Right now we are in a small town outside of the main city of Chiclayo. Times here are tough, and there is very little work for anybody. Most people are living on the poverty line or below. A walk through the streets reveal people with crippled hands or legs hobbling from one place to another, motorbike taxis lined up along the sides just waiting for somebody to pay the measly fare of one solis (30 cents USD), and vendors that all sell the same thing vying for your attention on the chance that you may buy something from them. In this land of hard times, every cent counts. Visiting a Local Today I visited with one of the people in the church. We chatted for a while and then I prayed for her before leaving. She, like many others, lives in a very humble and sparse house. A basic wooden table and chairs took the center place of the room, moved to a slightly awkward position so as to avoid the pits and holes that are growing in the tired concrete floor. Very simple metal framed outside or patio chairs offer themselves as the lounge, in the same room as the table but lining along the walls. The straw netting that supports you is frayed and broken, hanging down to touch the floor in places. Other chairs have long since lost this original covering and in its place is a web of nylon string that still seems to support a person's weight. The only larger chair has an old red blanket thrown across offering only a slightly better appearance than that without. The faded blue paint on the walls is flaking off in places but does not look too bad yet. The walls were barren from floor to ceiling barr some free advertising calendars scattered around the place, a shelf with three little ornaments, a clock covered in dust, and a mirror that looked like it did not belong in this place. The One Exception It was a very simple home with little distractions. But there was a television. Even though the lady living here had not even enough money to feed herself, there was still a television in the corner. This may have been given to her at some point. It was not new, but flashed its screen with various shades of colour and responded to firm hits from the side. A DVD player with the cover removed lay next to the TV, and both were plugged into the only power outlet nearby, high on the wall with a cable that led back to the one fluroescent light overhead. Only Hope There were other rooms too, some with earthen floors, and others with closed doors. The lady here was tired, and was worried about a lump that had appeared on the back of her neck and dizzyness in recent times. Without enough money for food, a private only medical system that required money for everything was completely out of reach. Her only hope was that God would heal her, something that she had heard about but had not yet experienced or seen. It is like this that most people live.