Dear Friends,
The last few months, once again, have been a very stark reminder of my two, very different worlds.
February & March
In February and March I finished up my four-month furlough by:
~ visiting and updating several supporting churches in several different states,
~ participating in or leading several virtual and in-person Bible studies,
~ purchasing several items I need or would be helpful in Peru (which aren’t available there),
~ purchasing small gifts for the children of New Life Children’s Home (NLCH),
~ visiting with immediate family (after vaccinations) for the first time in several years,
~ enjoying the snow (sledding!!!) for the last time for a while,
~ navigating the world of travel during COVID; tests, timing, quarantines, closed rest areas, etc., ~ PACKING
There are a lot of other things, big and little, I could include in that list, but it is overwhelming trying to determine what is worth including in a one-page letter.
I do want to specifically thank those of you who were praying regarding the timing and results of the COVID testing I needed to enter Peru. It seemed as though things kept going wrong including the timing of the testing being off, typos (on the lab’s end) on the time of the test on the results page, no one answering phones, needed results never arriving, etc. Upon arrival in Peru I had a document showing a negative result 75 hours before arrival (72 hours or less was required for entry), but the results of the 2nd test I took 68 hours before arrival still had not come in. The lab’s website said the test still hadn’t been processed. (I received them 2 weeks later.) BUT GOD. God worked it out in a way only He could and I am convinced it was because of your prayers. Thank you.
April
I arrived back in Peru the night of March 30th and began my required two-week quarantine. I could see the kids and the workers of New Life Children’s Home, and even talk with them from quite a distance, but two weeks later I finally got to hug them, give them their gifts, and catch up.
I went from snow and sweatshirts to sun, flip-flops, and sunscreen (oh yeah, bug-spray too). I went from being in church services and Bible studies, most like before COVID, back to obligatory curfew all day Sundays, no in person services (legally), and only virtual services. I went rom being outside with no mask and inside where about 70% of people used a mask to being required to use ONE outside and TWO masks with a face shield inside. I went from a world tired of the regulations, ready to get back to normal, where the vaccine (at least in Michigan) was recently available to anyone who wanted it to a world still in the midst of the pandemic, just declared to have an excess death rate 20% higher than the 2nd highest in the world, where vaccines are only available to those 80 or older, and people are leaving the country to get a vaccine then coming back.
Two very different worlds, but the same God, and He gives me opportunities to share the gospel and teach His Word in both worlds. In the last three weeks I’ve started teaching junior church on Sundays at NLCH again, stepped back into helping with bank runs for the Home, started working on weekly lessons to deliver to my kids in Manchay and other areas as soon as is allowed, and spent some time with a friend here in Peru talking through different things we can do and creative ways we can minister here in the coming weeks and months while restrictions are still fairly strict.
In the midst of all that, I celebrated four years here in Peru on April 16th. I cannot celebrate without taking time to remember you all and to thank you. It’s your continued support that has allowed me to live and serve here in Peru. It’s your prayers that give me the strength, boldness, opportunity and encouragement to serve, and to keep serving in both worlds, the US, and Peru. I am nothing without God, but I am also nothing without you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
~Pam Drout ~