Refugio de Vida – Life Refuge, San Ramón Peru

Refugio de Vida, Life Refuge, began as a burden for the women and young ladies of San Ramón who had no hope. The burden grew into a vision to include a local church and camp/retreat center for not only the city of San Ramón but also for all of Chanchamayo and surrounding areas. Refugio de Vida is grounded on 2 Samuel 22:3, “The God of my strength, in Whom I will trust; my Shield and the Horn of my salvation, my Stronghold and my Refuge.” God is our Refuge. All can run to Him for help and healing.

Each and every day, a minimum of 5 women and children go missing in Peru. Violence against women and children is common practice in a male-dominated society where women and children have much less worth than a man. There were 2,206 documented cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) homicide in the last 9 years, with 1 incident of GBV occurring every 10 minutes. In 2020, over 500 women and girls were reported missing in July alone. Many are never found; others never come home alive (NPR, 2020). A minimum of 33% of the female population of Peru report GBV; how many more are unreported? Malnutrition, poverty, and homelessness for women and children are a direct result of GBV. The desire of Refugio de Vida is to provide a sanctuary so that women and children in Peru can live without the fear of violence, malnutrition, poverty, and homelessness, to show them the love of Christ that can transform their lives. Every victim deserves the opportunity to meet Christ and to live a healthy and peaceful life. The numbers in Peru aren’t pretty, but they can change with your help!

Pastor Jorge, Charo, and I have purchased the land for the vision project the Lord has put on our hearts. Refugio de Vida – Life Refuge is almost 10 acres of land set in the mountains in San Ramón and will encompass Grace Bible Baptist Church (Iglesia Biblica Bautista de Gracia), Camp of Light (Campamento de Luz), and Hope House for women (Casa de Esperanza para mujeres).

We know that this is a HUGE project, but we serve a HUGE God! And, He’s already providing money for the construction process! We currently have the money to pay for the engineer’s plat map, the topography map (includes the perk sites and where the land is best to build each part of the project), and the architect pre-plans and final plans. We will also be able to complete the final title and all of the permissions needed to begin construction. 

The engineer gave us an estimate of the costs for construction, and they were much lower than anticipated! For the women’s home and Christian camp, we are looking at approximately $2,750,000 (everything depends on the exchange rate and the price of materials at that time). It seems a bit daunting, BUT GOD is ready for it all. We wait expectantly on Him! If you’d like to give specifically for this project, please let me know!