Jen's Jungle Ministry in Peru, South America
 
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About Jen's Jungle Ministry

Jennifer Harris, Missionary in Peru, South America

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Hello!  My name is Jennifer Harris. I was raised in Salem, OR and graduated from Stanford University in June of 1996. A year later, I left for the jungle of Peru to serve with Food for the Hungry, working on projects related to agriculture, health, education and church growth. Finishing my 3 years with Food for the Hungry, I became involved with a local Peruvian Church ("Luz Divina"), helping with their youth group and worship team. Over time I was invited to join the pastoral staff.

Since the year 2000, I have lived with an extended Peruvian family and helped raise 24 children in our 1,100-square foot home. What an amazing experience! I enjoy my pastoral responsibilities of teaching, counseling, visiting parishioners and praying for the sick. I have never seen so many miracles in all my life!

Thank you for your interest in my ministry. There are many ways that people can get involved like joining my prayer team, sponsoring a college student, becoming a monthly supporter, donating for a specific need, and visiting Peru to help with our latest ministry projects.

I hope you will join our team!


About Jen's Jungle Ministry

Micro Enterprise, South America

Micro Enterprise | Jen's Jungle Ministry

Many people in our city and surrounding villages are desperate to find work so they can provide for their families. They have time, talents and great ideas, but they lack the financial resources to get started. In the last two years, our church has administered 177 micro loans. People have done amazing things with their loans, such as starting a plant nursery, selling fish at the outdoor marketplace, setting up a small pharmacy in their home, selling breakfast on their front porch, and putting a roof on their house.

A total of 756 people have benefited directly from these loans. Many more people have benefited indirectly such as the store that sells supplies to start the plant nursery, the farmer who sells papaya to run the breakfast stand, and the lumber yard that sells wood beams in order to build the roof. People are very responsible about paying back their loans and they are generous about giving something "extra" back to the program like free papaya juice, discounted taxi rides and homemade cookies. Thank you to everyone who has helped enable these families to support themselves!

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*After donating, please send an email to jenniferpageharris@yahoo.com to indicate
how you want to designate your donation.

 

About Jen's Jungle Ministry
Animal Husbandry Project in South America

In September 2010, we started an Animal Husbandry Project with 15 participants, each of whom received $100 to buy animals and food for their animals. So far, participants have purchased a total of 461 chickens, 21 ducks, and 20 guinea pigs with their project money. Once the animals are full-grown, each project participant will give 2 female animals and one male animal back to the project, so we can help more families raise animals in the future.

The majority of participants in this project are women because they spend most of the day at home taking care of their children, and therefore can look after the animals. The husbands of these women are deeply appreciative of this project which provides supplemental income and food for their families.

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*After donating, please send an email to jenniferpageharris@yahoo.com to indicate
how you want to designate your donation.

Church and Social Services - Jen's Jungle Ministry

Church and Social Services, South America

Our Church | Jen's Jungle Ministry

In 2007, we built a church facility that includes a sanctuary, office, bookstore, coffee shop, and 2-room apartment for visitors. The sanctuary is idea for conferences and anniversaries. The bookstore and coffee shop provide employment for two parishioners, as well as encouraging our neighbors to visit. 

Our church offers a host of social services including field trips for children, dentist and doctor appointments, wedding rings for couples who are getting married, emergency food boxes, and school supplies, tennis shoes and P.E. clothes so children can attend school. I am continually amazed at how far every dollar can go! Our church is also involved in a variety of projects like teaching children to raise animals, organizing neighborhood clean-ups, helping people build their homes, and teaching kids how to brush their teeth.

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*After donating, please send an email to jenniferpageharris@yahoo.com to indicate
how you want to designate your donation.

 

Satellite Churches - Jen's Jungle Ministry

Church and Social Services, South America

Micro Enterprise | Jen's Jungle Ministry

Our church serves as the mother church for 30 satellite churches throughout the jungle. We organize 4-6 mission trips per month to these satellite churches in order to teach discipleship classes, lead children's activities, distribute Bibles, share the Good News, and help with construction projects. I love the adventure of bathing in the river, sleeping under mosquito nets, and eating new foods like turtle stew and duck soup. Even the grilled alligator and fried worms have become tasty treats!

This year we built 5 roofs for satellite churches, two roofs for pastors' homes, and a Sunday school building…all for $3,800. Each church contributed building materials and provided all of the labor. It was truly a team effort!

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*After donating, please send an email to jenniferpageharris@yahoo.com to indicate
how you want to designate your donation.

Bible Institute - Jen's Jungle Ministry

Bible Institute, South America

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Many pastors in the jungle region of Peru have a deep love for the Lord, but they do not have any formal training. Therefore, in January and February each year our church runs a 3-week Bible Institute to train pastors, leaders and youth from both our church and the 30 satellite churches. This year we had 50 students in the Institute and we offered 22 classes. I had the privilege of being a 5th year student and the sub-director of the Institute, as well as teaching Homiletics (how to preach) to 17 first-year students...what a delight to see these energetic learners give their first sermons! 

