On February 28, 2008, a beautiful servant, Victoria Grace Cote, was born. She was named to be a testimony of God’s victory by His grace. Her parents, Mark and Kristin, learned from an 18-week ultrasound in October 2007 that her life would be brief because her brain was forming outside of her skull. Although she was only expected to live for a few minutes or hours, she lived six days, until March 4, 2008.

Her parents’ desire was to have her memorial fund help children with medical needs. When Mark went on a missions trip to the jungle city of Pucallpa, Peru, in August 2008, he hoped to see how this fund might be a blessing. There he learned that in the two years since some Shipibo Indians had moved from the interior jungle to the Nueva Era Village several miles outside the city, five children had died. Simple medicines were lacking, and the opportunity was evident for how this fund could help. Through working with a Shipibo pastor and missionary named Samuel Ramirez, of the church in Nueva Era, Victoria’s Little Lambs Fund was birthed. The plan was to disburse her memorial fund over several years to treat ailments such as diarrhea, fever, cough, vomiting, infections, body aches, and parasites. Currently, the fund has been expanded to serve children through another ministry in Peru, Mision TEC, and through the missionary work of Jerry and Christy Shannon, in Ethiopia, Africa.

On that first visit to Pucallpa, Mark met Cloe, the granddaughter of Pastor Ramirez. Amazingly, she was born the same day as Victoria! She was ill when Mark met her, and he and others were able to pray for her. Later she received help from the fund and is now a healthy little girl.

Mark and Kristin were blessed to visit this Shipibo village in the summers of 2010 and 2011, with their three children, Caleb, Jacob, and Rachel. They were deeply moved while visiting the Nueva Era church when many Shipibo children raised their hands indicating that they had been helped by Victoria’s Little Lambs Fund. (Written reports on the distribution of medicines over the first six months showed that 80 children were helped!). Mark committed before the church that the fund would be continued long-term. They all responded with an excited applause.

The Cote family also had the opportunity to visit with Cloe and her family several times. Her parents, Samuel and Irma, consider Mark and Kristin to be Cloe’s godparents. Cloe also has a younger brother, Samuel, who is just two months younger than Rachel.

From left to right: Caleb, Jacob, Mark, Rachel, and Kristin Cote and the Ramirez Family – Samuel, Cloe, little Samuel, and Irma

Anticipating the growth of Victoria’s Fund, preparations were made during the 2010 trip to expand its reach into some remote tribal villages throughout the Amazon Jungle. This expansion will be in addition to the continued work with Nueva Era. This will also be handled by Pastor Samuel Ramirez and his mission agency, MINAP. This agency equips and sends native missionaries to take the gospel of Jesus Christ further into the Amazon Jungle, working with tribes that have had little or no contact with the outside world. Pastor Samuel is also connecting with other native missionaries across the entire Amazon region of South America. The native workers can handle the spiritual proclamation of the gospel, and Victoria’s Fund will help with the physical demonstration of God’s love for the children who are sick. As with Nueva Era, medicines will be distributed through churches as they are established.

Victoria’s Little Lambs Fund is a ministry of Zion Church of Millersville. Tax-deductible donations, payable to Zion Church of Millersville, may be sent to 317 North George Street, Millersville, PA 17551 (noting the fund). Zion works through Church Planting International to send the funds (the medicines are purchased in Peru) and to receive detailed reports on how they are used.

During the 2010 visit, as Mark and Kristin soaked in the scene of seeing how God has blessed so many children in this humble village and church through Victoria’s life, Mark had an overwhelming sense of God’s heart expressing, “This is My victory by My grace!”