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An Update from The Crawfords: Peru 2022
We have had the privilege of working with Reimagine in Peru each year for nearly 20 years. Our primary mission location is a community named Santa Rosita, which is in the very populous district of San Juan de Lurigancho in the Lima province of Peru. It is a little more than an hour's drive from downtown Lima.
Our mission is to build houses and work with the community to strengthen their community. We always identify additional needs and try to help people meet those needs. Over the years, we have helped with medical needs, clothing, household items, beds and cooking items, and many others. We also try to help meet their spiritual needs but to be honest; they also help us meet ours.
Our teams usually consist of 20-30 Americans, mainly from Pensacola, with affiliations with several local churches. We also have a group of about 12 Peruvians who have worked closely with us over the years and in various capacities.
Reimagine now has a team house with a worship sanctuary, kitchen, and bedrooms. We are also reaching out to the Jicamarca community that surrounds the team house property. The team house is comfortable and allows the teams to grow closer when we are there than before when we drove back and forth to Lima and stayed in a hotel. The team house has also significantly shorted the drive, which in Lima traffic was approaching 2 hours each way.
We met some Peruvians on the team and in the community nearly 20 years ago and have developed strong relationships with them. When we work in Santa Rosita, we have tremendous community support. The building involves passing prefabricated panels of OSB plywood on a wooden frame, carrying tin panels for the roof, 100-pound bags of concrete, and sand to mix with the concrete. The community shows up in large numbers to help. Sometimes, the materials must be passed up hilly terrain to get to the home site. In addition to houses, we have also built community kitchens and community centers, which are much larger buildings.
During the week, we play with the kids and also offer Bible lessons, including skits, music, and activities. The kids and community members are fed a hot lunch every day we are onsite.
The day after we built the last planned house was fantastic because we built a house that had not been scheduled to be built. The previous day, a lady known to our builder explained to Vicki that her house had burned to the ground recently, and she and her children were without a home. After discussions with the builder, it was determined that his workers could fabricate a house for this lady overnight. With the help of several generous donors and our team, we were able to fund and build this house. It is in a community named Juan Pablo, where we had never been. It was straight up the side of the mountain.
Fortunately, several local workers on a different project came and helped us immensely. We also didn't have the usual community support because this is not a community where we are known, and it takes time to build trust in the local communities.
After each building is built, there is a brief ceremony where members of the team and the recipients bless the house. The recipients are tremendously grateful and sometimes share stories of their hardships.
Cokesbury has funded a house almost every year since our beginning working in Peru. We, Reimagine, and the Peruvians are very grateful for this support.
- Dave and Vicki Crawford
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So many things to celebrate!
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Cokesbury warmly welcomes Roxanne and Logan as our newest church members!
Be sure to say 'Hey!' to them when you see them in service; we're glad to have them as part of the church family.
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Student Ministries rocked Youth Week and welcomed our incoming 6th graders and new friends with a bang! The fun will continue through Saturday Morning.
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Brenda is retiring from volunteering at the church front desk after faithfully serving for over eight years. We will miss her and thank her for all her hard work and dedication.
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Cokesburians had a wildly successful electronics recycling drive last week.
We're thankful to Coastal E-cycle for allowing us to be good stewards of our community and ecological resources!
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This week at Cokesbury
If you'd like a printable calendar of upcoming July / August events,
tap here.
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We continue our annual supply drive for Holm Elementary!
This year they've requested sanitizing wipes to ensure students and staff
can stay healthy and safe throughout the school year.
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All kiddos ages 0-12 are welcome!
Please check in and drop them off at Bullington Hall.
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Regional Laity Meeting with Bishop Graves
Join Bishop David Graves and leadership from the Alabama-West Florida Conference at a regional meeting in August. Bishop Graves will bring a message to the laity of the conference and answer any questions they might have. These events are specifically focused on laity to help them understand current denominational matters and to provide accurate information. All laity in AWF local churches are invited to attend. Registration is not required for these meetings.
Sunday, August 21 - 4PM
First UMC Pensacola
6 E Wright St
Pensacola, FL 32501
We are currently exploring options to potentially make this available via Livestream.
We will update everyone with more information as it becomes available.
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Connect
Missed this week's sermon? Need prayer? Tap an option below.
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