Living Large @ the Fullers

Final Days In Peru

John — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:49:15 +0000

More entries from Dena’s journal…

Christmas morning we slept in and enjoyed a quiet morning at the hotel. The server at the hotel’s restaurant, Victor, gave us all a big smile and hug, exclaiming Feliz Navidad! It was wonderful to share the joy of Christmas with him. In the early afternoon we visited, played and enjoyed more craft time with the children. We served them their evening meal (take-out from a local restaurant, delicious where you buy whole chicken and french fries… they love french fries) and after cleaning up said a very tearful goodbye. There were five teenage girls and two tween girls in our group…did I mention it was a TEARFUL goodbye?

The children of Casa Luz

Upon our return to the hotel, John shared a story about Zane. They had returned to the room to get the boy ready for bed, so missed some of the final hours with the orphans. But John hooked his camera up to the hotel room’s TV and they watched a slide show of the pictures John had taken on the trip thus far: Casa Luz, the children, the food, etc. When it was over, Zane who seemed to be thinking about his status as an adopted orphan from Russia all through the trip, said, “Dad, thank you for bringing me home from the orphanage and into our family.” It was a tearful moment for John, and when he told me the story, after already crying about leaving the kids at Casa Luz, I cried some more!

Saturday we were up quite early to fly back to Lima. After a very early check in, and some late breakfast at the hotel, we went out to see some sights of Lima. We enjoyed a very Peruvian meal at a local restaurant (buffet – made the kids happy to eat so much!). Sunday morning some families slept in (we Fullers don’t do that so much). Seth and Saige joined some others and went to a Spanish-speaking church. Dakota and I went to an English-language Anglican church. Ask me sometime about the Christmas decor that almost caught on fire! We then packed and cleared the rooms, then…out to see more of Lima.

A darling young lady.

Eventually we made our way to the Lima airport, through security and customs and to our gate, where we waited for our red-eye flight back to Miami. We were all exhausted, and some of us slept as we could, Fortunately, the flights to Miami, Dallas and finally to Colorado Springs were on time, and we pulled into our driveway happy and tired Monday late afternoon.

This was an experience we are deeply grateful for. The story of Casa Luz and orphans worldwide is arresting and overwhelming. But the body of Christ is called “to arms” on behalf of these helpless ones and collectively we are making a difference! The precious children and teens at Casa Luz testify to that. There is a great deal they lack: they possess very little in the way of material things. But “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). At a caring Christian orphanage, God has given the fatherless a family, of sorts, and even more, a spiritual heritage to dwarf anything they could attain on earth. What a privilege and delight to share our lives with them!

Already I am planning to go back to Casa Luz, and I am sure some of our children will want to join me. Thanks to all who prayed for us – God answered your petitions! John says that all we traveled 8,000 miles, so the eight of us put on 64,000 miles collectively – and without lost luggage, lost wallets or lost kids! Your support was invaluable as we made this trip, and we hope that through these posts and the pictures (remember you can see more here) you feel a part of the work in Peru.

Peru: Through Christmas Eve

John — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:49:18 +0000

Working the land: Matt, Seth, Dakota, Dan

More from Dena’s journal about the family’s trip to Peru:

The second day half the team (mostly the male half) went to the orphanage’s farmland and planted 100 fruit trees! The work was hard, but it felt great to make a tangible contribution to Casa Luz. The rest of the group stayed and played with the orphans, then began assembling gift bags to be handed out for Christmas to each child. They also met the older children returning from their day at school and enjoyed interacting with them.

Cheryl, Shawna and Dena prepping the gift bags

Wednesday evening was spent at the worship service of the church Jorge pastors. All the children of Casa Luz attend the church and the teens performed a very nice Christmas program. The joy of the kids as they sang was inspiring! Matt (President of Vision Trust) preached, and we enjoyed the cross-cultural experience.

Day three, Thursday the 24th, had some of the men going back to the farmland to dig irrigation ditches, while others separated for various tasks, including playing games with the children, baking Christmas cookies, finishing the gift bags, decorating the dining/meeting room for dinner, and helping in the kitchen to prepare the Christmas eve meal.

Also on Wednesday, John was asked to be interviewed on the local radio station. The church Jorge pastors started a radio station next door to the orphanage, which a few of the older children help run. It is the only Christian station in the region and they air the Spanish-language Focus on the Family program! John talked about the love Christ has for the children and all the people of the Ayacucho region.

Santa's Helpers?

In South America, Christmas Eve is the big celebration, and Christmas Day is much quieter. So we had a large Christmas Eve dinner, sang songs with the orphans and passed out the gifts. One little fella fell asleep in his chair but when we tried to put him to bed he would have nothing to do with it – he had to celebrate! Gift bags were passed out individually to the children as their names were called and they came forward. Then they patiently waited until all had received their bags and opened them. What a blast!

Lovely presentation...

Joy!

At midnight, the children went out on the patio and set off fireworks. In fact, all of Ayacucho set off fireworks (no laws) and it was quite impressive! From 11:45 until well past 12 midnight there were huge displays of wonderful, bright fireworks. Think of your city’s July 4th fireworks show, and picture something like that going on for 20 minutes or more in every direction, as far as the eye can see. Fantastic celebration of the coming of the True Light of the World!

Next: Christmas Day and our return. Reminder that you can see more photos here.

Peru: The First Day

John — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:27:21 +0000

From Dena’s journal:

Giving gifts, hugs, smiles, games, and prayers to the children of Casa Luz in Ayacucho, Peru was the most blessed Christmas imaginable.

