Letter from Kathy Foreman During Visit to Trujillo - Feb. 2008

Posted 3-2-08

We leave for Lima tonight for one day of sightseeing before heading back to Phoenix on Thursday.  I have so much to share about our experience here in Trujillo, but most of it will have to wait until I get home and have time to gather my thoughts and emotions.  Yesterday we went to three different barrios.  The second barrio literally ripped our hearts out, especially when one little old Lady got up to share her story.  She lives by herself, get up early to bake bread and sell it. She had been robbed of the little she had.  Her little shack also burnt down and now she still lives there but no roof or shelter from the sun and wind. Toward the end of sharing, she broke down and was just sobbing.  I could not stand it so went over and wrapped my arms around her and cried with her.  She barely came up to my armpit.  One of the other ladies joined me after a bit.  They all were asking us to help them because their lives were so full of hardships.

Sunday night we finished the Women's Center.  When we first went there on Friday, I was overwhelmed at how filthy and run down it was.  I wasn't sure we could handle such a big project.  We prayed, asked God to give us His divine strength, and then we worked hard - finishing touches on with pink flower border in the reception area and wall decals throughout the hallway.  This center is where women go who have been battered and abused and need legal help and counsel.  An average of 20 - 30 women go there every week.  Monday morning we dedicated it to the workers when they came to work.  What a blessing to be a part of that - women helping women!!  The TV people came and interviewed a couple of the ladies. He told JoAnn that we American women were Women of Action!  The face of the receptionist was filled with joy as she gave me a huge smile and hug when she saw her front office where the ladies come in.  I told them we wanted it to be beautiful for the beautiful women of Trujillo.

This morning we went to the women's prison.  Wow!  We heard 3 testimonies - lots of tears all around.  Then we got to meet the other 88 women ands 10 children with their mothers.  We presented our gift bags to them one by one and got to see where and how they lived.  God blessed us with a Divine Appointment.  After all the gift bags were given out, one lady stood up to thank us in English.  The nun working there said she was from Ukraine.  Well.......one of our ladies, Victoria, is from Ukraine!!  She ran up there, starting speaking to her in Russian.  The young lady was so shocked and just started sobbing.  They hugged and hugged as they talked and cried together.  They shared stories and Victoria shared her testimony.  I told the lady God always knows where we are and He can send the exact people we need.  Only God can do such an incredible thing!  I just wanted to fall on my knees and give glory to Him out of awe and wonder for what He orchestrated. What an amazing God we serve! 

Time for devotions so need to go.  We fly to Lima tonight.  Continue with your prayers.  We feel them! Love you all!  Kathy

Letter From Viktoria about her visit to Trujillo - Feb. 2008

Posted 3-2-08

Hi Amber, it is good to hear from you.  I am amazed at how much all women bonded on this trip.  I came back feeling full of Gods Spirit.

It was a wonderful experience, one that I won't forget soon.  Interesting that the day we went to prison I was not feeling well and was dreading the trip there. It was depressing to see all the poverty and misfortune in the barrios.  I thought the prison would be even worse.  Something was telling me that I had to go and I took my chance thanks to Imodium AD.  The prison was not at all what I expected it to be.  It was clean and well maintained.  You could see the Lord's presence there. There was a nun working at the prison and prison director seemed very kind and genuinely concerned for the women. 

When we were giving away the gift bags, the ladies were called by name one at a time.  Suddenly I heard the director standing directly behind me saying that this one is from Ukraine.  I think I was the only one who heard that.  I could not believe it.  I felt like a shock wave went through by body.  The tears just poured down and I felt shaking.  I was looking at this young and beautiful girl thinking of how life has brought her all away to Peru.  When I came up to her, after the gift giving ceremony was over, she was just stunned and speechless at first.  Then she began to cry.  We stood there for few minutes crying with our arms around each other unable to talk.  hen even as we spoke we would cry.  She briefly told me her story.  She came to Peru with her Peruvian boy friend to meet his family and had marriage in mind.  They stayed in an apartment with a friend who had drugs in his possession.  They were in Peru for only two months before apartment was busted and everyone was arrested.  Since she is from a different country, she was charged with international drug trafficking.  She is a good friend of the nun that works there and director of the prison believes her innocence.  In March Alina will go before the judge where her destiny will be decided.  She may be released or stay in prison for 15 years without parole.  Please put her on your prayer list.  I have a contact with the nun via internet and already sent her my message.  I am trying to stay in touch with Alina to let her know she is not alone.  I know that I was supposed to go on this trip to Peru if only to meet this poor girl.

This was an amazing trip.  It was good to see everyone trying their best a being flexible, living understanding and caring.  I felt like we were all one body of Christ working together for His glory.  Since I came home I have spent a lot of hours on the phone and computer taking about the trip and I am not done yet.  My husband left for Germany at 6:30 the morning after we came home.  I haven't had a chance to talk to him in details. 

