Meet One of My Heros... Julia Chuquitype

Julia and her daughter Daniela up on our roof for a visit....

Julia Chuquitype… if you can say her last name, there is a prize. Who is Julia? She is a mother, a daughter, a wife, a friend, a child of the King, a servant of God.  When you meet her and see her work, you, like many may ask how she has time to get degrees in Psychology, Sociology, Therapy, Education, Graphic Design, and Theology… and she will answer you “the only degree I have is that I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father who has prepared me in the university called Life.  Julia grew up in a loving home with stable parents that taught her to think for herself, to look for opportunities, to learn everywhere and everything she can. By the age she would have been able to go to university, the country was in the midst of terrorism and the economy fell apart. Julia became highly involved in politics, in journalism and was working for one of the biggest newspapers in Peru reporting, lobbying, and doing graphic design. Julia’s beliefs had been shaped by her non Christian parents, but even more by her reaction to the suffering and chaos she saw around her… she was a staunch atheist. It was working at the newspaper that she met and fell in love with Cesar and they began a life together.

Not long after their daughter, Daniela was born, God began to work in Julia’s heart, the country’s political situation changed and her experience as a mother softened her heart. After meeting Christ, Julia decided she wanted to be married and formalize her relationship, she also decided to be a stay at home mom.  She began to do graphic design work, printing, and even baking and cooking from home to help support their family. Pablo Cesar was born 3 years later and as a family they became involved in their local church. Through many ups and downs, Julia was able to lead both of her parents to Christ before her father died, she saw God begin to work in Cesar’s very broken life and has faithfully loved him through battles with alcoholism and wanderings.

In 2000, Julia came to volunteer with her church at Joni and Friends’ first wheelchair distribution in Lima, Peru and it was at this time that our and Julia’s friendship began. Julia was taken with the need, her heart burdened for people with disabilities and she began to learn sign language from a man who came to volunteer. Soon, Julia was serving in her church and with Peru’s Joni and Friends partner teaching a Bible study to prepare people to work with people with disabilities, training churches from time to time, and advancing in sign language. Throughout these years, Julia became involved in the deaf-blind community and even in the legislation to have this recognized as an official disability. Julia has been recognized as the countries’ leading interpretive-guide and has participated in international conferences as an advocate and an interpretive-guide for Peru’s Deaf Blind Association’s president.

 

In 2010, she and I reconnected over coffee in which time I asked Julia to prepare meals for the month long team that would come and serve… she had a small restaurant business and was an incredible cook, so it was a blessing to both. During this month, Aubrey, Alex, and Mike met Julia, loved her cooking, and wanted to learn a certain dish. When she came to El Refugio to teach the team how to cook, she saw the guys working in the yard to install grass, noticed rabbits (which of course she happened to have raised rabbits) and came to check it all out. Her interest about the ministry of El Refugio was peaked when she saw rabbits, heard they had a bakery, and children… all passions of Julia’s. Soon after the team left, Julia had met Doris and loved the ministry, had designed a beautiful brochure, was involved in the Christmas bizarre and was asked to volunteer 3 hours/week at the brand new House of Mercy ministry that would soon be opening. A day before House of Mercy opened, Julia called with a few referrals, asking if she could bring some young people with disabilities living in extreme poverty. From the first day on, Julia was all in. She will tell you that God called her 10 years ago to this ministry, but that our visit over coffee and request for 3 hours a week was the voice of God, that He used me to call her. Within a few months, Julia was leading the ministry and dreaming of also serving those with schizophrenia, bipolar and other mental disorders (like the mothers of Doris’ children who are unable to care for their own children, live in poverty and suffer great injustice, pain, and instability).  Julia’s compassion and understanding in this area is profound as her own husband has suffered greatly from mental disorders and left the family in 2010. Julia, Daniela, and Pablo Cesar have come together like never before as intercessors for their father, fighting in prayer and in love for their family. They are all convinced that Cesar will indeed return and be healed from alcoholism and deep pain soon. In the face of a situation that for most would be devastating, we’ve seen Daniela (an occupational therapy student at a national university who is also passionate about ministry with disabled teens and very involved in Capernaum) and Pablo Cesar (preparing to enter university) stand by their mom, love their father, work hard to forgive, pray, and hope with a fierce hope that can only come from deep communion with Christ.

 

In June of 2012, Julia’s small graphic design business that had been their provision continued to grow but the need to visit families of House of Mercy kids in the shantytowns (often 3 hours in a bus from the center of the city where she lives) did also. In faith, covered in prayer, and with the blessing of her pastor and kids, they chose to have her become a full time volunteer with El Refugio for House of Mercy with a few small side jobs as they come. She receives about $230 monthly right now for her time… what El Refugio could manage in their budget. Like the story of the fishes and loaves, Julia, Daniela and Pablo Cesar will tell you story after story of how this $230 has somehow stretched month after month to cover the costs that run at about $700 monthly. Living in the city is expensive, but God has shown Himself faithful. Our hope is to raise the entire cost of her salary so that she will be freed up to serve without concern for what they will eat or if they will be able to afford a bus ride home after a long day of ministry.

 

Julia’s compassion and mercy are contagious. Somehow, in a short time, she has been able to lead 4 entire families to Christ, is taking classes at a local seminary to be more equipped in Biblical counseling as she runs into incredibly challenging situations with each of these families. She has brought with her to church many from the city who are deaf, blind, schizophrenic, bipolar, and even in wheelchairs. Wherever she goes, she finds people who are broken, ministers the love of Jesus, and works toward justice and community involvement.  I could go on for hours about who this woman is, but suffice it to say that she is a woman deeply in love with Jesus, fiercely hopeful and prayerful for her marriage, committed to her children with a relationship most parents only hope for with their adolescents, and willing to daily lay down her life, hike up sandy hills in the hot sun, ready to bathe, cook for, do therapy with, and pray deliverance prayer over friends with disabilities. You rarely find her at home, usually she can be found only by cell phone bursting with joy and telling the stories of what she has just experienced, who she has just met, a new contact, volunteer, or therapist coming to serve with us, or sharing the stories of God’s work in the life of a family or a friend with a disability.

And the best part… looks like next month she and her kids will be moving into the apartment down stairs from us and I will get to have my dear friend, mentor, sister, MUCH closer!