OUR VISIT TO PERU
MAY 2022Here is an update from the recent trip to Peru. The lady with the cane is the first widow we built a home for on this trip. She had so many tears of joy as we gave her the keys to her new home. She told me she has constant pain in her leg, and she went to a doctor, but he wouldn’t tell her anything, because he knew she couldn’t pay for anything. She had no hope of knowing what was wrong, or of the pain ending, and this was on my heart.
The lady in the red is the widow’s daughter, who lives too far away to help her. The lady in the white shirt is a local social worker, and the man in the front of the photo is the local pastor.
While we were at the first building site, a lady came by, and her joy filled the entire area. She is a widow that lived right over the hill from the widow receiving the house, and we built a home for her not long ago. I can’t describe to you how happy she was for her friend to get a home, and to have the opportunity to thank us for the home she received. She gave me such a big hug; I thought my feet were going to come off the ground. Here is a photo of the widow that received the previous house, and the area where the first home we built that day was located. The area is called Comas, and it is the poorest area of Lima.
I woke up around 3 AM after doing these homes, and all I could think about was how the widows were sleeping in their beds and in their new homes. Then I started thinking about the first widow’s leg, and I knew we had to do something for her. I talked to our Peruvian partner and told him I couldn’t live with her not seeing an end to her pain, and I wanted to help. Pastor David, a man that helps us gather information and select the widows to receive a home, came buy, and I asked him what it would cost to help her. For her to see a doctor would be about 150 Soles, Peruvian dollars. I left enough money to get her into the doctor office and cover some testing and medicine. Hopefully it is something simple and we can get her pain removed! Then she will enjoy her new house more!
Here are a couple of photos of some of the children at the orphanage we support in Peru. One boy told me that he wanted to go home with me in my luggage!
Thanks so much for your support! You are having a huge impact on the lives of people around the world!
Sincerely,
Beau Sides
The widow receiving her home that day had been living under a tin roof. She had no bed, and under the tin roof is where a group meets on Saturdays to have a small church service. The widow is in her 60s and she lives alone. When we left the widow’s new home, we went down the hill to the town and bought her a bed, mattress, sheets, blanket, and food. All of these were delivered, and she was super thankful.
The second home we built that day was for a 57-year-old widow, and she seemed very frail. Our Peruvian partner asked the social worker if the widow was really 57 years old, because she seemed older. The social worker replied, well, having a very difficult life can cause that. I am sure the social worker knows more about the widow’s past than she was telling, and I respect that. The widow told us she never dreamed she would have a home, and she was always afraid at night that her home would fall in on her. After seeing the debris pile behind the house we built for her, I can understand her concerns. We also provided her with a bed, mattress, sheets, blanket, and food just like we did for the first widow.
