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Billy and Laurie Drum minister in Huancayo, Peru as teachers. Both having spent many years as teachers in the States, they have a heart for education and are called to help children and families who do not have the ability to obtain an education in Peru. They founded the Kuyay Talpuy program, which means "sowing seeds with the love of God" in the Quechua language. Through the Kuyay Talpuy education centers, the Drums are able to touch the lives of children, their families, and their communities. Laurie and Billy are also active in community health outreach and discipleship programs.

Here, Laurie describes a new ministry she and Billy have started, “The Breakfast Club.”

Estrella lives in a tiny, rustic adobe house in Patarcocha, Peru. Her house almost hangs on the side of the mountain, built on a steep grade that I can’t believe supports the home. It is the rainy season, so the path to the house is slick with mud. Even the dogs are sliding down the hill as they accompany Elva and me on this visit. Estrella and her daughter, Mabelle, begin to run and slip on the muddy hill to greet us.

We’re visiting Estrella’s home today to talk to the elderly people who live with her. Estrella is in her 40s and she cares for her daughter Mabelle (16), her mother, Teodora (74), her father, Alberto (84), her aunt, Cicilia (82), and Miss Rosa (90). Miss Rosa is one of the many abandoned elderly in Patarcocha. Estrella has taken her in to her home to care for her. Of the six people in Estrella’s home, four are homebound; unable to walk or care for themselves.

Estrella’s story is not uncommon here. Elva and I visited 22 homes like Estrella’s on Sunday. In most homes, there was not someone like Estrella to help care for these sweet mamachas y papachines (Quechua Wanca for “grandmother and grandfather.”) Most of the elderly here are abandoned and live alone. Many can barely walk, shuffling if they do manage to stand and get around. They rely on the kindness and care of their neighbors, who check on them periodically to make sure they are okay. In most cases, their health is marginal as they are quite malnourished. They cannot work their fields any longer; they cannot harvest; they no longer have income and therefore cannot go to the market… so they eat what they find or rely on someone to help out.

Julia (86) excitedly lets us in her door and invites us to sit in her yard. But she soon begins to cry and babble in Quechua. “I’m such a bad hostess. I have nothing to give you for your visit. I had some berries the other day, but they are gone now. And it is too muddy for me to walk the mountain to try to find more. I’m such a bad hostess. Please forgive me,” she sobs.

We are visiting to announce a new outreach that Elva has proposed. Elva, my Peruvian best friend, has come up with a plan to supply breakfast for the elderly each day. Having lost her own mother, Mama Victoria (89) this year, her heart is heavy for the elderly. With the help of our goats (milk and cheese), the chickens (eggs), and the greenhouse/garden projects (fruits), she would like to cook a healthy breakfast for each of the 30+ elderly. A North American supporter has offered to help by supplying oatmeal and fruit as a supplement for the first six months until the farm projects are in full production. Elva will supply the labor, the location (her house), and the milk from her cow.

As we announce the proposed project, smiles, hugs, and tears flow at each house. “Thank you! Thank you! I’ve been begging God to help me find food. Thank you!” We heard the same words over and over.

The breakfast program began mid-February. I sat in Elva’s kitchen as she frantically fed wood into the adobe stove, boiling water for oatmeal and hard-boiled eggs, smoke curling around us as the sun came up. I prayed that this would be a success and that we were doing something that God would bless. I had confirmation within the hour.

Slowly, the sweet, smiling faces of our community’s heritage began arriving in Elva’s door. It felt like a home diner, with so many coming and sharing a meal and staying to talk about old times and become reacquainted as friends. The oatmeal was a blessing to them, but the tears began to flow when the bananas and hard-boiled eggs came to the table. For these precious friends, breakfast looked like Thanksgiving dinner. Many ate their oatmeal and saved the banana and egg “for later,” accustomed to rationing what little food they have.

A few days later, I heard, “Hermana Laura!” as someone rapped on the wood of my front gate. I went out to find Mama Adela (82) smiling from ear to ear, all wrapped up in her wool shawls and skirts and leggings. “Hermana… I brought you a little something.” She pulled a glass wrapped in a plastic bag from her skirt pocket. The glass was full of fresh honey, pieces of honeycomb floating in the golden goo. “I don’t have much to give. And maybe you won’t like it, but it’s what I have. It will help with your throat and your cough.” She gave me the glass and a giant hug and kiss. I thanked her many times over as she slowly shuffled away.

Each week, several of these sweet grandmas and grandpas come to our door to give us something of the little that they have, their way of saying thank you. Honey, fresh-picked green beans, a bag of fresh dug potatoes, or a liter of fresh cow’s milk – all gifts from their own hands, all meant to be their way of giving back.

So much good is coming from the Breakfast Club! One of the men in the group thanks us almost daily and says, “This is so much better than sitting in my house by myself every morning. Now I have a reason to get out. Coming here to talk with others is such a blessing to me.” Even in the rain and the mud, the elderly come to the kitchen with smiling faces and hearty hugs.

One morning, Jeremias (one of the elderly) read from Genesis to start the meeting. We have a Proclaimer (recorded Bible) in Quechua, and they listened to a portion of the Book of Matthew. Rocio told the Parable of the Lost Sheep in her usual animated fashion. We served coffee and banana bread for a snack. At the end of the meeting, they decided that they liked this plan! So they made plans to meet again the next week, only they needed to meet in the dining room at Elva and Alfonso’s so we would have more room. Several asked to borrow Bibles to they could study. Some can’t read, but said that someone could read to them.

As you eat breakfast each day, please pray for “The Breakfast Club” ministry, for Elva and her family, and for the many mamachas y papachines of Patarcocha.