We just had a fundraiser for the workshop ministry in our home area. The newsletter below is pretty much what we had at the fundraiser. We are extending it 10 days for our online friends. If you would like to contribute to this project send your contribution to the address on the brochure. Funds that arrive before July 7th we will dedicate to this project.
Blessings,
Stan & Ruth
Dear friends,
The month of May finds us back in the United States. Leftover tickets from interrupted travel plans because of Covid that had to be used this year, family reunions, business, and the fact that we miss our boys are all good reasons for a trip back.
We flew from Peru to Miami and then on to Phoenix, Arizona to visit my brother Lamar and his son Delmar. My sister Marilyn and her family from Wisconsin met us there, and we enjoyed a day together. From there we went to Deming, New Mexico where Austin lives with my parents. My younger brother Lorne also lives there with his family. From here we plan to travel through Kansas on our way to Ruth’s family reunion in Iowa, and from there on to our home area in Northwest Florida / Southern Alabama where Denver is living.
We received our first Covid vaccination shot in Miami Airport. It just “happened” that we arrived on one of the three days that they were giving the shots. I realize that this subject is controversial. However, Ruth and I feel that being vaccinated will open up doors for us to serve in Arequipa. As believers, I believe that we should prioritize our own safety and comforts below our efforts to expand the Kingdom of God. Ruth and I want to live out this principle.
The workshop project continues to develop. Different people have interest in starting classes but the cases of Covid and resulting deaths are on the rise again in Arequipa, so we have not started classes yet. We continue to do projects for others. Another crib is on order for a family that is expecting a little one in November.
Churches are still closed and all services are still done online. The health systems are at the point of being overwhelmed again. This time around, it seems that more people we know are having and fighting with the disease. Vaccinations are starting with the 70 year old senors next week, hopefully.
Thanks for your interest in the work in Peru and your prayers for us and the Peruvian people.
Blessings,
Stan Schrock
March- It’s hard to believe the month is nearly over! So what has happened in March?
Kids club – this happens once a month. I help wherever needed. Sometimes it’s baking that needs to be done and sometimes I help prepare crafts. Ruthie Lacoursiere usually comes up with a theme, another couple does a YouTube video, Ruthie and I put a kit together which consists of a craft and a snack. These kits are then distributed to all the children so they can do everything from home.
More food packing – More money was donated to the food project so it was decided to pack bags once a month with non perishables. These bags are then distributed by various people in the church to those in dire need.
I had the privilege of accompanying Ruthie when she distributed to people they knew. One lady was sick with an infection and was threatening a miscarriage. We were able to pray with her while we were there. Since then we learned she tested positive for Covid but is doing well. As far as I know she was able to keep the baby. PTL!
Another woman we met was recently widowed due to Covid. We learned she had also just lost a sister and other relative due to other illnesses. She is not a believer and is in despair. Ruthie strongly but gently encouraged her to seek the Lord and cry out to Him. Please pray for ‘Rose’.
Spanish tutoring classes – We are blessed to have a Christian neighbor who does tutoring. Stan and I each take one class a week. I think things make more sense to both of us now that we’ve had a break.
The big news is that God has provided us place to live and set up the workshop ministry. We were blessed to have a Realtor from church help us through the purchasing process. Since we are plan to come to the states in May, we won’t be moving until after we come back to Peru in July. In the meantime there are things we can do to get it ready.
The first floor will pretty much be used for workshops. Stan and I will live on the second floor and there will be plenty of room for company as well.
Church – We are still not meeting in person for church, although we do meet online. We are looking forward to the day when that will change. Please pray that people could overcome their fears and that we would be able to meet soon.
May God bless you all as we work together in the work of the Lord.
In His name,
Ruth Schrock
The clear, desert air of Arequipa makes for some beautiful sunrises and sunsets. This photo was taken from our rooftop. It is a constant reminder during these difficult times that God is sovereign. It has been almost a month since we returned to Peru. Now many people we know have or are having Covid.
