Through the Eyes of a Service Team Member

**Written by guest blogger Jill Osborne**

It’s my last night in Peru on my service trip with Kids Alive International.



I can’t believe how quickly the two weeks have passed. It’s been an experience that I won’t forget.

I’m part of a team from People’s Church, Wyoming, Ontario, Canada. There are seven of us: John (or Uncle John, our fearless leader), Dan and Nathan (strong band of brothers), Jessica and Paul (daughter/father team), Lynnae (better known here in Peru as “Nae Nae”) and myself.



We’ve had lots of laughs, incredible experiences and accomplished tons of different things.

Most of our work has been at The Juniper Tree. The children have recently moved into their brand new, beautiful home and we helped out by finishing off some tile and grout, electrical and yard work.











Check out the photos to see the before and after pics of the yard!





On Wednesday night we played “Octapus” with the kids. To see them run around in their bare feet, on the grass, in the middle of the desert, laughing and smiling, made every drop of sweat and muscle ache worth it!

On our travels to and from The Juniper Tree and The Oasis it’s hard not to notice how barren and dry the landscape is. Even the people on the street seem empty. However, when you enter The Oasis or The Juniper Tree, you notice how alive everything is. The buildings and grounds are bright and colorful but more importantly, you can see the God’s love shining in the eyes of the children and staff. I’ve been able to see firsthand what a blessing these ministries are to the families, children and communities in Peru and in turn I have been humbled and blessed once again by our amazing and gracious God!

Kids Host First Team at the Juniper Tree

The new children's home hosted its first service team this past week. Before, the teams would eat dinners at the children's home and have time to spend with the kids each evening. Now, due to the current distance between the team apartment and the Juniper Tree the work teams divide up and eat in the kids' homes each Wednesday before devotions.

Here are pictures of the team members and missionaries eating with the kids.







With all of the special guests, a kids' table was added in one of the homes.



Here are a couple of pics of devotions. They are currently being held in the older boys' house.





One of the team members provided the devotional and incorporated finger puppets to show that God uniquely created each one of them and loves them. The kids were each able to take one of the unique finger puppets.

Moving In

As a follow-up to last weeks post, here are some pictures of the kids in their new homes.

Not everything is settled in yet, but here is a look at one of the bedrooms.



House moms preparing dinner for the kids.



Amidst the construction, kids can always find ways to play. This time they were pirates looking for buried treasure.



Pachacamac seems like Timbuktu to these kids and they were amazed to see an airplane overhead.



Dinner time has a different feel with the kids eating in their individual housing units. It was refreshing to see each group look more like a family.





Here's a look at each of the family units.







Two of the older boys have been living with the director, Ronald, and his family since they graduated from high school.



Wednesday was the first time that the older kids were able to meet together for devotions in their new home.

Moving Out

This past week the kids made their much anticipated move to the Juniper Tree Children's Home in Pachacamac. The move was a mix of sadness over leaving the home they have known for so long and entering brand new buildings with more space and more of a family feeling. It was a lot of work, but everyone chipped in.