The children of Casa Luz were precious!

We arrived in Ayacucho early Tuesday morning after flying in from Lima. The city is nestled in the mountains and has a population near 100,000. It is known for it’s 33 Colonial Period churches, only two of which we saw (from the outside). Our first day was spent hearing the vision of the orphanage directors and how Casa Luz came to be. It is run by an Argentina couple (started by the wife, Mariela who later married Jorge and he joined her in her work). Jorge is also a pastor of a local Assemblies of God church. The children are all ages… 6 months to 19.

Two lovely girls in the village near the "farm."

Three brave souls volunteered to ride on top of the taxi when we went to the "farm."

Afterwards, we went to the orphanage and met the babies and preschoolers (the others were in school). Then we loaded up on a bus and headed to the land recently acquired by the orphanage to raise fruit trees and Cuy (guinea pigs… Peruvians eat them). They plan to eat and sell the produce of the land. The older orphans will play a part in the farm work and there is a house that came with the purchase for overnight stays. It will also be used as an “outing” location for the children when possible. It is located about an hour from Ayacucho.

Kids scrambling up the hill...better than sitting around waiting for the adults!

More photos – in larger sizes – at this site.

See More Peru Photos

John — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:46:26 +0000

Here’s the place to go for photos documenting the entire Fuller Family Christmas 2009 Peru trip. We’ll be posting more reflections and some other photos here in the coming days.

More Peru Pics

John — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:25:17 +0000

More photos from our family’s service trip, during which we spent several days at an orphanage in Ayacucho, Peru.

It was a wonderful time and God was very gracious to us as we traveled and during the outreach.

We experienced great joy as we tried to live out the admonition in James 1:27, but I can’t help but feel we can – and must – do so much more for these “fatherless” children.

: Our daughter Saige with some new friends at the orphanage.

: A rural village in the midst of farming country.

: We were drawn to children – everywhere we went, we found kids to smile at, play with and shower with love!

: Work team helped plant fruit trees – future food and revenue source. I’m on the left, and the two tall guys in the back row are my boys.

Peru Update

John — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 02:31:22 +0000

For many years we’ve wanted to take our family on a missions trip, learning and serving together. And finally, it has happened! We celebrated Christmas in a memorable way, as we visited Ayacucho, Peru and volunteered at an orphanage.

The orphanage is operated by a local church, and we served with their U.S. partner, Vision Trust, an agency whose mission is to develop orphaned and neglected children into mature Christians equipped to live in their own culture. They do this by enabling Christian nationals to meet the physical, educational, emotional and spiritual needs of these children.

Together with two other families, we showed kindness and Christ’s love to the 38 orphans at Casa Luz. We also worked a bit on some land the orphanage is developing.

We are so thankful God worked through us to touch the lives of the children we met! Also, that He gave us safe and relatively smooth journeys.

More updates in the next days and weeks.

Grace Team in Peru

John — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:06:03 +0000

Short Term Missions … you can help!

The Fuller family is heading south for Christmas. Waaaay south in Ayacucho, Peru (here’s where that is on a map – click on the Peru pushpin to see Ayacucho). We’re joining two other families, and will work at an orphanage operated by friends at Vision Trust International.

VisionTrust International is making a difference in impoverished children’s lives by providing education, food, healthcare and homes. “Grace Service Teams” give an opportunity to participate in what God is doing around the world. We’ll be going to help show love, deliver some gifts and serve the 50 children at the orphanage. By the way, that’s Matt Storer, President of Vision Trust, in the picture above; Matt and his family are leading the way on this missions trip.

Here’s how you can help. Pray for us, as three families (with a total of 14 kids!) travel to and serve in Peru. There are all sorts of perils and troubles we could face in this adventure. Pray with and for us, won’t you? And, if you can, make a contribution through Vision Trust’s website.

About Peru

John — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:56:11 +0000

We’re bound for Peru in a month! We’re excited about the ways we’ll grow and stretch as a family (yes, all eight of us are going…and hopefully all eight will return safely!). See the previous post for details.

And here’s some interesting info about Peru, including a brief video of Vision Trust’s work in Ayacucho.

Peru Calling

John — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:52:39 +0000

For many years we’ve wanted to take our family on a missions trip, learning and serving together. And finally, it is about to happen! We’ll celebrate Christmas in a memorable way, as we visit Ayacucho, Peru and volunteer at an orphanage.

The orphanage is operated by Vision Trust, an agency whose mission is to develop orphaned and neglected children into mature Christians equipped to live in their own culture. They do this by enabling Christian nationals to meet the physical, educational, emotional and spiritual needs of these children.

Together with two other families, we’ll show kindness and Christ’s love to the 50 or or orphans at the facility. We’ll also work a bit on a farm that the orphanage is starting – it will provide food for the children and also produce enough to generate some income through sales to locals.

Roughly, our schedule will be:

December 20-21 Travel through Miami to Lima and on to Ayacucho
December 22-25 Ministry to children, working on farm
December 26-28 Travel back to Lima, Miami and home

We’d covet your prayers for us as we prepare, travel and work with the kids. Pray for health, safety, spiritual sensitivity, openness to God’s leading, good communication as a family and also as a team.

Perhaps you’d like to contribute toward the travel and ministry costs. Your gift will certainly make a difference! Here’s the Vision Trust site if you’d like to help out – look for the “Peru Team.”

By the way, here’s a touching story about the impact that the Ayacucho orphanage is making – incredible! We pray God will allow us to see Him touch the lives of the children we meet in such a powerful way!