Dear Family and Friends,
It was great to see a few of you in July during my short visit to Crestview. It is always encouraging to be home around family and friends. The Staff Gathering was great; it was fun and uplifting to see so many great friends that serve all over the world. In this letter I wanted to reflect on a visit to one of our friend’s homes that lives about an hour and a half from our ministry center.
Last night I got the opportunity to go with Mike and one of our Volunteers Pedro on a visit to see one of the guys that participates in our weekly guys’ bible study. We spent about an hour and a half riding a bus out to our friend’s house where we hung out for about an hour and a half with him and his wife and four children. This was my third or fourth time visiting their home, but every time before it had been during the day when our friend was working and could not be there. This was the first time I got to see the whole family together in their home.
So we rode the bus to the very last bus stop, literally the bus stopped and the driver got off to go get a coke at the store I would guess. So from there we walk up the hill and around the corner to where the house is located up another hill. We are greeted with a huge smile from his wife and baby. They share their house with her sister and mother. They have a small separate room that is about 12 by 15 feet made out of single ply plywood. The small shed in my dad’s back yard is like a 3 star hotel compared to their home. In this small space they have a bunk bed and two twin beds beside each other so everyone has a place to sleep. They also have a small kitchen, bookshelf, and a small tv all in this one space. It is very cold outside but with all of our bodies we warm up the small room quickly.
As Mike and Pedro share with our friend, I start playing with the 3 kids in the small space in front of the bed while the mom takes care of her baby and prepares some hot chocolate and bread. As I reflect a little on this time with the kids I realize how little they have. They spend every night playing in a 3 by 5 space and on top of two beds jumping around. They have no space outside to run and play and there is no green grass or trees for them to see or play in. They have minimum toys to choose from, yet they seem content with what they have. I think of when I was a boy and all of the things I had and opportunities to play outside with trees to climb in and a home that was warm and safe. How I would love to give this to these four amazing kids.
After a few minutes of playing we join the conversation that Mike, Pedro, and our friend are having. We all gather around and our friend reads from the bible as the whole family sits and listens. As we sit and discuss the verses the whole family participates, even the kids. They share the struggles they have as a family. He shared with us that night that he struggles with drinking sometimes because he has a wounded heart from growing up with a mother that does not care for him and still doesn’t care. As I reflect on this moment I can see how Jesus is meeting them where they are at and inviting them to walk with him. I can see our friend is opening his heart more and more to the love of Jesus. I see how he is willing to share his struggles and hurts with us and is willing to ask for counsel. He and his wife share their desire to find a church. Please pray that our friends can find a local church to attend.
As I think about my friends I realize that we have about 20 or 30 families all over Lima that are struggling with similar problems of poverty and they are just a few of the millions that live in this situation here in Lima. God is calling us to go and love in these places.
1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actins and in truth.
Love,
David Smith
Parque San Martin 374 F
Pueblo Libre Lima, Peru
david.smith@wordmadeflesh.com