What a great time we had visiting our friends and family in the states from mid October to the first week of January! It just “happened” that we met up with Austin in Indiana at my Uncle Marvin’s house. We went to Ohio to visit Ruth’s mom and then spent the weekend together attending a wedding in PA. Ruth’s nephew Chad was also with us.
Our plans to get together with my folks and Austin for the holidays fell apart after Denver came down with Covid mid December. Though we were exposed, Ruth and I did not get it.
I spend most of my time working on the startup of the Workshop ministry. This month we made a bed for an elderly man who was sleeping on the floor in a 6’x12’ room. In addition, we were able to have a spiritual conversation with him and give him a Bible.
Pray:
Spring has come! The birds are singing and the humming birds are coming back. The weather is warming up enough that we are not wearing coats in the house anymore.
God has been very good to us. The quarantine was lifted on September 1st (though “marshal law” remains in effect at least until October 1st). The stores and malls were allowed to open for the first time since March 15th. Some reports say that up to 75% of the population have had Covid-19.
Denver and I have started teaching weekly (online for now) at Arequipa English, an English speaking club for intermediate to advanced students learning English. We have 1 hour of games and then 1 hour of Bible Study. Not every student is a believer so it is a great way for us to spread the gospel during these times when we cannot meet face to face in the conventional way.
We celebrated with the recipients of the food pack project with a thanksgiving service (online of course. No public or private meetings allowed yet). Over 60 people joined us on Zoom and another 270 interacted via Facebook live! It was a blessing to have so many join us in worship online.
The food project is shifting from Phase I to Phase II. Phase II will try to transition people from receiving food to developing ways to help them support themselves. Another important part of Phase II is connecting people to local churches. The fact that so many joined in the thanksgiving service online is proof to us that people are spiritually hungry. Since gatherings are not allowed, we are trying to find ways to meet there spiritual needs through online meetings. A special WhatsApp number has been set up for people to ask spiritual questions and receive answers via their phones.
Of the 3000 people on our food distribution list, over 2000 have indicated that that are no longer in dire need and have opted not to continue receiving food packs. So for the month of September we packing 1000 packs every other week.
Many of you have partnered with us in this project with your support and with your prayers. A heartfelt “Thank you” from all of us.
P.S More photos have been added on our photo page.
A story of a miraculous healing- Sarah (name changed), a sister from our church had a Christian friend that called her crying. This friend was the only believer in her family. Many of them had Covid-19. One brother in particular only had one lung and was particularly bad. They had taken him to the hospital and he had been there for 10 days. The doctors had given up on him and he was moved to the room where people with hopeless cases were put to die. (They do this to make room for those who are living in line on the street in front of the hospitals waiting for room.) Sarah asked her friend if he was a believer and her friend replied, “No”. Sarah implored her friend to lead him to Christ, because if he died without Christ all would be lost. But if he died with Christ, only his body would die but his soul would be with Jesus. Sarah’s friend did exactly this, she called the hospital, talked with her brother on the phone and he accepted Christ as his Savior. The next morning, still in the “death ward”, his oxygen levels rose to 95% with only one lung! He began witnessing to others in the room. The next day he was released to go home. This testimony has encouraged both Peruvians and missionaries during this difficult time.
It is really cool to see God’s hand at work. The church at Jose Olaya has seemed to draw together, even though all our meetings have been on Zoom for the past 5 months. Attendance on the Zoom meetings seems to be more consistently attended than our church services use to be!
The corona virus continues to wax and wane here also. Arequipa is one of those that remains in quarantine because of the rise of cases. Additional areas of Peru have gone back into quarantine this week. Quarantine means that no one is to leave there residence except for bank, pharmacy, and food needs. However, this doesn’t seemed to be enforced much anymore.
There has been an uptick in crime also. The US embassy in Lima issued warnings this week against travel to Peru because of it. Shining Path, the terrorist group that was active in the 90’s has become active again particularly in the Cusco area.
We are still packing food weekly. God has blessed us with health, volunteers, and funds to continue at least as long as the quarantine last here in Arequipa.
