LIMA, Peru — Throughout this South American country of coastal climates, high mountains, sprawling metropolises and ancient cities, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are striving to live the gospel by inviting, sharing and serving.
Peru is the fifth on the list of countries with the most Church members, being home to more than 630,000 Latter-day Saints in more than 780 congregations and 112 stakes — including 48 stakes alone in Lima, which has a metro-area population of an estimated 11 million people.
Through interfaith events, service activities, donations and other efforts, Peruvian Latter-day Saints in stakes around the country are seeking to show the love of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
Below are examples from the past two months.
Elder Rafael E. Pino of the Church’s South America Northwest Area presidency participated in an interfaith prayer ceremony on July 22 that included Peru President Dina Boluarte Zegarra.
City officials and government representatives accepted invitations to attend ward and stake meetings in La Joya, Pueblo Nuevo and Puerto Maldonado. And local authorities attended a cultural activity organized by the Pisco Peru Stake in July.
On July 25, seven families were left homeless when a fire tore through their houses. The city set up tents on a sports court for them to stay, and members of the Church quickly came to their aid. The Relief Society presidents in the Chinchaysuyo Ward and the Olaya Ward of the Lima Perú Tahuantinsuyo Stake organized meals to bring to the affected families.
Around 70 volunteers from the Lima Peru La Libertad Stake supported Operation Smile at a hospital in Callao by spending several days in July loading and unloading materials, supplies and equipment used during the cleft palate and cleft lip surgeries. Full-time missionaries in the Perú Lima Central Mission were a part of the effort as well.
The month before, the Lima Peru Magdalena Stake hosted workshops to train more Operation Smile volunteers. And the Lima Peru Tahuantinsuyo Stake provided its facilities to Peru’s Ministry of Health to train health workers in identifying and treating dengue and other endemic diseases.
One of the health officials, Julio Lacma, expressed his gratitude for the Church’s help and acknowledged the important role it plays in the community.
“Whenever we need it, the Church of Jesus Christ is ready to provide its support,” he said.
The Pisco Peru Stake Center hosted an emergency preparedness event with the Red Cross, and the Church was recognized by the National Institute of Children’s Health for members’ consistent participation in blood donation campaigns as well.
Adults, youth and children in the La Joya Branch, in the Puerto Maldonado Peru District, cleaned up debris from public roads — using brooms, rakes and even brush cutters, earning the thanks of the mayor for their willingness to serve.
Youth in the La Esperanza Ward of the Pisco Peru Stake cleaned up the beach for a service project in their area, while around seventy members of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Stake focused their efforts to “love, share and invite” by picking up trash and sweeping the streets in their city — catching the attention of neighbors who then were able to learn more about the Church.
Volunteers from the Lima Peru Santa Isabel Stake worked with their neighborhood leaders and spent a day cleaning and painting several parks. In the Lima Peru Chaclacayo Stake, volunteers donated children’s play equipment and clothing to help the children in their community.
Young women in the Tacna Peru Alameda Stake volunteered at two institutions in their city — a children’s center and a nursing home. They cleaned and organized, brought donations, played games with the residents and put on a small show.
In both places, the caretakers thanked the young women volunteers for their time and effort. The young women and their leaders expressed their joy for the opportunity to serve the people in need. Relief Society members in the same stake also served at the nursing home this past July, by cleaning, bringing clothing and spending time with the elderly residents.
Nearly 100 young single adults from the north Lima area brought hundreds of jackets, sweaters, blankets and warm clothing for people who live in El Paraíso de Belén — a higher altitude area where the weather gets colder than in the lower elevations.
Members of the Relief Society in several stakes have been using their time and talents to serve others. Women in the Baños del Inca Ward of the Cajamarca Perú Stake brought handmade blankets and clothing for newborn babies at the hospital — items made with care and love.
And Relief Society members in the Trujillo Peru Palermo Stake prepared hundreds of meals for a hospital in their city; delivering food to patients’ relatives and hospital personnel over several shifts. They called their service activity, “Kindness begins with me.”
