Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY230004A
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01:08 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Today program.
01:11 My name is John Dinzey. 01:12 It's a pleasure and a blessing for me to be with you, 01:15 along with my wife, Idalia. 01:16 We just rejoice in the Lord that you are able to be a part 01:20 of the 3ABN family. 01:22 Welcome. 01:23 We welcome you, and we also encourage you 01:27 to call your family, call your neighbors, 01:29 let them know that we have a special program for you today. 01:33 We're going to travel today. 01:35 If you've ever been outside of your community, 01:40 you'll perhaps have visited this country. 01:44 But we want to talk to you today and share with you 01:46 about a ministry that is on the go. 01:50 They have said, "Here I am. Send me." 01:53 Amen. And you will hear of miracles the Lord has done, 01:57 and really communicating the love of Christ to people. 02:01 And we hope and pray that you will be inspired 02:04 as you listen to testimonies and the projects that 02:09 we are going to share about in a moment. 02:11 I'd like to present the president of the 02:13 People of Peru Project, Paul Opp. 02:16 - Welcome. - Thank you. 02:17 It is good to be back. 02:19 Amen, you have been here before. 02:21 ~ I have been here before a couple of times, yes. 02:23 ~ Yeah, it's been a real blessing 02:25 to engage with your viewing audience. 02:28 ~ Amen. So the People of Peru Project continues to go forward. 02:32 ~ Yes. 02:34 ~ And we're going to hear an update today. 02:35 ~ Yes, indeed. 02:36 I am excited to be here to tell you what has happened 02:40 since the last time I was here. 02:41 ~ Excellent, excellent. 02:42 Well, we hope that you will stand by. 02:44 Even press that record button, if you have one, 02:47 to record this program. 02:49 And even jot down information, because I think you will 02:52 want to do something about what you will hear shortly. 02:56 But before we continue, we'd like to go to the Lord in prayer 02:59 and we invite you to pray with us 03:02 as we ask the Lord to bless this program and everyone 03:06 who listens and watches this program. 03:08 Let's go to the Lord in prayer. 03:10 Our loving heavenly Father, we come before You in Jesus' name. 03:16 We want to thank You, Lord, for this day of life. 03:20 We thank You for Your great mercy, 03:22 and that You watch over us. 03:25 And heavenly Father, we present to You now 03:27 all of the prayer requests that have come into 3ABN 03:31 throughout this day. 03:33 You know each and every person and each and every need. 03:36 And heavenly Father, we pray that the petitions 03:39 they have presented You will consider them, 03:42 and even those they have not presented. 03:44 We pray that You will look deep into their hearts 03:46 and see even the greater needs that were not mentioned. 03:50 There are spiritual needs, health, mental needs, 03:54 emotional needs, and physical needs. 03:57 So we bring them before You, trusting that You will know 04:02 each case, and that You will do what is best for each person. 04:06 And we pray for lives to be transformed, 04:09 homes to be mended, and that broken people 04:14 will find hope and healing in Jesus. 04:18 And we pray for the physical healing that is needed. 04:21 We pray that You will bring healing, comfort, and strength. 04:24 And we thank You, Lord, for brother Paul that is here 04:27 to share all the great and wonderful things 04:31 You are doing through the ministry, 04:33 the People of Peru Project. 04:36 We pray for a blessing upon all. 04:37 And we ask it in the holy and blessed name 04:39 of Jesus, amen. 04:41 - Amen. - Amen. 04:43 Well, Idalia, I think it's a good time to share the scripture 04:46 that we have selected. 04:48 And it's in 1 John 3, and we're going to read verses 16-18. 04:55 Idalia, would you like to help us with that? 04:57 Alright, 1 John 3:16-18. 05:03 "By this, we know love, because He laid down His life for us. 05:08 And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 05:13 Verse 17 says, "But whoever has this world's goods, 05:18 and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, 05:24 how does the love of God abide in him?" 05:27 Verse 18 says, "My little children, let us not 05:31 love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." 05:37 - Amen, amen. - Amen, amen. 05:39 - This is an invitation. - It's an invitation. 05:41 That's right. 05:43 And brother Paul, do you have anything to share about this? 05:44 You know, this text became very special to me a few years ago. 05:49 I had read that my whole life. 05:51 Growing up you hear that. 05:53 I thought I used to say, "Lord, you know, 05:54 that's talking about laying down my life. 05:56 If there's anything else You'd rather have me do, 05:59 I suppose I could be a martyr, but you know, if there's 06:01 something else You'd rather have me do, 06:02 I'd kind of like to do that, you know." 06:04 I always thought in terms of laying down their life. 06:06 And one day I was sitting in front of a group of 06:09 enthusiastic high school students that were volunteers 06:12 in our organization from California. 06:14 And it was spring time. It was March spring break. 06:18 And I was sitting there waiting for these young people 06:20 to come in, we were going to have worship that morning. 06:22 And I thought, wow, these kids right now could be 06:26 spring skiing in California, they could be out on the ocean, 06:30 they could be back home resting and lying around 06:33 just enjoying their time away from school 06:35 during spring break. 06:37 But they really did lay down their lives in a way 06:40 for those two weeks that they were going to be down there 06:43 sweating it out in the Amazon jungle 06:45 and helping us to impact the lives of people 06:48 that really, really benefit from that interaction. 06:50 And I thought, wow, a whole new meaning to this verse. 06:53 ~ Amen, amen. ~ Amen. 06:55 I really like this part that says in verse 18, 07:02 "Let us not love in word or in tongue, 07:05 but in deed and in truth." 