An Invitation to Serve and Share your Faith
Since 1997, parish groups, individuals and families have come to the Parish of Santisimo Sacramento (Most Blessed Sacrament) in Piura, Peru to share in the daily work for the poor and also to experience the heroic faith of the people here. Everyday there is something valuable to do for someone who has very basic needs. 63% of Piuranos live in poverty and 22% percent live in extreme poverty (lacking their daily bread). Our large parish staff is skilled in carpentry, social work, brick laying, etc. and aided by pastoral workers throughout the parish, we can enable missionaries to do the work year round and really contribute to the well being of the most needy.
COMMITMENT:
We ask for at least one week commitment. This will allow you help in many
different ways. Most groups come for one or two weeks. Individuals may come
for months. Most Parish groups visit June through August with
some in March and April over Spring Break. We also have a few groups that
come in December for Christmas. Most of the
parish staff and myself are either away or on vacation from mid August to
mid September.
TRANSPORTATION:
Air travel is recommended from Lima. LAN Airlines, TACA and PERUVIAN
Airlines, travels directly to Piura twice a day. We will arrive at the airport to greet you! All
ground transportation during your visit will be with parish staff in the parish
vehicles.
ACCOMMODATIONS:
There is a dorm inside the church for missionaries. There are plenty of
beds and rooms for groups large or small. There are a couple apartments
within the dorms for families or individuals staying for an extended time.
FOOD:
The food in Piura is very good and inexpensive. A
broiled chicken dinner with fries, salad and soda for 4 people is less than
$10.00USD. If there is a large missionary group, we have a cook that
works when missionaries are here to feed them three times a day in our
missionary mess hall inside the dorm.
FUNDRAISING:
Parish groups normally bring money raised for building
homes, chapels, etc., but that is not necessary for visiting families and
individuals.
The spirit of the mission groups is to share in the work and pray with the people. Those who stay at the parish do not do a lot of traveling around on their own away from the city, but staff members make excellent guides for exploring the city and neighborhoods of Piura. If requested, we may make a day trip to the Pacific Ocean, one hour away.
HEALTH:
Please consult your doctor for recommended immunizations. Recommendations
may depend on additional South American travel in different climates. We
do our best to take care of the missionaries that are here. None of our
missionaries have acquired any serious illnesses while here. Diarrhea is
not common, it occurs in some and not in others.
Pray: daily prayer groups in the chapels and daily Eucharist with the people, Weddings, Baptisms, Eucharistic Adoration
Build: a home, a chapel, a school room
Deliver: food packages, beds & blankets, clothing
Gather: children for activities and crafts, families for a picnic
Heal: work with the parish health team, a medical or eye mission, speech therapy, wellness education
Visit: the elderly, the orphanage, your adopted family, the sick, families still unknown, a village at night, sleep in a bamboo home
Play: Fiestas, traditional dances, Soccer, Volleyball
Teach: English to the parish English group or at the local school, other useful skills
Help: the parish lawyer, at the drug rehab program,
Invite: youth to the movies, a group to the ocean
Serve: at the breakfast kitchens, through projects yet to be discovered
Testimonies from Missionaries
Many missionaries come to Piura to help. We find that they will come one year and bring three more friends the next time. It's a beautiful way to serve. Please click their names below to read about their experiences.
Fr. Rhone Lillard (St. Francis Xavier)
Bill y Michaels (January 2012)
Fr.
Tony (January 2011)
Fr. Tom
(January 2011)
Rick & Margaret (November 2010)
Melissa Minnis (July 19 2004)