What is PROSIM?

Since arriving in Peru a little over two years ago, I have had the privilege of being a part of the program of PROSIM.  PROSIM stands for PROgrama de Salud Integral Menonita, which basically means Mennonite health program, but it truly is so much more than that.  Today I am going to try and explain in more detail why this program exists.

We have monthly meetings on the last Thursday of the month.  We gather at 8 am in a small room on the second floor of the school and start with prayer and praise and worship.  Next we have a time of devotion followed by another prayer.  There are 15 representatives this year that come from 13 different churches.  After praise and worship and devotion time, we talk about the lessons from the last months meeting.  Many times we have a time of sharing so that the representatives can talk about how the teaching went in their communities or villages.  Next, Gloria, the PROSIM coordinator, and I teach lessons about preventative health.  This past month we talked about parasites and fungus infections.  The month before we had a special guest, a friend of mine from language school, Richard who did a teaching on prevention of sexual abuse in children.  Here is a picture of our group from that day.

The goal of PROSIM is to reach and teach others simple steps of preventative health through the representatives and in turn present the healing gospel of Jesus Christ.

We need your help!  PROSIM doesn't have the funds to continue the work we are doing.  Here is what some of the representatives had to say about PROSIM:

Vilma, one of the representatives only has to travel 45 minutes from her town of around 350 people in Huacarpay.  She says that PROSIM has really helped people through its teachings about diseases and how to prevent them.  There have even been some who have come to know God through the health teaching and ministry of PROSIM.  "We have learned how to improve our lives and health and would like for this program to continue to help others and win more souls for Christ."

Here is a photo of Vilma and her son.

Narciso, a representative from Yarccacunca comes from a  village about 2 hours from Cusco that has around 190 people.  He says that his village has changed very much with the teachings, discussion groups and education provided by PROSIM.  "My village has also received help with anti-parasite medication and vitamins which has helped us fight against malnutrition."

Melchora, in the picture below, is a representative that travels about 1 1/2 hours from San Juan de Quihuares, population of approximately 450 people.  She shared that her church and her town has received help and very good education from PROSIM.  She said that she would like to continue to work with PROSIM because she has seen how the teachings make a difference in peoples lives.

I am sharing these excerpts and testimonies of the representatives to give you a little glimpse into what PROSIM is about and not only what it means to me, but what it means to the Peruvians.  If you feel led to donate you can mail a check to:

Eastern Mennonite Missions

PO Box 458

Salunga, PA  17538

*Make it payable to Eastern Mennonite Missions with PROSIM in the memo.

If you would prefer to make a contribution online:

Go to www.emm.org and click on the big orange "Give" tab at the top, it will redirect you to another page which will allow you to make a donation.  Please be sure to put PROSIM in the box under the amount you want to give.

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.  Matthew 9:35