Volume 5 Issue 6 June 2010

La Luz de Cristo para Perú

Answers to Prayers | BLESSINGS Last week, we experienced such a profound answer to prayers that the day easily became one of the Top 10 days in our mission service… possibly THE BEST day! If you have been following our mission for very long, you know that we have invested a lot of time, effort, and prayers into a pro-ject called Kuyay Talpuy (Sowing seeds with the Love of God). A year ago, we began by opening an educational project for chil-dren and families who cannot afford an education in Peru. Our goal was to get children off the streets and into a school setting, to minister to their families, and to eventually minister to the com-munity and other areas of Peru. Our theory is to work in a pat-tern of concentric circles (like ripples when you toss a pebble into a pond). With God always at the center and focus of the project, we (the team) have worked to provide an education for the children and to share the love of Christ with them on a daily basis. Although it has not always been easy and we have seen much persecution, we have remained faithful to the call. Through the children, we have seen the project touch MANY parents and families and their testimonies have been incredible! We have only been able to break out into the next “circle” a cou-ple of times, with some community members beginning to show trust and interest in the project and knowing more. BUT LAST

WEEK was a huge breakthrough! So many things happened all at once that it could only be God, because coincidences like this just aren’t possible! • The director and a teacher of a local public school came to

us and asked for help… they are required by law to teach “religion” in the schools, but the director and the teachers of this school said that they don’t know anything about relig-ion. They have seen our work and what we are doing with our project. They asked us to come and help them by teaching them how to integrate the Bible into their class-rooms and show them how to teach the values and morals that we are teaching our students.

• The community came and asked us if we thought it might be possible to start a Sunday School for the children, and have bible studies for the adults… they said they want to learn more about the Bible and how to integrate it into their lives. There is no church in the village of Patarcocha. (We will begin this new “church plant” this Sunday, June 6th.)

• Two local families came and offered their homes to us as places for our interns and our Peruvian missionary to live and work in the community.

• Two of our students, a brother and sister, had not ever spo-ken until this day… they only speak to each other. They are very shy and withdrawn. Their mother is of diminished mental capacity and requires a lot of patience and help. They also have an older sister who is a special needs child. But on this day, Francis (the 4 year old boy) stood very close to Billy and held his hand all day. He even began to smile when we looked his way. Then, the little sister, Mariana (3 years old) called Billy “Tio” (uncle) and started to tell him about her notebook and her work. Small steps, but such a HUGE beginning!!!

It was an incredible day and a blessing to us that you cannot ever imagine… God was answering so many prayers, all in one day! It was a FLOOD of answers and confirmation that we are working in the right place and for the right Reason. Please join us in celebration and pray with us as we work to continue the mission… to share Christ’s love with the people of Iscos and Patarcocha and the Andes mountains of Peru.

God

Kuyay Talpuy Mission team

children

Parents/families

Surrounding community

We are so pleased to welcome three new mission interns to the field this month!

We recently traveled into the jungle to do a “set-up” trip for a medical mission that will serve here in August. We spent time visiting people in the town and in surrounding villages. The area is thick with native communities of Ashaninka people. The Ashaninka in this area continue to live in their traditional hut-type housing and continue to wear the cushma clothing of their peo-ple. We traveled to visit a couple of villages in the area to get a better feel for the people and their needs in the area. In one such village, we climbed the hill to the top to visit the village and talk with the people. We encountered a village built completely of thatched roof huts, ham-mocks, many Ashaninka children playing in the village center, women weaving baskets and cooking over fires, etc. And in the center of town stood a giant concrete cross with neon lights affixed to it. This cross seemed a little odd and out of place in a community that has so com-pletely adhered to their origins and native ways, so we asked our host, “Tell us about the cross in front of your home… who built it?” His answer was interesting… he shook his head and said, “The Hotel and Restaurant association of that town over there (pointing across the jungle) built that thing here. Our people do not dedicate ourselves to such a thing. We are dedicated to God, but not to this thing. They put it in the middle of our town for tourists to see.” “Did you sell them the land or how did they get permission for this?,” we asked. “No, we cannot own our land. We are only Ashaninka. The government leases us our land. We have no say. They just came and built it in the middle of our town. It is called La Cruz Turistica (the Tourist Cross). We don’t like it, but it is here, so we live with it.” Please pray for people all over the world who have had similar experiences with Chris- tian people who are not culturally sensitive. Please pray for Christian people around the world to build relationships and understanding instead of neon concrete crosses.

WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE GIANT CROSS ON TOP OF THE HILL IN THE JUNGLE??? The Cross on the Hill— Cerro Verde

Calling all Cooks!: We are working on a cookbook of reci-pes from all around the world. We would like to include recipes from our friends. Those of you who are currently living (or have lived) in other countries, please share your recipes! We also know some really good cooks in the USA who can submit some awesome recipes. We have MANY missionary friends who serve in other countries and we have many well traveled friends who might like to submit reci-pes. Email recipes to us at lau-rie@drumsforchrist.org We hope to get the book published before we return in November… a great Christmas gift idea!!! Submit your recipes to be in-cluded in this effort!

PERU OPPORTUNITIES:

Welcome the Interns! Two months in Peru!

Taylor Knapp comes to us from Texas (Christ UMC). She is here serving with us on a Global Ou-treach GO Fellows-hip with Austin Co-llege. She is a Busi-ness and Psychology major.