DONATE to Bible Institute Fund*   Return to top of Page

*After donating, please send an email to jenniferpageharris@yahoo.com to indicate
how you want to designate your donation.

 

Emmanuel Farm - Jen's Jungle Ministry

Bible Institute, South America

Emmanuel Farm | Jen's Jungle Ministry in Peru, South America

In 2001, I dreamed of investing in a business that would provide jobs for people and help fund our ministry programs. After lengthy prayer and research, I bought 300 acres of land along the Pachitea (PAH-CHEE-TAY-UH) River for the bargain price of $6,500 (or $22 per acre). This land bordered 200 acres of land already owned by my Peruvian co-pastors; we combined our lots to start "Emanuel Farm."

On our farm we raise chickens, pigs, goats, and cows. We originally began with 22 cows, and now there are over 230. Most of them are Brahman and Brown Swiss breeds. Over the years, we have donated cows to families and churches. We have also sold cows in order to support our Bible Institute, build churches, and send kids to school. Fortunately, the cows continue to multiply…this year (2010), 80 calves have already been born!

Of the 500 acres on our farm, 185 acres consist of overgrown jungle where you can find a variety of old growth trees, flowers, butterflies, wild mushrooms, fruits, wild animals, and beautiful creeks. Three hundred acres of our farm are comprised of pasture so the cattle, horses, and goats can graze. We are in the process of partitioning the pasture into rotation grazing stalls of about 25 acres each; this should maximize the productivity and longevity of the pasture, as well as provide enough food for up to 300 cows.

Thanks to supporters in the States, we recently purchased 700 acres of jungle near our 500-acre farm. We are in the process of putting together a Sustainability Plan for these 1,200 acres. This plan includes projects of reforestation, agroforestry, restoration of riparian areas, preservation of the jungle, and eco-tourism. It is a collaborative effort of local farmers, environmental specialists from Oregon, and agronomists from the National Agrarian University of Peru. Thank you to everyone who is involved in this effort!

DONATE to Emmanuel Farm Project*   Return to top of Page

*After donating, please send an email to jenniferpageharris@yahoo.com to indicate
how you want to designate your donation.

Youth Scholarship Program - Jen's Jungle Ministry

Youth Scholarship Program, South America

Youth Scholarship Program | About Jen's Jungle Ministry!

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During my first years at our church, I was amazed at how many intelligent, dynamic young people were graduating at the top of their high school classes and wanted to attend college, but their parents could not afford to send them. I learned that for only $100 to $250 per month, these young people could get a college degree. In response to this need, in 2008 I started a youth scholarship program called Young Leaders of Integrity and Excellence. My dream was that these youth would become leaders in their communities, showing integrity and excellence in all that they do.

We now have 24 students in the scholarship program. Two of them are in high school and 5 of them are taking computer and English classes. The other 17 are in college, studying a variety of professions like obstetrics, law, dentistry, nursing, English, engineering, computer science, and culinary arts. Most of them are leaders in their churches, and all of them study with passion and deep appreciation for the opportunity they have been given. 

Scholarship students tutor younger children, pray regularly for their supporters ("amigos"), and write two letters per year to their supporters. The scholarship program pays for the students' tuition, books, school supplies, and transportation. The parents are expected to pay for uniforms and registration fees.

At the end of each month, the students turn in a list of their expenses and receive their scholarship money for the following month. When the students graduate from college, they will give 10% of their salary back to the program for 3-5 years, depending on the number of years they received support from the program. This will allow more youth to attend college in the future.

There are 6 students on our scholarship waiting list for January of 2011. A few of them have been in college for a year or two already, but their parents are not able to keep up with the tuition payments.  Each of these students shows unbelievable potential to impact the world for good!
DONATE to Youth Scholarship Program*   Return to top of Page

*After donating, please send an email to jenniferpageharris@yahoo.com to indicate
how you want to designate your donation.

About Peru, Pucallpa, South America - Jen's Jungle Ministry

Pucallpa, Peru in South America

Peru and Pucallpa | Jen's Jungle Ministry in Peru, South America

Peru is located on the west coast of South America and has a population of nearly 30 million. Peru is approximately 5 times the size of Oregon, or 3 times the size of California. The capital is Lima which lies on the SW coast and has about 8 million people. Peru is divided into three sharply differentiated zones: the arid coastal region, the Andes Mountains, and the Amazon jungle.

I live in the city of Pucallpa, which is located 8 degrees south of the equator in central-eastern Peru, 80 miles from the Brazil border. Pucallpa has an altitude of 488 feet and an estimated population of 300,000. Visitors travel from Lima to Pucallpa either 19 hours by bus or one hour by plane.

The major industries of Pucallpa are: agriculture, timber, fishing and petroleum.  Pucallpa has few paved roads, and many neighborhoods still do not have electricity or running water. Temperatures frequently range from 80 to 90 degrees, and the average humidity is 83%.

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