Let me start this e-mail by saying I have a better idea now of how many of you feel. Right now I am in Canada for a furlough with my family (visiting, reporting and getting kids in School) and so I am trying to participate in ministry at the orphanage from a distance. I know that many of you have been doing that for years and it can be frustrating not just because you wonder what the latest details are but also because you can’t “hands on” help out with what is going on. Well, this newsletter is one of the ways I can help out from a distance and I hope that it will give encouragement and direction to you as you pray for the ministry and maybe it will provide a bit of alleviation for my separation anxiety.

First of all let me say that the general tone of things at the orphanage is the same as it has been for the last little while. We are continuing to go forward with many positive blessings but with the usual challenges and setbacks. Sounds like we are not moving forward after all? It may, but the truth is that as long as we continue to exist and care for the kids that the Lord has entrusted us building into their lives it does not matter what setback there are we are advancing.

Let us start on the positive side of the ledger just to get things going in the right direction. In the last months we have had visits from a few different teams from the US and they have helped in various work projects and done activities with the kids. This is always very encouraging for the kids and for those working with the kids as they see others coming along side to help out. One of the groups brought along sufficient funds to buy computers to set up a “virtual classroom” where the kids can have access to the internet and run programs in order to do their homework and complete projects for school. Like any tangible gift beyond the practical use this classroom will be a constant reminder to the kids that someone is thinking of them praying for them and that is encouraging. We also had a longer term volunteer arrive last week and she is planning on being with us for six months. Evelyn came in the nick of time as one of our mothers decided to resign and so she will be key in helping to fill in the gap. Our director Filiberto just came back as well from a meeting regarding accreditation in Lima and said that things are poised for it to finally go through. This has been a long process but it will be helpful in putting us in the driver seat as we continue to deal with the government and the courts as we minister to the children we have and others that will come our way.

Now on to the list of challenges. Besides the day to day operation which demands a constant effort on the part of those working with the kids and on the administration there have been a few added wrinkles. A few weeks back the bank informed Alex that his term of being the financial official for the orphanage had come to an end and it would have to be renewed. This began a paperwork scavenger hunt that was further complicated by my absence from the country and in the midst of this that paperwork and a sizeable amount of cash was stolen out of Alex’s van. He of course is suffering much because of this and feeling responsible for the loss but he cannot be blamed. This is what happens in Peru and he is the one who has been given the responsibility to cart around the money and do the transactions and frankly I think we have to be surprised that it hasn’t happened before this. Perhaps the only thing that could be more discouraging than this was the return of little John to the orphanage after he had been months in a family placement. This is kind of like a foster care situation where a Peruvian family interested in adopting a child basically takes the child in tests the waters and begins the paperwork. All seemed to be going well until the John’s family whom he was taken away from by the courts paid someone in the courts off (we assume) in order to find out where John was and then they started delivering personal death threats to the adoptive family. We had been excited thinking that this was going to be an excellent test case for a great little kid but it turns out that the Lord has other plans. It is a little bit discouraging but we have not lost hope.

The reason we have not lost hope is because it has been implanted in us by the Lord. Colossians 1:27 says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” and we remember that it is not our plan, our program, our efficiency or even the accomplishing of our purposes that give us hope. It is simply that Christ is in us, His presence working through us, through our imperfections in a fallen world that gives us the possibility to look beyond the obstacles and discouraging events to Him. Please pray with us that this very real hope can be instilled in the hearts of the children that we have be entrusted with at Hogar de Esperanza.

Steve Twinem (Board of Hogar de Esperanza)