Peru 2016 - Preamble

On Monday, March 14th, at 3:00 p.m.  a group of 32 will once again leave for Peru from Ottawa.  

This will be our 6th Trip since we began this relationship with Pastor Sergio and his church in Pachacutec in 2006.  

As we depart, I thought it would be nice to put out some fun facts regarding these Learning Opportunities as well as some pictures showing things that have changed since we started going to Peru.  

So, read on and enjoy.  

I learned some things as I put this together.  

Peru Fun facts – 2006 - 2016

1. The first time we went to Peru was March, 2006 after going to Chicago for a week in 2004 with our youth group. 

2. The Youth Group decided it wanted to do something overseas after going to Chicago, and Pastor Ron  discovered Peru on a Youth Convention Trip.  It matched several criteria like affordability, safety, and potential to start a partnership.   

3. Hans and Henni H started working with CRWRC as a result of their experience in Chicago and several youth have gone on to do other mission type activities after moving on from our youth group.  

4. When given the option for the 2008 trip to go to another place, or go back to Peru, the youth group decided they wanted to go back to Peru and build a relationship with Pastor Sergio and the church.  Pastor Ron began the work of implementing this as an Intergenerational Learning Opportunity.  

5. A couple of trips later the Peru Management Team (now known as the International Partnership Team) was formed to ensure that these trips were not creating dependency.  

6. Sizes of the groups have been:  
2004:  17 to Chicago

2006:  Calvin = 22; Barrhaven = 9 – Total = 31  

2008:  Calvin = 23; Friends of Calvin = 3 – Total = 26

2010:  Calvin = 17, Cornwall joined us = 7 and Oakville joined us = 23 – Total = 47 

2011:  In April Pastor Sergio came to Canada and visited with us for a week.  

2012:  Calvin= 22; Friends of Calvin = 5; Cornwall = 13 – Total = 40 

2014:  Calvin 19, friends of Calvin = 9, Cornwall = 16 - Total = 44

2016:  Calvin 13, friends of Calvin 2, Barrhaven = 5, Cornwall = 13 - Total = 32

7. Over the 6 times we will have gone to Peru:

1. 92 persons have travelled from Calvin and friends of Calvin with 27 going multiple times and Pastor Ron and Colin V going all 6 times.  
2. Cornwall has joined us for 4 trips, with a total of 28 attending and 11 going multiple times.  
3. A grand total of 157 people have travelled to Peru over the 6 years we have hosted this Learning Opportunity and 220 visits have been made if you include the repeat visits of individuals.  

Calvin	Number of Visits
First
Ron	6
Colin	6
Annette	3
Ben	3
Lucy	3
Tobie	3
Marg	3
Christopher	3
Leah	3
Mina	3
Christopher	2
Rosalynn	2
Wilma	2
Hannah	2
John	2
Samantha	2
Megan	2
Wilma	2
Fontana	2
Kellina	2
Kevin	2
Sam	2
Carmen	2
Bea	2
Bethany	2
Cindy	2
Jeannine	2
Kayla	1
Ian	1
Daniel	1
Peter	1
Ella	1
Brenda	1
Shawn	1
Amy	1
Nancy	1
Kyle	1
Lynda	1
Shannon	1
Alisa	1
Angela	1
Jason	1
Corinne	1
Lauren	1
Craig	1
Kerri-Anne	1
Joanne	1
Joycegina	1
Katrina	1
Sarah	1
Silke	1
Michelle	1
Mikayla	1
Trinity	1
Bernadette	1
Morrisa	1
Ashlyn	1
Gaelen	1
Zachary	1
Martin	1
Jeremy	1
Sheila	1
Laura	1
Emily	1
Caitlin	1
Ryan	1
Melanie	1
Anika	1
Cindy	1
Jackie	1
Holley	1
Michael	1
Cheryl	1
Miranda	1
Sandy	1
Simon	1
Stacey	1
Carl	1
Edith	1
Kyle	1
Margaret	1
Nick	1
Ken	1
Harold	1
Bradley	1
Brian	1
Emily	1
Ruth	1
Madison	1
Heather	1
Yvonne	1
Katrina	1
Cornwall
Marsha	4
Dianne	4
Brenda	4
Gerry	3
Steve	3
Steve	3
Andrew	2
Lori-Ann	2
George	2
Julia	2
Sheldon	2
Sarah	1
Rachel	1
Robert	1
Addie	1
Blake	1
Jackie	1
Steve	1
Sarah	1
Brittany	1
Henry	1
Josh	1
Nicole	1
Alyson	1
Blake	1
Nancy	1
Brad	1
Danike	1
Oakville
Victoria	1
Maria Belen	1
Stephanie	1
Natalie	1
Zach	1
Jordan	1
Jonathon	1
Jackie	1
James	1
Hwiwon	1
Eric	1
Justin	1
Mykle	1
Elizabeth	1
Jan s	1
Corrie	1
Cynthia	1
Hannah	1
Patty	1
Kyle	1
Daniel	1
Samantha	1
John	1
Barrhaven
Carolyn	1
Ian	1
Hunter	1
Miriam	1
Michelle	1
Zoe	1
Leah	1
Jordan	1
Andrea	1
Jesse	1
Janelle	1
Lenni	1
Micheal	1
Tom	1
Total Visits made	220

