Bella Vista Part 2

During our time in Bella Vista many friendships were made. The team also got to see some of the animals living in the area. There was lots of hunting going on at night and many were caught for the next day's pot. One man brought a small jaguar for everyone to hold which was quite the experience for all.

There were many things that happened during the week that will leave lasting impressions. One was a small girl that was carried in by her parents with burns on her feet. The team treated her feet and gave her antibiotics to help fight off any possible infection. The other thing that will be in my mind was the baptism. Bella Vista is nowhere near a river but they did have a small pond. After church on Sunday, the whole congregation went down to this pond and 9 people were baptized by Oscar Pua (president) and Jesus Pua (missionary). It was exciting to see these people take this step of faith and be able to rejoice together.

Bella Vista part 1

It took 2 flights to get all 7 of us into Bella Vista. The weather held out for the flights and didn't rain until that evening which made for perfect sleeping weather!

We were met by people from the village that were excited for us to return after 3 years. Michelle McBurney had fulfilled her promise to them to return at the end of medical school. The people hadn't forgotten at all. They were so happy to see her as well as the rest of the team.

In our absence they had even built us a guest house to stay in. It was very luxurious and nice and cool. It was also close enough to the underground spring to make it easier to haul water everyday. The only inconvenience was were the latrine was, however, it is the best latrine I've ever seen.

It was truly amazing that the weather couldn't have been more perfect. The hot, hot days that usual accompany us into the jungle had been traded by comfortably warm ones. It rained almost every night making sleeping wonderful.

The week was started off by an evening of celebration and singing. A Chayahuita evangelist (Jesus Pua from Nueva Vida from previous blog) along with a team came to Bella Vista also. We had an evangelical campaign of sorts along with the medical team. There was medical as well as spiritual healing. We were impressed by the increase in interest in spiritual things. When were visited in 2005 there were only about 20 or so that actually came to church in a much smaller building. This time the big church building was filled to capacity each night with many standing on the outside. The truly seemed to be encouraged and growing spiritually.

Michelle, Beth, Bekah and Alan not only held a clinic in the mornings, but also taught the health workers in the afternoons. They, along with us and Jim Huff, also had time to get to know the villagers and play. The one game that seemed to go over really big was Duck, duck, goose, except we changed the name to nini, nini, mayu (dog, dog, turtle) since they could identify with those animals. The team taught the game without words just modeling it.

The kids loved playing this game and even played on their own many times.

CU Med team off to the jungle

From Left: Ken and Terri, Michelle, Beth, Jim, Bekah and in front Alan.

The medical team is now in Tarapoto to sleep for about 5 hours. We then head over the mountain to Yurimaguas at 4 AM. On Wednesday we fly into Bella Vista. It has still been raining alot in this part of the jungle. We ask your prayers for our safety and for us to be able to fly without problems to Bella Vista and then on the 16th to San Antonio. On the 23 we will start down river from San Antonio and arrive in Yurimagas on the 24th (Lord willing). This team has the objective of teaching on various important subjects (AIDS, First Aid, Hygiene just to name a few)

Thank you once again for your partnership and encouragement. We will "see" you at the end of the month.

PLEASE PRAY

As we wait in Lima for the Medical team from CU, please remember them in prayer. The first two of 5 arrive tonight and the other 3 tomorrow night. Pray that the medicine that they are bringing will not have any problems entering the country. We have heard in the last couple of days of situations of having to pay exorbitant amounts to customs in recent entries.

Please also pray for the economic situation here. The exchange rate has decreased by 33% since last year and the prices have increased by 10%. The dollar isn't worth as much and that hurts the budgets of the teams.

Thank you all for your partnership and encouragement. Hope to have a team photo before we enter the jungle so you can put faces and names with your prayers.

Jose and Soyla Yume

Another pastor to remember is Jose Yume. He is not only a pastor of the church at Sachavaca, but also one of the Chayahuita missionaries. He travels alot, mostly by foot, to share the Gospel to those that haven't heard and to encourage believers that are isolated.

He has so many stories to share with us of God's faithfulness. Once he was actually bit by a bushmaster snake. This is one of the deadliest in the jungle. He, by the grace of God, was able to walk back to his village. He passed out and for many days was in a coma-like state. WHen he awoke at times, he saw his family praying over him. A few days later he did come out of the coma and realized through this experience that God is not finished with him yet. Please keep Jose and his wife, Soyla in your prayers as they faithfully serve in the Amazon Basin.

Pastoral Care

Being a pastor in the Amazon jungle is not an easy task. Not that it is in the US either, but at least in the US there are other pastors that can be talked to by phone, there are retreats geared at building up and encouraging pastors, there is internet to keep in contact, etc.

There are about 50 Chayahuita pastors. Many of these are extremely isolated. Not only do they have no phones nor internet, they are days away from the fellowship with other pastors. Most only have once a year to get together at the annual conference. We'd like to spend the next couple of blogs just sharing the photos of these men. Please pray for them and their families. None receive a salary as a pastor and many have little formal Bible training, but are faithful at sharing with their communities the Gospel of Christ.

This is Eliberto Pua. He is the pastor in charge of Children's ministry in Nueva Vida. This is a village of about 600 people. It can be difficult to teach the children because they don't have the supplies that we have available in the US. (crayons, glue, scissors, paper, etc) We left some materials with him in January to help out.

Amazonian Appetizers

Have you ever watched Fear Factor and squirmed? What would you do if you had to eat some of those gross things? Would you go hungry? There are several unusual dishes that are eaten in Peru without a second thought or a grimace.

On the coast ceviche of course is the dish with its fish "cooked" only with lime. Then in the low mountains the favorite is "cuy" or as we call them guinea pigs. Yes, those cute little critters become a fried or barbecued delicacy. Then we get into the jungle cuisine. Some are not so unusual like pirahna (afterall they are plentiful) or fried alligator nuggets. Fried plantains are great especially the sweet ones. However there are some foods that take a bit to get used to.

These are grub worms that usually are found in the coconut tree. They are put on skewers and grilled. They really don't taste bad once you get over the thought of what they are. They taste like very greasy fatback. But they are full of protein.

This is a type of ant that the locals love to eat. They are usually around an inch long. One day a year these ants sprout wings and fly to form new nests. On this day they are caught and eaten. Some fry them while the natives love to eat them as is. Ken was told they taste like lemon so he ventured to try one and said there was no taste but they were crunchy like popcorn.

Fortunately there are more conventional foods available, too. We are very thankful of that.