Christmas 2003
Lima, Peru

Dear Friends,

It’s hard to imagine a year more chocked full of work, grace-filled surprises, tears of frustration, laughter, and answers to prayer. At Christmastime, we remember all of you who supported our work in prayer, giving, and action this year. Our three children, Ndaya (15, a gifted singer and developing actress), Billy (14, a great soccer defensive player and budding student), and Andrew (11, a soccer star and animal lover) have grown and matured this year in special ways and continue to bring us great joy. Just looking at them reminds us how blessed we are.

In 2003, our work with the Joining Hands Against Hunger Network in Peru has felt like a roller-coaster ride that never stopped. Ups and downs so fast and furious that the only certainty was that God— Emmanuel— was with us in every moment. “Awesome” is how the kids would describe it.

Out of poverty into dignity

From what started as a dream and a simple prayer request, an innovative and remarkably successful “Fair Trade Bridge” has been built linking 80 Peruvian artisan families who were living on less than $1 a day and a growing network of churches in the United States. Many of the artisans have seen their income double—even triple—in 2003 as they receive training from our network and are introduced to the “fair trade” market. Fair trade seeks justice, rather than charity, for the poor. The dignity this has brought to the artisans (most are women, indigenous, or mobility-impaired persons) was repeated time after time at the national training workshop held last week. “This year for the first time, I have been able to feed my children and take them to the health post when they were sick,” said one artisan-mother from a central Andean community. We charted three of our most successful artisan groups’ income growth so they (and you!) could see it (two are women’s groups in Lima, the other is in Peru’s central Andes).

Many U.S. Presbyterian churches and groups are holding “fair trade fairs” with the handicrafts our artisans produce. If you’re interested, check out our products and artisans at: http://www.comerciojustoperu.es.vg and contact Carolyn Newcomb (Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery fair trade coordinator). The Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery's has a Web site at: http://www.glpby.org/.

Witnessing to truth to protect children in La Oroya

Our network’s efforts to raise awareness in churches and communities in Peru and the United States about the dangerous levels lead, arsenic, and cadmium in the city of La Oroya were richly rewarded. Although nearly 100 percent of the children in La Oroya have lead poisoning (27 percent should be hospitalized immediately), the local community has felt powerless to make the primary polluter, the Doe Run Company of St. Louis, Missouri, reduce its pollution. But there were numerous answers to our prayers, reflection, and action:

• News of the health emergency for La Oroya’s children was picked up by 11 newspapers, 12 TV and radio stations, and many community groups in both Peru and the United States—even Vanity Fair (July) ran a piece about it. The political and spiritual pressure made the critical difference.
• Congressional hearings were held in Lima and legislation that we helped draft in response to the environmental crisis is currently being reviewed by a congressional committee and should be voted on this month.
• Even more importantly, several of our key concerns have been incorporated by both the Peruvian government and the company.

Accompanying the widows and orphans

Fifteen years of terrorist violence in Peru (1980-95) left in their wake more than 69,000 dead (most of whom were extremely poor, indigenous farmers and herders) and tens of thousands of widows and orphans. Our network is mindful of Scripture’s injunction to care for the widows and orphans (Old Testament imagery for all the poor and oppressed, that is, the objects of God’s particular concern), and we are encouraging the Peruvian government to deal fairly and compassionately with the many victims of violence.

Last month, the Peruvian government, in response to concerns expressed by our network and those of other churches and institutions, named a high-level commission to follow up the work of the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We thank God that the nation’s wounds can now be bound up and healed, because we are convinced that the most effective prevention against a resurgence of terrorism in Peru—and the world— is justice for the poor.

We are thankful to be your representatives here. Pray with us throughout 2004. As the Christmas holidays draw together your loved ones, we ask you to join us in prayer that Jesus Christ’s church around the world would be especially mindful of the poorest and include them in their “family circle” in the coming year.

With you, joyfully, in Christ,

Ruth and Hunter Farrell

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.150