Peru Mission Trip 2010
The Mission team will depart from the church at 5:00 am on Saturday for a 10 day excursion to Peru. Updates will be posted daily. Check back periodically.
7-3-2010. 1:20 PM The team made it to Miami where we have a 10 hour layover for our next flight. We did connect with Erin Frazier and Stennett Smith who flew in from another airport...Mobile AL I think. It is cloudy with light rain here now so I guess we are not going to the beach. We will keep you posted. The Peru Mission Team 2010.
7-4-2010 5:00 PM. Same time as Corinth. WE MADE IT TO CAJAMARCA! 36 hours of travel. All luggage and team members present and accounted for. After another layover in Lima, where we had a great tour, we boarded the plane in gray cool weather and flew to Cajamarca. The sun came out and we observed the spectacular snow covered mountains on the way. Upon our arrival, we were greeted with an incredible welcome. Villagers (men, women and children) from the church at Manzanayama had travelled to greet us. Many had walked to the airport. They held a huge sign saying "welcome brothers and sisters from 1st Pres Corinth Mississippi." The children presented all of us fresh cut flowers. Samuel's family were present to greet him especially. Alonzo Ramirez greeted us too. This welcome lifted our tired spirits and brought tears to our eyes. We will be sending photo's to Brett and hope to have some posted soon. We are now getting settled in our hotel which is very nice. A team from 1st Pres Jackson MS just left today. They had been doing much of the same work we will do. Everyone is fine. No one is sick. Our work starts tomorrow morning. Thanks for your prayers. (Randy Long)
7-5-2010 8:00 PM. To you in Corinth following our 2010 mission trip on the web, let it be known how much you are a part of this trip. The greetings we received from the residents of Manzanamayo upon our arrival in Cajamarca were not only meant for those of us who humbly stood before our Presbyterian sisters and brothers in Christ but for each of you associated with FPC. The prayers you prayed, the donations you made, and the blessings you left ten years ago when you made the first mission trip to Manzanamayo ten years ago made you a part of this memorable moment in time. Like us, you would have smiled at the childish mispelled signs held up by school-age angels of God and been warmed beyond words as the adults approached one by one to announce their name, their welcome, and their gratitude. Gracias was the only word most of us understood, but the hugs and warmth spoke what the language barrier couldn't. Despite only about eight hours of sleep in two nights, a full night's rest was elusive as I struggled with allmy emotions and my unworthiness.
Yours from Cajamarca,
Marilyn Mangus
7-6-2010 8:15 PM. Greetings from Cajamarca. Well, it's been a wonderful couple days so far. The entire team has been blessed beyond words and we have only served the people for two days. From a dental standpoint there are many here in need. The majority of the childen and just about all the adults have very poor hygiene and several dental problems. I have been encouraged by the number of patients we have seen, but discouraged by the lack of resources with what we can treat, at least in Manzanamayo. All we have been equip to treat there are extractions and we have been busy. Alberto, Marilyn and I have seen close to 44 patients and extracted just over 100 teeth in two days. Like I said, lots of patients with lots of needs. Please pray for the people of Manzanamayo and that in the future we will be able to service more of their dental needs than just extractions. We will be treating patients there for one more day (Wednesday) and will then move to the church here in Cajamarca. I will try to give another update later in the week about the needs of the people there. Also, please continue to pray for the team as we still have a lot of work to do over the next three days. Thanks so much for your continued prayer and support.
Mark Mazurkiewicz
7-7-2010 8:00 PM. Hola mi amigos. Manzanamayo was fantastic! I had a blast. The kids were amazing! Everyone is so kind, generous, and appreciative. I was so sad to say goodbye! Me, stennett, and Erin got the opportunity to go into one of the homes of the Peruvians. It was so strange to see how different they live their lives. They had two tiny bedrooms and one kitchen/living room. There were maybe 7 women and thier children sitting on the ground eating their lunch. They said that it was a big house compared to the other ones. It just really makes me appreciate America and all the luxuries we take advantage of on a daily basis. Im so thankful that God sent me on this trip. Please continue praying for our team! Love to all!
Priestley Worsham
7-7-2010 8:00 PM. Hey everybody! Working with the people of Manzanamayo has been such an honor and blessing. I have enjoyed every minute of it and I didnt want to leave. All the children were so thankful and it was the coolest experience to watch them. Today was our final day and it was definitely the best. We gave all the kids goody bags and they absolutely loved them! I have had the most amazing time on this trip and cant wait to see what the rest of the week holds for our team. I'm very thankful I had the opportunity to come. Thanks for all the prayers and support!
Stennett Smith
7-7-2010 8:03 PM. Hola todos desde Cajamarca. First off, I want to praise God for calling me to come on this mission trip. It has been one of the best experiences of my life and really put things into perspective. The people of Manzanamayo are not blessed with the luxuris like the people of Corinth, yet they are all joyful. Not happy by circumstances by any means, but truly filled with joy. I have had such a blast getting to know everyone as best I could without knowing much Spanish. The kids are so adorable! Thanks so much for all the prayers!
