Ben Smith
Bens, 6 month Peruvian Placement
Fundraising for Tearfund
Story
Next year I will be setting off on a life changing journey.
I will be living and serving in Peru for six months with Tearfund and WARMIS. Along with a team of six other young adults, determined to live a life for God, I will be a part of the work in Cajamarca a rural town in the Northern Highlands of Peru .
- Everybody farms in the countryside around Cajamarca. What little land people have is used to grow potatoes and rear a few animals, but production is low, and it’s a tough market. What makes life even harder are the unpredictable rains caused by climate change, the soil degradation and range of pests which destroy whole harvests. The result is that many families are left struggling to survive. And yet this is a community that is bursting with potential. People there love life and are determined not just to survive but to improve their lives. They want progress and to see their potential fulfilled, just like the rest of us - See more at: http://www.tearfund.org/en-sc/give/see_for_yourself/latin_america/more_about_cajamarca/#sthash.XuuW6VdL.dpuf
Not only is there a strong physical and practical need. There is a real spiritual need and as the team will work in and through the local church we hope to spread the gospel.
This trip is also a chance for me to explore my own faith and take a personal journey of love and understanding.
As a team and a family we will work together to:
- Empower Women - in a sexist society
- Inspire Children - in a hopeless world
- Connect and build the church - where there is a void
- Aid Agriculture - to improve quality of life
- Teach - to improve education and provide opportunity.
- Christmas Child - help deploy and deliver shoebox appeal
The fundraising for this trip does not include flights or any expenses personal to me. All proceeds go trough Tearfund and then to WARMIS, the funds cover insurance and safety for the team when on the placement, for food and living accommodations and then for the work of WARMIS.
I would like to thank you in advance for your support, I feel that the next chapter in my life is a challenging one and as I mature... (Age may be more appropriate )life seems to get faster and more rushed. With this six month placement. Away from home comforts and pushed to my extremes I believe I will return a more grounded and more rounded individual,more secure in my love for God.
But for now why rush. I finish this appeal with my favourite verse:
"Therefore I urge you brothers in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of you mind . Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:1&2
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. (which was probably A LOT longer than you first thought. )
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