07:07 And really, love is shown not only by the things you do, 07:12 I mean, the things you speak, but also by the things you do. 07:15 And that's the way really love is made known. 07:20 And so, I guess that's why some people say, 07:22 action speaks louder than words. 07:26 Well, this is definitely an opportunity for 07:29 our viewing audience, our family, to say, 07:32 "You know what? 07:34 I want to lay my life for the brethren. 07:36 I want to serve the Lord." 07:38 Sometimes we are presented opportunities. 07:40 In the past we have been presented opportunities, 07:42 and we've not taken advantage of those opportunities. 07:46 So during this hour, it's an invitation for you to 07:50 lay out your life for your brethren 07:52 there in your community, but also abroad. 07:56 The gospel is to be taken to all the world. 07:59 It's not just texts, right? 08:01 We have to live it. 08:03 And what I love about our Lord Jesus, when He was here 08:06 on planet earth, He was showing us service is the way 08:13 to nurture each other, to hold each other up, 08:16 to pray for each other, 08:18 and to fulfill the needs of the people. 08:21 So I admire, I stand in awe of so many things that Jesus did, 08:25 yet He has given us opportunities today 08:29 in this century to pull together 08:31 and do something for our brethren. 08:33 - Absolutely. - Show that love. 08:35 And you're going to hear about people 08:37 doing that in a moment here. 08:39 But we're going to share some wonderful music with you. 08:42 And so, Idalia, what do we have? 08:45 Well, we have Hope Velesquez. 08:47 And this music is going to be entitled, Power of the Cross. 09:03 Oh, to see the dawn of the darkest day: 09:11 Chris on the road to Calvary. 09:19 Tried by sinful man, torn and beaten, then 09:28 nailed on a cross of wood. 09:35 This, the power of the cross: 09:44 Christ became sin for us. 09:52 He took the blame, bore the wrath. 09:58 We stand forgiven at the cross. 10:09 Oh, to see the pain that was written on Your face, 10:18 bearing the awesome weight of sin. 10:26 Every bitter thought, every evil deed, 10:34 crowning Your thorn-stained brow. 10:42 This, the power of the cross: 10:50 Christ became sin for us. 10:58 He took the blame, bore the wrath. 11:04 We stand forgiven at the cross. 11:16 Now the daylight flees, now the ground beneath 11:25 quakes as its Maker bows His head. 11:33 Curtain torn in two, dead are raised to life. 11:42 "Finished!" the victory cry. 11:49 This, the power of the cross: 11:58 Christ became sin for us. 12:05 He took the blame, bore the wrath. 12:12 We stand forgiven at the cross. 12:34 Oh, to see my name written in the wounds. 12:43 For by Your sufferings I am free. 12:52 Death is crushed to death, life is mine to live. 13:01 Won by Your selfless love. 13:09 This, the power of the cross: 13:17 Christ became sin for us. 13:26 He took the blame, bore the wrath. 13:33 We stand forgiven at the cross. 13:41 Oh, we stand forgiven at 13:50 the cross. 14:02 - Amen, thank you very much. - Power of the Cross. 14:04 Power of the Cross, by Hope Velesquez. 14:06 We appreciate you coming to record that. 14:08 And we encourage you to contact her if you want 14:12 to invite her to some event in your church. 14:15 You may find her on Facebook for sure. 14:17 And if you don't, just call 3ABN 14:19 and we will give you the information you need. 14:21 Well, we have Paul Opp with us from the People of Peru Project. 14:26 And we want to know how in the world did you get involved 14:29 in a project in Peru. 14:31 Obviously, you decided to go to Peru for some reason. 14:34 Tell us about that. 14:35 Well, in March of 2000 my daughter who was going to 14:39 Upper Columbia Academy in Washington state 14:42 came home all excited, and said, "The mission trip 14:46 this year is going to Peru. 14:48 They're doing some meetings in a big colosseum. 14:51 And the school came to me right away and said, 14:53 'Oh, Risha, you need to come and sing.'" 14:56 Because she was a gifted vocalist 14:58 and they wanted her to do music. 15:00 And we were just talking about how amazing 15:03 these mission trips were. 15:04 And I was telling her about some I had gone on in the past. 15:07 And she said to me, "Dad, you should go with us. 15:10 They're looking for other parents." 15:13 And we talk about, you know, I have a little sermon series 15:15 talking about, where is the miracle? 15:17 And a lot of people think that's the miracle, 15:19 when your teenage daughter asks you to go along on a trip. 15:22 - Wow! ~ It was an amazing experience. 15:24 And a long story short, I just saw poverty and suffering 15:29 and hopelessness on a level I had never seen it before. 15:33 Not even close. 15:34 And I knew I couldn't change the whole world, 15:37 but I could probably help somebody in the Peru region 15:43 in the jungle area with the poverty that I saw there. 15:46 So I started going back, and one thing led to another. 15:49 I found two little girls on the streets whose mom died 15:54 and they were alone. 15:55 They were six and eight when their mom died. 15:57 When I found them they were eight and ten. 15:59 I ultimately ended up adopting them, 16:01 which is a whole different story. 16:02 They're young adults now with kids of their own 16:05 living in the United States. 16:06 That was a whole story. 16:08 But God provided these relationships every time I went 16:11 that was just like Velcro. 16:12 Every hook was just tighter and tighter 16:15 until we were there full-time. 16:18 I was there full time for ten years building the organization. 16:21 And it was because of a school trip. 16:23 Because of a school trip. 16:25 Because of that invitation your teenage daughter 16:28 extended to you, wow, that is in itself a blessing. 16:32 And for others to hear. 16:34 Because sometimes our kids want us to be part 16:37 of some function in their lives and some parents are, 16:42 quote unquote, too busy. 16:43 Don't rob yourself of that blessing of going and serving 16:48 with your kids. 16:49 So that is a special event, especially, wow, what a nice 16:54 relationship between father and daughter to go as missionaries. 