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A Monthly E-mail Newsletter
A.M.O.R. Projects
The First Moves of
Issue No. 29-January 2010
L.O.V.E “Learn to do what is good. Seek Justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause. Isaiah 1:17 A.M.O.R.
2010
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As you can tell, the New Year has been quite busy for us at AMOR Projects – Touch of Love.
We jumped into 2010 with our first campaign in the village of “17 de Septiembre” (17th of September).
Clinic week began with an enormous patient line waiting outside the small house we had rented.
Everyone worked extremely hard and with the help of Dr. Edred and Eleanor Vizcarra, who came to work with us, we saw 160 patients in the first day.
The pace did not slow down. Locals came at 4:30 a.m. to be the first in line. For the rest of the week at least 160 patients a day received medical help. Our team achieved our biggest total of patients seen since August –over 800 in one week.
On certain days, the dental team operated on more than 40 patients and reached their highest total of 171 patients seen and 244 teeth extracted during one week.
The manual labor crew completed the picture by beginning construction on a large 10-by-8 meter building which became the home for our traveling team for the next two months of campaign and will later be the first Seventh-Day Adventist Church in the community.
The crew finished the building in a week-and-a-half.
AMOR Projects also added two new members to the team. Julia Rittenhouse from Boston, Massachusetts is working as a community ambassador with the traveling team at our new campaign site.
Brett Escarza from Loma Linda, California is joining the manual labor crew as well as the dental team during his time here.
The team is excited to be at work again and we look forward to seeing the miracle of change that God brings to lives here in Peru.
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Gringa, Gringa
By Mindy Schreven
“Gringa, gringa!” shouted some high-pitched voices off to my right. I turned and looked to see what might be the matter. As I turned I saw 4 little heads peeking around a dusty doorframe. The little group of kids all had hair sticking out in all directions and little dirt smudges decorating their faces and clothes. It was obvious the kids were having fun playing in the dirt and enjoying a carefree life. But in spite of their dirt smudged clothes, their faces beamed with brilliant smiles and their eyes shone with excitement. “Gringa, gringa!” I waved at them and called out a cheery “Buen Dia!” At this the kids exploded with giggles and quickly disappeared behind the door, followed by a little cloud of dust. Seeing no opportunity to talk with the kids I continued on my way to go teach my health classes. “Gringa, gringa!” I turned once more to now see 5 beaming little faces crowded around the doorframe. As soon as we made eye contact, the kids started waving frantically. I returned the waves with wave of my own trying to match their abundance of energy. Then the kids yet again disappeared in a bubble of laughter. This happened several more times as I continued on my way and it made me start to think. Many times the word “gringo” has a negative implication. But often it is just another word used to describe someone. These little kids were happily calling out to a white girl walking by. Their use of a word that is usually considered racial, was used not as an insult or condemnation, but rather was their only way of describing me. Yes, we have different skin, eye and hair color, but that makes no difference. We were strangers, but that made no difference either; we still had a good laugh. That’s what had the greatest
impact on me. Often people are so caught up in people’s differences that they can’t get past the skin to see that all are human. We all have blood coursing through our bodies, giving us life and energy. In spite of any outward difference we have got the same innards and all have the same God who loves us.
Actions
By Lauren Kelley
I am a firm believer that God brings certain situations into your life so you can learn a lesson. Last Sunday was one of those days for me. Sundays are my days off and I was enjoying some time with a friend around Pucallpa. We were standing at our favorite ice cream shop gazing at all of the beautiful flavors and colors trying to make up our minds. I was contemplating between getting charada (cookies and cream) or (temptation) when a gentlemen walked by and started to talk to me. He was older, about 60 to 70-yearsold, and hadn’t taken a bath in awhile. His face was worn and he looked tired. He addressed me, “Señorita, por favor…” (“Miss, please…”) He mumbled the second half of his sentence. I looked to see if anyone had caught what he had said. I looked quizzically at the gentleman and he repeated his sentence, this time I caught it. “Señorita, por favor, por favor
tentacion
and well that I had change. When I did that my friend reached into a pocket, pulled out some change and gave it to the gentleman. At that moment I felt like a selfish stuck-up American. He was only asking for about 50 cents! I put the situation in the back of my mind and went on with my day. Later that night I was having dinner with a different friend. While we were waiting for our French fries to arrive, a gentleman selling little pieces of candy and gum walked by. He stopped at our table and asked if we wanted to buy any. Before he finished his sentence my friend had already started to reach for their money and asked how much. My friend gave the gentleman .50 soles or so for some gum. Twice in one day two people passed by and I failed to help them. I put this experience in my mind and continued to enjoy my time with my friend. For my devotions I had been going through the book of 1 John. Well the next day, Monday morning, I read 1 John chapter 3 and came across a verse that smacked me up side the head. 1 John 3:18 says, “Dear children, let us not LOVE with words or tongue, but with ACTIONS and in truth.” I had to stop. “Wow God! Thanks for that,” I said. It was and is a very important lesson that I need to learn. At times I feel as if I’m doing a lot, coming down here for nine months, leaving my family and friends to serve God. But it doesn’t stop there. You have to continue to serve God in your actions. There is the cliché that says, “Actions speak louder than words”, and it is true. We can preach the love of God until we turn blue in the face, but if we ourselves don’t show others that love what good are we doing? No matter where we are or what we are doing we need to always remember to show others the love of God through our actions. I thank God that He has blessed me with great friends down here, with people who are better than I and are always willing to show the love of God not only to the Peruvians down here, but to me as well.
