For over nineteen years, the Peruvian Bible Society has been running the “Pan de Vida” or “Bread of Life” project. The Bread of Life programme provides a nutritious breakfast and a Bible lesson every weekday to some of the poorest children in Peru.

Currently, there are nearly 1,200 children enrolled in this project, which operates in the rural communities of Cusco and areas of Lima: Manchay-Pachacamac, San Genaro, Cajamarquilla and Cantagallo. The families these children are from are often disadvantaged and unable to properly provide for their families. For many of these children the breakfast they receive at the Bread of Life programme will be the only food they have that day.

Alongside receiving physical food, these children are spiritually fed too.

A good breakfast to start the day means these children can focus well in school, while they have the right nutrients to grow and become stronger, but most importantly, they learn about the Bible and their Heavenly Father. The Peruvian Bible Society works closely with local church partners to facilitate these lessons, including stories, activities and songs.

 

Recent Updates

The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the communities that this project operates in- many parents were unable to work to provide for their families and were in desperate need. Thankfully, the Peruvian Bible Society was able to get special permissions from the government to travel during lockdowns, providing food packages and Scriptures to those families who needed it most.

 

We wanted to share the testimony of two boys who have benefited from the Pan de Vida (Bread of Life) project- Elio (10) and Juliño (15).

 

In the Populated Center of Huaccaycancha lives Elio and his family. Huaccaycancha is at 3729 meters above sea level and is located in the Cusco region. It is one of the communities to which the Bread of Life programme reaches, bringing joy and hope to the children here. Waiting for the Bread of Life volunteers, children with their parents go out to the road to wait for them. In the cold they wait for the blessing of both physical and spiritual food. Their hearts overflow with joy when they see the truck arrive, as they jump and laugh and hug the volunteers!

Elio is 10 years old and is one of the children who participates in the Bread of Life programme.

“I am very happy because I am participating in Bread of Life. When I received the Bible it was a surprise for me because I had never been given such a beautiful and special book. When I read the Bible for the first time I felt very good and I really like reading it. I always go to my classes, I don’t want to miss because I learn from Jesus.”

 

Juliño, 15, is another boy who has attended Bread of Life classes from the age of 9. He now helps to teach the children in his local area Bible stories as part of this project. He recently shared his testimony with our colleague:

“Since I started attending Bread of Life, I liked the Bible stories so much that I was always the first to arrive to class. Something that made me very happy was receiving a Bible, I had never received such a special gift!

In the classes I have learned that God is always with me and that he is happy when we are obedient to his teachings. I liked the classes so much that now that I am 15 years old, I teach the Bible to the children in my community. I am happy to support the Pan de Vida programme by teaching and I want to continue learning more.”

Pray

Please join us as we pray for the Bread of Life project:

• Praise God for the privilege of sharing the Gospel with these children in such a practical way.
• Pray for the children who are involved in this programme, that they would come to faith in Christ through it.
• Pray for the staff as they travel and facilitate this project. Pray especially for safety, as Peru continues to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.