Blessings,
Stan Schrock
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The coronavirus is so called because it visibly resembles a crown (“corona” in Latin). A Crown is a symbol of power and authority— and certainly this virus has colossal power over us humans, It is invisible to the naked eye, and yet just think about what it has forced many millions— indeed, billions— of us to do and not do.
It also forcibly reminds us of our vulnerability. It is easy to forget that we humans are mortal. The coronavirus is evidence that both our relationship with creation and creation’s relationship with us are disordered; and that this is not an accident.
But hope is found in another corona: the crown of thorns that was forced on Jesus’ head at his trial before his execution.
That corona shows us just how deep the break between creature and Creator goes. Earth is God’s creation, not ours. We are not its owner, but we seek to be. We are only tenants and stewards, and flawed ones at that—many of us have made a mess of our lives and even of those of others, to say nothing about what we have done to the planet. There cannot be two paradises for humans: one in fellowship with God and one without him. The coronavirus is very rapidly demolishing the illusion that we can build perfection on earth—and turning our initially lackadaisical, even complacent response into real fear, frustration and anger.
In a fractured world, damaged through the consequences of human sin, pain and suffering are inevitable. Perhaps we had hidden from this reality until the coronavirus rampaged across the globe. Now we cannot ignore it, nor the big questions about life and death which it prompts, Here is C.S Lewis:
“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insist upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” [The Problem of Pain (Gepffrey Bles, 1940), p 81]
Perhaps the coronavirus might function as a huge loudspeaker, reminding us of the ultimate statistic: that on out of every on of us dies. If this induces us to look to the God we may have ignored for years, but who wore a crown of thorns in order to bring us back into relationship with himself and into a new, unfractured world beyond death, then the coronavirus, in spite of the havoc it has wreaked, will have served a very healthy purpose. –John Lennox [Where is God in a Coronavirus World, excerpt from ch.5]
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:6-7
The quarantine has lifted for much of Peru on July 1st, although the state of emergency (similar to martial law) and curfews are still in place. Arequipa and 7 other provinces of Peru are still in complete lockdown. The Covid-19 cases are still rising dramatically here so the quarantine has been extended locally through July. Hospital beds and oxygen are hard to find.
Food distribution has also been disrupted this month several times. Two weeks ago after the distribution was finished the team discovered that a person with Covid-19 had picked up a bag. Because of this the deliver team self-quarantined for 10 days. So the week of June 30th we did not pack any food. We restarted this past Monday, July 6th.
Last Saturday a member of the Venezuelan team that helps distribute food to their people, died. He leaves a wife and 3 children from 14 years old and less. He had had a headache for the past 2 weeks and had not helped the last week. Friday his headache was worse so he went to the hospital. He passed away Saturday morning from a heart attack. This past Monday morning while packing food we received the news that his test came back positive for Covid-19.
Later Monday morning another member of the Venezuelan team, Antonio, who was helping pack food developed a headache. At 11 o’clock at break time I found out about it. We sent him home immediately. That night he came down with fever and other symptoms of Covid-19. Because he was helping pack food, the project stopped until July 10th. Everyone who was helping pack has been advised to quarantine themselves for 2 weeks. This includes our family because Denver and I were there. Tuesday we spent the day purchasing food and making preparations for not leaving our apartment for 2 weeks.
The packing will start again next week God willing with a different team. It has been very helpful to have an American doctor on our team who helps make these decisions.
It has not helped the situation that 370,000 people (37%) of Arequipa were without water from Saturday, July 4th through Friday July, 10th. Social distancing and other health protocols were discarded in people’s desperation for water. Fortunately, our water was not cut. We also have a storage tank on the roof that will hold 3 days’ supply if we are careful.
How can you pray?
Here is a link to a color copy of our newsletter https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sVgAbK4gH1VL9hsL5axi5KyOaNG3eiXS/view?usp=sharing
Check out a video of the food packing project called Alianza de Amor (Alliance of Love) https://youtu.be/kMKf0MB8TtM
Stan Schrock Family Serving in Peru 