Wednesday, August 16, 2023 (Micah Blessing)
Hello friends and family. Today we went to Promesa school at 7:45 a.m. First Joelyn, Bryan, Shaun and I practiced our song that we were going to sing for middle and high school students and teachers. We had learned a bilingual song in English and Spanish with Sue at church. After practice was chapel. During chapel they sang two songs and welcomed us. Then we sang our song (nada nada no no no hay nada) and they clapped and smiled for us. We also gave them the gifts we bought from our children's offerings at church. Then Joelyn, Bryan, Shaun and I went to fifth grade class. Some of our classes were math, elementary chapel, recess, and writing. Some of the differences from my school are that the students wear uniforms, they go home to eat lunch after school at 3:00 p.m., each student brings their own toilet paper, and Joelyn and I were the only kids with blond hair. They bring snacks to school for the morning. Some similarities to my school are that it is a Christian school and they learn about God, the students like to play soccer, and they have the same classes. After being in Peruvian school today I felt good. Tonight we had a prayer meeting at our host home with people from Tipon church. Jesus is good!
Wednesday, August 16, 2023 (Bethany Weaver)
In our team devotions today, many of us mentioned that we have a lot to be grateful for. Here are some of mine.
Today was our first day at PROMESA. PROMESA is a Christian school begun in 2005 by the Mennonite churches of Peru, in collaboration with Eastern Mennonite Missions. The church had the vision to begin the school as a ministry to their children, who were often marginalized in public schools because of their religion and minority ethnic status. Today the school serves over 200 students from both Christian and non-Christian backgrounds. The school has gained status as a quality educational option. They are also passionate about keeping the tuition affordable for all students and routinely help families who need financial assistance. I had the privilege of teaching at PROMESA for 7 years, from 2008-2015.
Being back at the school to help for a few days feels good, but different, for me personally. When teaching, I knew what my job was. Now, as a mom and also trying to help, I wasn’t entirely sure. The day actually started with Luke, my two-year-old, begging for water. Since we hadn’t brought any with us, I decided to go get some, which meant a three-minute walk up the street to the corner store. The store is right next to my good friend Marga, who sells breakfasts. She knows how much Daniel loves her quinua drink, so she poured me a cup to take back to the school for him. After purchasing our water, I returned to the school and met several members of the graduating class, who fell in love with Luke instantly. He is quite the celebrity here with his blond hair and blue eyes. They tried to make friends with him by using a turtle finger puppet, which we ended up inheriting. As I was heading into the church for chapel, I ran into the mother of a former student. I asked about her son and found out he is studying tourism and involved in a local church. She thanked me for the influence I had on her son. It was an encouraging conversation. I was grateful as I realized that I not only returned to school with water, but also the evidence of many connections and relationships.
We also had the opportunity to sit in on the chapel times for the whole school. The middle/high school chapel was first. A chorus of students had prepared some special music in English to share with us. Bryan, Joelyn, Micah, and Shaun, were also able to share a bilingual song with the students, which they had learned in church. Miss Damaris, the principal of the school, is a very strong woman of God, who is determined to raise a generation of worshipers. It was encouraging to see the students participating in chapel services and worshiping God.
After high school chapel, we all went to different classes, to meet students, see how a school day at PROMESA flows, and to help out as we could. It was tempting to feel like we weren’t doing a whole lot, but at the end of the day, in some small way, relationships were still built. Daniel visited the preschool and kindergarten classes, and Joelyn, Micah, Bryan, and Shaun all spent the morning in 5th grade in a challenging math class. They also all got to enjoy recess time and interacting with some of the other students. The rest of the team split up into a variety of classes. We finished out the day at PROMESA with Josh and Carolyn jumping into a volleyball game with the secondary students during recess.
Today was also my husband Steve’s birthday. I am so grateful for him and the gift he is to our family. The family who owns the house where we are staying had wanted to prepare a special meal for us, so we thought today would be a good opportunity. We enjoyed some delicious food and excellent company with both of our host families attending. There was even a bit of dancing together after lunch.
I finished off the day with a quick visit to my host mom from my time in YES, over 20 years ago. Last week, before the team arrived, I visited her and was able to pray with her to accept Jesus into her heart, which was a huge answer to many prayers. That is my biggest gratitude from the whole trip. She has been having some health issues, and we were able to pray twice together for healing for her. I pray our visits together have been an encouragement to her.
