October 2009
Dear family and friends,
We are back in Lima after a wonderful time in the US visiting family, friends, and supporters. Some of you may not have heard about some of the recent events in our community in Peru. One of our best friends and coworkers in Lima, Sarah Dobrin, underwent an emergency surgery in Peru and was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. She has returned to the US for treatment on leave of absence. The day that she left one of our Peruvian staff, Sebastian Sevilla, asked her to marry him! So it has been a very bittersweet emotional journey for them, and for our whole community. Also, one of our other Peruvian staff, Erick Gayosos, was joined in Peru by his fiancé, Rachel Shawe. They are going to be married on October 18 in the jungle city of Pucallpa where he is from, and will begin their life as a young family together in Lima. Their plan is for Erick to continue to work with WMF; Rachel is looking for a teaching job in Lima. Also during the month of July, Lima had a number of days of rain; needless to say this does not happen very often. Our ministry center’s roof started leaking and we were forced to invest in a new roof. Lots has been going on!
Our monthly Celebrations ministry invites the youth and young families with whom the community has been ministering and who have been off the street for at least two months, together for worship, teaching, and to share a meal and friendship. As God would plan things, our biggest turnout of the year was during the month of July when the community was short-staffed and when Sarah had her emergency surgery. Everyone had a great time together, and it was one more circumstance where God brought us to a place of dependance on divine provision and strength. As we begin to close out this year, both our family finances and WMF Peru’s, are at critically low levels; however, we believe that this time of testing and scarcity will result in thanksgiving for God’s timely provision.
Many of you have known about our family’s situation for the past couple months and have responded in amazing ways as we begin to pull out of a negative support account. But our family is still at a dangerously low level of support. Additionally, WMF Peru currently has only a 2 month cash reserve, as both larger one-time donations and regular monthly support have dropped throughout this year. We are comforted that God has sustained us through 9 years of ministry relying on your support, and God willing we will continue to live and minister in Lima building up the WMF Peru community. Because of our love for the work that God is doing in WMF Peru, we humbly yet boldly ask that you consider how you might respond to these current needs:
- Langley family finances: $10,000 (lift our support account out of the negative, cash reserve for plane tickets for US visit in 2010)
- WMF Peru general fund: $20,000 (4 months of operating expenses for 5 Peruvian staff and all ministries of WMF Peru)
- WMF Peru building fund: $20,000 (repay emergency roof repair loan, additional investment to pass inspection and get our operating license.)
Love, and respect,
The langleys