Strike a Bust

Well, fortunately the strike turned into nothing more than a demonstration for 3 hours. There were probably about 500 people that turned up. Hopefully the government won't turn a deaf ear and cause another indefinite strike. We'll keep you posted. Pray, too, for all the indigenous in Peru. Rumor has it that the government may be taking away the bilingual education and make everyone learn in Spanish only. That is not a good thing for culture conservation for sure. This would mean eventually the written languages would die out.

Yurimaguas hasn’t changed much since we left in January. The rivers are up, which is a good thing.

It had been raining while we were gone, however since we returned it hasn’t. We had a 104 degree day yesterday and that was in the shade.

The grass is almost knee high in places with the rain and the fact that the lawnmower died. We had a mechanic look it over and bought the parts he said needed to be replaced. After replacing all the parts the engine just smokes and nothing more. That will need to be resolved as the yard looks like the house is abandoned which is not good around here with squatters just waiting to hop onto property.

The next couple of weeks will be spent visiting and preparing for the RELENAP (Peruvian Indigenous Network). We still aren’t sure how many groups will be represented nor how many people will show up. Looks like I (Terri) will be the cook for however many show up. Pray that the word gets around to many so the network can grow.

Strike Called for the 13th

Well, we hope this isn't a repeat of last year's strike. We don't have all the details yet. Pancho called from Yuri to tell us a strike will start on the 13th and wasn't sure if it was indefinite or not. He just wanted to make sure we got there before it started. Guess the first thing we'll do is buy lots of food to store just in case. Pancho didn't tell us what the strike is even about.

On a more positive note, Ken and I went to Lamas today to visit with the manager and trainers at Oro Verde. The next phase of the cacao production will start soon. There are so many possibilities open to the Chayahuita in this venture. One of the trainers told us that one of the Chayahuita has been staying there and working to learn all about the production of cacao from planting to harvest. Exciting times!!

Tarapoto We Are Here!

We are finally in Tarapoto. One more leg of the trip to get home. They have had some good rains and that sure adds up quickly. You can see the evidence in the photo above with the river spilling out of its banks.

Tomorrow we are off to Oro Verde to chat with the men that are training the Chayahuita. We will get all the info we need to let the guys know when the next training will be and when they can get seeds to plant in their now prepared land. We will also see if the new company is open that buys "Sacha Inchi" which is a jungle peanut with lots of good omega 3 oils.

Then we hope to arrive in Yurimaguas on Wednesday. Please pray for a safe trip across the mountains. We will be glad to get out of suitcases at least for 7 weeks.

Sacha Inchi Seeds

Blessings Abound!

First, thank you all for praying for our trip. The Brazilian Consulate gave us visas for 5 years! That is a true blessing.

After we got our visas we made reservations on a "speed boat" When I heard that I automatically thought of a ski type boat but maybe bigger. It was a wonderful surprise when we arrived at the port and saw that it was very much like a bus but for the water. There were padded reclining seats, windows with curtains and a dvd player (which we could've done just fine without). At breakfast we were given a roll with avocado on it and at lunch rice and chicken. It was fairly comfortable alot more so than a peque peque for sure!

Inside of boat Golfinho

We arrived in Santa Rosa, Peru (end of the line) and were met back a member of a church in Brasil who helped us across the Amazon to the Brazilian side. There we were met by the lead pastor and taken to the associate pastor's house. Leonidas and Edmeia were wonderful hosts. From the very beginning they felt like family. They have 2 sons: Samuel and Israel. We were shown around Tabatinga, Brazil and then we toured Leticia, Colombia. We had a great time with them.

We even got to go to youth night at their church. That was an experience! Lights and music Brazilian style praising God!

On Sunday, we took a boat into another town on the river and walked to an indian village. A conference was held by 20 chiefs of 5 different tribes. Many were invited to listen to their cries for help. They need medical help and training in many areas. Many are dying from Malaria and Hepatitis and yet the government has not provided any help to them. Without help soon their tribes could be extinguished. Please pray for the indigenous in this area that the government will listen and let help come in with humanitarian aide.

In Iquitos

We are in Iquitos. It was very muggy when we arrived yesterday! Today it is raining and hopefully will refresh the air a bit.

We applied for our Brasilian visas today. Please continue to pray that all will be in order. We hope to leave by boat on the 29th and return to Iquitos on the 4th. Pray for safety. We will write more on the 5th. Internet here is extremely slow.

Please Pray!

Sorry that I can't give you many details at the moment. We just ask that you will keep us in prayer as we travel to Brasil. Pray that the "enemy" will the thwarted and not allowed to interfere and for safety. Thank you very much!

Palmiche Revisited

Celina in the front

I will probably never forget the words of the Palmiche pastor's wife, Celina, in 2004. As we were in a gathering of women she said to me, " Don't let this be the first and only time you visit us." That promise was finally fulfilled in 2010. Palmiche has changed considerably since then. They even have electricity for 3-4 hours a night. While Ken and I walked to the church the first night, we even happened to look into a house and saw a flat screen tv. Boy, the times they are a changin'.

This year was quite different that the first time and far more people attended the conference. I'm not sure the exact number of attendess at this point, but the church was so packed out that there was overflow into the outside. The men's session was very well attended with at least 100 men each session. There were 200+ women and 150+ kids plus a new believers' class of 120 young men. Ken, along with 3 other men (2 from Grace Church and 1 from Swiss Mission) taught the men. There were 5 sessions a day for them as they rotatd the teaching between them. There were 3 of us teaching the women (me, 1 from Grace and 1 from Swiss Mission). We only had 2 sessions of 2 hours each day. Luz taught all the morning sessions since she had more to cover. We took the afternoon sessions. It was great hearing that many women sing and watching them learn from Scripture and of course, do some handcrafts.

During the conference, I was able to train Jesus Pua from Nueva Vida to be an optometrist of sorts. We donated the I-See kit from I-Tec to him. This will serve as a source of income for him as he travels as the tribe's evangelist and it will also help open doors to villages that have not been open before. He caught on quite easily. By the end of the 2 session training he looked like a pro. He was able to sell 20 pairs of glasses in him spare time at the conference.

We really enjoyed just reconnnecting with our Shawi family. It was hard this time around trying to explain to them that we won't be living in Yurimaguas. Our new "task" is helping out ALTECO and working with all the tribes of the Amazon Basin. Many have nobody to encourage them or help them learn to dream. Ken has been named one of the advisors to the newly formed Peruvian Indigenous Network and he is still the advisor to the Shawi. There are many exciting things in the future. We won't be deserting our Shawi brothers and sisters just not with them as often. It is time to let them put into practice all the leadership skills they have learned over these last 7 years. They have grown and great things are just around the corner for them as they take more and more responsibility for their own future spiritually and physically. Please continue to pray for them during this growing and transitional time.