Emily Heinz comes to us from the Uni-versity of Tulsa, majoring in Spanish and Education. She is serving with us via The Mission Society intern pro-gram

Rachel Robertson comes to us via the University of Georgia (Spanish and Linguistics major) where she serves as Wesley Foundation Leadership. She is serving with us via The Mission Society in-tern program.

Coming to Peru in July… intern Meghann Lau!

MEET OUR TEAM: ROSA

Please continue to pray for the Kuyay Talpuy school projects and for the communities of Iscos and Patarcocha . Praises for so many answered prayers and opportunities for the Kuyay Talpuy project (see page 1)! Pray for us to follow God’s call and serve Him well in these new endeavors. Pray for the interns who have joined us for the summer… Emily, Rachel, and Taylor. All three have begun their service in Peru and will work in the ministries here during June and July. Pray for the Peru team of mission-aries as we work to share Christ’s love with the people of Peru. Praises and thanks for the prayers for a vehicle! We finalized our purchase and are so happy to report that the truck has given us MANY more hours of ministry time each week to people who live FAR from the regular traffic routes! Continue to pray for our sons, Ryan and Miles. Ryan has begun a summer term in college and Miles has moved back to Bryan/College Station for awhile. We continue to pray for all of YOU as you continue to support us through your prayers and your financial support. Thank you!!!

Prayers and Praises

MAILING ADDRESS: LAURIE & BILLY DRUM...JR. SAN JOSE 278…URB. SAN CARLOS...HUANCAYO, PERU TELEPHONE: 979.985.5268 (TEXAS PHONE NUMBER—RINGS US IN PERU) EMAIL: BILLY@DRUMSFORCHRIST.ORG OR LAURIE@DRUMSFORCHRIST.ORG NEWSLETTER: VISIT THE WEBSITE AT WWW.DRUMSFORCHRIST.ORG AND CLICK “NEWSLETTERS” SUPPORT US: USE THE FORM ABOVE, OR GO TO http://www.themissionsociety.org/people/drum

The Drums | HOW TO CONTACT US

WE WANT YOU TO MEET THE PERUVIANS WHO WORK WITH US DAILY TO SHARE THE LOVE OF CHRIST.

Meet Rosa! Rosa is a HUGE help to us… not only is she the leader of our Kid’s Club initiative in Iscos and Patarcocha and Cochas, but she also shows up at our door every morning to see what needs to be done for the ministry today. Rosa is a single mother. Her sole “job” is working with the ministry, which is a volunteer position. To make ends meet, she gath-ers and sells recyclables (plastic bottles, cardboard, metals, etc) she takes in odd jobs, and she sells her knitting projects. She is a dedicated mother and mission worker. We are so proud to know her, to serve alongside her, and to call her “friend”! Please pray for Rosa and her service in ministry in Peru.

DEAR BILLY AND LAURIE, I will pray for you. Please send me your newsletter

by e-mail: ____________________________________ As God provides, I plan to partner with you by giving

$ _________ Per month / quarter / year for _____ years. I would like to donate a one-time gift of $ _________ I would like to sponsor a child’s education for $25/mo. ($300/

year). (Please write Special Project on your check) Name (PLEASE PRINT) ______________________________________ Address _________________________________________________ City____________________ State__________ Zip _______________ Phone _____________________ Home Church __________________ Email Address: _________________________________________

TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFTS MAY BE SENT TO:

The Mission Society

PO Box 922637 Norcross, GA 30010-2637 USA

DESIGNATE GIFTS: “DRUM SUPPORT 5/321”

Our kids in the Kuyay Talpuy project are THE BOMB!!!! I love big sloppy kisses and giant bear hugs and people who beg to sit in your lap or hold your hand. And I'm wondering if when I

get to heaven, I'll hear a chorus of little people yelling "HERMANO BILLY! HERMANA LAURA!" I hope so... that's the best sound in the world!!!

~ Laurie

SHARE THE LOVE OF CHRIST WITH THE PEOPLE OF PERU. WWW.DRUMSFORCHRIST.ORG | 979.985.5268

A Calling... The difference between a job and a passion!

Laurie & Billy Drum

3907 Old Oaks Bryan, Texas 77802 USA PRESRT STD US POSTAGE

PAID BRYAN TX

PERMIT #102 E-mail: billy@drumsforchrist.org laurie@drumsforchrist.org

We have the distinct pleasure of working with a passionate group of Peruvians in the Kuyay Talpuy project. We are so blessed to work with people who love their job and who literally quit other jobs for the opportunity to work in missions with us. We recently had one of our monthly meetings to discuss the project: where we are, where we are going, and where we stand with our goals and dreams for the people of Iscos, Patarcocha, and the surrounding communities in the Andes mountains. What we expected to be a one hour meeting turned into 4 wonderful hours of working together, praying together, and crying together… all in the name of sharing Christ with others. To see young Peruvian women in their 20s so impassioned for their students and the families of the project that they were brought to tears and were willing to find a way to serve more and love deeper… it’s an amazing opportunity and blessing to work with people who are so committed to their calling! (see photo below, left to right… Rosa, Rocio, Milagros, Laurie, and Tania… the teachers of Kuyay Talpuy!)