Becca Armstrong

What felt like the biggest disappointment turned out to be the greatest victory.  

We all felt the weight of not being able to get Juan Carlos into a hospital a few weeks ago. And now, 25 days later, we understand there was a much bigger plan.

Juan Carlos passed away early yesterday morning in peace and with his family at his side. He and his family had 25 more days together that they would not have had if there would have been a bed in a hospital the night that Jason and his sons spent six hours searching for oxygen and additional medical help.

We thought we knew what we needed.

We know that patients with COVID are not allowed visitors in most if not all hospitals right now. And we also know that Peru’s hospitals are stretched to their limits. What we thought he needed that night ended up being something so much better–not just for Juan Carlos but for all of our community.

There was a much bigger purpose.

Juan Carlos received care at the Hope House far superior to what he would have received at a hospital. His three adult sons and his wife made sure he was never alone. Jason taught them how to check his vital signs, keep him comfortable and mostly how to make the time count. He had visitors who came to sing songs and pray for him and children who made him cookies. They laughed and cried, shared old memories and made new ones. Most importantly, they were together. 

Today we celebrate.  

We celebrate Juan Carlos and how much life we shared these last 25 days. Somehow the days seemed more significant knowing how opposite the alternative would have been — lonely, dark days in a hospital bed somewhere in Lima. The days were deep and at times long. We watched Juan Carlos gain complete peace, and we saw how happy he was. Happy to see his wife and children happy. Happy to be a part of a vibrant community, dedicated to helping each other along the way. Happy to be shedding the struggles of this life for something better. In his final days on this earth, Juan Carlos taught us that the end truly is the beginning.

Tomorrow we get to work.

Now that the Hope House has weathered the worst of this COVID outbreak, they are ready for a new beginning. Armed with an incredible bonding experience and COVID antibodies, they want to get to work. Some have found a job, others are starting businesses and there are some pursuing a career for the first time.  All have the goal to contribute to the daily operations of the Hope House and even go beyond their own needs so they can help others.   

Jason is right in step as he returns to the U.S. and to his work. It has never been about the paycheck for him, and he will continue to work so that 100% of your donations will go to help people who need it the most.

There are exciting things ahead.

I can not wait to tell you about Angel’s pet business. It is a business that is much bigger than simply providing a place for Angel to use his veterinary training. And then there is Milagros, and you will love meeting her.  She is 21 years old and makes the BEST fried chicken I have ever tasted (even better than Chick fil A!).  She already needs to add a helper to keep up with the nightly sales. There is also a new delivery service of Venezuelan imports that was hatched right in the Hope House and is now a fully operational business that gives two special young couples an opportunity to work together.

I can not wait to tell you more and share opportunities for you to get involved. This is 

how we honor Juan Carlos and all the ones who have invested in the vibrant life at the Hope House. Your support this last month has made a huge difference.  We appreciate it and we appreciate you.

Thank you for being in it with us —

Becca Armstrong

Executive Director

You may think this is crazy, but Jason is back in Lima. We made a quick decision to send him down last week not knowing exactly what it would all look like but feeling a purpose in sending him. 

A couple days ago we began to understand more of the purpose for Jason being there — one young woman in the building just tested positive for COVID-19. Today about 50% of the Hope House residents have at least one COVID symptom. We have been bracing for this moment through the pandemic and now it is here.  

Today I read that there are only 102 ICU beds available in the entire country of Peru right now. 

The President has reinstated strict lockdown measures again to try to slow the spread.  Experts also are saying that Peru needs roughly 1,250 doctors to adequately care for that many ICU beds.  The current number of doctors in Peru — 600.  It starts to feel a little like facing a major battle with just a butter knife.  

Jason is right smack in the middle of it. And the truth is, I could not be happier! 

He has antibodies from his recent COVID sickness and the first dose of vaccine. But more than that, this is what Jason was born to do. This is the man I fell in love with. Someone who used to seek out jobs in emergency rooms and community health clinics. The man who regularly treated snake bites and broken bones as people risked their lives to cross the southern U.S. border in search of something more. And who was affectionately called “Dr. Jason” by many, many patients.  

