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Member Profile: "David Jesson"

Pastor David Jesson

When you speak to Pastor Dave Jesson about his work, you are reminded of the difference one person can make if he or she is able to organize and motivate a large team of young people to work towards a common goal. In the past three years that he has been in Peru, Dave has set up a program to bring education and hope to six pueblo jóvenes and another program to deliver food and companionship to the street kids who live on the banks of the Rímac River, also providing them with weekly transportation to and from the Lima International Church. His foot soldiers are young Peruvians who have enrolled in the leadership and training school he directs called the Dream Center. This school teaches students, all of whom are on scholarship, the practical and administrative skills they will need to eventually run churches and other faith-based initiatives in Peru. An important part of the Dream Center curriculum is meant to teach students to embrace and use modern communications technology like the internet and video to promote their missions. As most of the studies at the Dream Center, a lot of this training is project-based and hands-on. Students learn and practice these new skills by writing, producing, editing and distributing a professional-looking cooking show called “Abuntante more than a Cooking Show,” which is now being broadcast to an international potential audience of 110 million viewers. Not bad for three years, Dave….

ACAP: What brought you and your family down to Peru in the first place?

Dave Jesson: We actually came down by default. I was working for a large non-profit organization in the United States when my wife and I were asked to step into this role for one year when the pastor who had first been selected was forced to drop out of the job.

Wife Andrea and Elijah 5 and Brittany 14 months

ACAP: What surprised you the most when you arrived?

Dave: Like many, I had a lot of mistaken perceptions about Peru. I was expecting something much more traditional - with adobe buildings and llamas and was surprised to find this large, modern city. I come from Los Angeles so I am used to large cities, but of course the biggest difference with LA is the levels of extreme poverty that exists here. Once we settled in, another big surprise was how little most middle and upper-income Peruvians seem to know about how bad poverty is within their own city.

ACAP: What were some of the biggest problems that you faced once you arrived and began your work?

Dave: I would have to say that it was the bureaucracy. You go to an office and it seems that you never get the right answer the first time, or sometimes even the second or third time. In a lot of cases, I don't think this is a question of a lack of technology at these offices, but that the management structure doesn't permit a good flow of information. That can be very frustrating for somebody who is coming from a culture with a different view about time management.

Metro Kidz a program of Dream Center Peru

ACAP: Tell me a little bit about your involvement in the “Dream Center,” the training center you have set up, and your motivations behind the project?

Dave: The Dream Center is a school for young Peruvians who want to learn how to administrate pastoral offices and other faith-based organization. We give scholarships to motivated Peruvians and we bring in missionaries from the United States to do much of the training. My life vision is to help conquer hunger and poverty through the word of God and through faith-based initiatives and my wife and I feel that Peru is the place to be because of the extreme need we see here. In our

People serving people

Metro Kidz program, our volunteers visit 6 pueblo jóvenes to teach values and leadership skills in the street. The moms there are beginning to get to know and trust us and we are beginning to see positive effects of our programs in the community. It has been very rewarding watching hopelessness turn to hope.

ACAP: Last month you and your team finished one year's worth of a cooking show that you have taped and produced in Peru and you are now shipping the tapes all over the world. What you have done with the program is really very creative. How did this idea come about?

Dave: Besides being a pastor, I am also a chef and a culinary arts instructor, so “Abundante more than a Cooking Show” has allowed me to bring all these skills together in a show that helps promote Christian values, train our young people to use video technology, promote Peruvian agricultural exports and Peruvian tourist destinations all in one effort. It has already been picked up by a few Christian and family networks that are now broadcasting it to a potential audience of over 110 million viewers. The show is recorded in English, but it will soon be translated into other languages including Spanish, Russian and Portuguese. Its funny, the idea for the show had been in the hearts of my wife and mine for many years, but we never thought that it would come to fruition here in Peru.

AbundanteTV

ACAP: You have done a lot in three years. What are your plans for the future?

Dave: Even though we originally meant to be here for one year, this has stretched into three and now my wife and I have made the decision to stay permanently and make our home in Lima. We love it here and feel that this is where we are meant to be. We have many goals, and most of them are big. We would eventually like to move to larger facilities and to begin training many more people than we are doing now. The sky is the limit. -- Alan La Rue

You may visit www.dreamcenterperu.com and www.abundantetv.com to learn more about Pastor Dave Jesson's work in Peru.

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