Pat's Place - Where Families Matter

It has been a great week at Pat’s Place. Spending time with our families is always the highlight of the trip. During this trip I was able to fix a few things around the house as well as spend some quality time with my kiddos. We had a couple issues with the computers, Wi-Fi, printers, doors, windows, and a couple minor things in some of the rooms. While Laura and Pamela are here running the house, I was able to be the handy man which is very needed. It is a full time job for sure as something would happen each day. Sometimes before I would leave a room, Pamela would say, Alexcito, can you fix this or that. I want to say thank you to all our Sponsors for making everything we do here possible.

Here is a great picture of our kids in the Computer Lab that we installed in December. This lab has been such a blessing to them as they have been able to do all of their school work in here. Pamela is doing a wonderful job with teaching them, and helping them through out the day. This is a full time job, and she works 10 hours a day here at the house. We are blessed to have her as their teacher. Not only is she helping them with their school work, but she also helps them with their spiritual and mental health. Having Pamela focus on the kids, allows Laura the time to run the house, take care of the women’s needs and their mental health without having to worry about the kids.

For my last night here, We had dinner brought in from a local restaurant near the house. Everyone had a great time, and they all cleared their plates. The kids can really eat. We think that our kids in America are hungry, these kids act like this is their last meal and tomorrow is not coming. They are truly taking the scripture that says we are not promised tomorrow to heart (James 4:13-15).

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Pat's Place - Back to School

Spring in the United States is a time of new beginnings, while it’s fall in Peru, and the children are starting their new 2021 school year. On their first day, they parade into school holding their heads high, excited for all the new things they’re going to learn…but this year, just like the last, they paraded in a circle because they will be learning virtually from home once again thanks to covid.

God is in the business of transformation at Casa Pat, so the children begin each morning with a time of worship, prayer and encouragement in the Word of God. This provides a firm foundation of the renewal of their minds; where there was once darkness, pain and torment, there is light, comfort and hope. Casa Pat’s director, Laura, and her daughter/assistant, Pamela, share from their own changed hearts to speak life and Truth into theirs.

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Pat's Place - Where Families Matter

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Hello Everyone,

God is so faithful! During such a troublesome time around the globe, He continues to provide every resource that Amor Real Ministries needs to keep Pat's Place fully open and functioning at capacity! We are excited to announce that an anonymous donor has offered up to a $2000 match to support Pat's Place, as well as build a home in the community! Will you join us in reaching our fundraising goal of $2000? Click below today to donate!

We have had a great couple of months at Pat’s Place. While the world moves on, we have been making the best of our surroundings. As most of you know, this is vacation time in Peru. That means the children are out of school: each day filled with family time and games, every night is movie night. Laura and Pamela are taking great care of our families. In the picture above we have actually had four new people join us at the house. A set of twins (Luz Marina, Luz Maria) that are 16 years old (one of which has an eight-month-old baby named Alondra). We also have their sister, Flor Celeste, who is 11 years old staying with us. Normally, we are not able to take women without their mothers, especially those under the age of 18. However, this was an emergency situation with which the government approached us. I am honored and proud to say that we have been able to accommodate them and bring this family into our mix.

Laura has been very diligent during this time, teaching the families about what it means to love, to be loved, and how to love your children even when they came from such an abusive relationship. We tend to forget that almost all of the kids came from an abusive situation, and the mothers (very often) come in with a heart of stone toward their children because of this. So Laura spends every day teaching, guiding, and training them on how to approach life and how to love now with the love of Christ. This is a long process, but we have seen the changes first-hand in the mothers' and children's lives.

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Pat's Place Christmas 2020

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We had a great time celebrating Christmas with the families of Pat’s Place. The team started off the day wrapping gifts for everyone, then went on to baking brownies. Later in the afternoon the children surprised us with a mini concert. After the concert was over, Joe Warren, Keith Torbert, and Alex Compton played Santa Clause to everyone by handing out gifts. To finish off the night, we had a tremendous dinner of rotisserie chicken, french fries, chaufa (chicken fried rice), salad, and brownies for dessert. The kids were stuffed at the end of the night and ready for bed. Thank you to everyone that helped make this day such a great success. We have had a great week, and this is definitely one of the highlights of the year for Amor Real and our beloved Pat’s Place. We will be sending out a follow up email next week that will have a full recap of our entire trip.

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Amor Real - November 2020 Home Building

We had a family loose everything to a fire early in November. Our great friends at Make A Miracle let us know about it, and we jumped into action. We have been blessed by a great sponsor who had already sent in money for us to build a few houses.

