Cheon Il Guk Peru Missionaries: Celebrating Our Guests' Mile Stones!

Peru Team is here sending our greetings and an update on what’s been happening with the team!

On Thursday, March 12, we celebrated the 18th birthday of one of our bright- spirited- girls, L. del Aguila! She was introduced to CARP by J. Van Galen, a GPA member from last year. The morning she arrived, Rena Saito showed her two clips: one from Kana Ishii, a 2nd-year CIG missionary from last year, and second, from Johanna. The depth of love and support she felt from them could visibly be seen through the tears she shed. As she held her face in her hands and watched while leaning her head forward, it was as if she was virtually communicating with them and responding to their questions of, “Are you doing well? Do you remember the term I taught you? It was-” and she’d finish the sentence together. It was such a moving time for the three girls who were present.

On Friday, March 13, two major things happened for the CIGs overall- one was that three teams from the

European nations were sent back to the US… as R. Yonetani, a 3rd-year CIG missionary from the Czech Republic put it, it was truly bittersweet. On the other hand, as Peru CARP, we could celebrate N. Ericcson for completing all the conferences that CARP has to offer to guests. To many, this may seem normal, but to the team that was working side by side with B. O. and N., it was a moment to celebrate and rejoice, since not everyone we reach out to finish hearing all of the conferences. Over the past month, it has been such a joy to see how N. reacted to the CARP Principles, center environment, and the members here. This day was followed by a boba date with N. and the team! As N. was getting ready to ride the bus back to his home, he shared that this was one of the best days of his life…

Our hearts go out to all those affected by the Corona Virus breakouts… but we are positive that good things will occur later on!

On Saturday, March 14, we hosted a CARP- GPA outing day. It was initially supposed to be a half-day seminar where we introduce CARP and it’s values, and share Pure Love testimonies from the CIG missionaries. As the week progressed though, and we began to prepare, Dokhwa, the president of CARP, shared on Thursday that we cannot have indoor events, only outdoors. Regardless of the sudden change and the investment that went into decorations and game prep, we stopped working on it and moved onto sharing the updated news with our friends. It’s amazing that we could have such a wonderful outing day with all of our guests because the very next day, the government of Peru announced that nobody can leave the house unless they were out to buy medicine or food.

We are truly grateful that we could work under such circumstances to celebrate and give out care, education, and love until the last moments of being allowed free interactions. We are praying that all of our friends and family are safe and finding new ways to continue our CARP activities and strengthening old and new bonds. We are excited to see what this week’s challenges and victories will be brought to the table!