Andean Condor
One of the world's heaviest flying birds, the Andean condor can soar for hours on mountain wind currents without flapping its wings once.
Flag of Peru
Field Report
Peru is a country on the western coast of South America, stretching from a narrow Pacific desert up through the towering Andes Mountains and down into the thick green Amazon rainforest. It was once the heartland of the Inca Empire, the largest empire in the history of the Americas, and today it is home to about 33 million people from dozens of different ethnic groups and cultures. When you pray for Peru, you are praying for real people — farmers, fishermen, children, and families — living in one of the most varied and storied landscapes on earth.
From the Field Notebook
Andean Condor
One of the world's heaviest flying birds, the Andean condor can soar for hours on mountain wind currents without flapping its wings once.
Llama
Llamas have been pack animals for Andean peoples for thousands of years, and they will firmly refuse to move if you try to make them carry more than they are willing to bear.
Glass Frog
Found in Peru's rainforest, this tiny frog has transparent skin on its belly, so you can actually see its beating heart and other organs right through its body.
Ceviche
Fresh raw fish cured in lime juice until tender, then tossed with chili peppers and onions — tangy, bright, and eaten as a celebration dish along Peru's coast.
Lomo Saltado
Strips of beef stir-fried with tomatoes, onions, and soy sauce, then served alongside both rice and french fries in a dish that shows how Chinese immigrants shaped everyday Peruvian cooking.
Choclo
Peruvian giant corn with large, starchy, ivory-white kernels that taste nuttier and chewier than the sweet corn most North American kids grow up eating.
Peru is home to Machu Picchu, a stone city built high in the Andes Mountains by the Inca Empire around 1450 AD — and it was constructed without any wheeled carts or iron tools.
The Amazon River, the largest river on earth by volume of water, begins as a small stream high in the Peruvian Andes before flowing thousands of miles across South America.
Peru has 84 of the world's 114 distinct climate zones packed into one country, which is why you can stand in a desert on the coast, climb snowy mountains, and descend into tropical rainforest all within the same nation.
The Inca civilization used a system of knotted strings called quipu to record numbers and keep track of taxes, census data, and history — all without a written alphabet.
More than 45 indigenous languages are still spoken in Peru today, and some of them are only spoken by a few hundred people living in remote jungle villages.
Daily Life
78
Years life expectancy
94%
Can read and write
96%
Kids go to school
Missions Field Report
Peru is home to 103 distinct people groups — 15 of them haven’t yet heard about Jesus.
Most Peru's people follow Christianity (94.1%). Evangelical Christians make up about 14.5% of the population.
What People Believe
Unreached People Groups
These are communities of people who haven’t had the chance to hear about Jesus yet. They need missionaries — and they need kids like you to pray for them.
Deaf
98,000 people
Japanese
54,000 people
Asheninka, South Ucayali
18,000 people
Asheninka, Pajonal
15,000 people
Asheninka, Ucayali-Yurua
9,100 people
Prayer Journal
Tick each one as you pray. God hears every word.