Our Journey to Perú

Dear supporters and friends,

It’s hard to believe that we’re only 3 months from our departure to Peru. In the meantime, we wanted to give you an update about what is going on in our journey.

First, we’d like to share some praise and thanks! Thank you to all of those who donated suitcases to us as well as our friends who kindly donated clothes for Gaby!! It is always amazing to see God’s provision! We were also able to see His provision in the renting of our house. It was a bit stressful to not have it rented for such a long time, but in the end He calmed (once again) our anxiety and provided the perfect couple to rent it.

I have included information below regarding the rest of our plans, our current needs, and our prayer requests.

When are you leaving?

January 14: The whole family will go to North Carolina for missionary training with JAARS.

February 24: We come back to MN to visit with and say good bye to friends and family.

March 12:  Departure to Peru.

What are your needs?                    

We are still in need of monthly supporters.  If you have been thinking about supporting us, now is the time! We still need 30% to reach our goal. We humbly ask you to step up in faith and join us on our journey.  If you would like to part of our support team we will be happy to send you more information.

What should we pray about?

• For protection on our road trip to North Carolina.
• For our children during their transition to home schooling. (…and for their new teacher!)
• For smooth transitions and adaptability during our moving from place to place.

We are so humble and grateful for all of you!  We appreciate your friendship and support, your financial gifts, and your prayers on our behalf.  We are always praising God because of your obedience to Him enabling us to serve others.  We pray that this Christmas you would feel His presence and continue to praise Him with your lives.

Feliz Navidad and have a blessed New Year!

Joel, Giannina, Diego, Joey and Gaby

Update on our Journey to Perú

We are very encouraged to have raise 28% of our monthly support. As you can see, we still have a long way to go, considering we only have 4 months before we leave. We know that times are tough which makes it all the more harder for us to ask for funds. However, without funds, we will not be able to do the work we believe God has called us to in Andahuaylas, Perú.  We are counting mostly on friends and family to join with us in raising this support. We hope you will see this as an opportunity to be part  of God’s plan with the children and women of Peru. 

This journey has been challenging. The uncertainty and fear of asking for money has been more difficult than we first realized. Please pray for wisdom for us to prioritize our time better and the courage to reach out to people for financial support. Please also pray that if it is God's will, we can reach our goal to have 80% of our funds raised by October so we can make proper preparations to leave in December or January.

Please pray as Giannina makes a trip to Perú on Sunday to look for a place to live and make school arrangements. She will be going with two more people from Ohio to establish a micro-loan program with the single and abandoned women.

Would you be willing to pray for us and send us to Peru at $25 per month? Before you decline, please know that any amount you can pledge will be gratefully appreciated.

If you decide to join us on this journey of faith,  Simply go to http://www.kidsalive.org/around-the-world/latin-america/peru/ and scroll to the bottom and click on our name under missionaries.

In Prayer,

Joel, Giannina, Diego, Joey and Gaby Posner

The Beginning - 2004

Our journey to Perú began in 2004. Joel and I (Giannina) founded a non-profit organization called “Friends of Perú”, created to help the most impoverish children and women of Andahuaylas, the second poorest city in Perú. By fully relying on God, and with the help of friends, family, and Wayzata Evangelical Free Church, we were blessed to help 17 children and 6 single-mothers by providing a home, nutritious meals, education, and most importantly God’s love.

Our program includes:

·       A strong faith-oriented education.

·       Public school enrollment.

·       Nutritious food, consistent shelter, and warm clothing.

·       After school tutoring

·       Participation in devotional services, worship, and teaching.

·       Skills and enrichment opportunities to become self-sufficient adults.

·       A place to experience love, safety, and compassion.

 In 2006 we found the perfect property where we could build our new Children's home! We began to pray and trust that God would provide the funds we needed to purchase the lot and begin construction.  Joel and I stepped in faith, taking out a second mortage on our house to purchase the lot. In 2007, we received a very generous donation of $50,000 in matching funds to pay off and continue the creation of the home center. We were closer than ever to realizing the dream of a new home center facility.

 Because of the generosity of friends, family, and many individuals, we began construction of our first family-style home center. This house accomodates 9 children and one house parent. This provides the children with the experience of what true family life should consist of by providing security, stability, and a sense of community. The intimacy of the family-style home is the ideal climate for character training and spiritual growth as we are enabled to disciple each child individually.

In 2009, after much prayer, we joined forces with the established Kids Alive International ministries in order to continue showing the love and care of Christ to children-at-risk in Andahuaylas. Kids Alive is an organization that shares the same vision and passion as Friends of Perú for the children of Peru.  Kids Alive provides care for thousands of children in countries like Sudan, Dominican Republic, Kenya, Guatemala, Haiti and Lebanon through their Children’s Homes, Care Centers and Schools.

Currently, we have two more homes at the center under construction. We also recently finished constructing a safety wall around the entire property. We are truly amazed at where God has brought this center in the last 7 years! It is truly only through His hand and the generosity and obedience of His children that this has taken place. Praise God!!

There aren't enough words to describe our joy and gratitude. We would like to express our sincerest thanks to YOU for being such an important part of this ministry and partnering with us to bring hope to one of the poorest cities: Andahuaylas, Perú.

The Posners

Kids Alive International

Kids Alive International is a Christian faith mission dedicated to rescuing orphans and vulnerable children – meeting their spiritual, physical, educational and emotional needs.
Kids Alive provides children with the love and care every child deserves, and raises them to be contributing members of their society and witnesses to their family and community.

For more information on Kids Alive International and their ministry, please visit their website.

Vamos a Perú

With great excitement and joy we would like to announce that our family has been aproved as Kids Alive missionaries in Perú!! As many of you know, our hearts have been in Perú since 2004 when we began our journey with the Friends of Perú Children's Home.
We are excited and overwhelmed all at the same time! We are... truly blessed and honored to be able to serve our Savior full-time, making a difference in the lives of children, families, and the community of Andahuaylas, Perú.

Since you have all been an integral part of our lives, we would love for you to become part of this process with us, most importantly with your prayers and secondly with financial support. Thank you all for being a tremendous support in our lives. We would not have made it his far on our own! Please join us in praying for this amazing journey that God has us on.

Joel, Giannina, Diego, Joey, and Gaby (The Posners)