So much has happened these past few months! The Lord has blessed Julber, and us in the process, beyond what we even imagined.

Visit from Julber’s Dad

Many of you might have already heard this story, but it was such an amazing answer to prayer that we want to make sure everyone knows about it! In March, right as Lucy and the Styrons were searching for a good school for Julber, we got word that his dad was on his way to Arequipa to take him back to his home in the mountains. We were immensely concerned for Julber’s health and wellbeing because, apart from being a little unsure of his parent’s motivations for taking him back, his home is in a climate and environment that would surely only worsen his condition. The cold nights and lack of a balanced diet would have hurt him physically and the lack of peers and the work with the farm would not have been good for his development as a young boy.

We all prayed and prayed during that short time before his dad came to get him. We prayed that his dad would see his good condition and want to leave him in Arequipa, but we weren’t sure how it would actually turn out. When he arrived that Monday morning, he looked at his son and decided to allow him to stay! We all met with him and ate lunch together, and watched him tear up as he said goodbye to his son. What an answer to prayer! Within the next couple of months, however, Julber will be taking a trip to him home by bus (a twenty-four hour trip) to visit his mom and dad. It is a blessing that he is still able to have contact with his family.

School

The Thursday after his dad came to visit, Julber went to his first day of school here in Arequipa. Finding a good school was quite a challenge. We really did not want to put Julber in a Catholic school, because from the beginning children are taught to revere the virgin Mary and that you meet with God in mass (as opposed to having a personal relationship), etc. It is hard to combat in the home what children are taught in Catholic school. The Christian schools here, however, are much more expensive than the Catholic schools. In addition, we had to find a school that would allow Julber to enter without all of his paperwork from his last school in the mountains. We needed the leadership of the school to be people that we could work with easily because Julber was more or less a special case.

Praise God, we found a good school! God found us a school and various generous people have contributed to helping us afford it! It is a Christian school that put Julber in the sixth grade without all of the necessary paperwork. They work with him when he has to miss a day when he is sick. Julber is making friends and seems to be enjoying going to school. He is taking English classes, as every Peruvian child does, and he is doing very well! Every day, we can see that he is opening up more and more to everyone around him. We believe he is really beginning to sense that he has value in this world and that people care about him.

Julber does need your support in prayer, however. Quechua is his primary language, so he still has a hard time when his teacher talks too quickly in Spanish. He also went more than a year away from school, so he is having a hard time jumping back into math and reading. Please pray for him not to lose spirit and to make it through this first year at school.

Physically

It is incredible how much better Julber is doing. He is playing outside and climbing and running. He also has much fewer and shorter strings of bad days. However, his growths do still flame up and give him a fever. Just last week he missed a day at school because he was having such a hard time walking from the pain. He gets cold because of his fever, but wearing thick clothing only makes the swelling of his growths worse. It is a pitiful sight and it breaks all of our hearts. We need the prayers of the saints to heal Julber. If we lift him up to God our Healer in agreement, who knows what good things God will show us!