“Thank you for coming!
May God bless you!” This
was the greeting as patients began to see the doctors, dentists, nurses, and
other persons that came to minister to their physical needs here in
Trujillo. The gratitude was
palpable. Independent Presbyterian
Church in Memphis, TN, sent 27 eager participants to come and labor in Trujillo
for a week in February. They made
it despite all obstacles. There
were travel advisories in Peru due to the floods. Memphis was experiencing rare snow storms and airports were
closing, but nothing is impossible for God! He opened the airports, prepared their way and they arrived
ready to work! We had a wonderful
week with our friends from Memphis!
All week we were able to offer services in medical care,
dental care, eyeglasses for reading were provided, some minor surgeries were
done, and we had the chance to share the gospel with kids and families that
were waiting. First, we held a clinic at our church in Arevelo. It was a great turnout and nice
to have the sanctuary to use as our makeshift clinic. The next day we went to Mocollope, a town north of
Trujillo. This town does not have
access to medical care and so it was a great day to provide services free to
people that do not have access or easy access to any medical or dental
care. Mocollope is supposed to be
close to El Brujo, a very interesting archeological site where a mummified
woman was discovered in 2005. A
true archeological find that made the cover of National Geographic. So, a small group of us ventured
towards El Brujo after the clinic this day. I felt as if I was on a tour with the SS Minnow (remember
when the 3 hour tour landed Gilligan and the others on an island forever?). What was just 15 minutes away turned
into a tour of the Peruvian countryside as we made detour after detour and
followed rocks on the side of the dirt road that had El Brujo painted on
them. In addition, this is all
through sugarcane fields as far as the eye can see. Nevertheless, we finally made it and it was well worth it as
we enjoyed the adventure of getting there and back to Trujillo as much as we
did the museum and archeological site!
Thanks to the brave souls that ventured out with me and were so patient
as we wandered through the sugarcane fields looking for the mummy!
Wednesday was a hot day here in our Peruvian summer. Moreover, it landed us at the hardest
site of the week. We had to put up
tents in a dirt road, and it was blazing hot! However, we labored on and again saw over 100 patients
before stopping for lunch around 2:00 p.m. Thursday we visited Clementina and were able to use the new
adobe church building to see patients and for our pharmacy. It was nice to have a small patch of
shade. Over these 4 days, the
group from IPC saw approximately 625 patients! Mercy was shown, the gospel was shared, patients were prayed
with and for, and it was a full week of ministry and blessings to those serving
as well as those being served.
Friday we went to the orphanage and saw all 42 kids for
dental care and a few for medical visits.
We also were able to service the Peruvians that worked there also. It was a fun day to see the kids and be
able to just play with them also while they waited to see the doctors and
dentists. It was a great way to
cap off our week of hard work!
After the orphanage, we had just enough time to enjoy lunch at the beach
before the team had to pack up and head back to the airport.
Thank you very much IPC Memphis for a great week. You were such an encouragement to all
of the missionaries, Fellows, and Peruvians you served. What a hard working team with tireless
energy and a heart to serve others!
We cannot wait to have you return next year!