16:58 So you decided to accept. You went over there. 17:02 The Lord orchestrated every step. 17:04 From what I see, and have heard thus far, 17:07 is a chain link bound together, bound together. 17:11 And the chain is stronger and longer and bigger. 17:14 And it's been years. 17:16 What was the year you started the ministry? 17:18 In March of 2000 I went the first time. 17:21 We formalized in about 2004, but I had been 17:25 back and forth many times. 17:27 So part of you is Peruvian already. 17:30 Well, I've been in Machu Picchu enough times that they 17:35 consider me an honorary Inca. 17:37 But that's at the other end of the country. 17:40 That's right, that's right. 17:41 But what is Iquitos? I mean, where is that? 17:44 - Is that in the Amazons? ~ Yes. 17:45 And I'll tell you what's unique about this city. 17:47 It's the largest city on earth that has 17:50 no roads that connect to it. 17:53 So when you get to Lima, you have to take another 17:56 commercial flight up into the jungle 17:59 for an hour and a half, and you land in the 18:01 middle of the largest Amazon jungle in the world. 18:04 You have just flown over the longest mountain range 18:07 in the world, and you've just left the longest arid 18:10 coastline in the world, to get to Iquitos, 18:12 the largest city in the world with no roads leading to it. 18:15 So you can fly to it or you can go by four and a half days 18:19 on the Amazon River by riverboat. 18:21 - You can do that. ~ Wow. Amazing. 18:23 Well, people are googling... I'm sorry to interrupt. 18:26 People are already googling Iquitos. 18:31 ~ Not to be confused with Quito Ecuador. 18:34 Exactly. 18:35 So what was it that motivated you? 18:36 You've kind of hinted towards that already. 18:39 You saw great need. 18:41 I remember being in Lima Peru many years ago, 18:44 and I saw needs in Lima itself. 18:47 I mean, people in the street asking for help, 18:50 even late at night. 18:52 I remember coming back from an evangelistic campaign, 18:54 and even late at night, 10 or 11, people were out there 18:57 asking for help. 18:59 So you saw something that impacted you, and you said, 19:02 "We've got to do something." 19:05 And tell us how that took place, and why Iquitos. 19:07 Well, the abject poverty just was overwhelming. 19:11 And we talk about poverty, you know, in the United States. 19:15 And yes I know there are people here that suffer and struggle, 19:17 but you can't have less than nothing. 19:20 And the poverty there was just absolutely overwhelming. 19:24 I saw so many unattended children, and ultimately 19:28 the two little girls that we adopted 19:30 who are my daughters now and mothers of my grandchildren. 19:35 You know, they were on the street like those kids 19:39 unattended in the middle of the night. 19:41 That's actually where I met them. 19:42 I was out feeding street children 19:44 in the middle of the night. 19:45 And I just, I just... 19:47 That Scripture verse hit home pretty hard. 19:51 And I know that you know, to the extent of my finances 19:55 at that time, I couldn't do nearly this much in the 20:00 United States, but those dollars go a long way 20:02 in developing countries. 20:04 And I started collecting people... 20:06 On these trips back by myself, I'd go back and find people 20:09 with serious medical conditions, mostly medical and dental. 20:13 Nobody fakes a gallbladder surgery to get your money. 20:17 You know, they either need the help or they don't. 20:19 And they have, thousands of people have no recourse 20:23 when they're sick or when they need a life-changing 20:25 or life-saving surgery. 20:26 I started finding people, taking them to a private hospital, 20:29 and just paying the bills. 20:30 It was easy, it was easy. 20:32 Anybody could do it. 20:34 And it was such a blessing. 20:36 Hundreds and hundreds of people whose lives were impacted. 20:40 And I started getting support from friends who were saying, 20:42 "Hey, if you're going to do this again, I'll help you." 20:44 "I'll help you." "I'll help you." 20:45 And it got to the point where I said, wow, this is amazing. 20:48 And God was opening doors that I wasn't even asking 20:51 to have opened. 20:52 And one thing led to another, and I knew that 20:54 this had to be my life work. 20:56 So you saw a need, the Lord put it in your heart 21:00 that something must be done, you saw that you could do, 21:03 but then you realized, "I can't do this by myself." 21:05 And the Lord was putting people in your way, 21:09 or not in your way, but coming forth, coming forward to say, 21:12 "I can help." 21:14 So this led to starting the ministry, 21:16 the People of Peru Project. 21:17 ~ Yes. 21:19 What is the basis of the ministry? 21:20 Do you have a place there? 21:22 Or is it just trips that you come and then 21:26 you do what you need to do? 21:28 ~ No, we actually have a place. 21:30 And there are some amazing stories. 21:32 And I love to tell the stories. 21:34 So if people, you know, like stories in their home churches 21:38 or somewhere like that, I'm happy to come. 21:41 I love to go tell the stories. 21:43 But I can tell you in short that we wanted to help children 21:49 like the ones I found on the streets, 21:51 like the girls that are my daughters now. 21:53 We wanted to help children. 21:54 So we bought a piece of land and were getting ready to 21:58 to build a facility for kids. 22:00 But of course, you can't just start collecting kids. 22:02 You need to have permission. 22:04 And it is a miracle story that is profound of how God 22:09 opened the doors to that childcare facility 22:11 that would have taken years of red tape and legalities. 22:15 And God did it in one week through the family court judge, 22:21 the highest authority in the land when it came to 22:24 unattended children. 22:26 And what an amazing miracle story how God opened up that 22:30 facility for these kids. 22:32 So we built this facility. 22:35 We started out with an old building that looked like 22:37 a barn, and had never intended to put kids in there. 22:40 But the need; all of a sudden children started coming. 22:43 And it was just amazing how God opened those doors. 