I can relate to the kids attitude change.  I have been reminding my children of the fortune that they have.  I even made they cry with my stories.  You remember, when eating at a barrio, we would save unfinished meal and it would go directly to the kids that were waiting outside.  The saying "Don't waste your food because there are hungry children in the world" was directly applied.

Sincerely, Viktoria

Drawing of proposed Womens Refuge Village

I am pleased to announce that Melissa Dobmeier has accepted the challenge of putting together a team of women here in the U.S. to help in the launching of this Womens Refuge Village in Peru.

MELISSA IS FORMING A TEAM OF WOMEN FROM ACROSS THE U.S. TO HELP RAISE FUNDS TO BUILD THE VILLAGE.   LOCAL PEOPLE IN PERU WILL DO THE BUILDING.  WE ARE DEVELOPING A TEAM OF MIDDLE/UPPER CLASS WOMEN IN TRUJILLO TO HELP RAISE FUNDS TOO.  WE HAVE FORMED A TEAM OF PEOPLE IN TRUJILLO TO HELP DEVELOP THE CONCEPT AND THE PLAN FOR WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WE NEED TO WORK AT THE VILLAGE.  THE COMMITTEE IS MADE UP OF PSYCHOLOGISTS, ARCHITECTS, BUSINESS PEOPLE, AND MEDICAL PEOPLE.

WE HOPE TO HAVE THE PLAN READY BY MID 2007 AND BREAK GROUND IN 2007.

Melissa lives in Minnesota with her husband, Korey, and their sons, Kristopher and Karson.

We are looking for women here in the States who would like to get involved in caring for women in Peru.

If you are someone who would like to help...contact John Hendee at john.hendee@cox .net

The growing number of people committed to seeing the Women's Village happen...

The individual pictures below are Peruvian in Trujillo who are part of our organization team for the Women's Village. 

The group picture is the U. S. team organization meeting held in Chandler, Arizona in November of 2006.

Amber's Letter

Posted 3-6-08

I told my Dad that traveling with me is the way to go, because everything went smoothly.  Actually I think we have the Lord to thank for that.  We got to Trujillo with absolutely no problems, other than the fact that my Dad's idea of a quiet place to sleep i the airport wasy very different from the definition Patti Andersen and I would give for a good place to sleep.  Needless to say, he slept fine in the middle of the terminal in Lim, while we were wide awake.

Patti and I met up with Rosa Gutierrez on Tuesday evening after recovering from the trip and not sleeping.  Rosa is the woman who is organizing all of the aspects of the Women's Village so far.  We met up with the  group of women from Arizona and Minnesota on Wednesday.  We had a beginning meeting to go over rules, had lunch and went to see the largest adobe ruins in the world, call Chan Chan.

We started out our first full day going to two different barrios.

Rosa had set up diffeent talks from professionals for all of the 7 different barrios through out the week.  They all discussed different aspects of the violence that these women and children live with.  They were tryingto engage them in discussion, and let them know that this is not something that they have to just accept.  A lot of them don't even question it. We spent time listening to some of the talks, and testimonies of these women's lives, and then went out and played with their kids so they could listen without interruptions.  These barrios have no running water, no sewer, no electricity other than street lights, and no paved roads.  The homes have only dirt floors. In the barrios that do not have community centers yet built by PNHI, we met in home.  We had a lot of fun playing with the kids and handing out special things for them that the group from First Christian in Phoenix brought.

It was very hard to see poverty like this.  It was unlike anything that I have seen before in my life.  The new barrios are actually worse because they do not have money to buy the clay to make their bricks for their homes, so they have woven mats for the walls.  What was neat to see, we the difference in the barrios that have had the Bible story telling groups and community centers in them for a few years.  The people had the hope of the Lord and were not desperate compared to the newer church plant.

At the end of the day we met with all of the professionals who are working on organizing the Women's Village with JRosa.  There are lawyers, doctors, psychologists, and architects.  We met the Community Center Barrio Leaders wives who will also be involved, and the group of women under Mfaribel who are Women of Hope-Trujillo, to raise money locally.

Friday we went to two more barrios. We toured some of the homes that these women live in after we hard some of their testimonies.  We didn't hear it in this barrio, but in some of the barrios, they were scared toa talk about their lives for fear it would get back to the men that they were talking about them.  They talked about how some of the men wound't work, but wanted money for alcohol and food.  The houses werea very hard to stomach.  In many areas only the rooms tat they slept in had roofs.  Some of the women we met couldn't afford the propane for their little burners to cook any food.  They would use wood fires.

