Posada de Amor is Our Featured Charity for June

Jessica Lippe is not your typical teen.  Jessica has a dream to help others. And she’s not waiting until she’s older to achieve her dream. Jessica is doing it now!  This August, Jessica will be embarking on a missions trip to Peru with several other teens in an effort to help children in Posada de Amor, a children’s home in Lima, Peru. It’s a great charity that rescues kids from the worst of the worst situations from all over Peru, and gives them an education and the opportunity to succeed in the future.

This missions team experience is two-fold: American teens get the opportunity to volunteer and meet people in a developing nation, and orphaned Peruvians benefit from making new relationships, having their home improved, eating better, receiving English education, clothes, toys and hygiene products, and learning to leave their lives of abuse behind them to experience love.

This will not be the first time Jessica has visited Peru and worked with Posada de Amor. This is Jessica’s dream. She shared with me her dream, how she achieved it and her experience in Peru in the following letter:

Remember all the things you wanted to do when you were seven years old? You probably had a way-out-there dream such as becoming a billionaire overnight or flying in a rocket ship to the planet Jupiter. When I was seven, I decided that I wanted to go on a mission trip to a foreign country. To adults, my goal seemed pretty unattainable, but I wanted to help kids like me in less fortunate nations. I decided to start by helping others in my own community. While I had fun running food drives, reading stories to handicapped children and sewing baby blankets for the hospital, I still dreamed about going on a mission trip.

And then it happened.

My church’s high school youth group planned on taking a mission trip to Peru. This sounded like an ideal opportunity for me, so I signed up. It sounded like a good idea, but it sure wasn’t easy! It took a lot of work! We had to earn a lot of money through work and fundraisers. We had to plan out what we were doing and get the supplies for it. Several people, including myself, didn’t receive their passports on time, and we had to go out of state to get them! We also needed to spiritually prepare ourselves for the trip, by praying, reading the Bible, and doing devotions. It all finally paid off when we met at the airport at 4:30 in the morning to fly to Lima, Peru!

Sixteen hours later, when we stepped off the plane, I could already tell we were in a completely different place. The people looked different. The customs were different. The air even smelled different! While loading our bus with our luggage, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a young Peruvian girl, with her mother off in the distance. She spoke so fast in Spanish, I couldn’t decipher what she was saying. I told her, “No comprendo”. She and her mother, with sadness expressed on their faces, turned around and walked away. It wasn’t until after they left that I realized I had just had my first encounter with a Peruvian beggar. There were child beggars all over Lima. I prayed that God would take care of them.

Once we had the chance to get over our jet lag and culture shock, we met all the children at an orphanage called Posada de Amor in the town of Cieneguilla. They were really happy to meet us. All of them sang, danced, and hugged us. One group of kids even sang a song in three languages: Spanish, English and Quechua.

“Posada de Amor” means “The Inn of Love”, and I could definitely feel the love from these kids! It was hard to imagine that such loving kids came from such unthinkable circumstances. These children came from the worst of the worst situations in Peru. One boy was found living in a box on the streets. Another came to the orphanage not knowing any language, just animal noises. If the dedicated staff at Posada de Amor hadn’t rescued them, they may not have survived. I realized that this orphanage was not only a home for children, but a life-saving mission.

We served at this orphanage and Eliel, their elementary school. We did projects like building walls, painting the school, making benches, putting on an after-school club, cooking, and making a mural. We even took turns teaching English to the schoolchildren. However, I think the best part of the trip was just spending time with the kids.

I loved seeing what kind of toys the little kids played with. A favorite seemed to be stuffed animals and animal figurines. The children liked playing with real animals, too. Posada de Amor had chickens, rabbits, and dogs. The kids loved showing off their toys and invited us to play with them.

They loved seeing our “toys” as well! They loved listening to our mp3 players. (Seven Places was one of their favorite bands.) Once, a three year old girl asked if she could use my digital camera. Although I was reluctant to give it to here at first, I was amazed at how well she handled it and figured out, in a matter of minutes, how to use all the features to take great pictures! It wasn’t very often that the kids got to see a camera, laptop, or mp3 player. They never used any electronics themselves.

Not only were they lacking electronics, but Posada de Amor had many financial struggles. After all, it isn’t cheap to feed, clothe, educate and care for over thirty kids. To get food, the orphanage director went from store to store to ask for leftovers that no one else wanted. There was no way that each child could have their own toys and outfits, so they happily shared everything with all the other children. Even though the orphanage strived to make ends meet, they managed to make sure that all of the kids grew to become successful adults.

We went to Peru to bless the kids and staff, but we ended up being extremely blessed. Everyone on our mission team learned so much from these kids. Even though we had a language barrier, the love and compassion bridged that gap. We also learned what true happiness was. The kids we met have no real reason to be happy. They came from terrible, abusive homes. They have to wear the same outfit for several days. The only toys that they have are hand-me-downs that they have to share. Their shoes are worn out and missing laces. They spend several hours each day doing chores and hand-washing their laundry. Wherever they go, they have to walk. But, even with all of this, they are still the happiest and most loving people I have ever met. And they were always willing to help us out.

On our last day in Cieneguilla, I wanted to help Posada de Amor one last time before we left. I started out by writing letters to some of the kids I met. Then, my friend Nicole and I went through our suitcases and took out some of our clothes. After that, we walked to a nearby store and bought a lot of shoelaces. Before we left Posada de Amor that night, we left the clothes and shoelaces so that the children there could wear them.

Leaving Peru was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. If I had the choice, I would probably still be there, serving anyone who needed help. Fortunately, my youth pastor decided that our youth group will be taking another mission trip to Peru. I’m excited to go back and see all the kids that I’ve missed so much!

Just because I’m back in the United States doesn’t mean that there’s nobody in need. Think about your community. Are there people who could use help? Even if you only help a little, you’re still making a BIG difference! Whether you’re on the other side of the world or in your own hometown, God has called us to serve others. We can be missionaries no matter where we’re at.

Girls Can’t WHAT? is excited to be able to support Jessica’s dream and to be able to make a difference in the lives of these children. The Posada de Amor team will be receiving a donation of 20% of all Girls Can’t WHAT? sales for the month of June.

When you need a special gift for the girls in your life, why not give them something that empowers and also helps others to achieve their dreams? Find gifts for any girl in the Girls Can’t WHAT? Gift Shop.  To learn more about how your purchases help women achieve their dreams, read about our Million Dollar Goal.