Mark & Jen’s Jungle News
May 2017 Dear Friends,
The school year in Peru began in March. We had the joy of helping 256 children receive school
supplies, uniforms, backpacks, shoes, and/or PE clothes so they could attend school. The kids and
parents were exceedingly grateful, and several cried upon receiving assistance.
“I did not have a penny to buy my children’s uniforms and
school supplies. I am very thankful. No one has ever done
anything like this for me.”
“I had decided that my children would not go to school this
year because I could not afford their school supplies and
uniforms. My children did not go to the first two weeks of
school. I am so grateful…now my children are in school.”
“Now my kids have everything they need so they can go to
school…backpacks, school uniforms, nice shoes and tennis
shoes. My kids are happy!”
Thank you to all of our supporters who made it possible for these kids to attend school.
Come Join Us!
We will be in the U.S. this summer and hope you can join us for one of our gatherings. Please invite your family and friends!
Los Altos, CA – Friday, June 16 at 6 p.m. Potluck at Union Presbyterian Church, 858 University Ave, Los Altos, CA.
Menlo Park, CA – Saturday, June 17 from 1-4 p.m. Open House at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Garden Court (next to the Fellowship Hall), 950 Santa Cruz Ave.
Salem, OR – Sunday, July 16 at 12:30 p.m. Light lunch in the Grant Room (#206) at Broadway Commons across from Salem Alliance Church, 555 Gaines St. NE.
Silas and Liana
Our two children keep us on our toes. Silas is four years old; he loves to jump on the trampoline, build train tracks, make tunnels in the dirt, and share his food with everyone in sight. Liana is 16 months old; she is a ball of energy and loves to ride her plasma car, carry her dolls around the house, and say loudly “Ah-MAH!” when she asks for more.
Children receiving school supplies
Mark, Silas, Liana and
Jennifer
Silas’ first day of school
House for a Needy Family
At the beginning of the year, we purchased a lot for
Fredy and Maguelith, a couple with four children who
attend one of our satellite churches. Fredy works on
construction projects, but his weekly earnings barely
provide for his family’s food and utilities. In addition to
buying the land, our Benevolent Fund gave Fredy an
offering to buy construction materials. Fredy is thrilled
to be building his own house. Maguelith and the kids
are ecstatic, “It is a miracle that we have our own
house. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Solano Receives a Prosthetic Leg
The last two years, we have been working with Capitol City
Medical Teams and Dr. David Shaw (Salem, OR) to expand an
Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) workshop in our city. Two of the
Peruvians involved in this project include Milton who has 15 years
of experience making orthoses (externally applied devices used to
support, align, prevent or correct deformities, or to improve
function of movable parts of the body) and prostheses (artificial
devices attached or applied to the body to replace a missing part),
and Juan Carlos, a graduate in Systems Engineering who spent
three months in the U.S. last year getting trained in manufacturing
orthoses and prostheses.
Milton and Juan Carlos designed and manufactured a prosthetic
leg for 11-year old Solano who was born with his left foot
attached to the short stump of his left thigh. Solano’s dream of
walking with a prosthetic leg has now come true!
Carpentry Workshop in Production
The last four months, we have been helping a skilled
carpenter, Jhonny, set up his own workshop. This is
our largest micro enterprise project ever, and we
enjoy working with such a savvy, diligent man. Mark
has been helping Jhonny refine his business skills:
preparing a budget for the contracts he receives;
managing his crew with integrity; and filling out a
general ledger of his income and expenses. Jhonny’s
shop employs three full-time workers. We are
impressed by the quality of his work and by the depth
of his gratitude for this opportunity.
Maguelith and her two children
showing their new house
Solano (age 11) testing his
prosthetic leg with the help of
Milton (lower left) and Juan
Carlos (far right)
Jhonny showing Mark how he makes
tables in his new carpentry shop
We Have Moved!
After 18 months of construction, we finally
moved into our new house. Perhaps a more
accurate name for our house would be the
“Ministry Center” since there in an influx (in a
good way) of children, youth and adults almost
every day. We delight in having sufficient space
to work, play, host events, spend time as a
family, and sleep (Liana finally has her own
room!) Mark is still installing the cabinets,
sinks, and air conditioning, but we have all of
the basic necessities to make it livable. Thank you to everyone who has helped us build the house!
Chi Alpha Visits Pucallpa
We hosted our first visitors two days after we moved to
our new house. There were five students and two
leaders from Chi Alpha, a dynamic Christian fellowship at
Stanford University. The team blessed countless people
with prayer, encouragement, fellowship, prophetic
words, and food boxes. Jennifer’s beloved friend and
mentor, Margaret Allen (far left in photo), poured out
God’s love and wisdom on all of us. The team brought a
huge trampoline in their luggage to set up in our
backyard. The trampoline is a hub of laughter for our
family and the neighborhood kids; it is a continual
reminder of God’s goodness and generosity.
Thank you for all that you do for us and our ministry, Mark, Jennifer, Silas & Liana
Tax-deductible donations: 1) Make a Check out to: World Outreach Ministries, Inc. / P.O. Box B / Marietta, GA 30061
(write “Mark & Jennifer Morris” in the memo line) 2) For Credit Cards, donate online at: www.JungleMinistry.org 3) For gifting Stock, contact World Outreach: (770) 424-1545, [email protected]
Leadership team dinner at our new house
Chi Alpha team ready to visit a satellite
church in the jungle