un sole, o 1.50… yo necesito solamente 1 o 1.50…” (“Miss, please, please only 1 sole or
1.50… I only need 1 or 1.50…”) I looked at him and to my regret I said, “I’m sorry sire, but I can’t.” I turned around to look at the ice cream again when I knew good
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What I Do Have, I Will Give You Part 2
By Andrew Vizcarra
Faith is, many times, rewarded, and in my case the rewards are extremely apparent. If you, the reader, haven’t read the first story about my friend Guillermo go ahead and find it in our December 2009 newsletter. If you, the reader, have read that story everything should run smoothly. We’ll begin, “What I do have, I will give you Part 2”, a few weeks before Guillermo had come to bother Lauren Kelley and the rest of the nurses. Colt Sicher was enjoying his Sunday and taking a break from the hot fields where he worked for AMOR Projects. While he walked about the city of Pucallpa and extremely drunk man approached him. The man drew in close and Colt winced at the strong smell of fermented barely in his breath. “Hey man, can you help me out? Buy some gum?” the man asked. Colt politely declined but the man persisted. And as the man continued to spew out half words in English, Colt couldn’t stop the feeling swelling inside of him. He had never been someone that preached at people. In fact, he mostly shied away from the topic in order to not “push” his beliefs like he had seen so many others do. But as the man kept talking about his life and his spiritual fall, Colt knew that God wanted to be mentioned. The man Colt now knows as Guillermo wasn’t planning on messing up for the second time in his life. Around a year before he came to Pucallpa, rich and full in the face. After a few months he fell in with the wrong crowd drinking and taking drugs. His family had to rescue him from deteriorating completely and flew him to Lima. For over a year be bounced from hospital and rehabilitation centers trying to cure himself. Sober once more, he decided to take out of his savings and follow a woman back to Pucallpa. It took him only two more months to be again with no money, selling gum to buy his next fix. Colt felt sorry for him and decided to do what he could. He told Guillermo good-bye but moments later returned with a new red polo to replace his tattered usedto-be-white shirt. Guillermo was extremely grateful and they parted ways. Now we’ll move forward in the story,
about two weeks after I had met Guillermo. I was heading back home in a packed taxi with a large group of friends, Colt included. I started telling them about this man I had been talking to recently. My story sounded extremely familiar to Colt. In fact, it was almost identical to his. “Hey I think I know this guy,” Colt said to me. My heart burned inside of me while Colt told of his experience with Guillermo and the strange tug that he felt to mention God. That night in the stuffy taxi we all decided that God was on the hunt. He was following Guillermo by means of us, plucking at his heart and knocking at the door. God’s blatant seeking seemed unbelievable and I knew that I wanted to be used by Him in an unbelievable way. Again moving forward around a monthand-a-half from that moment, Christmas break was upon us. Most of us were busy busing and flying around Peru, discovering the incredible sites that the country has to offer. I hadn’t forgotten about Guillermo and every time I landed in Lima I wondered if he had actually made it. Colt had flown to Miami to meet his family before flying back to Lima where they would spend the Christmas season together. One day in the ritzier parts of Lima, Colt was walking through the crowded city streets. He had been at the beach reuniting with his old friend, the sea, and remembering the feel of wet feet on a surf board. He suddenly stopped; not believing was he was seeing. The back of a tall well dressed man stood broadly in front of him. He immediately recognized the man’s voice. And tapping the man on the shoulder, Colt smiled as Guillermo stared back in equal amazement. They agreed to meet in Colt’s hotel that night to talk about life and recent happenings. Guillermo looked incredible. Even though he was still skinny, his face had filled in and his eyes were no longer so tired. That night he talked clearly and intelligently to Colt, without any slurring of words or drunken rants. Even his nervous twitching and druginduced movements had faded completely away. The two talked for a long while and Guillermo thanked Colt again for helping him so immensely. Guillermo was still on the hunt for a job at the time but was excited to be united again with his brother and ready to move forward in his life.