What a better way to kick off house building again with blessing this family who lost everything with a brand new house. Below are pics of the Make A Miracle team bring the new house in and getting it built.

The house was completed just 10 days after the old house was burnt down. The team did an amazing job cleaning up the old burnt house, and building a new one in just 10 days. Thank you to Make A Miracle and our own Maile Popp for helping build this house in the community.

If you would like to donate money to build a house or a partial house, we would love to build one for you. Below is what is covered and the cost.

Builds a 5x8 Meter home with 4 rooms

• Lay a full concrete foundation

• Typical size: 3 small bedrooms, a 4th room for kitchen/dining

• Wire house for electricity

• 1 bunk bed for two young children

• 1 full size bed for parents

• 1 big dresser for family

• 3 burner propane stove

• 1 Ecofiltro water filter to provide clean drinking water for 5 years

• Total Package = $2,000.00 Donation

• Partial Packages can purchase individual items listed above

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Pat's Place - Giving Tuesday is Here!

Dear Friends,

Alex is leaving THIS Friday for a long-awaited visit to Pat's Place, our home for abused women and children in Lima, Peru! We have not been able to visit since January because of Covid-19, which has had a monumental impact on our residents and is sure to have lasting effects.

On this #GivingTuesday, we are raising money to replace the $30,000 we lost in 2020 due to Covid-19 in order to supply our 2021 budget. We are trusting God to provide for this ministry and the healing transformation that takes place within those walls. Would you consider being the hands and feet of Jesus by giving to Pat’s Place to help us recover this deficit?

With sincere appreciation, affection and hope,

Alex and Holly Compton

President, Vice President

Amor Real Ministries

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Pat's Place - Giving Tuesday

Your world turned upside down this year, didn’t it? The interesting thing about 2020 is that our individual “worlds” are unrecognizable, but the world also as a whole has forever changed, even if we haven’t yet seen it from our quarantine bubbles.

While all this upheaval unfolded in the United States, we waited with bated breath for daily news from Pat’s Place, our home for abused women and children in Lima, Peru. Because they are in opposite seasons south of the equator, the 20 children living there spent an entire school year homeschooling, unable to leave unless for medical care. Pat’s Place Director, Laura Ali, and her daughter Pamela took exceptional care of our 30 residents, without any physical help or presence that usually comes from missions teams and other American visitors because the borders have been closed for so long.

On this #GivingTuesday, we have a sincerely desperate plea for our friends and donors, many of whom had canceled their 2020 trips, which would have supplied $30,000 towards our 2021 budget. We are trusting God to provide for this ministry and the healing transformation that takes place within those walls. Would you consider being the hands and feet of Jesus by giving to Pat’s Place to help us recover this deficit?

We are forever grateful for those that have already given this year, even during the difficult times our own economy has faced. And we are thankful for You and your partnership in the work of the gospel. May you feel the presence of God in your circumstances, giving you strength and provision for the work He’s given you to do as well.

With sincere appreciation, affection and hope,

Alex and Holly Compton

President, Vice President

Amor Real Ministries

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1. $10 - Feeds 5 kids for a day.

2. $50 - Feeds all 30 women and kids for a day.

3. $100 - Supports a person for a month or all 30 women and kids for food for 2 days. (sponsorship covers housing, food, medical needs, counseling/therapy, and everyday supplies that women need).

4. $500 - Supports 5 people which could be 2 families or 1 family of 5 for a month.

5. $3000 - Supports the entire house for a month which covers food, medical supplies, housing, schooling, counseling and therapy

Pat's Place - Christmas is Coming

Greetings Everyone,

I know that it is hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner. We are gearing up for a wonderful end of the year at Pat’s Place. In just 3 weeks I will take a small team to Peru to spend an entire week celebrating with our wonderful families, and would love to take some great donations down with us. Here is what we are looking to do for those that would like to help.

Donation items for the trip are Vitamins (Women’s / Kids Multi-Vitamin), Hand Sanitizer, Soap, Shampoo, Wipes, Alcohol Wipes, Baby Wipes, and some gifts for the younger kids. The reason I only mention the younger kids here is because we will be buying the teenagers, and adult gifts in country due to limited space. Please plan on having the donations either sent directly to my home (5070 Plainsman Circle, Cumming, Ga 30028) by Sunday November 29th or email me (Alex@AmorRealMinistries.com) and if possible I can come pick them up over the next 2 weeks. For those of you who will not have an opportunity to send something down, we are also taking donations to buy gifts in country. Please click on the Donate button below to contribute to this wonderful cause.

