Welcome To Ayacucho

Perú: Dedicated To The World

Request For Help With Transportation Of Donations

On Sunday, June 18, 2017, members and friends of the 2017 Sharon Presbyterian Church Mission Trip to Perú met in Room 6 of the Activities Building to pack suitcases of donations to be taken to Perú by this year’s mission team. Items packed included women’s and children’s clothing and shoes, Bibles and study materials, prayer shawls, crutches, knitted infant caps, reading glasses, toys and crafts. Eighteen suitcases, containing nearly one thousand pounds of donations were packed. The Sharon Church congregation has again provided a blessing to its less fortunate brothers and sisters in Perú.

The mission team is seeking assistance transporting these suitcases to the airport Thursday morning, July 27, 2017. If interested, please contact, Van Dale (704-577-3409 / wvandale@gmail.com) or Randy Ross (704-965-5432 / mrandallross@aol.com).

Spanish - English Bibles

Spanish - English Bible App

There are free Spanish - English Bibles and even a listening version of a Quechua Ayacucho Biblia available in Google Play for Android users.  A Spanish - English Bible in iTunes for iOS users is now available.

The apps load all the books of the Bible into your phone or tablet memory so you can use them in airplane mode, without cell phone service or without WiFi.

All are basic Bibles, but they will save weight when packing on your next Perú trip.

Drought In Perú - Living Without Water

The Q’eswachaka Rope Bridge

Perú's National Ceviche Day

Preparing For Our Visit

From Randy Ross:

Samuel has been busy in his workshop preparing for our time together.  May God be glorified!

Beautiful Perú

Progress In Perú - The Story Of Lima's Slums

Special Dates

We have been adding special dates and birthdays to our calendar below.  If you have joined us on a mission trip, we would like to hear from you and add your birthday (day only)!

With the help of Gamaliel Berrocal, Rebeca Massõn, Taylor Vickrey, Anna Vickrey and Darby Buchanan this year, we will be adding many more names of our Peruvian hosts.  Check back often and who knows, you may share a birthday with another special someone.

If you do find that you share a birthday with someone, we challenge you to find out who it is.  We are sure their life history will be as interesting and blessed as yours.

A Note From Samuel Montes

I wanted to share with each of you an excerpt from a letter that I received from Samuel today in which he also confirmed receipt of this year's project funds.

" I send our gratitude to each of our brothers and sisters of Sharon who accompanies us and motivates us with an example of how to love God and our neighbor."

Randy

2017 Sharon Presbyterian Mission To Perú

Hola All!

My apologies for this long overdue Peru Mission Trip update. A larger group, higher international and domestic airfares and our planned travel around the Peru national independence holiday have made for a more challenging trip planning-wise. Rest assured however that the trip IS coming together.

2017 trip participants include:

Ashley Aldridge, Pat Blumer, Rob Blumer, Chris Buchanan, Darby Buchanan, Connie Dale, Randy Ross, Tom Skinner, Anna Vickrey, Beverley Vickrey, Taylor Vickrey, Khris Wigington. Rebeca Massõn, Lucy Poma and Van Dale,  Sara Armstrong will also participate during the first half of our time in Ayacucho.

Our international air travel has been booked. We are scheduled to travel from Charlotte to Miami on Thursday, July 27, 2017. Our flight from Miami to Lima is now scheduled with two exceptions, Taylor Vickrey will depart from Philadelphia and will be meeting the group in Miami and Connie Dale will be traveling to Peru a couple of weeks before the group and will meet us at the Lima airport.

Accommodations in Lima, Ayacucho and Huanta have also been booked and I hope to have travel between Lima and Ayacucho arranged very soon. I'll finalize and distribute the 2017 travel memo shortly thereafter.

Please mark your calendar for Sunday afternoon, June 18th @ 2:00 pm when we will meet at Sharon Church to go over trip logistics and pack the donations.

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the trip. Pastor Samuel wrote last week to say that our brothers and sisters are looking forward to our time together with much anticipation.

Thanks.

Randy

Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) Notification

The State Department alerts U.S. citizens to the damage caused by the flooding and landslides in several regions of Peru.  The State of Emergency issued by the Government of Peru remains in effect.  This Travel Alert expires on May 31, 2017.  The City of Cusco, the archaeological site of Machu Picchu and the tourist areas in the Sacred Valley and Lake Titicaca have not experienced flooding to date.  The coastal area south of Lima has returned to normal conditions.  Peru's Amazon Basin has received typical levels of rainfall.

A map from the Government of Peru showing the affected districts is available at http://unasolafuerza.pe/.

You are encouraged to carefully review the safety situation of your destination and modes of transportation before travel.  Visit the link above for the latest information.

Heavy rains have resulted in extensive damage to homes, water supply facilities, schools, hospitals, roads, and bridges in several regions.  The Government of Peru continues to repair roads and bridges especially along the Pan American highway and other vital access routes in the northern part of Peru.  The Government of Peru is also working to repair water supply facilities, sanitation systems, schools, and hospitals in the affected areas.  More than 1.1 million Peruvians were affected by the floods with approximately 46,000 still residing in camps and shelters and many more living with friends and family.  In northern coastal Peru, standing water has increased the number of cases of mosquito-borne illnesses such as Dengue, Zika, and Chikungunya despite fumigation efforts.  Additionally, there has been a spike in Leptospirosis and other diarrheal diseases recently in flooded areas.  Local public health authorities warn of more cases of various diarrheal diseases and mosquito-borne viral diseases in the affected areas.  Therefore, ensuring compliance with usual guidance for safe drinking water and mosquito avoidance measures is highly recommended.  The CDC website has specific guidance on these measures.

Travel to impacted areas is likely to be delayed and may be dangerous due to bad road conditions.  If you experience issues while traveling, contact local authorities at (01-574-8000) or   iperu@promperu.gob.pe, which maintains offices in cities around the country and regularly updates information on local developments affecting travelers, including alternative methods of transit.

Listen to travel alerts and safety instructions from local authorities and avoid flooded areas.Establish a plan for maintaining contact with family and friends and keep them informed of your itinerary.

The Peruvian police report traffic on the Carretera Central is now flowing normally, with a few sections experiencing delays as road crews repair damages.  Official U.S. government travel to and along areas of the Carretera Central will only be allowed on a case-by-case basis.  Travelers, including U.S. government employees, are encouraged to confirm with hotel operators located in the coastal Departments of Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, and Tumbes that sanitation systems are operational and clean drinking water is available.  All Peace Corps volunteers who were relocated from affected regions are scheduled to return in May.  Most are expected to be able to return to serve in their sites in Piura, Lambayeque and Trujillo.

For further information:

• See the State Department's travel website for the Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and Country Specific Information for Peru.
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
• Contact the U.S. Embassy in Peru, located in Monterrico, a suburb of Lima, at Avenida La Encalada, Block Seventeen. You can call the Embassy at 51-1-618-2000 during business hours, 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday, or dial the same number to reach a duty officer for after-hours emergencies.
• Call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).