Dear Prayer Partner, The focus of the Bible a Month calendar in October is Peru.  Peru is a South American country which boarders Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile. It is famous for its history, including the Inca Empire, as well as the Andes mountain range which run through the country.  The Peruvian Bible Society works closely with the local church on many projects including the first revision of the Matsigenka translation of the Bible, work with people who are deaf and the "Bread of Life" project which we will be looking at in this email. This project seeks to provide children with a nutritious breakfast while they learn about the Bible and God's love for them.

Peru Capital: Lima Population: 31,331,228 (July 2018 est.) Official language: Spanish and Quechua. Religion: Roman Catholic 60%, Christian 14.6%, other .3%, none 4%, unspecified 21.1% Statistics and map taken from The World Factbook and Operation World .

Ministry in Peru Around a third of the population of Peru live along the west coast and in the capital, Lima, and half live in the Andean Highlands. There is great social inequality throughout the country, with those in rural areas generally being less well off than those in urban areas. Many of those who live in the rural areas of the country depend on agriculture to survive. The Peruvian Bible Society is beginning to see a change within the people of Peru. The population is becoming increasingly secularised- many are turning away from religion and God. Yet the Peruvian Bible Society continues their work, spreading the news of the Gospel. The Peruvian Bible Society seeks to provide God’s Word to everyone in Peru, no matter what their cultural, ethnic, geographical or social status. Their main focus is through holistic and Bible engagement projects. They believe that it is important to answer people’s different needs, as well as providing spiritual materials to help them encounter God. Below we have some stories from the “Bread of Life” project, where children are given breakfast alongside Biblical teaching.

Providing Children with the Gospel and a Breakfast This year the "Pan de Vida" or “Bread of Life” programme celebrates seventeen years of providing children in need with the Bible and a breakfast. Over the last seventeen years they have been able to provide physical and spiritual help to more than seven thousand children. Through the programme children receive a nutritious breakfast or snack, this could be bread, rice or lentils along with a cup of milk. They are then are taught stories, verses and Christian values from the Bible. They are taught lessons on the Bible with every meal they receive.  This project runs from Monday to Friday throughout the year and relies on local churches and volu nteers to run. Currently there are 1186 children in the program: 585 in the rural communities of Cusco, and 601 in the rural areas of Manchay-Pachacamac, San Genaro, Cajamarquilla and Cantagallo in Lima. Seeing that some of those in the project had other needs, the Peruvian Bible Society and local churches were able to provide children in high Andean communities with polar jackets, made by local ladies, to keep them warm. They were also able to provide shoes to those who needed them.

The Bread of Life programme is well known throughout the regions it works in and many churches want to be involved with it. The Peruvian Bible Society seeks to show the children that they are loved and valued as children of God. Many families are touched by the sacrificial nature of this project as children go home fed and share the Bible stories they have been taught. They pray that through the Bread of Life programme many children and their parents will come to know God. Most recently the project celebrated Children’s Day and participated in the Children’s Party for the Month of the Bible in Lima. All the children who attended received their own copy of “The Illustrated Bible” from the Peruvian Bible Society. Just £5 helps to provide one of the children on the Bread of Life project with a Bible Storybook. Check out the video (created by the Scottish Bible Society) below to see more of how this project is impacting children and young people in Peru.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Give Every £5 donated to this project will enable the Peruvian Bible Society to give a child a Bible Story book. Make a donation online now. This project is our Bible-a-month project for October. Decide to become a Bible-a-month partner today! You will receive a free calendar with information about this and 11 other Bible Society projects. Commit to giving just £5 each month and you will ensure that the Word of God is shared across the world. Sign up here.

BIBLE SOCIETY NI 27 Howard Street, Belfast, BT1 6NB 028 9032 6577 Charity Reg. No. NIC102557 www.biblesocietyni.co.uk Header image shows members of the police force receiving Bibles through this project.

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