$5 Dollars buys 1 Toy

$25 Dollars buys 5 Toys

$50 Dollars buys 10 Toys

$100 Dollars buys 20 Toys

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Pat's Place - November in Peru

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for your continued love and support for Pat’s Place. We are working on our trip dates for 2021 now that the country is back open. I am also happy to announce that I (Alex Compton) will be able to fly to Peru on December 4th for the first time in 10 months. During this trip, we will be building the computer lab, celebrating Christmas with our families, and spending as much time with each of them as we possibly can. Laura and I have also been working on some new ideas for more updates to you. We are going to introduce 2 new things below. One is the letter from the director. This will come out twice a month and will be a note from Laura. The second is a monthly phone call with Laura for those of you that just want to say hi or get on the video chat with us through zoom. If you are interested, please email Alex@AmorRealMinistries.com and we will add you to the monthly video chat. Please see Laura’s 1st November message below. Please note that I am leaving her message as untouched as possible so that you may picture her speaking to you.

Letter from Our Director Laura

Hello my friends in the United States!!! We continue to battle Covid-19 like all countries. We have been in quarantine for Casa Pat since March; perhaps I would say in a state of staying home! Only mothers go out with their babies or children for medical needs or other essential needs. I know that the children are enjoying the classes "Learning at Home." The children enjoy their classes because we are all together on a daily basis; the mothers are learning together with their children. Life is not easy or simple, but I really am clear and defined that without God, we would not do anything! He is protecting us from this virus, and we are moving forward with the help of all of you. We pray for you and your families.

Thank You for your continued support.

Laura

Pat's Place - October is Here

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share this video from our appreciation dinner with our family in Peru. Pat’s Place has had a blessed year and we could not have done any of it without Laura, Pamela, and Estefania. This video was taken in January when Holly and I were able to be there together. Something we are very rarely able to do. We love our Peruvian family. We have all been together now for 16 years. What an amazing ride. A little update on how things are going back at Pat’s Place. Everyone has adjusted to their daily routines. Daily class schedules at home, homework, bible studies, counseling, and tutoring going on every single day. Those are just the small things to. All our families have made it through the winter season with only the small cold or sinus infection (which is normal).

Business Training \ Growth Opportunity - For those of you that have kept up with our monthly updates, you will remember that back in August I mentioned the possibility for our Mothers to be able to learn new skills while going through our program. All of this fully paid for by the government. Our women will be taking courses on how to sew from scratch. Literally making clothes from nothing but materials. The classes will also teach them skills needed to work on the machines so that we can be a small clothes factory. This will give them skills that they can use to find jobs outside of Pat’s Place and grow their families. We are currently waiting on the machines to arrive at the house. From there they will be staged on the fifth floor of the house. We will be adding a new circuit in order to handle the increase in electricity the different machines need.

Please Consider Supporting Pat’s Place. All money donated to Pat’s Place goes to support our wonderful families.

1. $10 - Feeds 5 kids for a day.

2. $50 - Feeds all 30 women and kids for a day.

3. $100 - Supports a person for a month or all 30 women and kids for food for 2 days. (sponsorship covers housing, food, medical needs, counseling/therapy, and everyday supplies that women need).

4. $500 - Supports 5 people which could be 2 families or 1 family of 5 for a month.

5. $3000 - Supports the entire house for a month which covers food, medical supplies, housing, schooling, counseling and therapy

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Pat's Place - Some September Fun (Kind of)

As we kick off September here in Peru, we have been able to have a little fun celebrating little David’s birthday. We were also visited by the local clinic for our yearly dose of Flu Shots. While they were a little late, we are now set for the rest of the year. As you can see, some of us are not afraid of needles, while others are terrified. Franco took it like a champ while wearing one of Holly’s old New England Patriots shirts. We are all doing very well down here in Peru. Each day is filled with bible study, therapy, home school, exercise, homework, play time, sleep, then repeat.

We want to thank you all for your love and support of Pat’s Place. None of these families would have a chance to survive and thrive if it was not for you. This year has been a crazy one for sure, and we cannot wait to get down to Peru to spend time with our Pat’s Place families. As of right now, Alex has a trip in October to go and build our first computer lab. Thank you to Smooth Stone Ministries and Tim Koenning for covering the cost of the computer lab. We are going to take the time to build out the computer lab so that everyone will have a place to study, learn, print, or read while doing their daily school work.