22:47 So the medical work was something I had started with. 22:51 And of course, I'm not a doctor. 22:52 I owned a logging company when I started going to Peru. 22:56 And so, you know, I started bringing help, 23:00 and people were coming to help me to do this 23:02 medical work and dental work, and we were just doing it 23:04 in poor communities. 23:05 And we knew we needed a facility. 23:07 And we ultimately built a little clinic, which we did over 23:10 a hundred surgeries in, but it was really a dental clinic. 23:13 And the medical work just exploded on us. 23:17 We have groups coming from all over the world now 23:20 to help us do medical work. 23:22 We've given free medical and dental care 23:24 to over 65,000 people in that city. 23:26 ~ Praise the Lord. ~ 65,000 praise the Lord. 23:30 Now you're saying this was done free? 23:34 Or did the people have to pay something? 23:35 Free, everything is free. 23:37 We're not going to go down that slippery slope. 23:39 And I know this is a philosophical debate, 23:41 and I've had it with many, many people, 23:43 but we've seen far too many institutions that started out 23:46 helping poor people that ended up being the wealthiest 23:50 most expensive facilities in the area. 23:52 And we're simply not going to allow that to happen. 23:54 We are serving people who have nothing. 23:58 They don't have the money to come to the city 24:00 to get the help, never mind to pay for the hospital. 24:03 Even a token payment, they have no money. 24:06 And so, this is free. 24:09 All of these services have been provided through the generosity 24:12 of our supporters all these years. 24:15 And God is just blessing ways. 24:16 This is a good time to say this: 24:19 to your listening audience, about anything that 24:23 God has put on their heart to do; I don't care if it's 24:26 in their own backyard, their own community, 24:28 their own church, their own family, 24:30 their young people, the homeless in their community, 24:32 it doesn't matter what it is, if God has put a burden 24:36 on your heart to do something, it is never about the money. 24:41 Never! 24:43 If God calls you to do something He has already allocated the 24:47 resources to do it, or He would have never called you. 24:50 - Amen, amen. - That's right. 24:52 I was an employer for a lot of years, and to my knowledge 24:54 I never ever asked my people to do something 24:58 without giving the resources, the equipment to do it. 25:01 And God is a much better employer than I am. 25:03 ~ Amen, amen. ~ Amen, praise the Lord. 25:05 So one thing led to another. 25:06 Education is the key to our program. 25:09 Our little girls that are out at our crisis center 25:12 for abandoned and abused children, 25:14 they're of course in school. 25:16 A lot of them need remedial education. 25:18 Some of them are there for reasons that are so horrible 25:21 that we can't talk about it on television. 25:25 When those kids are finished there, 25:26 or other students from the community, 25:28 they come into our post-high school program. 25:30 We have full scholarships going through the university. 25:33 The very first child I ever helped in Iquitos 25:37 20 years ago, the very first kid that I ever met, 25:41 is now a child psychologist, 25:43 has her masters in Business Administration, 25:46 and has been the executive director of our organization 25:49 for seven years. 25:50 And her little brother is our dentist. 25:53 And he was seven years old when I met him. 25:55 ~ Also, you can see the stories on our website. 25:58 And I wish I had time to tell you, 26:00 so please go to the website. 26:02 Praise the Lord. So on the website 26:03 they see pictures and videos? 26:05 ~ Yeah, there are some videos that tell these little stories. 26:07 Amazing stories. 26:08 ~ You just mentioned the website. 26:10 And people are like, "What is the website? I want to see it." 26:13 I'm dying to see it. 26:15 There may be people that, you know, have limited time, 26:18 and they're watching now. 26:20 You may have to watch it later if 26:21 they don't get the information. 26:23 We can give them the website. What is the website? 26:25 It's, peopleofperu.org. 26:27 peopleofperu.org 26:29 ~ Not very difficult. - No, not very difficult. 26:31 ~ So you have spoken to the audience, our radio listeners, 26:34 to our audience, our viewers about taking opportunities 26:39 to serve once the Lord calls you or puts that burden, 26:42 that fire, that curiosity in your heart to see what it 26:47 feels like to serve something in a capacity that 26:50 you're not accustomed to. 26:52 But we already mentioned some of the programs 26:55 that you facilitate to the People of Peru Project. 26:59 So you have dentists, you have a clinic, 27:01 you have an orphanage, you have a school. 27:05 What, elementary, high school? 27:07 ~ Well, our kids go to the public schools. 27:12 And the reason for that is all of them are there, 27:15 especially the crisis center, all those children have been 27:17 victims of something. 27:19 And they came to us because they had to be somewhere 27:23 other than where they were. 27:25 And so, essentially, they're not there by choice, 27:29 but they have to be somewhere. 27:31 So we want them to want to be there 27:33 and take advantage of that opportunity. 27:35 But they've already lost their community, 27:37 they've already lost their family, their friends, 27:39 everything that was familiar to them. 27:41 If we put them in a private school, 27:44 we're sequestering them even more. 27:46 And so, we keep them in the local school 27:49 in our little community 27:51 where they keep their foot in their culture 27:54 and, you know, they're like everybody else. 27:57 We want them to be normalized in that sense, and not even be 28:01 isolated all the more, especially given 28:03 their background and history and some of the shame 28:06 and embarrassment that they need to get over 28:08 in their own personal experience. 28:10 We don't want to separate them even more. 28:12 And so, we don't have a school. 