficient for the activities that we want to do with the street youth, also we want to move to a little safer part of town. Over the past few years we have been unable to have events at night with the youth at Casa Job because of the safety of the youth and staff. With this move we hope to have opportunities for night events and other activities which are unable to have at this time. We feel that God is leading us to make a change, so we are stepping out in faith with this move. Our hope is to buy the new place, but do not have the funds at this present time, but believe that God will provide in His perfect timing. As a community we have been praying and working together to find out exactly what the needs and wants are for the new location. We are excited about the new opportunities and possibilities that are a part of this change. During this time of transition we have taken the opportunity to look at our vision as a community. Please pray for us as a community as we walk through this time of transition.
I want to inform you of another way in which you can support the street youth here in Lima. We have a Peru Field account which pays for the activities with the street youth, like buying bread and milk for the street nights. It also funds Casa Job and our five amazing Peruvian Staff members. We have a budget through WMF of around $34,000 each year, but over the past few years we have fallen well short of this amount in giving, so we have been operating on a budget of about $10,000 less over the past few years. If you feel led and would like to give to the Peru fund just mark Peru Field on a separate piece of paper and send it in with your check. I will have more information about the new Casa Job and how you can give to that when we start fund raising. I want to thank all of you that give to my support account, you guys amaze me. I am never short of funds. For you information, in the near future WMF will be changing over to group health insurance which will raise the cost of my premium. I do not think that it will be a huge difference, but I wanted to let you know about it.
While Casa Job is closed we are doing a lot of visits and other activities during the days to where the youth hang out. We have taken trips to the beach and to the pool already this summer. These are always a lot of fun. I am back in now here in Lima trying to figure out this language. I am getting it, but it is a slow process. Because of I am unable to do a lot of activities with the youth during the day, but am able to hang out with them on street nights. One of my favorite times of the week is Monday night when we have a bible study at Craig's house with about 10 of the street youth. Most of these youth have been on the street for a while and we have known them for a few years. We meet for about an hour and a half to two hours. We start by eating some fruit and bread with some kool aid. Then Craig will share a lesson with the youth. We read scripture and then talk about it. At the end we go around in a circle and share pray request and then some of the youth pray. This is so amazing to me, to hear the prayers of the street youth as they pray for me and my family and friends. Some of these youth have prayed for some of you, isn't that amazing. I hope to help out more once I get my Spanish down better.
Please continue to pray for us as a community as we go through a time of change. That we can focus and hold on to the Love of Christ that never changes.
I have been in Lima for almost four months now and the longer that I am here the more I see the violence of the streets and the loneliness that these youth face everyday. They truly amaze me with their strength and endurance to live. I am truly blessed to be here. Thank you for your prayers and support. I love you all.
With the Love of Christ
David Smith
dmsjesus@hotmail.com