They are taking every precaution they can in Lima. Everyone is staying isolated in their own room. The ones who are well are taking turns preparing meals and delivering food to those who are sick. Bathrooms are being disinfected after each use.  

Several times a day I hear from Jason after he has made his “rounds” — going through all five floors to each room to check on his patients. As of right now, their symptoms are all being treated with tylenol, ibuprofen and a ton of reassurance.  They do have the best “doctor” I know taking care of them!

Last August, we wrote about a new direction for New Way — our conflict reconciliation training program.  We wrote about how Ronald Smith and his team are ready to go to the hard places, the uncomfortable places, and places with conflict, to teach healing and reconciliation. 

We really need a new way.  

Our hearts are broken and our anger real.  We have to keep becoming something new so that there are NO MORE senseless deaths of innocent people like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

We are here to talk and to listen.  Please reach out and we will do the same in the days ahead.

Here is the blog that we wrote last August about New Way.  It’s worth a read again — a reminder that we can overcome evil by doing good.

It’s Time for rEVOLution

August 13, 2019

One of the guiding principles of Something New is that we consider and respond to the needs in front of us. In just the last 15 days, we have:

• Mourned the loss of 37 people who were killed and 79 wounded in El Paso, Dayton, San Francisco, Southaven and Brooklyn due to an uprising of racially motivated violence 
• Cried with the children of immigrants begging to see their parents after ICE raided poultry plants in Mississippi
• Remembered the life and death of Michael Brown and the protests that followed his shooting in Ferguson five years ago
• Marked the 2-year anniversary of Heather Heyer’s death at the hands of a white supremacist in Charlottesville

What we’ve done so far

Seven years ago we started New Way with one goal in mind: to train people to effectively and peacefully handle conflict. Since it started, New Way has grown from two trainers who trained our volunteers to a team of diverse peacemakers with over eighty years of combined experience. Our team includes lawyers, corporate executives, a former trainer from the Southern Poverty Law Center, life coaches and educators. In the last few years, we have led workshops across the country to train:   

• men and women released from prison transitioning back to life
• teams struggling to work through cultural boundaries
• students reconciling after instances of physical altercations
• youth seeking healthy alternatives to juvenile detention  
• groups divided from a “romantic” relationship gone bad 
• educators teaching in diverse schools and classrooms 
• and everything in between

What do we do now?

As we have considered the best ways to respond to our country’s current situation, we believe that love and reconciliation are the best answers. We also believe that, especially in the face of what seem to be HUGE, systemic issues, we cannot turn a blind eye. Even though we can’t change everything, that doesn’t excuse us from doing something. We see  a pressing need for New Way–the training branch of our organization–to expand and reach more people and places. Throughout the years, we have seen New Way workshops transform communities, schools, teams, and lives. And we strongly believe New Way will play a role in helping our country heal and move forward.

What we do best is: 

• Equip communities traumatized by violence with tools for healing and reconciliation
• Facilitate dialogue with people of opposing mindsets
• Train leaders who want to organize and educate others

Be a part of the rEVOLution

There is much more work ahead for us. That’s why as of Fall 2019, New Way will officially serve in its own capacity. While Ronald Smith (New Way’s founder) will remain on Something New’s staff, New Way will now have its own website focused on providing workshops, keynote speeches and trainings across the country.

Ronald and his team are mobilizing. They are ready to go to the hard places, the uncomfortable places, and places with conflict, to teach healing and reconciliation. Like Ronald and the New Way team, we believe  that the principles of love will change the world.   

Be a part of the rEVOLution: check out New Way’s website and follow on social media to bring the rEVOLution  to your organization and community.

When I look at my car that’s been parked for a week, I feel like I am winning because I have not filled up my gas tank in two weeks. And then I remember the bike ride I took with my 16-year old a few days ago and I know I am winning.

He showed me his favorite loop that he normally does with his 13-year old brother. I felt the sun on my face and breathed in the smell of blooming flowers. I was determined to take each turn as fast as he did and not let him beat me! I thought about all the other things I “should” be doing and I knew he was showing me a lot more.

