2019

Happy New Year!

As I reflect on all that God has done in this last year, and more specifically for the purposes of this letter, all He has done in the last few months, I am overwhelmed.   I am overwhelmed with joy in the prayers that God has answered and the needs He has provided for; I am overwhelmed with excitement in the ways He continues to teach me and gives me understanding in His Word; and I am overwhelmed with grief and burden as He answers my prayers to make me more aware of the needs around me, the ones I can help alleviate, and the ones I personally can do nothing about but seek God’s grace, mercy, and intervention through prayer.  

In December I was speaking with an 8 year old boy who attends our Thursday evening Bible club faithfully and occasionally (when his father permits) rides one of our bus routes to church on Sunday mornings.  I do not remember the instigating incident for this particular conversation, but this young boy had done something that wasn’t acceptable and needed to understand that.    At one point in the conversation the following took place:

Me: Daniel, Are you a Christian?  

(Yes, I purposely asked that question in a vague way.)

Daniel:  Yes.

Me:  How do you know?

Daniel: Because I’m Peruvian.

Daniel and I continued to talk for another 5 minutes or so, but despite the fact that even in that moment he was in trouble for his actions he still did not (and to this day does not) believe he is a sinner.   His answer broke my heart, but it didn’t surprise me.  So many here in Peru equate Catholicism and Christianity not with what they believe, but with nationality, culture and identity.  As I teach in different classes and Bible studies I find most of the children I work with assume they are Christians, until they understand enough Bible to know they are not.  Please be praying for Daniel, that he will settle down long enough to hear the Bible (yes, he is an extremely active kid), and that he will understand his need for a Savior.

Another young man (11 years old) has brought me great joy in the last several months.   He came to live in the orphanage a few months ago and so he started attending several of the different kids classes that I teach.   On Wednesday nights my kids have been studying through the characteristics of God, how those characteristics can be seen in our lives, and how we ought to imitate those characteristics in our own lives.   Each week the kids are given a sheet with several memory verses for the following week.  This 11 year old boy had never memorized a Bible verse before coming to the home, yet he has shown a great hunger for God’s Word and what the Bible teaches.  Each week he diligently studies all the verses and each week he says every single verse, word perfect, without hesitation. 

I love to know that God is still working on me.  Sometimes He wallops me upside the head with something and other times He gives me gentle reminders to never take His goodness or provision for granted.  That’s one reminder I receive at this time each year in various ways.  In the last several months a few unexpected needs have arisen for different individual and within the different I am involved in.  Because of your generosity in giving over and above the norm at a time of year where giving tends to slow down, myself as well as people around me were able to see how God provides once again.  Thank you so much.

Please continue to be in prayer for Daniel, as well as all of the children touched by the ministries here.  Summer has begun which brings new children into the ministries I participate in as they stay with different family members over the summer for vacation, and starts other ministries back up again, such as Bible memory clubs and English classes.  Please be in prayer that I will have the energy to keep up with a busy (but wonderful) schedule and the words I need in each place.   Thank you so much for your support – financially, prayerfully, and relationally.   Have a wonderful new year!

~Pam Drout~

Hello!!!

Ministry is in full swing here in Peru at New Life Children’s Home and New Life Baptist Church as missions-group season has come upon us.  During missions-group season I not only keep up with my regular ministries in the church, school, neighborhoods and at the Home, but also jump in spending time with the groups and ministering with them as my schedule allows.  I am so very thankful to Mike and Chelene Kennedy for allowing me to work with them in the ministry here.

May started off slowly as I was just getting back on my feet after a three-week long battle with mononucleosis.  I praise God it didn’t last much longer than that, as it can affect a person for months.  The moment my energy returned, I dove head first into as much as possible (with a little bit of wisdom of course,) making up for “lost time.”  Through April I managed to be up long enough to teach my kids’ classes at the church and in Manchay, but I did not have the energy for much else.  In may I poured myself back into the people around me in ways I couldn’t while I was sick.  Oh I had missed it!

In April both my Wednesday night kids’ class and my kids’ Bible study in Manchay began a new curriculum studying through different doctrines in the Bible.  So many of my kids either go to private schools where other doctrine is taught, or attend the Bible studies held by many different churches (each group offering activities, games and cookies,) and I wanted to be sure my kids knew what they believed and had Bible verses to back it up.  In April we started with the theme of the Bible, taking ten weeks to cover ten different statements of doctrinal truth and ten of the Bible verses where we get these statements regarding God’s Words.  I had several kids who worked very diligently memorizing all ten statements of doctrine and all ten verses, so in the middle of June we had an awards night to celebrate all their hard work.