I covered my face in excitement with the palms of my hands when Colt told me what had happened. I can honestly say that God has changed a life and saw it fit that I should be a part of that process. In all my life I have never seen such remarkable results from understanding, faith, and love. The lessons of this story, for me, are life changing. I know that Guillermo’s journey is far from over, that each day he will need to continue to choose the right road. I pray for God’s strength on his behalf. I won’t forget what a little love can do and what a willing heart can accomplish. It is evident to me that Jesus’ example of passion and compassion is what changes lives.
Karen
Story by Martin Corona Written by Andrew Vizcarra
Karen is a beautiful short-haired teenage girl. At 14-years-old, she has an adventurous mind and is anxious to experience life to its fullest. And though the liveliness in her eyes would tell anyone that she is capable of an adventurous life, there is one problem. Karen is paralyzed on the right side of her body and cannot walk. When she was 5-years-old Karen fell down a long staircase and hit her head. Her internal injuries sent her to the hospital for 3 months until her father could no longer pay for her care. He took her out of the hospital and she has been bed ridden for a long 9 years. Martin Corona found her to be remarkable. She was quick to understand when he taught her and her family about the Bible. Martin admired her high spirits and wondered how she could have so much hope while her speech and sight lessened every day. After repeated visits to her home, he learned of Karen’s simple wish. She wants to walk again. Her mother continues to do physical therapy with the girl and together they make slow painstaking progress. The thought bothered Martin. Wasn’t there anything he could do to help her towards her goal? Martin’s request is simple –a wheelchair. Karen’s left arm is strong and mobile and with a bit of time, she could build the strength to wheel herself around. Today, Martin is still searching for a way to make this dream possible. He plans to visit hospitals, ask around the city, ask people from his home in the United States. In Peru one learns that dreams are never out of God’s league. With faith and with ganas (desire), all things are possible.
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Fundraising for the New Year
For years the Lord has blessed AMOR Projects-Touch of Love and has used its people to forward an immense work. We are honored to be called servants of God and wish to complete our purpose –to establish a clinic and trade school to serve remote jungle villagers’ needs for health care, health education, and economic development. We are beginning a new fundraising campaign for the year 2010 to move forward to our goal. Many items needed or not cheap but we know that God always provides for our needs when we call upon Him to help. Here is a list of needs we are hoping to fulfill:
Fish Pond
This is a project that we have just started. We are hoping to create a large pond to support fish that we can later sell and use for agricultural classes.
AMOR Projects P.O. Box 212 Loma Linda, CA 92345
Grade and Gravel the Driveway
where it is extremely muddy before rainy season hits.
Repairing the Water Tower
Which is becoming a risk for falling, but is vital to life at Km. 38
Online Donations:
Touchofloveperu.org
Truck Repairs
Our 3-year-old truck is well used. It still has a lot of life left but obviously needs some help in certain areas.
English Class Supplies
We buy all of the supplies necessary to hold classes except those supplies which are donated. Most children here are too poor to have their own school supplies.
Brick Oven
to produce our own bricks and begin building a school!
New Cultivator
We know that using a machete is very good exercise, but we’d All donations are enjoy something a bit more eftax-deductible ficient.
Oil Palm Project
to begin with 5 hectares
A New Trailer
Our trailer is getting old and unreliable. A new one is necessary to carry large loads of wood to construction sites.
Campaign Expenses
We build churches in every campaign site. Money is needed for further building materials as well as occasional repairs.
Medical and Clinic Supplies
Apart from what is donated, AMOR Projects buys all of its medicines and medical supplies
AMOR Projects
Local Worker Salaries
We enjoy providing jobs for the local people where they can support their families and learn about the love of Jesus Christ.
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