After a long and emotional day of visiting the barrios and playing with the kids, we went and started work at the Women's Emergency Crisis Center in down town Lima.  This place has no owrking toilets as their water has been turned off.  They have one lawyer, one psychologist, one social worker, and a receptionist, to work with the population of Trujillo, which is one million.  They can only see 10 people a day.  We had a lot of fun working together to clean this place up.  Notic the OSHA regulation ladders built with small timber.  Their idea of a ladder to reach the second floor?  Two ladders tied together.  I failed to get a picture of that. This place was in horrible condition inside and out. We wanted to clean it up, so the women felt they had come to a place where they could feel at peace, if only for a little while.  The government cut funding for this program, which is why they have so few workers, and why they don't keep it up.  It was  a long day, but great.  We got the bottom half of the building painted, and a lot of the rooms inside.  Oh, and did I mentionwe made it onto the T.V.? Pretty cool.  My Dad was also on T.V that night for an interview they did about the Women's Village.

Saturday morning started out with a huge parade.  We had a marching band, peruvian Folk dancers, a group of women and children from each of the barrios where there is a Community Center (IE: church).  There were a dozen or more people walking behind signs for Women of Hope International, Women of Hope Trujillo, Damas de Esperanze, Project New Hope, The Women's Crisis Center, the Justice Center, Our Kingdom Businesses, University programs, and a few more I can't remember.  We had about 200 people participating in walking this parade, and it was all Project New Hope.  At 34 years myself, and one woman at 67, none of us had ever been involved in a peaceful march/parade against violence in the family and sexual abuse.  It was awesome!!  The major strets around town and the big square Plaza de Las Armas were shut down for us.  Again, the news stations ame out to see what we were doing. AFter that we had lunch and rested before heading back to the Women's center to paint. We finished the whole outside, and got all of the inside painting done as well.  The place was a total mess inside though.

Sunday morning we had a symbolic dedication of the land for the Women's Village.  The land that is promised us is behind Huanchaco by the coast, and this was up in one of the barrios.  My Dad and other leaders dug a hole and buried a rock as it tradition there.  Then my Dad spole as did a few other people.  It was special.  My Dad was reminding us again what this village is for by quoting Jesus when He talks about how when you help the least of these, you are helping me, when I was thirsty you gave me something to eat.  Dad said this, "When I was young and pregnant, you gave me a place of care, when I was dying of cancer, you cared for me and cried with me, when I was beaten and scared, you loved me; when I got out of jail, you didn't condemn me, when I couldn't find training for a job, you trained me, when I wanted to get out of prostitution, you helped me."  He was reminding us that we are building this for Jesus, because He asked us to love EVERYONE.  It was very moving.  My Dad also mentioned on this trip that a large problem in the public colleges is girls prostituting themsleves out to make money to keep up on the lifestyle of cool clothing, etc.  These problems of prostitution. drugs, and violence do not know the difference between socio-economic lines.

After the dedication, we went and worked away on the women's crisis center again.  This day there was no painting. We were cleaning it as good as we could.  There was no running water.  We scrubbed out the bathroom and toilets that don't have water to clean them with.  We hauled water for all of this as well as scrubbing all of the floors.  This building is around 100 years old, and it is easy to see on the inside.  We threw out a lot of old stuff, moved it all around to make the offices better.  Along with Women of Hope Trujillo and our ladies on this trip, they pooled together to go and get pretty plants and about 20 pictures to hang on all of the walls.  We added butterflies, flowers and dragonflies too.  For what we had to work with, it looked very different inside and out. We presented this on Monday morning to the profesionals who work there.

We visited three more barrios that day, listening to the women, playing with the children.  By that time a few of us were falling ill with something our stomachs had picked up.  There were only about a dozen women at the morning meeting because they have to carry water in the mornings, start laundry which is all by hand, and start cooking almuerzo (lunch) which is the big meal of the day. The second barrio of the day was the poorest we had been to yet.  It had a very different feeling from the other community centers that we had visited.  They were up at the base of the mountains, and the ocean breeze just whips up the sand there.  During the talk, the sand just blew into the house we were sitting in, in large plumes.  I couldn't imagine living in that with no real walls.  The third barrio was great.  They were so loving, you could sense how much they love and respect their Barrio leader (pastor).  The kids were so good, and listened to instructions in "spanglish" from us, so they didn't swamp us when we gave out presents after all of the games.

After this, we went back to the hotel, cleaned up, had dinner, and Dad and I headed home.  It was a whirlwind week, with lots of emotion, and an affirmation of why we need to raise money for this Women's Village in Trujillo, to start with.  The rest of the group from Phoenix were visiting a women's prision the next day. I really missed getting the chance to go.  It just shows another reason why they need so much help here.  This prison had around 104 women and 33 children.  Yes, children!  If the women have children under the age of three, they live in prison with them.

Love and God Bless,

Amber