Dear Friends and Family,
All over the world life has changed. Does this look familiar?
<-- Participating in a men's Bible study.
Although things are crumbling all around, the one constant is God's love and faithfulness. Your Peruvian friends have felt that love through you and your solidarity. Help came unexpected. HUNDREDS were touched by His unconditional love through you!! Many said they felt His presence like never before; that their faith has grown; that now above all else, JESUS is the most important in their lives, because they had felt HIS peace, comfort and compassion amidst dire times. HE was all they had.
Now with partial quarantine, the guys and girls are back in the Youth Houses, but with major changes.
Genoveva, because of high blood pressure and diabetes, couldn't receive the  girls in the Darling House, because of fear of contagion. So, we were flexible and creative. We made a space for them in Casa Flores ministry center, where they continue to meet around God's word and study virtually. Vivian is the mentor. (Two girls have not been able to return because either they or a member of their family has the coronavirus.)
<-- Two more bedrooms were built on the roof of Casa San Juan, so the boys would not be so squished together in small rooms. This allowed for more fresh air and a better health situation. (Three boys are just about to re-enter after having had the coronavirus and recovered, now testing negative)
We are super excited!
God willing, we hope to begin construction on Casa America, a 2nd girls' house in these months. It will give much needed work to many in the area and provide a safe home for 18 girls. God will mend their broken lives, as they grow spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. Eventually they will go out and bring others to JESUS. Then other girls will enter... God willing, we will begin raising funds this next month. We already have the property! It is the gray wall with the red door!
David and Gina Stavros
As the coronavirus continues to rage in Peru, recently, the Wall Street Journal published an article with mention of Peru:
"Let's acknowledge that coronavirus statistics are far from perfect. Weak public-health systems in the region make it difficult to measure rates of infection and fatalities accurately. And that's if the truth is even an objective.
On the other hand, when the Covid-19 panic hit, some countries experimented with repression lite, not for days or weeks but for months. This has caused enormous economic pain for those who could least afford it. The disease spread and death tolls have spiraled anyway.
This isn't out of the ordinary. Large informal economies persist in the region because the rules to operate in the formal economy are oppressive...
Peru's lockdown has arguably been the most draconian. Practically all businesses were ordered to be closed alongside a stay-at-home mandate. The government centralized all deliveries making it almost impossible for charitable organizations and companies to help the needy. President Martin Vizcarra put the military on the streets to enforce his decree.
A lockdown may save lives during a hurricane or similar events of limited duration. But after a couple of weeks this use of power to contain Covid-19 became an abuse of power. The economically secure obeyed but probably wouldn't have gone out anyway. For most everyone else President Vizcarra's order was equivalent to mandating extreme hardship..."
Despite over 100 days of lock-down "Infections spread and Peru became one of the 10 hardest-hit countries in the world... Months of lockdown were completely at odds with what it means to be human."
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