|  St.
Philip's works in partnership with the Anglican
Diocese of Peru to help grow the church in that country. Though we provide
support for the overall work of the Diocese, there are two primary ways in
which we support them: building the mission church of San
Felipe in Cabanaconde and helping to break the cycle of poverty for women
living in Lima in partnership with the Forrest Outreach
Foundation.
Cabanaconde,
Peru
In the St. Philip's
video about our work in Peru, entitled "Mission of Hope," we begin
by saying:
"On
the Pacific coast of South America is a scenic country that declared political
liberation in 1821, but a greater liberation is needed to truly free the
people of Peru.
On the
precipice of the world's deepest canyon sits a small village at the end
of the road called Cabanaconde. For the isolated villages on the other side
of the Colca Canyon, Cabanaconde is the focal point that connects them to
the outside world. In this strategic location God is raising up a mission
known as San Felipe.
There
is a vision for this place. It is to be a beacon of Christ's love and grace:
a way station for travelers, a meeting place, an outreach center, a place
for those who need help, a refuge from the harshness of life.
This is
why we come here, to make this vision a reality."
In our efforts
to make that vision a reality, we send two mission teams per year to help
establish San Felipe high in the Andes Mountains of Peru. In 2004, St. Philip's
worked in partnership with the local Anglican Church to plant the seeds for
the missionary base. In the name of Christ, a relationship was started and
continues to grow. Our teams perform community outreach projects, present
the Gospel to the children in the schools, take supplies to the villages across
the canyon, do home visits, prayer walks and hold a Eucharist service.
In the fall
of 2006, we broke ground on the actual mission base. Our teams work side by
side with the locals to construct the building soon to be known as San Felipe
to the the town and surrounding village people.
Recently we
had team members do a medical survey in the community to determine ways we
can aide medically in the future. There are plans for Forrest
Outreach Foundation to visit Cabanaconde and begin some micro-enterprise
development in the community. We look forward to returning and continuing
to cultivate the seeds that have been planted there.
"When friends ask me how my mission trip to Peru
went, I always respond with a smile and say, 'Absolutely wonderful!' The
enthusiasm in my answer is not simply because the food was great (including
the guinea pig) or that the people were awesome, but that through certain
events God has revealed to me ..." [more]
"Unlike other mission trips, this
one was not as concrete in terms of measurable results. Some have asked 'show
me a picture of the church you built' and all I could show was a picture of
the land on which the church will be built. Others asked, 'What tangible work
did you do..." [more]
Read
more quotes from our Peru missionaries by clicking
here.
To
apply for the next trip, please
click here.
Forrest
Outreach Foundation
 We
also help support the poorest women of Lima, Peru through the efforts of the
Forrest Outreach Foundation as they seek to break the cycle of poverty in
the shanty towns. Small groups of women band together to produce hand made
textile designs, called Arpilleras
that can be sold here in the United States for much more than in Peru. All
the proceeds from the sales of the Arpilleras go directly to the women of
Lima. For more information visit Forrest's website at www.breakthecycle.net
Return
to Missions home page.
|