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If you’re able to help, below are some suggested needs and their costs. Any amount helps.

1. $10 - Feeds 5 kids for a day.

2. $50 - Feeds all 30 women and kids for a day.

3. $100 - Supports a person for a month or all 30 women and kids for food for 2 days. (sponsorship covers housing, food, medical needs, counseling/therapy, and everyday supplies that women need).

4. $500 - Supports 5 people which could be 2 families or 1 family of 5 for a month.

5. $3000 - Supports the entire house for a month which covers food, medical supplies, housing, schooling, counseling and therapy

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Pat's Place - August Update

Hello from Peru. As another month has come and gone, we miss you all very much. Thank you for your love and support throughout these crazy times. We are blessed to say we are all healthy. Laura and Pamela are taking care of everyone at Pat’s Place. All of the kids are participating in home schooling each day as the schools are still closed. While the country is mainly open, we are keeping all of the families at home during this time unless they need to leave for therapy or checkups. This has allowed us to keep everyone nice and secure while the country is dealing with Covid-19.

We have also recently received some great news from the local government. Laura called me a couple days ago and was so happy to share that we have been chosen to receive some government help with starting a small business that will help our families raise money and support Pat’s Place at the same time. I hope to have a lot more news over the next couple weeks. Here are the basics for now. We are looking to turn part of the 5th floor into a shop where we can make shirts, and design supplies to sell in the community and in a local store. The best part about all of this is that all of the equipment and machines are supplied for us. Laura and the mom’s will be trained on how everything works. This is just a start, and we cannot wait to share more and more over the next couple of months.

On the next trip to Peru I will be building a computer lab at the house for everyone to use. Now that everyone is doing school work from home, they are in need of some new equipment. We are currently going to place 5 new computers, monitors, keyboards, and a printer for them to use. We are also looking at getting the house to be more wireless so that we can build the computer lab on the 2nd or 3rd floor. Right now, only the 1st floor has internet due to how homes are all built with concrete. If you would like to help support the computer lab, please let me know or donate on our website. The lab will cost us $3000.00 dollars since we have equipment and materials to purchase.

If you’re able to help, below are some suggested needs and their costs.

1. $10 - Feeds 5 kids for a day.

2. $50 - Feeds all 30 women and kids for a day.

3. $100 - Supports a person for a month or all 30 women and kids for food for 2 days. (sponsorship covers housing, food, medical needs, counseling/therapy, and everyday supplies that women need).

4. $500 - Supports 5 people which could be 2 families or 1 family of 5 for a month. $155. 00 - Covers food for all families for a month.

5. $3000 - Supports the entire house for a month which covers food, medical supplies, housing, schooling, counseling and therapy

Thank You,

Alex, Holly, Laura, Pamela

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Pat's Place - July Update

As the world around us changes day by day, we are blessed to have Pat’s Place where we can provide an amazing home full of love. This month we celebrate Laura for all that she does to keep the house running. Laura is a tremendous blessing to everyone she knows. She has the biggest heart that pours into helping people. Pat’s Place does not run without her around. If you can, please take some time to read her letter.

My dear friends, many of you know the work that we do in Peru, helping families to recover from violence that they have lived through for years. We are going through very radical changes in our lives, due to this pandemic that has taken us all by surprise.

What could happen with the work we do here at Casa Pat for these families because we have not been able to have missionary teams come to Peru. Mission teams make up 40% of our annual Budget to run Casa Pat. All families that come to Casa Pat, are here because God has a purpose for their lives. Our goal is that they know the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. The changes in the women and their children are incredible. When they walk in for the first time, they are broken and beat down. Within the first year, they have emotional stability, the kids go from not sleeping alone or at all to sleeping peacefully in their own beds, they study, and are able to play in peace. All of the families now see that there are people who are interested in them for their well-being and tranquility.

Just a few months ago we received a 33-year-old woman with 6 children who was raped by her father for 13 years. She had not place to go, and no other facility would take her because of the number of children. Now they are with us, enjoying the all the healing that Casa Pat has for them. The family is now happy and growing because there is no fear. There is no trauma in their lives anymore. The kids wake up to a hug every morning and start their devotionals. They are loving a life without violence. The changes are truly incredible.

We want you to be part of these dreams and the unconditional love that they are experiencing every day. Even more than that, we would love for you to be the hands and feet for these women and their children. We need your help to continue making these stories possible. My prayer is that we can continue helping and achieving all our goals for these families.

