Counting Down

We Can't Wait To Stretch Out On The Plane

Probiotics this morning!

With the temperatures here in Charlotte over 100°...  we are staying inside with the dogs and packing for Perú!

Only 32 days to go!!

A Big Market For Bug Dye

Thank you to Cheryl Magee for the story idea below.

The guts of an insect called the cochineal contain a traditional source of bright red dye — a dye which has now become a booming industry because of a growing preference for juices and yogurts that contain "natural" colorings.

Full story...

A Letter From Jed Koball In Perú

Dear Friends,

I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.  -  Acts 2:17


A year ago an unprecedented darkness fell upon the town of La Oroya. A group of 10 university students from the United States accompanying a group of 10 children and youth from La Oroya were violently attacked by a group of nearly 200 men. Throwing rocks and punches, the men chased the young people out of town.

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Trade Agreements vs Democracy

THE ANONYMOUS DEATH threats phoned to Archbishop Pedro Barreto and others in March told them to stop speaking out about the foreign-owned metals smelting plant in La Oroya, Peru.

Barreto, a Catholic archbishop of the Andean region that includes La Oroya, has been a leading advocate for the health of the 35,000-person town, which the plant has made one of the world’s most contaminated places: 99 percent of children there have dangerous levels of lead in their blood.

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Flooding Displaces Peruvians

Continuous heavy rains during the first half of 2012 have led to widespread flooding in Loreto, Peru, displacing approximately 208,000 people.

An estimated 52,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed and, as of April, 15,000 people were still being sheltered in tents, schools and other public facilities.  Nationwide, the floods have affected some 650,000 Peruvians.

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Never Forget La Oroya!

David Rochkind Photography

Perú Mission Network Partners

Below is a partial list of churches and partners as of March 2012.  They represent a portion of the people but a large percentage of work of the Peru Mission Network. A few of the Peruvian cities and towns that are visited are:  Ayacucho, Cusco, Huanta, Huaycan, Iquitos, Lima, and Moyobamba.

• Asociacion San Lucas, Moyobamba / First Presbyterian Church {Boone, North Carolina}
• La iglesia Evang.Presbit. de Moyobamba / Champion Presbyterian Church {Champion, Ohio}
• Presbiterio de Huanta / Sharon Presbyterian Church {Charlotte, North Carolina}
• La Iglesia Emanuel, Ayacucho / Port Orange Presbyterian Church {Port Orange, Florida}
• La universidad/el seminario, Moyobamba / First Presbyterian Church {Burlington, North Carolina}
• Siete Iglesias alrededor de Iquitos / Amazon Mission Fellowship
• Sinodo Cusco (IEP) / Heritage Presbyterian Church {Mason, Ohio}
• Iglesia Mana de PROFAM Santa Rosa / Trinity Presbyterian Church {Boise, Idaho}
• Iglesias San Genaro y San Agustin, Lima / First Presbyterian Church {Kingwood, Texas}
• Iglesia Santa Anita / Clear Lake Presbyterian Church {Clear Lake, Texas}
• Iglesia San Agustin / Presbyterian Church Of The Lakes {Orlando, Florida}
• Agape/Iglesia el Buen Pastor, Huaycan / First Presbyterian Church {New York, New York}
• Oasis de la Vida, Villa el Salvador, Lima / First Presbyterian Church {Greensboro, North Carolina}
• Westminster Presbyterian Church {Nashville, Tennessee}
• Presbyterian Church of Barrington {Barrington, Illinois}
• Farmington Presbyterian Church {Farmington, New Mexico}
• Broad Street Presbyterian Church {Columbus, Ohio}

The above church members hopefully feel as you do about Perú.  In some cases, the members are even more dedicated to the wonderful world of giving, sacrifice and rewards of visiting Perú.

Boy Helps Strays In Lima

In a poor shanty town in Lima, Peru, a deaf and mute boy is helping dogs, and proving actions speak louder than words ever will.

According to this report, posted on Care2 by Rosemary Underhay, who works with Vida Digna, a Peruvian animal welfare association, they first noticed the boy in a line of people waiting to get medical care for their animals.

