AMIJAI has its origins in the Hebrew language and it means “my community is alive.”
Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. – Ezekiel 37:5b -ESV
Leader:
Brenda Moya
Mission:
Rescue, for Christ, a future generation of young people who will use their gifts and talents to serve God and their community.
Values:
MAC3 (Missions, Attitude, Compassion, Connection, Creativity). To transform lives grounded in the gospel of Christ by teaching Christian values and principles.
Strategy:
- Evangelize children, adolescents, and youth as well as their parents.
- Incorporate children, adolescents, and youth into the body of Christ (the Church).
- Train (spiritual, vocational) and incorporate children, adolescents, and youth into compassion ministries and the workforce.
- Inspire imagination, originality, and ingenuity.
The Community:
Victor Raul is an impoverished and dangers community located in the outskirts of Trujillo, Peru. Most women and children here come from broken homes with husbands and fathers who are gang members, abusive, and/or alcoholics. The children normally run around in the streets all day with very little adult supervision because their parents work all day or are negligent. The community is divided into five sectors; four sectors are currently being incorporated into the weekly programming.
AMIJAI was born in 2011 but the ministry and its name was assigned in March 2014. The ministry was born from both a need and a strategy.
The Need:
As the construction of “Pasitos de Fe” got further along and our contact with the community increased, the need for us to minister to the multitude of children that live near the children’s home was obvious.
The Options:
The crime level of the community near the children’s home presented us with two options: to stay away from people to avoid being targeted and victimized or to minster to them to change their lives. We choose the latter.
The History:
Brenda Moya, along with other volunteers, started holding children’s programs on the local community soccer court of the third sector. With time, we have incorporated all but one of the five sectors that make up Victor Raul.
In early 2012, one of our one-year interns, Marion Elwell, started a women’s ministry with the mothers of the children with whom we had been working. Marion wanted to evangelize to them while teaching sewing and baking.
The Present:
Currently we are working with 15-30 mothers and with over 150 children, adolescents, and youth.
- 4:00 PM Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays (Sectors 2-4): The programs for children and adolescents include Bible studies, guitar lessons, evangelism, and arts and crafts. The programs for women include Bible studies, baking, sewing, and arts and crafts classes.
- 4:00 PM Tuesday (Sector 5): The programs for children and adolescents include Bible studies, guitar lessons, evangelism, and arts and crafts.