Erin Frazier
7-8-2010 8:30 PM. Let me share some details about the construction we have worked on this week. The construction team has been made up of me, Jim Corley, Mike McClamroch, Jorge Camancho Yao, and Larry Mangus. We have worked alongside many Peruian men, some of them being elders in the Presbyterian Church in Manzanamayo. Our task for the week was to pour the foundation for a new building which will be used like a fellowship hall having a dining area and a kitchen.
This has been a deja vu experience for me because our team in 2002 came to dig and pour the foundation for a new Sunday School building. To come to Manzanamayo and see the building we built the foundation for in 2002 fully operational (BTW,FPC gave the money - $10,000 - to build that Sunday School building) was exhiliarating, but to work on the foundation of another building next to it (BTW, FPC gave the money - $5,000 - to build this new fellowship hall) was beyond any experience I have ever had in missions.
Tomorrow the final concrete pouring will take place and the foundation will be complete. The construction team has been reminded about how hard it is to breathe at 11,000 feet, but I have been proud of the construction team's effort and comaradery with our Peruvian friends.
Don Elliott
7-10-2010 10:00 AM. As we sit in the Lima airport following an early morning flight from Cajamarca, most of the team slept little last night as the week’s experiences played in their minds. The children’s ministry team welcomed two new members with Randy and Mike McClamroch in addition to the teenagers and me. We were amazed and thrilled with the interaction of the children in Mazanamayo and with the two inner city schools in Cajamarca. Our church is the only one to ever have done VBS with the church in Mazanamayo. What an honor and blessing for us! We were surprised but pleased to increase our classes to 5 instead of 2 in most of the inner city schools. We used 600 pieces of photo paper and were able to provide pictures to all the children. The printers were working overtime, but they held up beautifully. They participated in singing the Spanish Bible songs from the cd’s and especially enjoyed singing "Open the Eyes of Our Heart, Lord" while Randy played the guitar. The puppets were a hit and we were able to share "Noah and the Floating Zoo", "The Prodigal Son", and "The Good Samaritan" in their native language using the teenagers as puppeteers. I have been amazed by the reception from the Catholic-based and inner city schools to our team. The gratitude shown to us can only be compared to the beauty of the children’s smiles and hugs as they completed their craft projects. This has truly been an indescribable experience and I can’t say enough about how wonderful the children’s team worked together. It is so humbling to be the hands and feet of Jesus for these little ones and we are so grateful for his call to us on this mission trip.
Kimberly Grantham
July 14, 2010
The mission team arrived in Corinth yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon after taking 9 flights in 11 days. In spite of the extended time in the skies much was accomplished by the team. Third times the charm, so they say. Our third trip to the church in Manzanamayo, led our construction crew to begin the church’s kitchen. The footings and slab were poured for the kitchen and dining room this week. The completion of the future kitchen will give the church a sanctuary, restrooms, Sunday school rooms and ultimately their kitchen.
Our vacation bible school ministry team led the children at the public schools in Manzanamayo and Cajamarca in a week of fun lessons and crafts. The puppets were a huge hit. The week concluded with the baptism of two of the children in Manzanamayo. That will be very unique for them due to the fact that Don Elliott baptized the children.
. The top of the mountain was a hub of activity last week, between construction, bible school, and the dental clinic. Dr. Mark Mazurkiewicz was quite busy. He performed around 250 extractions. Just as here in Corinth the visit to the dental office isn’t complete without a toothbrush and toothpaste to take home. There were smiles all around.
We are so grateful to Alonzo and Esther Ramirez for all the work they did before we arrived which includes hosting of our team. As you may know by now, the Bradfords were not able to be there due to the accident that William suffered three days before they were suppose to leave for Peru; we give thanks to the Lord for William’s recovery and continue to lift him to the Lord as well as for a complete a healing. As always God takes care of the needs of his children.
After a jammed packed work week, the team went to the city of Cusco to visit the Machu Picchu site on Sunday. This was a very long day, but a day that we enjoyed, as we marveled at the ruins left by the Incas. When you are more than two miles high, the views are spectacular. Possibly this is because you are that much closer to heaven.
After we returned to Lima on Monday, the team gave our good byes to Samuel Vargas as he returned to Cajamarca. Samuel was a great help to the vacation bible school team. He will be missed.
Words on a page can not begin to convey the experiences that this mission team had over this past week at least not through this author’s pen. Members of the team will be reporting to the congregation soon, and we hope to show photos of the trip during our upcoming Family Bible School. You will not want to miss it.
I want to give my thanks to the team for all the work they did, for being such as great group of people, and to the congregation and friends who prayed for a successful mission trip. God is good all the time.
Alberto
