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Julie Breck in

Peru
www.perumission.org

Aug-Oct, 2009 Transitions :: Volume 1

I’m here!
ello all! I hope this
H letter finds you happy
and well wherever you may
be! Thank you to all who are supporting
me in various ways. Without you, none
of this work would be possible, and
because of you, God’s kingdom on Earth
is changing. After some adjusting, it’s
Inside… safe to say I’m settled into my new home
in Trujillo, Perú and I love it. I hope to send this newsletter
English Classes as a quarterly update to stay in touch. Here you will find
English classes are in full swing information about the mission, our three churches, the
projects we’re working on, and the people we work with. A
The Alonzo Ramirez “normal” day here consists of
Library devotions, office hours, lesson
Getting a facelift and some
eager readers.
planning, lunch, and English
classes in the afternoon and
Mission Trip to Huari evening. However, every day
Investigating approaches to faith in Trujillo is different!
in mountain pueblos.
1

Working in Wichanzao
eacher! Hermana! Profesora!” I
T have many names at work, but to
most I’m known as “the gringa,” or
the white person. Because Peru Mission’s
English Institute is temporarily closed due
to relocation, I am currently working with
one of its other ministries. Three other
gringos and I travel to the former
shantytown of Wichanzao every day to
teach English to children and adults. In
Peru, if you squat on a piece of land for
more than two years, you are legally
allowed to build there. Often, these towns
are dangerous and impoverished—
Wichanzao is one of these places, though it
is being built up due to the
strong efforts of the
community. On Tuesdays
and Thursdays we also have
students from the
neighboring Clementina
shantytown. I am
continually impressed and
2 amazed at how intelligent
Clementina
v. 1 :: Nov 16, 2009
English
changes people
and motivated most of the students are. I
love teaching new games like duck-duck-
goose, hide and seek, and even chess! The
church also works very closely with the
students by offering events like movie
night and volleyball to further develop the
relationships with our students within a
spiritual setting. There’s Aurora, who has
the best laugh and Jimmy, who always
wears a hood. There’s Alfredo, who is
learning English to work on a cruise ship;
Osmer, who translates for missionaries;
Leonor, who is moving to Australia for her
job; and Lucila, who has no front teeth
and just wants to learn English to help
her kids. Though teaching is
clearly important, at the end
of the day it is my
relationships with my
students, their courage, and
seeing how God works in
their lives through the
English language that make
me love my job.  2

Did you know in
Peru...
It’s common to eat fried
guinea pig, chicken feet,
and ostrich eggs
Peru is the world's second-
largest producer of coca
leaves and of cocaine
There are over 1800 types
of birds, 120 unique to
Peru
Peru has mountains,
beach, desert, and jungle
The estimated literacy rate
in Peru is 85%
44% of the population is
below the poverty line
v. 1 :: Nov 16, 2009
The Alonzo
Ramírez Library
One of the highlights of my day is volunteering in the
Alonzo Ramírez Library. Funded by a grant from the
Peruvian government, our library is located in the
Wichanzao Presbyterian Church and is the only public
library in an area of 10,000 people called La Esperanza.
Adults and kids alike gather here to read, use the
computer, and play games. We are able to lend books to
people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to them.
Harry Potter and the Little Mr./Little Miss Series are
very popular! Presently, I am working to organize and
collect materials to expand our current collection of about
300 books. We have been successful in attaining local
donations and one shipment from Darien Book Aid in
Connecticut. Thanks to my mom, Aunt Jamie, Rosa Ríos,
Marti Bolton, and other donors! If you have any
unwanted Spanish language books or would like to make
a monetary donation to the library, please contact me at
breck.perumission@gmail.com.
3
 v. 1 :: Nov 16, 2009

Our New

Home!
Peru Mission is proud to present
its new office. Located in the
city center of Trujillo, our new
building has enough space to
house the offices of all of our
ministries. We’ve truly been
blessed to have such a beautiful
new home!

Mission Trip to Some of Our

Ministries
Chavin 1 San Agustin Language
Institute
English classes for adults
…excerpt from my blog, www.somoslibres.tumblr.com
2 Sousa
n October, the Larco church leaders and some
I of the fellows went to Huaraz, Chavin, Huari,
College ministry for
Peruvians
and Iscog to spend a few days investigating the
church community in each of these mountain towns. 3 Seminario Reformado
We met several other missionaries from Peru and the Reformed Seminary to train
States and enjoyed talking to the Peruvians that live leaders in the church
in these towns. 4 Parish
Our woodshop gives
We stayed in Chavin each night and traveled to Peruvian men real-world
different villages during the day. To a mid- skills and job training.
westerner’s eye, the mountains are other-worldly.
The resident locals wear traditional clothes in bold, 5 Medical Clinic
bright colors and can carry twice their weight in rice Low-cost medical care.
and laundry. In Huari we spent a lot of time roaming 6 Microfinance Institute
the streets to see where we ended up. I love this kind Provides loans to small
of exploring, the kind where you have nothing better business owners.
…continued below

4 4
 v. 1 :: Nov 16, 2009

We followed suit, minus the car part. In

addition, we acquired an ad-hoc guide. 78-
year old Manuel, admittedly still drunk
from the night before, decided to escort us,
sprinting up the hill while we were all
panting behind him. To our credit, we were
at about 3100 meters (10,100 feet).

continued from above

Iscog recieved electricity a year and a half
…to do in the world than talk to whoever you
ago. There is no church here. Nora, a girl I
meet along the way. Though completely
met, told me that her dad died a few years
unintentional in motivation, it is somehow a
ago. Her mom takes care of her and her
more direct way to relate; it surprises people
eight siblings. I asked what some of the
when you ask them not just, “How much does
other parents did for a living. I got blank
this cost?” but “Tell me about yourself. Who
stares. The residents of Iscog don’t have
are you, what do you like, and what do you
jobs in the way we think of jobs.
do?” We learned that there were several continued below
Catholic churches in the area, and they
sometimes sing in Quechua (one form of
the native language of indigenous people
here). We were welcomed warmly by many
people. Some of the elderly people, at 4.5
feet tall, only spoke Quechua. We really
had to rely on God’s mercy to communicate
when we didn’t’ even have Spanish in
common.

Iscog was different. Like inaccessible by car

different. Every day the school teachers get
dropped off at a certain point up the
mountain and walk the rest of the way up
the hillside, old-school style.

5
continued from above
They work on the land, but it’s not a choice; it’s a way to
survive. I asked some other girls what they wanted to be
when they grow up, “Que quieres ser cuando seas grande?” My NEW mailing
“Nada,” they simply said. Nothing. address in Peru:
My heart goes out to these people. On one hand, their
lives—simple, quiet, and communal—are to be envied. On Julianne Breck
the other, the majority have no choice but to live without Casilla Postal
steady water, electricity, access to health care, and even
food. If they leave, their lives look like little more than
1232
selling candy on the street, at best. Some rural people Trujillo, Perú
groups have chosen to leave, like those from the jungle who South America
live in shanty-towns in Trujillo. But is that better?

Please pray for these people and our work in Iscog as God
continues to reveal His will for this community and our
involvement there. 

v. 1 :: Nov 16, 2009

“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God,
which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is,
the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”

Thanks for 1 Thessalonians 2:13

1
reading!
If you would like to
contribute to the church’s
work in Peru Mission, please
send a donation at any time
to Julianne Breck at:

Christian Missionary
Society (CMS)
PO Box 53363
Knoxville, TN 37950

breck.perumission@gmail.com
http://www.somoslibres.tumblr.com