San Lorenzo

Hi All,

Hope this email finds you doing well. We left for San Lorenzo last Tuesday by airplane to Tarrapoto. When we got there, we found a "hotel" to leave our things at while we went looking for transportation that could take us to a community where Lucy has a brother that she has not seen in 17 years. It was like finding a needle in a haystack. We went back to the hotel to sleep then continued looking the next day. We were about to give up when we went to the market, a lady selling cheese was from a nearby community and knew which truck we needed to take there. When we got to the truck, we found that Lucy's sister-in-law was in town selling bananas so we met up with her in the truck that was headed to the village. I opted to pay the extra 30 cents for Lucy and I to ride inside the cab instead of in the truckbed--probably one of the best decisions of my life. (Picture: the truck going to see Lucy's brother)

Outside of Tarrapoto are the foothills of the Andes Mountains so we were driving on dirt paths only as wide as the truck on the edges of cliffs. I would show a picture if I had one but I was too terrified to take a picture. I kept my eyes shut most of the way and was really depending on the power of prayer.

We finally arrived in a little town with mud houses. This was as far as the truck could take us. From there we had to walk up a narrow mountain trail through the coffee fields. It was beautiful but tiring. From the top you could see Tarrapoto, Llamas and Tablalosa, three towns near there. After about an hour walk we arrived in the "town" which consisted of 3 houses on the side of the mountain. We had some fish and rice for lunch and then waited for Lucy's brother to come in from the fields. There was really nothing else we could do but wait as the truck we came in on was the only transportation available and it wouldn't leave til the next day--in fact we had to plead with the driver as he was not going to go into town the next day and we would have been stuck there. (Picture: the mud house we stayed in)

Lucy and her brother had a tearful reunion and we ate some of the best chicken soup ever. We went to bed early as there is no electricity and we had to meet the truck at 3 a.m. The stars there were absolutely amazing. It was my first time sleeping in a mud house. It was extremely dark and on a slant so I kept falling off the cushion all night but slept well. Lucy said she felt like a wasp sleeping inside a mud house.

We got up to start the walk to the truck a little before 3 a.m. I was terrified that I would be bitten by a snake hiding under the coffee leaves but we arrived at the truckstop and started the trip back to Tarrapoto, picked up our stuff at the hotel and went to catch a bus to Yurimaguas. I thought the truck ride was bad but in the bus I definitely kept my eyes shut and Lucy ended up getting sick. It was all switchbacks right on the sides of the mountains. I was scared to death. When we got to Yurimaguas we went to the port to find a boat headed for San Lorenzo but there was none for that day so once again we were in a holding pattern and had to stay the night. They told us there would be a boat leaving the next day at 6 a. m. but when we got there the next day, they said the motor was broken but another boat was leaving from another port. We quickly went to the other port then had to get into a little fast boat to catch up to the larger boat that had already left us, but at least we finally were traveling again.

From there we travelled all day and all night and arrived in San Lorenzo Saturday at noon. Lucy's father is not doing well and it was difficult to see as he has always been very good to me. He no longer gets out of bed without help. We had some I.V. fluids put in and he seemed to do a bit better but it is really hard on Lucy and her family.

(Lucy with her father)

Sunday night Lucy and I went to a nearby church that we usually go to when we are here. From the pulpit, the Pastor asked if I would give the message for Tuesday night church, so of course I said yes (yes, I submit to peer pressure). It went o.k. although it had rained and we had to walk about a half a mile through mud to the church so we showed up in rubber boots and skirts. It kind of had a "Little House on the Prairie" feel to it. We brought our shoes along so I didn't have to preach in boots.

Lucy's parents have a well in their backyard that you pull up the water in a bucket but the metal barrel around it was oxodized and breaking (Picture of the well before)

so we bought a bag of cement and some bricks and made a new well. This whole year has been a year of construction for me. We also installed a light socket and outlet in the room we sleep in. That wasn't so difficult though because they only have electricity from 6 pm til midnight so you can install without worrying about getting shocked. I must admit a real feeling of accomplishment when everything worked though.

(Picture of well afterward)

It has been a very difficult time emotionally with a lot of family coming to see Lucy's father and the tears starting again but Saturday night we had a fiesta to celebrate a birthday, to pray for two babies and I had to cut the hair of one of my godsons which is a symbol of something here although I am not sure what ( perhaps hair today, gone tomorrow ). Saturday afternoon we had a huge storm that blew off part of the roof of the house and knocked out some of the power lines so we had to borrow a generator to have electricity. We had a service then ate duck with rice, turtle with spaghetti, jello, cake and soda. We then told jokes and went to bed very full of food and laughter.

(Picture: Turtle and Duck before we ate them)

Monday morning we had to go catch the boat for Iquitos . I was a little nervous as there is only a boat to Iquitos from San Lorenzo every two weeks so if we missed this boat, we were out of luck. After a very tearful good-bye we made it to the boat on time. It is also a hurry up a d wait situation as once you get on the boat, it is a three day boat ride to Iquitos as we are with the current. It is 4 days to go there against the current. You just have to sit back in your hammock and even as relaxing as that sounds, it gets old after about the first 3 hours. Also it was so packed that the hammocks were on top of each other and it was so hot you could hardly breathe. Lucy and I got off in Nauta to take a bus the rest of the way as Iquitos is only 2 hours by bus from there.

