June’s Prayer Praises & Requests:
-For strong leaders to step up in Para Peru’s ministry as Lauren is on furlough in the States
-For Ruth and Elar, who will be the official leadership over the next four months
-For the families and marriage of Peruvians that are in constant crisis, whether it be physically, emotionally, spiritually or psychologically
-For Peruvian men to come to understand their role in the lives of their families, church and society; that they would be spiritual leaders rather than spiritual hinderers
-For the 17 Mormons we were able to host; that their eyes would be opened to the truth of God’s Word and that their missions would be hindered
This month I, Rachel, will be reporting for Para Peru! Who I am? I am, first and foremost, Lauren’s cousin! I recently graduated from college and I have been in Peru for five weeks. Let me tell you, time has flown! I have fallen in love with Peru and I already cannot wait until I have the privilege of returning.
This month has been different than other months for several reasons! First, Lauren has been preparing for furlough. Leaving the country is always challenging but leaving a ministry is even more difficult! In preparation, we have been diligently lesson planning, restocking necessary supplies, hosting leadership meetings with the church and more in addition to a week’s normal events.
We also had a small group of gringas come from the States the very first week of June! The group leader, Holly, has been to Peru regularly over the past couple of years. She also brought two of her daughters and another friend. These ladies absolutely loaded their suitcases with donations, including hundreds of new socks and supplies for making slime! Every child or parent who attended a Bible study or discipleship class the week they were here received socks. We also had a youth night that week. Kenna, the slime master, lead fortyyouth in a step-by-step tutorial. We were all fascinated!
In the midst of these past weeks, we somehow managed to take a trip to a women’s shelter near Lima where Lauren’s friend, Yolanda, lives. These ladies are a blast. The day was full of worship songs, the sharing of the Gospel, snacks, crafts, snacks, socks, snacks and more snacks! One of the ladies at the shelter has down syndrome. With her charming, entertaining personality she was even able to convince our taxi driver to dance with her. Check out Lauren’s updated website, https://paraperu.org/para-peru-video/, to see a short clip of it!
Another important task we were able to do was stand outside the local orphanage at the end of school and hand out flyers to over 1000 kids, telling them about Para Peru’s weekly Bible study in Keiko. We were able to do this two consecutive Thursdays and saw many new faces as a result. In fact, a few new parents even came. This was encouraging to us and Lauren is planning on continuing to invite kids who attend there.
Personally, I have been working on media for Para Peru. While this definitely has not been my only role, it is a specific skill I can offer! As mentioned above, Para Peru has an updated website! Here is the link again: paraperu.org! Please, please go check it out. Share it on Facebook, text the link to a friend, explore the photo gallery and more! You will notice the new website also has pictures from each Bible study location. Lauren’s other Mail Chimp posts are included at the bottom of the Home page under “blog”. As the photographer, I managed to capture at least one group image at each location to show you the faces we love so dearly here. I also wanted each of you to see what Lauren sees in her everyday life. It may not seem aesthetically pleasing by United States standards, however, it is full of beauty!
I love, love, love the people of this country and I am already counting down to when I am able to return! Hopefully my spanish will be better next time around.
In Christ,
la prima de Lorena, Rachel Barber
Para Perú 
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