April 2017: "The Georges in Peru"

Just yesterday, the kids and I were talking about how different our childhoods are.  I grew up on a farm in Nebraska.  Everyone spoke English and most people we knew were involved in agriculture.  They are growing up in Arequipa, Peru and speak English at home and German and Spanish at school raised by their widowed doctor father who sees patients in our living room on many days of the week.

Alejandro lives in a difficult situation.  Crippled, 84 years old and without work, he depends on his $80/month pension and the compassion of others to survive.  I visit him weekly to talk, bring him food and water (his room has no running water) and again to take him to church.

"Dad I need a pig heart!  It's for biology class.  We're going to dissect it."

The mayor of one of the districts in Lima is a Christian.  SIM Peru partnered with several local churches and the mayor to provide relief to people affected by the flooding in an area of Lima called Paramonga.  SIM helped with the purchase of blankets, cans of tuna, diapers and insect repellent for these efforts.  You can see a video of relief efforts here.