Missions Newsletter August 2023
“I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18, ESV
I had the unique opportunity to serve orphaned children in the remote city of Iquitos, Peru in June. The young boys I had the pleasure to work with have come from broken, hurting, and trauma-filled childhoods, many of which previously homeless and abandoned. Before embarking on the trip, it was difficult to imagine being homeless and fending for myself at three and four years old, but after meeting the boys and hearing their stories’ I understand what they have gone through well.
Unlike many short-term mission trips that focus on supporting long-term missionaries, working with church plants, or sharing the gospel with locals, the trip I experienced was an effort to build and continue relationships with people that already know Christ and His gospel, perhaps better than I know it myself.
Multiple members of Redeemer and I travelled with Tyler and Allison Fuqua to visit a beautiful ministry in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon rain forest. Not Forgotten is a Christian orphanage in Iquitos guided by Redeemer’s very own Tyler and Allison and directed by a faithful Peruvian couple named Gene and Patty. As mentioned above, we worked with young, orphaned boys that the Lord showed me they are no longer orphans.
Speaking for myself and on behalf of the entire team, I had to remind myself that the boys we met, played soccer with, and worshipped with were orphans. From the moment I stepped foot on Not Forgotten property, it was never apparent to me that those boys were orphans. It never crossed my mind. As 2 Corinthians says above, our Lord is our father, and that is promised. From the parent-child family model of care that Tyler, Allison, Gene, and Patty have developed, to the deep-rooted connection with their local church, those children are cared for as sons, brothers, and family members. The Lord has done a mighty work to save the lives and souls of those boys in Peru and I praise God when I say they are no longer orphans.
