Hello!!! This month I wanted to share with you a part of a letter I was writing to a friend about some of the things which have happened here in the last month. It is a little different than normal, but I didn’t know another way to easily express my heart with you this month. Thank you for putting up with the strange format.
Early in April, Pastor David (from the church here in Cieneguilla) and I were talking about the families from our Bible Studies in Manchay, knowing they were seriously struggling to feed themselves, let alone pay any other bills they had. Some of the families are made up of widows or single mothers and their children, others of women and children with husbands (fathers), who were working in other cities but now can neither work nor travel to be with their families. Other homes have 2-3 families living together with no one or maybe 1 person working, all working together to survive. The restrictions for the quarantine here in Peru are quite strict so getting to Manchay to truly see all the needs, to take food to people, or even connect with some of my kids who don’t have phones or parents who participate in the studies wasn’t (and still isn’t) possible. I was concerned for these families, so Pastor David and I were able to get money to a trusted friend up in Manchay who then met several of the women at the market to, “shop at the same time but not together,” and they were able to get food to several of these families in need. I will readily admit it wasn’t much, but it was what I had on hand at the time. At the same time, Chelene Kennedy was fervently laboring to raise money to help buy food and feed families in our church and community here in Cieneguilla. A few days later we had the first batch of “food baskets” (bags really but every here calls them baskets), ready to go out. Each one values between $25 and $30 and can feed a family of 4-5 for a week. We had 34 baskets to give to families within our church, one of the bus routes (in Cieneguilla) and a few from the community we knew needed help. Special permission was obtained from the police here in Cieneguilla to allow us to be out in a private vehicle (which currently is against the restrictions) to deliver food. The first few houses were not super close to one another so we arrived, delivered the food, and then we left without much commotion. But then things changed. We came to an area with 4 houses very close to each other. People in the neighborhood began peeking out their windows because they heard a vehicle, then coming to their doors, then sitting outside all with looks of hope, hope that we would stop at their house next. Then people began leaving their houses and approaching the van or each of us, pleading for food, telling us in tears how little they had. The baskets of food had already been designated for specific families, each of which was struggling to survive. Each of us had to look into the faces of people hurting to tell them that week we couldn’t help them. As the van drove away, shoulders sagged, hope left faces, and people went back inside. Each of us in the van fought tears. It is so hard to describe because it was an immense blessing. Through the support of people in the States, churches that support the Kennedys, churches that support me, the Kennedy’s friends and family, as well as my friends and family, we were able to feed 34 families who were starving. Seriously, I am so thankful for that. And I knew more money was still coming in, it provided such joy; BUT, it also opened the door for great heartache. Within the walls of the children’s home the need still existed, but I only heard about it, and I only truly heard about the need from people I knew. Now I was seeing it, seeing the need, the hope, the relief from people who received a basket, and then the hurt, and disappointment, and hopelessness from those who didn’t receive anything. My heart broke. That night I cried for hours. There were other stories. We were in one area full of shanty homes that extended hundreds of feet up into the mountains. We were at the home of a lady from the church and a woman high up on a mountain about 450 feet away (seriously!) saw us at the house and immediately knew what was happening. She came running all the way down the mountain. I had seen her as we were still at the house, but it was so far away, she looked like a child running outside to play or go to a little corner store for a parent, but as we were getting in the van to drive away we all realized, it was short, older woman coming to plead for food. She had run so far, in hope. Thankfully, we had an extra basket we could give her, but we then had to turn away the crowd that was gathering behind her. We stopped at one house and as we delivered the basket the lady couldn’t even look at us, she just wept and didn’t stop. My eyes are tearing up just thinking of her now. It isn’t another world, she lives across the street from the children’s home. Before the quarantine I saw her daughter every day.
That’s my story. I am so thankful for the work the Kennedy’s have done to raise money to help these families. The next week we were able to take out more than 120 baskets of food, and we expect to do the same this week. Many of my friends and family know I get horrible headaches and migraines from too much motion, especially being in a vehicle when someone else is driving. Through different tasks related to this project, I have had several in the last few weeks. I’ll tell you what though, I would live everyday with a migraine to be able to help others in this way and to be continually reminded of the need by seeing it. Receiving messages from Manchay was one thing but seeing the need, the hope, the hopelessness, the relief and the tears, all of that has changed me more than I can express, and then to compound that understanding that this is just a small, physical representation of a world starving for the gospel – I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Once again, thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your help. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for the chance to be here and to serve. Just – Thank you.