28:15 And in the post high school program, 28:17 our kids have scholarships to the local university 28:21 and technical trade schools, and all that kind of thing. 28:24 So we are keeping them engaged in their culture. 28:29 So the leaders and staff are people that 28:34 received help themselves also. 28:37 Interestingly enough, yes. 28:39 I mean, our dentist we put through dental school. 28:41 Our executive director, like I said, were the very first 28:44 family I met. 28:45 They did not have the abuse type of crisis, 28:49 but extreme poverty because of some health issues 28:52 in the family. 28:53 And wow, it's been amazing to watch these young people 28:57 just flourish, lead, and set examples for the rest of the 29:02 people that they're working with. 29:04 It's been amazing. 29:05 The director of our girls facility came to us at our girls 29:09 facility as a 12-year-old abandoned, abused child. 29:13 ~ And we put her through elementary school, high school, 29:15 and nursing school. 29:17 And then she fell in love and married a long-term volunteer. 29:21 A young man that had been coming back and forth 29:23 from the Washington state coast. 29:26 And now there's a beautiful story. 29:29 And you can see it on the website. 29:32 A cliffhanger. 29:34 And they tell their own story. It's amazing. 29:37 ~ Excellent, excellent. 29:39 The Lord continue to bless. 29:40 I know we're all excited already for what you've shared with us. 29:46 I'm like, oh I would love to go and see all that 29:49 and be part of somebody's success story, you know. 29:54 The transformation miracle story. 29:57 But there are different ways we can all pitch in and help. 30:00 And I know you have pictures, I know you have video. 30:03 I don't know where you want to go now, 30:05 but please tell us who are these leaders? 30:09 Where did you find them for this ministry, 30:12 the People of Peru Project? 30:14 We found these leaders, like the two I mentioned, 30:17 our dentist and the executive director, 30:19 down in the slums outside the city in abject poverty. 30:22 And I have a video that's actually talking about 30:27 our next big thing, which is our surgery center and hospital, 30:32 and the need for that. 30:34 But it tells a part of their story too. 30:36 It will be another little teasers on the way through 30:39 so you'll want to know more about these young people. 30:41 Because they're amazing. 30:42 So we can look at that video now 30:44 and that could answer some questions. 30:45 Let's go ahead and go to that video. 30:47 And be prepared to be blessed. 30:53 People of Peru Project has been involved in medical and 30:55 dental work since the very beginning. 30:57 We're very excited now to tell you that we've just purchased 30:59 an 8000 square foot building that literally borders 31:03 the property that we already own. 31:04 The need for this surgery center is huge. 31:08 There are tens of thousands of people in our city of 31:11 three-quarters of a million who simply have no 31:15 recourse when they need a life-changing, 31:18 life-saving surgery. 31:20 If there's not money, there simply is not an option. 31:23 So the surgery center will be offering cataract surgeries, 31:27 general surgeries, a lot of hernias, a lot of gallbladders, 31:30 a lot of scar releases, moles, tumors, 31:33 uterine infection type things, hysterectomies, ob complication, 31:37 things like that. 31:38 And the continuity, the longevity that we have 31:42 in the community has really given us relationship 31:45 and credibility in the communities where we work. 31:48 They know us. We know them. 31:50 We have people on staff now full-time that were born and 31:54 raised in this location, in this culture, 31:57 and they're better equipped to serve in a lot of areas 32:01 than we are without them. 32:02 For example, one of the first little boys that I ever met in 32:06 Iquitos was seven years old. 32:08 We've put him through dental school. 32:11 And all these years later, now he's leading the charge 32:13 on the development of our dental facility. 32:48 We'll continue to do what we've done for 15 years; 32:50 go into the remote villages, and to the communities, 32:53 and the outskirts of town, the poor communities, 32:56 and we'll set up in any available space that we can. 33:00 Sometimes it's in a series of people's homes, 33:02 along the streets, sometimes it's in a public 33:04 building, sometimes a church or school. 33:06 And we'll continue to do that even when our surgery 33:09 center is finished. 33:10 But the key is, we'll have a central location 33:13 for the procedures that we simply can't do 33:16 on somebody's kitchen table. 33:18 We're looking at about a million-dollar project 33:21 for the complete renovation of this large space that we have. 33:26 But when it's done, lives will be impacted 33:30 in quantities and in ways that really won't be measured 33:34 by dollars and cents. 33:42 Well, the people of Peru need your help. 33:45 And the People of Peru Project needs your help. 33:48 And you can be a part of a great miracle. 33:50 An ongoing miracle because day by day 33:53 free service to the people, showing the love of Jesus Christ 33:58 in a marvelous way. 34:01 This is what Jesus showed us that we should be doing. 34:06 Helping people as much as we can. 34:09 ~ And interestingly enough, when we become the hands and feet 34:14 of Jesus in these communities on many levels... 34:17 We have a water filtration program, 34:18 we do all kinds of health education, 34:20 many, many things. 34:21 But the surgeries, the dental work, whatever it is, 34:24 you become the hands and feet of Christ, 34:26 and then people start asking, "Wait. Why are you doing this? 34:30 Why are you different than the other people we've met?" 34:33 ~ "What's in it for you?" 34:35 And this is the open door for ministry. 34:37 So people ask me all the time, you know, 34:39 "Do you do ministry, direct ministry? 34:41 Do you have meetings? Do you do..." 34:42 Oh, we've done hundreds of vacation Bible schools, 34:46 hundreds of evangelistic series, 34:48 because we're invited into the communities 34:51 after we've been there building relationships. 34:54 ~ Amen, amen. 34:55 That's such a key and so important: relationships. 