Having big hearts for animals we have adopted a few friends over the course of the past year. Some friends found us first, and others drew us in. First came a pair of lovebirds, next a lovebird that was all by himself that Lora could not stand to see be left all alone. Then came the gecko that we see from time to time on our walls looking for bugs. The last but most endearing was our Peruvian street dog, with the somewhat misleading name, Tripod. He appeared sometime after we
came back from our Christmas break. He had been run over by our neighbor and was well on his way to death when we found him. Lora made some strong appeals for his life and Eric finally broke down and bought a small bag of food. We nursed him back to health and he became a very loyal, yet very smelly, companion. He loved to follow us from place to place and defended us (okay, just Lora) from other dogs. Over the course of a couple of months our commitment to him grew. We would bring him left over meat from our meals, bought medicine for his fleas, and even bathed him. He was an old dog when he found us and we saw him almost die a handful of times while we knew him. We knew that no one would care for him like we would in our absence and we had prayed several times that he would die peacefully before we had to go home. Well, sadly, last month our prayers were answered.
We have been reminded once again (even through simple means of caring for a dog) that as you serve someone (or something), your love for that thing grows and grows. I can't say that we had some strong love for Peru before we came down, nor for the people we work with, but now after serving Peruvians, Peru Mission, and the Church in Peru, we see that the Lord has grown in us a genuine love for the people and institutions with which we work.
At the end of May, our church celebrated it's 19th anniversary and inaugurated the first library in the Wichanzao community where Lora works and we attend church. It was an exciting day. As the only library in the community, we are excited to see it still growing a couple of months later. We now have a variety of books, magazines, and newspapers for children, adults, and teens to enjoy. We are currently volunteering in the library once a week on Tuesdays, which happens to be the evening of the church's womens' gathering - which means the library is full of children. We've had a great time getting to know the kids of the church, whether it be thru helping them with books, school projects on the internet, or even taking turns making pictures with the "Paint" application on the PC. (Who knew it could be so much fun?) We've truly enjoyed serving the church and community in this way and are excited to see such a wonderful development for the Wichanzao neighborhood.
To see pictures, click here.
Having big hearts for animals we have adopted a few friends over the course of the past year. Some friends found us first, and others drew us in. First came a pair of lovebirds, next a lovebird that was all by himself that Lora could not stand to see be left all alone. Then came the gecko that we see from time to time on our walls looking for bugs. The last but most endearing was our Peruvian street dog, with the somewhat misleading name, Tripod. He appeared sometime after we
came back from our Christmas break. He had been run over by our neighbor and was well on his way to death when we found him. Lora made some strong appeals for his life and Eric finally broke down and bought a small bag of food. We nursed him back to health and he became a very loyal, yet very smelly, companion. He loved to follow us from place to place and defended us (okay, just Lora) from other dogs. Over the course of a couple of months our commitment to him grew. We would bring him left over meat from our meals, bought medicine for his fleas, and even bathed him. He was an old dog when he found us and we saw him almost die a handful of times while we knew him. We knew that no one would care for him like we would in our absence and we had prayed several times that he would die peacefully before we had to go home. Well, sadly, last month our prayers were answered.
We have been reminded once again (even through simple means of caring for a dog) that as you serve someone (or something), your love for that thing grows and grows. I can't say that we had some strong love for Peru before we came down, nor for the people we work with, but now after serving Peruvians, Peru Mission, and the Church in Peru, we see that the Lord has grown in us a genuine love for the people and institutions with which we work.