“In the line there was a small boy, deaf and unable to speak, who used sign language to tell us we needed to see something urgently,” she writes.

“He disappeared for a while and then returned with a small, cold, miserable puppy covered in an angry, itchy mange and with a nasty, festering wound caused by scalding water, probably thrown at him to scare him away from market stands.”

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American Airlines Blankets Will Cost You

DALLAS — If you want a pillow and blanket in coach on American Airlines, it's going to cost you.

The airline will charge $8 for a pillow and blanket in coach class for domestic trips and some international flights longer than two hours, beginning May 1. The international flights are to and from Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Central America.

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Empowering Women Of Perú

Pro Mujer, an international, women's development and microfinance NGO, is just one of the many projects supported by the Anglo American Group Foundation. Established in 1990 to alleviate poverty across Latin America, Pro Mujer focuses on providing women with access to small scale loans and support to help them create their own businesses.

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"House Of Lead: A Story Of Greed"

Amazon CARES Opportunity

Amazon Community Animal Rescue, Education & Safety (CARES) is pleased to announce a new volunteer trip opportunity for Veterinary Volunteers. We have an exciting trip planned with brand new itinerary options during the dates of August 11-26, 2012. This trip will be attended by CARES Founder Molly Mednikow.

The trip will focus on three locales: Iquitos, Nauta, and Requena, a small town near the Brazilian border.

Space is limited, and we expect plenty of registrations due to the great price of just $700 for the full two weeks. That includes meals and lodging!

Be sure to check out all you need to know about our Volunteer trips on our website!

Rennert's Perú Smelter In Trouble

American Ira Rennert is the CEO of the Renco Group Inc., a corporation known for its disastrous environmental record. Renco’s Doe Run Peru subsidiary controls one of the ten worst environmental sites in the world in La Oroya, Peru, according to the Blacksmith Institute. This lead smelter has been a cash cow for billionaire Rennert’s offshore companies. It has also exposed thousands of Peruvians to extraordinary high levels of lead contamination. Most of children in La Oroya have lead poisoning.

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Return To The U.S.

Hello to all,

Today was a great day in the Dominican Republic. First, we ate breakfast and loaded up the bus for a 45 minute bus ride to La Romana. Here, we boarded a rather large boat and sailed off for the island Catalina. While many of the students loved this hour boat ride, some were quite relieved to finally reach land. Just before reaching land, we docked up and were able to jump off the boat and snorkel around the area we anchored in. This was a very fun time for the students and everyone really enjoyed this. After bringing in the anchor, we sailed for land and made ourselves comfortable. Some, enjoyed beach volleyball, swimming, tanning, and even cheap massages while others played games and went on walks. It is safe to say we had a BLAST today! Many are sunburnt but all are happy. After enjoying this day we headed back home to score to enjoy dinner.

We had a great devotion tonight led by Coach Brown speaking on how to guard ourselves from the dangers of this world. This really hit home with many of the students. After Coach Brown talked, Matt Hall gave a brief sermon on how to be bold for the Lord. He challenged the students to pray that Jesus would put them in situations in which they were called to be bold for Him. Many students loved hearing both of these messages and made commitments that will impact them in their senior year as well as in their freshman year of college.

As we say our “goodnights” tonight to our last night in the DR, we are packing and playing a few last favorite games. Tomorrow the students will be split back into their groups from when we were to arrive in the Dominican and will be with the same Chaperone. The flight schedule is as follows:

Susan Jones & Shonn Brown group:

• Depart Score at 4:00AM
• Depart Santo Domingo, DR at 6:20 AM
• Arrive in Miami at 9:30AM
• Depart Miami at 11:05AM
• Arrive in Charlotte at 1:10 PM

Kristin Ennis & Derek Drummond:

• Depart Score at 5:45AM
• Depart Santo Domingo, DR at 8:15 AM
• Arrive in Miami at 10:30 AM
• Arrive in Charlotte around 4PM

Pray for our safe travels tomorrow!

Morgan Kirk