Compassion Project Visit - 401

In August 2010, I had the opportunity to travel to Peru to see the ministry of Compassion in action. This post and the rest to follow this week are from that trip.

On Tuesday morning of our trip, we headed south of Lima to another Compassion project. Once again, as we got further and further away from the heart of the city, the degree of poverty became more extreme. Did you know that Lima has a population of 9 million people? It's a huge, crowded city, with much of the population living in these squatter villages.

We arrived to a brightly decorated church. Once inside the door, the staff and children were lined up on each side of the hallway, welcoming us to their church. I felt like I was on the red carpet (only a MUCH better red carpet than the Hollywood version!) - being loved, admired, hugged and kissed. I wanted to hug and greet each and every person there, but it would have taken hours!




The kids who attend Compassion's programs learn extra things they aren't learning in school - skills they might use someday to earn a living. These girls were giving each other manicures and we got to watch.



We walked through some neighborhoods surrounding the church that hosts this particular Compassion project. I've just never seen anything quite like it.




litter and garbage just lined the streets...