8. Over 157 jars of Peanut butter and Nutella have travelled to Peru.  Peanut Butter is imported and very expensive.  We use it for our lunches and as gifts to the Translators.  

9. Pastor Ron averages 4 hours of sleep a night while in Peru (due to blogging the day), hence he will have lost 216 hours of sleep after this trip.   

10.  Pastor Ron's Blog has increased in picture number and narration over the years.  I hope the added pictures and text have helped those who wish to read to better be able experience our Learning Opportunities.  

11.  Pastor Sergio gathers with his church every Tuesday morning at 5:30 a.m. to pray for Calvin and Cornwall CRC's.  
12.  Pastor Sergio now takes his youth into the jungle each year to do his own Learning Opportunity with a church there.  Neat.  

13. Gamaliel church began in an open desert area with virtually no one around.  God called Pastor Sergio to Pachacutec and he obeyed and went.  Today the church sits in a thriving community and hosts a Christian Day school of Grades 1 – 8 with 150+ students.  

14.  Living Missions Peru (formerly Frontline) continues to minister to churches like Calvin and Gamaliel and facilitate partnerships that do not require dependency.  They continue to be the slowest growing mission agency, which is one of their goals.  : )  

15. During our times in Peru we have:  

1. Helped with construction work on the church and school, along side our Peruvian brothers.  
2. Put on VBS’s with corresponding crafts.  
3. Visited in the homes of many church and non-church members
4. Met with the Congregation in the evenings for prayer and church services. 
5. Helped train the Christian School teachers.
6. Will be doing courses on Nutrition and family Health. 
7. And built relationships with many of the church and the children. 

Just some things that have occurred over the years as we continue to grow this relationship with Pastor Sergio, Living Mission's Peru.  Enjoy the pictures below. 

2006 group shot

2006 - Lots of sand and not too many buildings yet 

2006 - shot with children.  Notice Pastor Sergio's home to the right.  The church on the left.  

  

2006 - lots of open space still.   

2006 - Church with stage area and tarp roof and bamboo thatching.  

 2006 - again, lots of dirt and only a couple of buildings.

2008 - Group Shot

 2008 - work on a new roof begins for the church

2006 - New roof completed.  

We used other rooms to hold VBS.  Notice the dirt floors.  Caused lots of dust and coughing.  

 2008 - still lots of open space and lots of dirt

2008 - We held VBS in the library as the church was being worked on.  

2008 - Getting there.   

 2008 - We held the drama's outside when we could in the open area behind the church

2010 - Group shot of Calvin people

2010 - The Christian School has begin and it's time to build.   

2010 - Shot with kids.  Notice the newly done front entrance to the church.   

2010 -  full group shot with Cornwall and Oakville CRC's 

2011 - Pastor Sergio comes to visit Canada. 
Feeling snow for the first time. 

2011 - Involved in Calvin's Worship Service.   

2011 - Participating in Communion

2011 -  Calvin Church closing song.   

2011 - Visiting Cornwall Church

2011 - A great group shot 

2012 - group shot

2012 - Saying Goodbye.  Notice the roof completed and the concrete floor in the sanctuary.  No more choking dust.  : ) 

2014 - Group shot

2014 - Completed church with stage.  in 2015 a new, more stable roof was put up.  

 2014 - Pastor Sergio's new home. 

2014 - Paved Roads came to Pachacutec. 

In 2015 running water and some sewers came as well. 

2014 - This hill was all dirt, now it's concrete with steps. 

2014 - The open area that was dirt is now concrete, with buildings and class rooms for the Christian School. 

We will see what our soon to be 2016 trip will show us.