God bless you, protect you from all this pandemic. We are very grateful for all the help you can do to follow this hard path, but not impossible.

Thankful for all your support.

God bless you

Laura Ali Escalante

Director

Pat Place (Casa Pat)

Peace, Love and Transformation in Jesus Christ

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If you’re able to help, below are some suggested needs and their costs.

1. $10 - Feeds 5 kids for a day.

2. $50 - Feeds all 30 women and kids for a day.

3. $100 - Supports a person for a month or all 30 women and kids for food for 2 days. (sponsorship covers housing, food, medical needs, counseling/therapy, and everyday supplies that women need).

4. $500 - Supports 5 people which could be 2 families or 1 family of 5 for a month.

5. $1500 - Covers food for all families for a month.

6. $3000 - Supports the entire house for a month which covers food, medical supplies, housing, schooling, counseling and therapy

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Pat’s Place Interview

I had the privileged of working with Bill Brazeal (Board Member for Amor Real) and Good News Support Ministries on an interview regarding the current status of Pat’s Place in Peru. The country has now been shut down since March and will be locked down until at least June 30, 2020, at this point. Please take some time and watch how things are going and what we are doing to continue supporting our families. We need your support. If you’re able to help, below are some suggested needs and their costs.

$10 - Feeds 5 kids for a day.

$50 - Feeds all 30 women and kids for a day.

$100 - Supports a person for a month or all 30 women and kids for food for 2 days. (sponsorship covers housing, food, medical needs, counseling/therapy, and everyday supplies that women need).

$500 - Supports 5 people which could be 2 families or 1 family of 5 for a month.

$1500 - Covers food for all families for a month.

$3000 - Supports the entire house for a month which covers food, medical supplies, housing, schooling, counseling and therapy.

If you are interested in supporting Pat’s Place as a one-time gift or on a monthly basis, please click on the Donate link above the video. We would love for you to be a monthly sponsor. If you would like more information on how you can help, please let us know.

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Pat's Place Worship

In the crazy times of everyone being at home, the families at Pat’s Place are doing everything they can to continue with their healing. Last week they spent some time in worship outside in the courtyard. Please take some time to watch this video and share with friends and family.

Since we currently are not able to plan for our annual fundraiser, we are looking for people to partner with us to keep Pat’s Place running. There is no amount too small to give, and 100% of your money goes to help our families. Here are some amounts that will help take care of their everyday needs.

$10 - Feeds 5 kids for a day

$50 - Feeds all 30 Women and Kids for a day.

$100 - Supports a person for a month or all 30 women and kids for food for 2 days. (sponsorship covers housing, food, medical needs, counseling/therapy, and everyday supplies that women need).

$500 - Supports 5 people which could be 2 families or 1 family of 5 for a month.

$1500 - Covers food for all families for a month.

$3000 - Supports the entire house for a month which covers food, medical supplies, housing, schooling, counseling and therapy.

If you are interested in supporting Pat’s Place as a one-time gift or on a monthly basis, please click on the Donate link below the video. In the comment box, please let us know if you would like to be a monthly sponsor, and we will set you up.

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Pat's Place New Families

I am proud to announce the newest members of Pat’s Place for 2020. All 3 families came in 2.5 months ago before the country went into lock down due to the Corona Virus. We are blessed to be able to help them transition to our home, and get their healing started right away. All 3 families came from very bad situations of abuse. The smiles you see below are after being in the house for 2 months. When they first came into our care, they were very worried and afraid. I am always blessed to see photos after they have been with us for a while. They are able to see that we love them, and want to help them in every way possible. If you would like to help support our families, please click the Donate Button to help support our wonderful women and children. Every dollar counts, and 100% of the money goes to support them.

Gisela is 23 years old. She has 3 children. Diana (4), Luciana (2), and Alvaro (6 Months). Fabiana (16) her 5-month-old son David. Estrella is 32 years old and has 6 children: Isai (13 boy), Arab (10 boy), Aysha (09 girl), Nasha (05 girl), Aissa (03 girl) and Beulery (09 month boy). 

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Pat's Place - Home Schooling

It has been a busy time for Everyone at Pat’s Place. Laura and Pamela have turned into teachers as the country has gone to home schooling during this time.We are very proud of our kids for the way they are handling the transition to doing work from home. We are also thankful for Laura and Pamela that they have been there to be such a blessing. For those of us in the states with 2, 3, 4, or even 7 kids that are trying to home school, they are home schooling 20 kids along with a couple college students. During this time, Laura and Pamela are living at the house to help keep things going during lock down. The lock down in Peru is a lot different than here in the US where we can be outside and still go out on a more regular basis. They are only allowed out to get food from the Metro which is only open from 10am to 4pm. If your going to be out other than going to hospital, you need to have a special permit which you have to renew every 48 hours. For those of you that our friends with our team, please drop a Thank You to them.