35:00 Relationships. 35:01 They have earned your trust and they have learned 35:04 that they can count on you, that you're going to be there. 35:06 Not just for them. 35:08 Like, they will say, "They've been there for me, 35:10 and I know they'll be there for you too." 35:12 So right now we need volunteers, we need help. 35:16 What role do volunteers play in the People of Peru Project? 35:21 I mean, we just saw that video. 35:23 We need a million dollars. 35:25 So we need to pull together and get the million dollars. 35:28 Fortunately, we've raised part of that. 35:31 And so we're closer to only needing half a million. 35:34 ~ Amen. ~ Praise the Lord. 35:35 ~ Actually, maybe a little less than that. 35:37 But can I back up and talk just about this surgery center 35:41 and the role too, because there's something really 35:43 amazing that's happened here. 35:45 Twenty years ago we had the opportunity 35:47 to buy the empty piece of land right next to that property. 35:51 that you saw on the video. 35:52 It was $20,000. 35:54 I went home and raised the money came back 35:58 with the lawyers and cash in hand and the paperwork, 36:01 we were ready to do the deal, 36:02 and the guy raised the price by $5000. 36:06 It may as well have been $500,000. 36:09 We didn't have the money, you know. 36:10 And they literally walked away and left us standing there 36:15 because we didn't have the extra money. 36:17 You know, he changed the price. 36:19 Well, many years later someone bought that land 36:23 and built an 8000 square foot building 36:27 that he did kind of a government milk and vitamin 36:30 program in it for a few years. 36:32 When his contract was done, that building sat empty. 36:34 And so we raised money like crazy and bought the building. 36:38 Now it was significantly more than $20,000. 36:43 But here's how the Lord works. 36:45 If we had bought that way back, we would have filled up that 36:49 space with all kinds of little things. 36:51 Maybe some staff housing, 36:53 maybe some activity centers, all kinds of stuff. 36:55 We wouldn't have had that space. 36:57 But because somebody else bought it and built a building 37:00 that we would have never built 20 years ago. 37:02 God preserved that space, and we bought it 37:07 in the condition that we really needed it, 37:09 which was a massive building. 37:11 And something even more, we got all the permits 37:14 to build our surgery center, and in the eleventh hour 37:17 the minister of health came and said, 37:19 "Wait, what kind of surgeries are you going to do?" 37:21 We said, "We're going to do major surgeries." 37:22 And he said, "Oh, no, no, no. 37:24 Then you have to have a hospital." 37:25 Long story short, they changed the whole thing. 37:28 We has to send everything back to the drawing board. 37:30 The architects and engineers had to design a whole new building 37:34 that qualified as a hospital 37:36 even though we didn't want a hospital. 37:37 We wanted a surgery center, right? 37:39 They came to me and said, "Oh, bad news. 37:42 We don't have enough space." 37:44 The previous week the man on the other side of our 37:48 property came and said, "Hey, do you want to buy my land?" 37:51 I said, "We've been trying to buy your land for 20 years 37:53 and you wouldn't ever sell it." 37:55 And he said, "Well, I want to sell it." 37:57 So somebody had already sent a substantial amount of money 38:00 down toward the beginning of our surgery center, 38:02 the campaign, and I contacted him and I said, 38:05 "Hey, we've got an opportunity to buy this additional land. 38:07 What do you think?" And he said, "Man, that that money and do it. 38:09 Let's grab it while we can." 38:10 We bought that land. 38:12 And when those engineers and architects 38:14 came back to me and said, "Hey, we don't have space. 38:16 I said, "God provided the space before we knew we needed it." 38:23 And he said, "How is that?" I said, "We now own 38:25 all of this land over here." 38:26 And he said, "It's amazing. It's going to be beautiful." 38:29 So God preserved the land for 20 years, 38:31 then He gave us the extra space we needed because 38:34 He knew we needed a hospital and not a surgery center. 38:36 And some day we're going to understand why. 38:38 Before you ask, God will answer. Right? 38:42 What an encouraging testimony. 38:44 Well, you're listening to the voice of Paul Opp. 38:46 If you're listening on radio and you just came in, 38:48 you didn't hear the beginning, and tremendous, tremendous 38:51 miracle really, if you understand as Christians 38:56 that this is not, what do you call it, a coincidence. 39:02 It is not a coincidence. 39:04 God put everything in place at the right time that 39:07 this became available to you. 39:08 So praise the Lord. This hospital, it's amazing. 39:12 You know, one of the things that happens, 39:15 especially when people get things free, 39:17 is that they tell other people. 39:20 So when people found out that you were doing things for free, 39:23 even when you go to these events that you say 39:26 you just go to these open air places, word get out. 39:29 Do you see, like people just continuing to come 39:32 with these projects you do? 39:35 Well, that's the part that's kind of refreshing about 39:39 the medical work, in that, you know, it's pretty easy 39:42 to do an assessment to see if somebody really needs your help. 39:44 I mean, there are people in that culture, in that economy, 39:48 that will stand in line all day if they think they can 39:50 get a little bag of ibuprofen 39:53 because they can't afford to buy it. 39:55 And we don't just do the giveaways. 39:57 We don't, you know, we don't back up in the middle of a town 40:00 and open the tailgate and unload food and clothes 40:03 and all that kind of stuff. 40:04 That kind of in a lot of ways encourages bad behavior. 40:08 But that's the nice thing about the medical work 40:12 is that it's pretty easy to assess whether somebody 40:14 needs your help or not. 40:15 And like I said earlier, nobody fakes a surgery 40:17 to get your money. 