I thought about all the other things I “should” be doing

I made a choice to be in that moment. To see the ride as he sees it — he is a thrill-seeker and a nature-lover too. He can spot a lizard from 20 feet away, smell a deer from even farther and always stops to check them out. Ever since he could toddle this has been his way.

On that day I stopped with him for each lizard and each deer. And I made sure I didn’t stop as we bounced over rocks and took the curves fast enough to make me squeal. That bike ride with my eldest felt like a win on many levels. A win to enjoy the moment and a win against all the things that have kept me from those moments in the past.

I see a lot more room for some wins

And then when I look at the news, I see a lot more room for some wins. Seeing Georgia race to re-open its economy even with reports that hospitals are underprepared for a COVID-19 surge. Hearing the terribly sad news of Ahmaud Arbery’s death, yet another senseless and unjust death in a list of too many. Plus so much suffering in poor communities in the U.S. and beyond as COVID-19 wreaks even more havoc on shaky economies and weak infrastructures. I have to believe that we can start winning in these areas too.

Poverty and refugee status do not stand up very well to the impacts of COVID-19

For our small community in Lima, they are winning in some ways and we are celebrating that too. Refugees from Venezuela and single moms from Cusco are safe, healthy and happy — thanks to your generous donations. They all know that without this cross-continent community they would be facing a very different reality. Poverty and refugee status do not stand up very well to the impacts of COVID-19.

I hope you are following us on social media (check out the links at the bottom!) and seeing the wins happening in our building in Lima. They have created their own preschool co-op for their youngest residents and everyone is studying English every day. They spend their nights sharing stories and are finding healing through laughter and tears. They run up and down the 5 flights of stairs every day for exercise. On Sundays, the kids have “pool time” on the roof which entails filling up wash basins with water — and to them this is a major treat!

You have to play offense and start scoring at some point

My good friend (an avid athlete and sports fan) recently told me that at some point you get tired playing defense all the time. You have to play some offense and start scoring some points to get re-energized. I haven’t played a lot of sports but I have played enough life to know that what he is saying is true.

Thank you to all of you who have helped us play some offense for the people in Peru. I believe that your acts of generosity have put some points on your scoreboard too.

We will continue to share the good things and the hard things in the days ahead. We want to hear from you too. Let us know if you need a friend to talk to. Let us know if you are inspired about other ways to help the people in Peru or the people in your neighborhood. We are in this together. We win and we lose together.

Becca Armstrong

Executive Director

Four months ago, I couldn’t have imagined my daughter would be ripping elastic out of past-their-prime sheets to repurpose for saving lives. Naomi and her friends–of Kids Helping Kids International–have shifted their energy away from ornament-crafting and toward making face masks for frontline workers (plus Costco shoppers like me)! Like my grandparents’ generation who we’ve long admired for their resourcefulness–Naomi and her friends are learning to “use what you have to make what you need.”  

It’s something new!
Just like Kids Helping Kids is adapting to the current times, so is #GivingTuesdayNow. The organization has added a global day of giving and unity that will take place on May 5, 2020. It is a day to unite around acts of generosity in our global fight against COVID-19. That’s right up our alley!

Will you do something new with us? 
We’re inviting our loyal donors to do something new with us by starting their own fundraisers and we’re leveraging all the positivity of Giving Tuesday, a generous matching donor offer, and Kids Helping Kids to get it done. 

Reply to this email and I’ll give you all the tools and language you need to start your own fundraiser. As a super special bonus, we’ll send one of these handmade face masks to every donor that gives $25 or more. Or we can donate your mask to a frontline worker in your honor!

Every donation goes twice as far  
A generous donor has offered to match every donation up to $20,000 so that Venezuelan refugees and our volunteers have food and safety. 

Because of your generosity during the ongoing countrywide quarantine in Peru, 100 people have had:

• 252 dozen eggs
• 200 loaves of bread
• 116 gallons of milk
• 1400 diapers

Help us to go further. Together we can ensure that:

• No one goes hungry
• Everyone has a warm bed and safe housing
• We are more connected than disconnected during this time.

You have been incredibly supportive during this time. Please join us on #GivingTuesdayNow by starting a fundraiser today. Email Sam Lee at sam@somethingnew.org.

We are in this together —

Becca Armstrong
Executive Director