(Picture: the little boy whose hair I cut and his family)

It was very difficult to leave San Lorenzo knowing that I would probably never see Lucy’s father on earth again. He was sobbing when we left as he also knows his time is short now. It was an emotional roller coaster of a trip but I am glad I went to support Lucy and so that I could see Lucy’s father again.

It kind of feels like a culture shock being back in Iquitos and having to think of all the things I have left to do before I leave. I can’t believe it is less than a month before I head home. I am excited but have mixed emotions due to the work left undone here. We will be having the second confraternidad with all of the churches in Santa Ana October 8^th through 10^th and then I head back to the states on October 15^th. Time passes much faster than I would like. I had always heard that saying of “Life is like a roll of toilet paper…the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.” I can now see the truth in that. I hope all is well with you and yours. Please write me a quick note if you get a chance. God Bless.

In Christ,

Kayleen

Amazing God

September 5, 2010

Wow, what an amazing trip this has been. The team got here on Saturday and we left for Tamshiyacu that same day. We got all of our stuff loaded on a slow boat and headed out. The river is amazingly low and this group was a group of practical jokers so when we got to a place that had a beach type place, they pushed Pastor Mark from the top of the boat into the Amazon. Actually Pastor Bob will go down in history as the man that pushed Pastor Mark into the Amazon…of course Pastor Mark took Pastor Bob with him.

We got to Tamshiyacu that night and got settled in at the “hotel” for the night. The team was exhausted from two days of travel so we just ate supper, had devotions and went to bed so we could get started on the work the next day.

There was so much work to do just to get started. First of all we had to level the dirt floor in the church so that the cement could be laid. We also had to level the dirt under the house that we were building which was fortunate because we were able to use the dirt that was dug up from there to level the dirt inside the church. Also, all of the electricity needed to be changed inside the church so Aldolpho and Charles got started on that.

It was amazing how the team got right to work, every member doing his/her part. They were able to put up the beams and framework on the house so that the next day while some would be working on the cement for the floor, others could be working on the house. It was really incredible to see.

After working hard all day, we had a service with the children that night. Pastor Jim became known as “Wow wow” to all of the children from his dog puppet and every time they would see him from then on, they would come up to him and say wow wow. It was pretty cute.

The next day, the whole floor was poured with the help of a cement mixer. That was probably the best idea yet. We found one to rent in Tamshiyacu and it saved

mixing all the bags by hand like was done inSanta Ana last year. It saved a lot of time and the whole floor was down in 3 hours and while the two men we brought from Iquitosworked on putting the sheen on the floor, the rest began working on the house during the torrential rain. We ended up having to stop a little early as it became dangerous with the mud so slippery.

Within several more days of work, the whole project was completed. It was amazing. There is now a parsonage for the Pastor and the church is repainted and has a beautiful floor, new lighting, bricks around the wall where the boards were getting termites and gutters. As I said before, it was amazing.

We ended the time in Tamshiyacu with an open air service, then got all the supplies on a slow boat back with Javier and Abel (our two workers from Iquitos) and we got ready to go to Santa Ana the next day to see the church that we built last year and to baptize Michael.

As I said earlier, the river is really low and when we got to theTahuayo River, we couldn’t enter so we all had to get off and walk about a mile or so intoSanta Ana. We ended up having a service dedicated 5 infants then went down to the “Chismosa” the name of a pond there and 3 people, including Michael were baptized. It was awesome.

After buying some of the locals arts and crafts we headed on the long walk back to the Amazon to catch the boat back to Tamshiyacu, ate lunch then got on the boat back to Iquitos.

The Lord worked in so many ways on this trip. He protected us from major accidents, He worked on the hearts of the two workers that were brought fromIquitos, He worked on the hearts of the people in Tamshiyacu and He worked on the hearts of the team members. It was an amazing construction project that not only built buildings but relationships and I am very sad to see them go.

To change the subject a little bit, Lucy’s father is probably in his last days of life. He can no longer get out of bed for anything and is hardly eating. Pastor Bob called Lima to ask for permission for her and I to go see him before the conference in October so we will be leaving tomorrow and will be gone for a couple of weeks. Please pray for this situation as many members of her family are not Christian and there are some problems that we will have to confront there. It will be more difficult for me to stay in contact as this town only has electricity 6 hours at night so getting on the internet is more difficult but I will try. It usually takes 4 days on a boat to get to Lucy’s parents but because the river is low, it is taking a week so we are going to fly to Tarrapoto, then take a bus to Yurimaguas then take a boat to San Lorenzo. We should then be able to get there in 2 days. Please pray for safe travel.

Well, I better get busy, I have so much to do in so little time but I wanted to make sure I got you all updated on the team. They should be arriving home this morning so tell them all I miss them. Hope you all are very blessed and continuing to serve our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Christ

Kayleen