40:19 So the word spreads, but when people come 40:24 it's generally with a very, very specific need. 40:30 And so we're happy to be able to accommodate them. 40:33 You know, there's a video again on the website 40:37 that talks about the surgery center brings hope. 40:39 Our cameraman and a volunteer just wondered around 40:43 for three weeks just talking to people, saying, you know, 40:45 what would it mean if you were able to get a surgery 40:47 for these crooked legs, or for this colostomy, 40:51 and for this, and that, and the other thing. 40:53 They got some amazing stories from people 40:57 who, you know, have lived their whole lives 41:00 with something that we can fix. 41:01 ~ Wow. ~ Amen. 41:03 What an opportunity! 41:04 Well, I believe we have some pictures. 41:06 And time is slipping away. 41:08 You're going to have to do a little bit of describing 41:10 to the radio people. 41:12 ~ Okay, sure. 41:13 Let's go with the first one. 41:17 This is just a picture of a typical group that comes. 41:20 This is actually Union College physician assistants group. 41:25 They've been to Iquitos, I think this will be 41:28 their 15th or 16th year coming. 41:32 There's Benji our dentist, the little boy that I met 41:34 when he was seven years old, now leading our 41:37 dental program. 41:40 These are some volunteer surgeons that came 41:43 that were working out of our first little clinic 41:45 where we've done about 100 surgeries in there. 41:47 But space was limited and, you know, we had to 41:51 makeshift all of the equipment 41:52 and kind of set it up just for that. 41:56 But now we'll have state of the art. 41:58 This is just an example of the slums outside the city. 42:03 The contaminated water, the little children barefoot. 42:07 There's a bunch of water filters that are being loaded up 42:11 into the back of our bus to take out for delivery. 42:13 We have an amazing water filtration program 42:16 for people that are living and drinking and cooking 42:20 with the unsanitary water in the tributaries. 42:23 There's our college student, Damaris, who's in charge of 42:28 our water filtration program doing instructional 42:31 time with a family for the proper use of the filter. 42:34 And she'll go back in two weeks, then she goes back 42:36 in eight weeks to make sure that those are being used properly. 42:39 Clean water saves thousands of people every year. 42:43 Infant mortality rate drops significantly in communities 42:47 where we provide clean water. 42:48 And that's an easy sponsorship program. 42:51 Sometimes people say, "Well, we'd like to do something 42:53 with our kids from church, 42:55 or kids from school, or as family group." 42:57 Something tangible that they can really kind of 42:59 see what they've done. "What can we do?" 43:01 Well, they can sponsor a water filter and know that 43:05 they are making a profound and significant difference 43:07 in somebody's life, both health-wise and economically. 43:10 Give us an idea, you mention sponsoring a water filter, 43:14 give us an idea of the cost involved in that. 43:16 $50. ~ $50. 43:18 And our people, Damaris, will go out, she identifies 43:23 the people in a community specifically, that need the help. 43:26 It opens doors. 43:28 We see all kinds of other needs when we get in there. 43:30 Sometimes unattended children that grandma can't afford 43:33 to send to school, sometimes medical needs, 43:36 sometimes emergency food distribution. 43:39 There's lots and lots of reasons to get in the home, 43:41 but the water filter is a great way to open that door. 43:44 But for $50 she takes that out there, educates the family 43:48 on its proper use and cleaning and it will last 43:52 for seven to eight years with proper use. 43:54 And we follow up in two weeks, we follow up at eight weeks, 43:57 just to make sure that everybody is still on the same page. 44:00 But it's a relationship builder. 44:03 ~ Yes. ~ That's right. 44:04 The follow-up as well. 44:06 You know, I keep thinking that the people that come 44:11 to get the service, or even just curiosity people, 44:14 ask the question, "Why are you doing this?" 44:18 Have you had that question asked? 44:20 ~ Many, many times. 44:22 And we tend to do our emergency food distribution 44:25 or our water filtrations in communities where we've also 44:29 done our free medical and dental clinics. 44:32 So we'll go out, we have portable dental units, 44:34 and when our medical teams come we go out, 44:36 like you saw in the video, and set up anywhere we can. 44:40 And you attend to those people's physical needs. 44:43 It's a little hard to sit in church and learn about 44:45 the love of Jesus when you have an abscess 44:47 on your jaw that's throbbing. 44:49 You know, if you've ever had a toothache. 44:51 I get the beginning of a toothache, 44:53 I'm straight away to the dentist, you know. 44:54 But there are people that have 44:56 never been to the dentist before. 44:57 So we go in there and meet those physical needs 45:00 and build those relationships, 45:03 and it's a natural thing, you know. 45:05 People say, "Do you require your kids to go to church?" 45:08 "Do you require your kids to do this?" 45:10 "Do you require your kids..." 45:11 And we have young people in our program 45:14 whose lives have been changed profoundly 45:18 because of the unconditional love that we give them 45:21 and meeting the physical needs and deficits 45:24 that they came to us with. 45:25 So it's all about relationships. 45:28 ~ Amen, amen. 45:29 Well I'd like to say to everyone that is watching 45:32 and those that are listening, make sure you have something 45:35 to write down information with that, we're going to 45:38 share in a moment. 45:39 And if you don't find something right away, 45:41 like I mentioned at other times, grab your phone, take a picture 45:45 of the screen if you can, and then you can copy it 45:49 later at your own leisure. 45:50 But we're going to put that information 45:52 on the screen very soon, so get ready. 