MOULTRIE, Ga. — For the last ten years, Dr. Eddie Seagle, his wife Jennifer, and the Peru Mission Team at Heritage Church have delivered the Gospel and resources to residents of Cieneguilla, Peru.

The team is typically composed of five to ten people — Moultrie residents, Heritage Church members or volunteers at The Storehouse, a thrift store run by Heritage Church. 

This year, Mrs. Seagle won’t be joining the team when they leave for Peru June 4, but she and her husband told of their experiences in Cieneguilla in an interview on Friday. 

According to the Seagles, Cieneguilla is a desert area where poverty is prominent. Shanty homes composed of plywood, corrugated tin and dirt floors can be seen from ground level to the top of the mountains with the “least poor” being at ground level and the “poorest” being at the top. 

Residents must walk long distances to acquire food and water, the Seagles said. The poorer a family is, the farther up the mountain they live and the farther they have to walk to get necessities. The Seagles said not every inhabitant is impoverished; there are nice homes sometimes right across the street from the shanties.

Basing their work on the Bible verses of Matthew 20:18, James 5:16 and Deuteronomy 28:8, the Seagles and the Peru Mission Team use sponsorships, donations and funds gained from the Storehouse Thrift Store to provide items like blankets to the people of Cieneguilla. When they give out these items, they also share the Gospel to all who come and hear it. 

In addition, they visit the jails and witness to those who have been incarcerated — many of whom are said to be teens who have been abandoned or rejected with nowhere to go. When the team visits the jails, they also take items such as food and water as well. 

The team is also dedicated to the New Life Children’s Home. In accordance with the New Life Children’s Home, there is the church and Christian school — all of which were started by their contact, Brother Mike Kennedy and his family. 

The New Life Children’s Home cares for children who are orphaned — many of whom are brought in by police as they have been abandoned in the streets. The Home, which strives for the children’s adoption into good homes preferably in the United States, is composed of a playground, courtyard and a concrete divider that keeps the children safe inside of the compound, as explained by the Seagles. Ages of the children range from 1 to 16 years old with the “age out” set at 16 — the age at which the adoption process would not be finished by the time the children are 18.

 There are dorms in the homes for the boys and girls, and there are dorms for the volunteers on the mission trip to sleep in as well when they visit. In the home, there are nannies 24/7, who each care for two children, all of which is done in shifts. The children are sent to the Christian school that is near the home.

In addition to their community outreach in Cieneguilla, the Seagles and the Team help clean and repair items such as chairs and tables at the New Life Children’s Home. In addition, they engage in the Soup Kitchen, which is also a part of the ministry.

This June, Dr. Seagle and the Peru Mission Team will be going back to Cieneguilla to continue their work, but they also have a goal of building a shanty house for a widow. With the turn of Covid-19, many women lost their husbands who were the “breadwinners.” Without their husbands’ support, many of the widows may have been left homeless or put in positions where they would need to stay in already cramped spaces with other families. 

The building can only take place as funds are available, the Seagles said. Donations are always welcome. 

If anyone would like to donate to the ministry, they may send cash or checks — which can be made payable to Heritage Church and sent to: Peru Mission Team at Heritage Church, 108 Tallokas Circle, Moultrie, GA 31788.

The Storehouse is also open on Mondays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Proceeds from the Storehouse go to Heritage Church’s international and local missions, which include the missions to Peru.