Missions Newsletter September 2022

Redeemer team, Dave and Eli far left

Several years ago I had an amazing opportunity to serve alongside my oldest daughter, Maddie, at Canaan Christian Community in Haiti, and I had been looking for an opportunity to do the same with my son Eli ever since. In early August, Eli and I had the privilege of being a part of the recent Redeemer short term mission trip to our ministry partner in Peru, Not Forgotten. Not Forgotten is an organization started by Redeemer members, Tyler and Allison Fuqua, which cares for orphaned boys in Iquitos, Peru through a family-home model.

I wasn’t too sure what to expect on this trip, having never been to South America and not knowing much Spanish. What I did know, however, was that my and Eli’s eyes would be opened to the work that God is doing to seek and save the lost in a small corner of the Amazon Jungle. While we were there, we partnered with the older boys from Not Forgotten to provide clean water to about 40 houses in a small village 4 hours up-river from Iquitos called “El Chino.” We also participated in a summer bible camp that the boys' church sponsored.

As I watched the faces of the 8 middle and high school aged boys on our team interact with the boys from Not Forgotten and the teenagers from the village, I was reminded of these truths: We all need Jesus, and we all want to be known and seen. That is what I am reflecting on the most after the trip. In the USA we have the luxury of distracting ourselves from our own need of a savior, but it doesn’t change who we are nor does it change our deepest longing. It was such a sweet gift to be reminded of the Lord’s relentless pursuit of his Children, and that he won’t ever leave us or forsake us, that he will be with us and guide us - even in the most remote parts of this earth … He’s doing the same thing in Peru.