Trip to Torre Fuerte Girls' Home; Arequipa, Peru

James 1:27 – Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

54 young girls in Peru, and at least three older women, are being looked after in their distress by Restoring Hope International, the ministry of Rick Daviscourt, though the Torre Fuerte Girl’s Home. “Torre Fuerte” means “Strong Tower,” (“Tower Strong” literally), and is from Proverbs 18:10. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”

My initial understanding of our trip was that we were going to be helping enlarge a school for girls rescued from horrible living situations. It turns out this was only partially correct. The girls attend school in town, but it was the home where they were living that needed to be enlarged. It is true that the girls have been rescued from heart wrenching lives. Most were living in abject poverty, many among those abandoned, rejected by their families, beaten, abused, trafficked, forced to beg and generally treated like scum. At Torre Fuerte they have been given a chance to start over.

Demand for bunk space at the home stays just ahead of supply, so we took our team of 15 to help with construction and demolition. The second floor of the newest building had been constructed, and the interior needed to be painted. The contractor was painstaking in his preparation process, which is really the only way to go, if you ask me, and persuaded us to follow his lead. The space was maybe 36’ by 24’ and entirely of concrete. Members of our team sanded the ceiling and every single wall. . . before the first layer of plaster was applied to the concrete. Then the first layer of plaster, coating the ceiling and every single wall was also sanded. . . before the second layer of plaster was applied. The second layer of plaster was sanded. . . before the sealer was applied to the ceiling. The sealer was then sanded before the primer could be applied. In a full week of labor, our team did not have the satisfaction of seeing the primer coat applied to the newest living area for the girls, but we did accomplish a great deal toward that end. Just think how it’ll look when we return – for more sanding on the third floor!

One major task that really wiped me out was breaking through the wall between two separate sleeping areas. In order to help foster a family home ambiance, we busted through the barrier that kept two groups of girls apart. The wall was 12 to 14 inches thick, made of bricks turned sideways instead of the usual lengthwise, every hole in every brick filled with concrete, and then coated with at least an inch of concrete on either side. Only macho bravado and peer pressure kept us motivated to break through the earthquake proof fortress. (Torre Fuerte is more than a conceptual name.)

I have a 35 pound dumbbell sitting in the corner of my living room, ostensibly used for weight training. The sledgehammer we had to work with at first really was almost the same size. It was ridiculously heavy, obnoxious, even for a bunch of tough guys from North America. I am 6’2” and 235 pounds. Yes, about 20 of that is Oreo’s and inactivity, but as a firewood splitter, I do have good technique. Standing with my left shoulder and hip near the wall, facing down the length, I would swing the preposterous sledge up and out to my right. Pulling it down and in like a golf club, I would slam Big Bertha into the wall with all of my strength. The crash could be heard for blocks (no doubt), the building would tremble just a teeny bit (I like to think), and the wall would smile back at me benignly. What? Not even a crack, but a dime sized chip?! Oh yeah? And again the earth would shudder and the wall would smile, over and over and over.

Ines, one of the translators who became a close friend of the group, despite her best efforts, was absolutely tickled when I persisted in asking to be taken to the Maestro Home Center in order to buy a hammer-drill. I had a credit card and sore muscles; seems like a no-brainer to me! “Just like an American,” she laughed. Although it may have ended up contributing to my eventual severe tendonitis, I’m still glad I bought the rotomartillo because it’s such a cool sounding word, and also because it really did help us get the job done.

While I was finishing smooth the edges of the giant opening we had created, the rest of the fellas were smashing and slamming another wall and counter to enlarge the homework/office space. The old kitchen had a countertop made of three inch thick concrete reinforced with rebar and topped with ceramic tile. Violently slamming Big Bertha down on the countertop produced again the all too familiar bounce and chip, but the project did proceed quicker than the upstairs wall.

The fourth project to which we were able to contribute was the building of a home for two of the girls at the home and their mother, employed by the home. We poured the foundation, tied the rebar towers for the corners, and set the towers in concrete as well. Perhaps by today the corner tower forms will have already been poured and set, and construction of the brick walls begun.

The home is being built at the very outskirts of Arequipa in an area known as the Invasion. Land in the Invasion area has been abandoned by the owners, and people with no other means have come to settle on the abandoned land. Mostly the settlers are from the high country, seeking a better life in the city. There is no water, no electricity, and no toilets, only a grid of stacked bricks and rocks covered with corrugated roofing. By providing a solid, well-built, earthquake resistant foundation for a home, we made at least a small contribution to greater safety and better quality of life for one Peruvian family.

Our working hours were blessedly cut short each day by the return of the girls from school. More than anything, I enjoyed spending time with the girls. It seemed that each member of the team formed a special connection with a few of the girls. Even now, my heart yearns especially for G, an eleven year old girl leaving behind a sad, sad story of abandonment and worse. No relatives come to visit her at the home, and she is effectively all alone in the world. She spent hours in my lap, clinging to me, trying to soak up every last bit of attention and affection I could spare. The same was true of Y, and of R, and D and B. Rather than being drained, I felt such strength of love for these girls, the source had to have been from heaven above. We on the team were tremendously privileged to be conduits for God’s love. It was so very, very difficult to leave.

For the most part, our experience of the girls at the home was of laughter, hugs, energy, and fun. They were a delight to know and really demonstrated God’s power of redemption and healing. We were able to play a small part in the healing process by showing a tiny bit of the love and affection the girls had been starved of earlier in their lives. Some of that involved regular games of volleyball and soccer and chase, or tag. Volleyball wasn’t too difficult, but running games at almost 8,000’ for someone not fit to run at 1,000’ included many pauses and collapses. I’m feeling old and I haven’t even had my own kids yet!

Almost every one of our team members had an incredible trip; meaningful and fun. Almost every single one of us would go back to see the girls in the blink of an eye, if given the chance. I am committed to pursuing that chance, doing my part to make it happen. I am going to be studying Spanish more faithfully, and will be staying in touch with at least a few of the girls from the home. I even think I’m going to sponsor G and maybe Y and R, and maybe D. Lord willing next summer we’ll take another team to Peru to work hard and show love.

The toughest aspect of the whole trip was leaving. These girls need so much more than an annual visit from some friends from far away. They even need more than money, as helpful as that is for a ministry operating on a shoestring. These girls need stability, consistent love and discipline in their day to day lives. If I didn’t believe God was leading me in a little different direction, I might consider uprooting and replanting. The Torre Fuerte Home is a worthwhile place to invest money and time.

Where are you right now? Are you involved in active service to God? Are you following His guidance for your life? Are you looking for an opportunity to serve Him for six months, or maybe a year? If God is calling, be careful to listen; you’ll be very glad you did. Torre Fuerte is looking primarily for single, young, born-again Christian women to volunteer as room mothers on a moderate term basis. The ability to speak Spanish, or learn very quickly is pretty important. In addition to “an army of young women,” Torre Fuerte would surely be blessed by married couples willing to be examples of godly mothers and fathers and husbands and wives. What age would be best? Well, how old are you?

One other need I wanted to mention is that of girls’ clothing, toiletries, and school supplies. I believe shipping is expensive, but that’s why these items are in such short supply for the girls. If you were to make a trip to Arequipa yourself, you could pack an extra suitcase full of goods for the girls and only pay the comparatively small extra baggage fee. Just something to think about. . .

If you want more information, go to their website: http://www.rhintl.org/. (G is the girl in the upper left corner, above “Restoring.”) Isn’t she adorable!

Dios te bendiga.