Amor Real Ministries News

February 2018

Pat's Ladies 

This month our Pat's Ladies Highlight is Liria, a 44-year-old mother of five who came to Pat's Place four years ago. The father of her children had threatened to kill her and the children by burning down their home with all inside when he was drunk. Thankfully, she escaped, but no house of refuge wanted to take her because she had so many children. When they finally came to Pat's Place, her and the children, ages five to eighteen, were still so full of fear. The children urinated in their beds and had difficult behavioral and learning problems. Over the last four years, their lives have improved tremendously. They now know Jesus in their lives, the children are getting good grades in school, and they have found a true refuge, family and love that they had never known before.

If you are interested in supporting this or other families at Pat's Place, Click Here.

If you would like to donate a water filtration system which provides 5 years of clean drinking water for a family, Click Here.

Upcoming Events

If you've ever thought about doing a mission trip, our next trip is perfect for YOU! Amor Real will host its next trip to Peru this April 21-28. You will have the opportunity to build a house in a local community, share your heart with the families of Pat's Place, and reach out to the people of Peru with God's love and mercy. The cost is $1,500, and you must sign up with a $750 deposit by March 1.

We also have exciting summer trips planned this July. The first trip will be July 5-14, and the second trip will be July 13-22. Both cost $1800 and require signup with a $200 deposit by April 1. Also, there is an option during both trips to travel to Machu Picchu July 14-17 for an additional $700. You must provide an extra $500 deposit by April 1.

Coming up this May 3, Amor Real will host a Bowlathon at Stars & Strikes Family Entertainment Center in Sandy Springs, GA. If you are interested in participating, we are recruiting teams of five people to donate their time and $250 per team (or $50 per person) for Pat's Place, our home for abused women and their children in San Juan de Lurigancho, in Lima, Peru. For more information, please reply to this email or contact Alex at 678-861-9283.

January 2018 Trip Update

Our most recent mission trip took place January 17-24. A team of four built a home in the community of Paradise, as seen above, which was donated by Howard Capital Management. They took all the families of Pat's Place to the Lima Zoo. They also traveled to Nazca for a look at the famous Nazca Lines.

"Dessert with Laura"

The first fundraiser for Amor Real Ministries took place on Friday, October 21, 2016, at The Vine Community Church, on behalf of Pat’s Place, our home for abused women and their children. The event, promoted as “Dessert with Laura,” was a sweet time of fellowship with the director of Pat’s Place, Laura Ali. While she has worked closely with the home since its inception in 2006, she has been the director for the last eight years. She had her very first opportunity to visit the United States last month for two weeks, and we had the pleasure of hearing her heart on this special evening.

Alex Compton opened the evening with a brief overview of Amor Real Ministries and what we do, including the many mission trips we have planned for 2017. Then Tim Koenning gave a testimony of his various travels in Peru and his commitment to serving with ARM in any way he can. After a short break including bidding on Silent Auction items, we continued with hearing directly from Laura via Tim as our translator.

Many were moved to tears time and again as Laura began sharing the stories of the women that have come through or are currently residing at Pat’s Place. She explained that she gets phone calls from different pastors or other homes who have women that need a place to go, some who have nowhere else willing to take them. Some come with open hearts willing to find healing and a new life, while others have been hardened by abuse and take longer to open up. Laura develops a program with each of them individually, as well as a staff social worker, psychologist and lawyer if necessary. No program is the same for everyone, and the length of time they live at the house is always different.

Together with the ladies, Laura now uses “PAT” as an acronym that stands for “Paz (peace), Amor (love), and Transformacion (transformation) en Jesus (in Jesus).” The women seek a refuge that can provide all three of those things, along with hope for a new life. Some have started college, while others are learning a new trade as part of their program. It was very obvious how passionate Laura is for the work she does with these women; they are a very important part of her life and family as well. She has “adopted daughters” over the years, and her own daughters consider them family as well.

The evening ran long, but the passion of Laura’s heart was clearly communicated in every spoken—and every unspoken—word. What a blessing to have such an opportunity with this woman of God! Thank you to all those who came out to join us that night. We are so grateful for your love and support of this important work of the Lord in San Juan de Lurigancho.