I have to praise God, I now have help with my kids’ Bible study in Manchay.  In May one of the teen girls at New Life Children’s Home asked me if she could come with me that week, and has been faithful in coming every week since.  Then at the beginning of June a young woman in the church no longer worked on Thursdays and she asked as well if she could come with us to help.  The teenager helps with crowd control (35-40 kids can get crazy!), my candy bag, and questions and then the young woman helps with songs, and then after the lesson works a little more in depth with the older kids, helping them memorize the verses and doctrinal statements as well as exploring the theme a little more.   They have both been such a blessing!

Please be praying as we are looking at starting Bible club’s in 2-3 other areas as well.   Pastor David Taza (the pastor at New Life Baptist Church) and I have been praying and talking about some of the different opportunities we have, deciding how many people we would need to help, when and where we could meet, etc.  Please, please, please pray that we could start up these other Bible clubs soon!

Thank you again so much for your prayers and support.  Without them, I KNOW I would be totally ineffective in ministry here.  Thank you so very much.

~Pam Drout~

Hello!!!
In the Treasure Hunters Bible memory program that we just completed once again at New Life Children’s Home this summer, I try to communicate how valuable, how much of a treasure God’s Words are. I know I can never do the subject justice but that won’t stop me from talking about it.

Personally, a few months ago I spent some time considering a treasure found in the book of Jeremiah, and how it relates to what is going on in my own life and ministries. Jeremiah spent many, many years prophesying about the coming judgment, the harsh earthly realities, that God would have on Judah through Babylon. But then in chapter 30 God tells Jeremiah to write down the words of God into a book, and begin to talk about the hope that Israel and Judah have for the future, that in 70 years they would come out of captivity and once again serve the LORD their God.

I consider who those words were written for, and I think of the children; the children who were taken into captivity, or suffering, all because of the sins of their parents and forefathers. These children were daily living with and suffering from the consequences of their parents’ sins, so God’s words of hope were written in a book for them. Their parents wouldn’t make it out of captivity, but they had something to hope for.

I live and serve, daily surrounded by children living with the consequences of the sins of others; their parents, grandparents, their government, the neighbor down the street, anyone. I am not here to give them hope that one day life here on earth will be easier. I know the reality, that isn’t always the case, but there is hope for them. I get to tell them they have the hope that their Savior brings, the hope of righteousness (Gal. 5:5) and the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).

Over this last summer (January – February), God has given me so many opportunities to interact with children and teens in many different ways, sharing with them the hope that they have because of Christ. I continue to teach the Wednesday night children’s class at our church, and due to the fact that it is summer vacation, we have had several visitors. Throughout the school year the pastor likes all of the children’s teachers to sit in the service one Sunday a month, so I take all the classes and we do a big junior church, but I also get the chance to lead junior church all summer. The church’s theme for the year is Reaching New Heights, so we have spent 9 weeks talking about how to have a relationship with God and then how to strengthen that relationship with Him.

I continue to teach my “treasures” (kids) in the town of Manchay each Thursday afternoon. The other week we were talking about how the Word of God can totally change a person’s life (like Josiah), and spend the rest of the time focused on the gospel. Several kids accepted Christ as their Savior and few others acknowledged that they have not done so but want someone to spend more time explaining it to them. Please pray as I focus on following-up with each of the kids from my group. I found out a few weeks ago that they have Bible club with me on Thursdays and the with the Catholic church on Saturday, and that fact is weighing heavily on my heart, so in the next few weeks we will be starting a series geared towards children but that focuses on doctrine. Prayerfully I will also be starting that series in a new kids Bible club that I will be teaching coming up next month. We are just praying right now for someone who is willing and has the time to accompany me to this neighborhood due to safety reasons.


A few other opportunities given to me this summer were the chance to teach English again in the summer school, where we spent time working with English Bible verses and applications, run the Treasure Hunters Bible memory club at New Life Children’s Home, and to be the speaker for the Vacation Bible School at a friend’s church in Manchay. It was such a privilege to be asked to help, and to get to share the stories of David, Esther and Josiah with the children, each lesson leading into the gospel. Several kids acknowledged that they accepted Christ as Savior during the VBS, so please pray as the church seeks to follow up with the children, many of whom were first time visitors.


Great news! I want to make sure you know that funds came in from churches and individuals which have allowed me to purchase the tables and chairs I need for our Bible club in Manchay, as well as to purchase a car. Thank you all so much for your help in that. Already the car has been a HUGE help in ministry, opening up doors for me to be involved in and begin other ministries. Thank you so much. And thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support. Please keep praying for the kids I minister to, and the new opportunities I have in school chapels and the neighborhood Bible club that will hopefully start up soon. It grieves my heart to see the suffering in the children around me, and yet to know they have hope, and to share that hope with them is the greatest privilege.