Arriving in San Antonio

We arrived in San Antonio just before a big rainstorm. The airstrip became spongey after that, so we were thankful that we arrived when we did. The river was running very high and the current was strong. It made for interesting morning photos with the fog.

The team worked hard everyday with lots of sick showing up for the clinics and about 17 health workers showing up for clases that were taught. It was a very profitable time. The health workers were taught on how to diagnose children's diseases, HIV/AIDS, how to put in an IV, First Aid just to name a few things. Some of the men walked for a day or two just to be able to receive the teaching.

There were many new experiences for the team in San Antonio; drinking coconut milk, getting their faces painted with huito (a nut with a liquid that goes on light but turns black), climbing a mountain to a waterfall, playing in a Amazon Basin river just to name a few.




The week went by very quickly once again. We spent time visiting people and getting to know them. There was even a new baby named after Ken.

Two Kens

Jumping of the rock

A jungle shower

On Sunday, 5 people were baptized at the end of the service. Ken and Oscar baptized together since the current was so strong. Please pray for these believers as they continue on a path to maturity spiritually.

We readied the boat to head off to Yurimaguas. Pancho Tangoa had come to pick us up. The problem was that with all the rain the rapids were hard to manuever. He asked us to walk 2 miles to another beach past the rapids. That wouldn't have been hard under normal circumstances, but it had rained very hard the night before and the path was a muddy, yucky mess. We started walking following our guide and we came to a small puddle of water. My feet were so muddy and I thought it would be a great place to get them clean! WRONG! As soon as my left foot hit the water I ended up falling and doing the splits. No a pretty sight. So, now muddy and wet all over, we kept on walking. The path was muddy everywhere and we had to cross over several small creeks on logs. In the end we did make it to the river once again and had even beat the boat. The rapids were worse that Pancho had thought. Once we got into the boat it was mostly smooth sailing.

The river ride is always a highlight. There are so many things to see: people, boats, birds, etc. We made it into Yurimaguas around 8:30 or so. We had planned on taking showers and then sleeping a few hours to head over the mountain to Tarapoto, however, we had no water at the house. We aren't sure why at this point.

We are very thankful that nobody got sick until we hit Tarapoto. It probably was some bug that was passed around since several got it. It was just the headache, body ache and sometimes vomiting bug. Fortunately they had time to rest up and comfortably.

Lima seemed like a world away from the jungle experience. It was hard, as usual, to leave the jungle behind. Lima had some surprises of its own to share. More about that next time.