We have never taken a team that has had to work in such cramped tiny space. It is the best example of caring for people in conditions that most of us would just say no normally. How can a little tiny church serve so many with so little?

Our first day we were amazed how organized everything was. The church has a man who is so organized and he had given appointments to people to come at a certain time. Really made things smoother. But we still are not able to see everyone who shows up.

Some stories. Debbie, our professional clown  (in and out of appropriate dress), has been to Peru before with another group. Sunday night after a 2-hour church service like nothing most of us had been in before, we got back to hotel and found a dentist, her medical student daughter and her mother waiting to us. Pedro had met her on his last trip and she had agreed to spend as much time with us as she could.

After she left, Pedro and I went to our room and the phone rang. It was Joy. Daniel had fallen in the shower/tub and fell face first into the ledge at the end. 2 cuts on lips but broke one tooth and pushed two teeth out of place. Pedro called Cindy, our dental assistant, and they went to see him. Cindy examined and said, “It is bad. He probably needs a root canal; he will be in lots of pain. Pedro decided to call the dentist and ask her advice.  He called her cell. All she said  is, “I will be right there.” They had stopped to eat very near our hotel. When she looked at it she agreed with Cindy. She said they were to call her office on Monday and she would see him. She gave him pain medicine and antibiotic. At midnight Pedro went looking for an open pharmacy for the pain medicine. We had the antibiotic.
The reason for the long story is to tell how God engineered everything. The dentist came the night we would need her. She was close by when we called. She was able to see Daniel in her office yesterday (Monday), her daughter was out of school and was able to come get him. She speaks English so we did not need to loose one of our translators. She did dental work that in the US would be $2000-$3000 for $ 350. Daniel is doing well. Can’t eat solids yet but no pain today.

The doctors are seeing patients one by one. 2 doctors in each room. A mother came with her 2 year old. Very sick and mostly non responsive. The mother had heard through her sister who goes to the church that these doctors were coming. She had walked from her home in the jungle to be here this week for care for her son. His appointment was for Tuesday but the child was so sick, she showed up early. He had scabies, a disease rarely seen in US and some areas of his body were superimposed with staph infection. They made some contacts and sent him to the government run hospital emergency room. They treated him and sent him home (his sister’s house) and he will see a dermatologist in a few days. At the emergency room, they gave him prescriptions for antibiotics and scabies medication. She had no money to buy any of it. She came back to the church to ask what to do. We had “better” antibiotics than the hospital prescribed thanks to the donations from you back there. We did not have the scabies medicine but we were able to buy it from the project money some of you gave for whatever we need. We needed it for this. This sad story has just ripped the heart of the team.

The one in charge of the organization of the patients and has done such a great job is John. He attended medical school for all but his last 2 years. In Peru it is 6-year program after 2 years of college. He could not afford to stay to finish and is paying back some of the loans he had to take out during the first years. Pedro is so impressed with him and how smart he is. He sticks to Pedro because he wants to learn everything. And Pedro is happiest when he is teaching a medical student. Our hearts are broken that this guy cannot finish. We know God has His reasons but we are going to be praying that somehow he will be able to go back to finish. Here we are talking about maybe $300 per month as to the thousands in the US per semester.  Anyone with $300 a month with nothing to spend it on, let us know.

The children are so “cute”. They are loving our clowns Debbie and Jamie. Face painting and nails polishing are top priority with the children. They are singing with them and telling them the stories of Jesus’ love. At lunch the Feeding Kitchen is  feeding about 160 children.  Yesterday we were smelling the delicious soup they were making. So good. Chicken broth with tiny vegetables and potatoes. The broth was made with chopped chicken feet. Very nutritious but something most Americans would gag at the thought. Nothing is wasted here.

You, who sent us through prayers and money, know that we are here because of your obedience to God’s prompting you to help. Those of you who donated either money or supplies have to know that such money or supplies are being called a miracle for many of these people. I just wish you could see all. We can never come home and tell you what is happening to us. We are here to serve. They are serving us by showing us God as never before. As Rhonda said last night thinking of the children she treated, it is so humbling.
Tuesday night

I did not get to finish this morning so will add some notes about today. We had more patients than we could see but saw 66 total today plus those who went to the dental clinic.
At breakfast Jack and Milena with Operation Rescue Children (ORC) shared about ORC and the history of how it got started here. Milena shared about the mountain people who live in shacks going up the side of a mountain near the church. This afternoon about 1/3 of our team, people from the church, and Jack and Milena decided to go up there with candy and tracts etc. A treacherous area to go up. The bus driver decided he could go a long distance up but almost went too far and had to back down to turn around. A miracle in itself.  They walked about length of 2 blocks and found children and adults. They started sharing one on one. They found a man maneuvering on the “street” in a wheel chair. He was paralyzed from the waist down after a sudden illness of unknown etiology. He has children and family but cannot care for them. Some in our team began to share Christ. He listened and a number of other men came to see what was happening to him. After hearing his physical needs they asked him if he wanted to receive Christ. He did! and so did 8 of those men listening with him. Before the afternoon was over 11 people received Christ.
Before they had left we had some concern about safety and the short time they would have. Being mostly our young team members, they persisted and it was agreed they could go. In talking to them it was as if they were “compelled” to go. To think we were so concerned about them and yet not knowing these 11 whose hearts had been prepared to receive the gospel. God knew what He wanted.

When they came back some could not wait to tell us, “it was awesome!” Michael F was the first to find me and tell me, then Michael G and Shayla and one by one they were coming back so excited and had to repeat the story over and over.

I believe this will be the highlight of the trip even though there are many other highlights.

Two very young girls came to the clinic today without their parent. We ask that a parent be with any child seen. Their mother had died and the father works all day. We saw them. So beautiful they were! So needy.

There was the lady who saw Pedro yesterday and somehow today slipped through the system and ended up with him again. When asked what her chief problem was she said, “You saw me yesterday and gave me nothing, not even a piece of candy.”  She was back because of other medical problems.

Glen, our other doctor, is loved by all the patients. He knows just enough Spanish to greet them and a few personal greetings. Then the translator, usually Pedro (our Pedro’s nephew) takes over. They make a great team. Heather is in the same room with the 2 doctors doing blood sugar tests. She is also the runner to go next door for medicines.

I must stop here because you are already asleep with this long epistle but I am bursting with all the things that we see everyday.  You can’t imagine how we see the hand of God over and over!!!

Keep praying for us. We are tired in body but so ready to keep working.
Love to all of you!
gg for Peru 2008 Team

Attached is a note about the Peru Mission Trip. We do ask for your prayers. Also attached is a daily prayer guide that shows you our schedule. Please use that to pray each day. The team will be there until June 30. Pedro and Glenda will return on July 7th.?
Pedro and Laura Gismondi (nephew Pedro) will be working with us much of the time.
We will work with 2 small poor churches, One in Rimac and one in Lurin (sections of Lima). Lurin has no running water. We will be there only 1 day.
They have the feeding kitchen in partnership with Operation Rescue Children. See their website at www.rescuechild.org
We hope to spend one afternoon at Posada de Amor Orphanage.

We are so thankful for all of you knowing you are praying and supporting us.
Thank you
Pedro and Glenda and the Peru 2008 Team

(Click the Links Below)

Gismondi June Prayer Letter

Gismondi Daily Prayer Guide