45:54 And for those listening on radio, if you can record it, 45:56 you can even record it with your phone, 45:58 the information, the audio, then you can of course 46:01 listen and stop and write it down. 46:04 And if you can't catch everything, just give 3ABN 46:07 a call and we'll give you that information 46:08 so that you can have the information 46:10 to help in this project. 46:13 Send them a love gift, sponsor a water filter. 46:15 But this project of the hospital that's going to provide 46:18 free service, it's an immediate need. 46:21 When do you hope to see this hospital 46:24 up and running, let's say? 46:27 This year I've raised, or we've raised 46:30 three quarters of a million dollars. 46:32 And we need about another half a million 46:34 to make this thing happen. 46:36 All the permissions are in place, 46:39 all the signatures are on the paper, 46:41 the engineers and architects have done their work. 46:44 We are literally waiting for the dollars to come in. 46:47 And what's unique about this, as opposed to some other projects, 46:50 is that it's big enough that when we contract 46:54 with the construction company to do it, 46:56 we can't stop for running out of money part way through. 47:00 You know, we have to have it all in hand. 47:02 Whereas, when we're building our dormitories 47:04 and other buildings on campus, you know, if you 47:06 go part way and you need to stop and raise 47:08 a little more money, you can. 47:10 In this case, no. 47:11 So we have to have it all in hand before we can start. 47:14 But everything is ready. 47:15 I mean, you know, the table is set. 47:18 We're waiting for the meal. 47:20 And there are people that are so excited 47:23 because they know their lives are going to change 47:24 when we can fix... 47:27 We're going to do a lot of orthopedics. 47:28 These little kids with clubfoot and the cleft palate 47:32 and all of these things that are really significant. 47:35 Life changing, you know. 47:37 And we're just excited to be able to start that. 47:38 So as soon as we have everything we need to 47:42 pull the trigger, that renovation of that big building 47:45 will start and we'll be well on our way. 47:48 ~ Exciting. Praise the Lord. 47:50 And hopefully, you'll come back and share 47:52 some pictures and videos, not only of the building, 47:55 but of the treatments that people are receiving. 47:59 What a wonderful blessing to hear of this. 48:02 But you say there's more stories, more pictures 48:06 there are stories on the web page 48:09 that people can continue watching and get informed. 48:11 You've made many trips to Peru, and many hours on the plane, 48:17 and through customs, and all of that. 48:20 And you even lived there. 48:22 ~ Ten years. ~ Ten years. 48:25 The building of this hospital is going to demand 48:28 more of your time. 48:30 May the Lord bless you with health and strength, 48:32 and good people to support you. 48:34 ~ Thank you. Yes. 48:36 Well, there are people that say, "I've never been to Peru. 48:39 I would love to go and help." 48:41 Or some can't simply travel. 48:44 But instead of going physically, just send what you would 48:48 spend on your ticket to go to Peru. 48:51 Maybe you have a medical condition, you cannot travel, 48:54 and you want to help, well now is an opportunity 48:57 for us to pull together. 48:59 There are some pressing needs in this ministry. 49:03 This is one of them. 49:04 What are other pressing needs in the ministry? 49:07 Well, you know, we're doing free dentistry five days a week. 49:10 So that program has to be continually underwritten. 49:14 We have girls out in our crisis center, 49:17 so we have a full staff. 49:18 We have trauma therapists and psychologists 49:20 that are working with these little kids 49:22 that have been traumatized on, like I said before, 49:25 in ways that we can't really even talk about in public. 49:29 Our educational programs for our older students. 49:32 These older students are leaving us as professionals 49:36 when they came to us as broken children 49:39 from horrible circumstances. 49:41 And I've seen this pay it forward mentality 49:44 that our executive director has instilled in them 49:48 because she herself was the recipient of our help. 49:51 And she loves to give. 49:55 And that has spilled over on the girls that 49:58 she's in charge of. 50:00 And they leave us as professionals with hearts of 50:02 service for other people, and gratitude. 50:05 And you know, the thousands of people over the years 50:08 that have supported us as volunteers or financially, 50:11 it's because of them. 50:13 It's because... All of this needs to be done. 50:17 And I'm more than happy to be there to do it. 50:19 But I can't do it without the support and the expertise. 50:23 I'm not a doctor, I'm not a trauma therapist. 50:26 You know, there's a lot of things I'm not. 50:28 And so, the people that have come alongside us 50:32 are the lifeblood of what we do. 50:35 ~ The body of Christ joined together. 50:37 The saying, "But such as I have given I thee." 50:40 In the name of Jesus Christ, I am here 50:43 to serve you, to help you. 50:45 And I encourage you to continue to pay it forward. 50:48 I love that term, that act of kindness. 50:52 Pay it forward. 50:53 So we've all been there before needing help and received help. 51:00 Such as you have received, let us bless other people and give. 51:04 ~ And you know, if you just knew anybody that spoke Spanish, 51:08 that would be helpful. 51:09 ~ Oh, excellent. I know a few people. 51:12 As I'm looking at two Spanish speakers. 51:15 No, people have asked me, and that's why I threw that in. 51:18 "Do I have to speak Spanish to come to Peru?" 51:20 No, you don't. We have translators 51:22 and experts that are going to help you 51:24 if you are not a Spanish speaker. 51:25 But listen, if you are, you're able to engage 51:29 in such an intimate and personal way, it's beautiful. 51:32 So I would encourage Spanish speakers 51:34 to reach out and come and share that gift. 51:38 - Amen. - Very good. 51:39 Well, we're ready to share the contact information 51:42 for this ministry, and then news from 3ABN. 51:45 We'll be back in a moment. 51:49 If you would like to contact or know more about 51:51 People of Peru Project, you can write to them. |
Revised 2023-09-12