Relief Efforts in Zurite, Peru

Shown here is a picture of some of the children in Zurite where we delivered, food, water, Bibles, and the Book of Hope. The kids were excited to get these books!

I flew to Cusco, Peru on Friday, February 26^th to help out our Assemblies of God missionaries there. Back in January, excessive rainfall in the entire Cusco region caused mudslides which resulted in about 80,000 people either losing loved ones, their homes, crops, etc. In some cases, entire villages were leveled. Since then, Assemblies of God missionaries, Darrell and Betsy Elliott, have been delivering water, rice, sugar, Bibles, and the Book of Hope to hundreds of families. Before this disaster occurred, some villages had strongly refused the Gospel of Jesus Christ by running pastors and believers out of the village. Now, these same villages, who have been given water and food are also asking for Bibles and someone to come and preach to them! However, when we take a stand and reclaim territory that has lived in darkness, it is a fight to take it back. Please pray for the missionaries in Cusco as they continue to take back what the devil has stolen and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to penetrate the darkness and that these villages, once wandering in the devil’s domain, will be a testimony to other nearby villages that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life!

To see more pics of Cusco and the damage caused by the rain click on these links.

http://s976.photobucket.com/home/adam5221/allalbums

http://s811.photobucket.com/albums/zz38/buddydean/Cuzco%20Peru%20Disaster%20Relief/

The Next Step...

Eber had an appointment with the doctor this past Monday evening.  It is very important that his muscles are stretched and flexible before he has surgery, so the doctor (pictured above with Eber) cut the casts open on the back side and inserted wood strips and then recasted over the existing casts in order that his bones and muscles stretch even more.  Eber said that it was a little uncomfortable but he's not in any pain.  His next appointment is Thursday, March 4, 2010.  At that time, his casts will come off and we will discuss a surgery date with the doctor.  Please keep Eber in your prayers as he goes through each step of this long and much needed process.

Eber's Story

Eber is from the jungle city of Iquitos. He attends one of our Latin America ChildCare schools called “La Luz del Saber”. He is ten years old and very enthusiastic and sociable. Eber almost always has a smile on his face and gives great hugs! He is a curious boy.

When Eber was a baby he had meningitis which left him with many physical challenges. Throughout the years, the bones in his legs grew but his muscles did not. As a result, walking was very difficult for him because his legs were bent at the knees and his feet were turned inward putting pressure on his legs and his hips. According to the medical professionals, if left untreated, the day would eventually come when Eber would not be able to walk at all.

Latin America ChildCare Peru learned of Eber’s physical challenges and desired to help him get the treatment he needed. In October 2009 Eber and his mother flew to the capital city of Lima to begin a process of several tests in order to prepare for a much needed surgery. Our goal in this timing was to do as much of the medical treatment as possible while school was not in session. After several days of tests and doctor’s appointments it was decided that Eber and his family would return to Lima in January 2010 to begin a very tedious three month process to correct the damage caused by the meningitis.

Currently, Eber and his family are in Lima and he is in his third week of having casts on both legs in order to stretch the muscles. After three weeks these casts will be removed and new ones put on which will stretch his legs and muscles even more. Next, there will be at least two surgeries: the first one to detach certain parts of his muscles and attach them to different places, the second surgery is to reposition both of his kneecaps and break the bones in his legs and feet to begin to correct the abnormal growth pattern caused by the meningitis. After recovering from the surgeries, Eber will have an extended amount of therapy to help him walk again.