Just Two More Days

Just two more days to go before we fly back to Georgia for what seems now will be a long, long time. As I sit here in Lima thinking about all that has been and all that can be, I quickly realize that we haven't accomplished one half of the promises of God that have been prophesied over us. By this I am encouraged to believe that he isn't done with us yet!

This past Sunday, the Union Church of Lima hosted a pancake "brunch" in honor of our return to the US. I'm told more than 100 people attended! I wonder if they came for the pancakes or just to make sure we were actually leaving Peru for good this time! It was a great time of challenging the body of Christ there to volunteer more in the service of our Lord. When one identifies his or her God given passion(s) IE: those things that we can't help but get excited about doing, then getting involved in Godly service isn't all that hard.

Special thanks goes to Marty Clark, her hospitality committee, John Sanders and all his Union Church pancake flippers. Y'all are a great bunch of folks and I'm gonna miss y'all bunches!

I first visited Peru in November 1997. In the 13 years since that first visit, I have learned so much about me, God and just what I can live without. Carol and I have watched as God has opened door after door for us to serve him.

So just two days before we must return to the US to take care of my kidney condition, I'm wondering what God has in store for us next. Hopefully, while I will be recovering from a kidney transplant, Carol will be expanding her nursing knowledge and ability. In fact, she has already enrolled in an online Parish Nursing class hosted by the Eastern Mennonite University.

Please pray that we stay open to the will of God and pliable in HIS hands.

Baseball Anyone?

Baseball? In a country where futbol (soccer) is the number ONE sport of choice, who would have though that baseball would have been accepted. But accepted it was!








When Jeff and Pastor Brett Jarriel from Azalea City Church of God, Valdosta, GA began to talk about this, "I thought you must be joking!" However, as the plans progressed, I thought "Why not?"

The short term team came prepared with gloves, bats, balls, socks, shirts and hats to equip 2 teams. We arranged for 2 days (3 hours each day) of training for each school team. They were allowed to enter the schools and practice with the boys in the high school grades.

A playing area was leveled in the Lurin Chincha school of Tupac Aramu. On the day of the game, the boys from the private school of Lenonardo were transported from their school in Chincha to Lurin Chincha.
The city boys were challenging the country boys. It was an exciting time for all. The country boys won, but not without a good game by the city boys!

Each team was rewarded with gloves, bats, balls, shirts and hats. It was an awesome time of combining cultures. The game of baseball is now a coveted sport in Chincha!

Good Bye For Now

Our trip to Chincha was a success. Thanks be to God, we were able to get a lot accomplished on the panel home and were able to spend time with the youth of Chincha. A short term missionary team from Valdosta, Georgia, Azalea City Church of God, helped make a lot of this possible.

Through the duration of our stay, we coordinated two groups: builders and youth/children's ministry. While half of our team labored on the house all week, the remainder were busy teaching Chinchano children the art of playing baseball along with Bible stories and craft activities for the children.

Although expected, the goodbye at the end of our trip was extremely difficult. Many of the team experienced such a bonding with the people of Chincha. God brought us here to reveal that it is not about location, but about the people whom you are with that makes life enjoyable and rewarding.

¨Peru Without Parasites¨ Campaign

As you know, we have been part of the distribution of Albendazole for the past five years. This is a medication we administer every six months for those infected with intestinal parasites.

Recently, CALI held a meeting with the networking organizations of Albndazole such as Food For the Hungry and Yuacana Huasy who promote and distribute the pills along side CALI. Andy Koval from Alexandria, VA , co-founder of MedPharm, presented at this meeting. He gave information about MedPharm, a pharmacutical company who has been involved in the research and production of anti-parasitic medications for over twenty years.

After Mr. Koval gave an introduction on the Albendazole network of MedPharm, we then conducted a video conference with Andy´s medical doctor, Jose Mosquera. Dr. Mosquera reassured us that the purpose of this medication is to help reduce the overall population of intestinal parasites in a person thereby reducing the total egg count. Our objective at this moment is not total intestinal parasite elimination for a concentrated few, but instead to reach as many people as possible.

Dr. Mosquera then enlightened us about a new medication called Nitezole. Nitezole is a combination of 200 mg of Mebendazole and 200 mg of Tinidazole. Together, they work to treat soil helminth parasites, ameobas, and girardia.

Also, MedPharm informed us that they are willing to donate Nitezole to CALI for mass distribution through our network. After verifying the effectiveness of Nitezole, we will consider it for distribution starting here in Peru. Thanks to an offer made by the U.S./Peruvian Naval Medical Research on Topical Diseases(NAMRED) located here in Lima, research on the effectiveness of Nitezole will be a joint effort between MedPharm, NAMRED, and CALI. When NAMRED´s results are in, we hope to expand the distribution of this new medication in many new areas of Peru.

CALI is very thankful to have so many partners willing to help in the distribution of this pill. If all goes well with the research findings of Nitezole, we will be receiving at least one million pills to administer all across Peru. We cannot wait to see a more worm free (oops), parasite- free Peru!