people or demons?

We left the first village, slightly excited to rest on the boat ride and get away from the mosquitos and chiggers, however, the boat ride was only 15 minutes so there was no rest for us! As soon as we landed we started to plot our night service.

When we got to this village, we were told that no one except the pastor and his family would go to church. Apparently, there has been a lot of spiritual warfare and many bad things have happened to the pastor and his family. The most recent was the passing of his daughter shortly after giving birth to her 6th kid. When we asked one of the people in the village how many people attend their church, they responded with "people or demons?" We knew we were in for a much more difficult time.

We prayed a lot and slept very little in this village. Every day we had VBS and games with the kids. 2 o'clock bathing times with the village. Lots of funny moments as we tried to balance on logs so to not fall completely in the river but it didn't work. The water was refreshing but we never seemed to feel or smell clean!

The kids were attentive to our Bible stories and programs. Church services at night were interesting. Many kids came in but few adults. In fact, the adults would stand outside the church and watch our dramas, listen to us share testimonies and preach, but not come in. Even the nights we showed a movie (The Passion of the Christ)! We continued to pray and intercede on behalf of the village whenever we weren't in front of the church.

One of the last days we were there, the pastor and the mayor met with Randy and other men in the village. They had time of prayer and discussion and finally a break through happened between the pastor and the mayor where they confessed to each other for not respecting each other and holding up their end of responsibility. That night, the mayor rededicated his life to Christ.

We were able to fit many people in the village with eye glasses which were donated. The village seemed to come alive as we went door to door asking the women if they needed help and just serving them. We talked to them in spanglish, washed dishes with them, hung up their laundry and showed God's love.

Our sleeping arrangements were pretty rough, we slept in an open hut which allowed for dogs and cats to roam around our tents all night. We woke up with fresh bites (over 200 bites per person, no lie!) and constantly scratching, it was incredibly hot to play futbol with long pants and high socks on. Going to the bathroom was a chore and an experience every time, but through it all, I know that I can get through anything with God. In fact, coming away from that last intense village, I realized that in this next season, I will be happy anywhere there are children (besides the US). All I have to do now is let God guide me and be obedient :) Life is good with God!

I hope you all are doing well and staying refreshed in God's goodness and faithfulness! More VBS and church renovations in the city this week and back to the river next week!
Do not grow weary in doing good, for in due season, you will reap the harves- Galatians 6:9

In the jungle the mighty jungle...

The trip on the river was incredibly rough but even more so, rewarding! The 5 hour boat ride, feeling fresh and loving the scenery, playing cards and laying in hammocks was a dream! Our spirits were high because we had no clue what to expect but we were just excited to be on the river going to villages.

The first village we went to was called Santa Isabel. The village was flooded and we found ourselves carrying all our bags wearing boots because the water was up to our calves. We arrived at sunset which meant we had to move fast because the mosquito’s would start to swarm. We quickly sent up the tents in the church we stayed at, ate dinner and went to bed. In the morning we met with the Pastor and discussed how our week would shape up, what activities we would do and what he thought needed to be done or what the village needed to be challenged on. Each morning we met at the boat at 7 a.m., then went right into VBS back at the church.

The children were sweet and playful. They loved our felt boards, even though we thought they would think they were outdated! We sang silly songs with them in Spanish, did a craft that had to do with our lesson and then played games with them in the soccer fields. When we were done, we normally would play volleyball or futbol until lunch.

The afternoon usually brought more play time, personal devotion time, or bath time. At night, we would have a church service where we performed our dramas, shared testimonies, worshipped and preached. The people were friendly and receptive. By the end of our time there, 3 people were baptized, 12 kids and a couple adults accepted Jesus, 11 kids were dedicated to God, the church was dedicated, 30 pairs of eye glasses were given out.

A few highlights were chasing the kids through the murky water. We first went out there to bathe (in the river, where they poop, pee, bathe, drink, use the water to cook with, find crocs and poisonous snakes, etc). but it soon turned into a game of tag with the kids yelling “hello” with sweet little accents and then jumping into the deeper portion of the river. What other choice did I have then to throw off my boots and join them?! No choice :)

The people at this village were incredibly receptive and warm. It was a great way to start our trip on the river off!

***all of a sudden I can't load pictures anymore so more of those to come later. Here's my facebook link again to see more!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.700160650818.2104235.53701690&type=1&l=0e07ef6114

love you!!

Peru!!!

We have finally made it to Iquitos! It feels like the whole school year we've been looking forward to this trip and it's hard to believe that it's happening!
The first day we were here, we did a couple children's ministries through out the day. We've now settled into a routine of morning devo's, afternoon prayer walks, skit practices, spanish class, and then various outreaches. We've tried to end each night with soccer games (mostly us ladies watching and screaming oleee ole oleeee! as the guys play).

We've been able to play with the kids and also share our testimonies and do some of the skits we've prepared.

Iquitos is beautiful and so are the people. They also drive crazy aka like me!

We are taking this first week here to bond with the YWAM students. They are also teaching us Espanol and drama's for when we go on the river.Ole! YWAM and Agora joined together Friday night for a social night- Here we are playing a game called Chubby Bunny, i.e. put as many marshmallows in your mouth as possible and the person with the most wins (me) :)

Our days are full but we are looking to things settling down this week. We leave tomorrow for 8 days on the Amazon. We will be teaching VBS and also sharing our testimonies and possibly preaching in the village!

God is working on our hearts and opening our eyes to a lot of different things. He has also placed a lot of confirmation that long term missions is definitely His will for my life :)

Please pray for our safety and health as we go to the river. Most importantly, pray that the people we visit will be open and respond to the message of God's love for them and that they come to understand how valuable they are to Him!

Thanks for your prayers. We will write you when we get back. Here are 2 links to more of the pictures we've taken so far: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.700160650818.2104235.53701690&type=1#!/media/set/?set=a.325496387508059.73461.137580899632943&type=3

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.700160650818.2104235.53701690&type=1&l=0e07ef6114

lots and lots of love!