July Team 2011

July 19, 2011

Hi All,

I hope this update finds you at blessed as I was by the team that just left from here Sunday morning. We had an awesome time on this trip and I wanted to write a little update to share some of the things that we did.

This team had a very long flight and layover time. They left Austin in the morning on the 8^th and did not arrive in Iquitos until 4 pm on the 9^th so they arrived exhausted and we went back to the church so they could bathe, rest and get ready to head to the jungle the next morning.

We left the next morning for Amazonas which is a 2 hour bus ride to Nauta then about a 45 minute boat ride. We were met with open arms from the community with the adults and children waiting on the shore to help carry up all our supplies. I absolutely love this village. The church there is growing by leaps and bounds with everyone pitching in to help. Last year Lucy and I bought the house and land next to the church from a family that was moving for 80 soles which is around $30. We bought it with the mindset that it later be used for Sunday School classrooms and growth for the church because soon this church won’t be able to fit in the building it has. Lucy and I then collaborated for a man to cut wood for a new house and the Amazonas church put in all the wood framing for the roof, the palm thatching for the roof and the labor to build it so when we arrived, the new house was finished complete with a long table for the children to color on. It is pretty awesome. The team used it as there kitchen/dining room. They plan to put in a small bedroom so that when Lucy, Gladys, Pastor Leiter or I arrive, we have a place to sleep.

In the morning we played with the children until lunch then had a children’s service with puppets, balloons, face painting and fixing the little girls hair. We then went down to bathe in the river to get ready for the evening service for which there was standing room only. It was a beautiful service that night with the Peruvians also sharing in the service. It was then bedtime but not for some of the Americans who continued with a dance contest and charades.

The next morning we played volleyball with the adults. U.S.A vs Peru and we got killed. The Peruvian team was all women but they still beat us in every match. With our heads hung low, we bought some of their crafts and with tearful goodbyes, got on the boat to head back to Iquitos.

When we got there, we repacked to leave for Tamshiyacu the next morning. We took a fast boat to Tamshiyacu, got settled in the hotel, then headed down to do a children’s program and then play with the children. We then got cleaned up to have another service with the dramas that night in the church.

The next morning, we headed in a small boat to Santa Ana and spent the day doing all of the children’s activities plus the dramas. We then bought some of their crafts then headed back to spend the night in the hotel in Tamshiyacu and get ready to leave the next morning to head back to Iquitos.

When we got to Iquitos, we repacked to head to San Juan de Sinchi Cuy the next day but that night in Iquitos, we had a service with the local church and then headed up to the boulevard and performed the dramas there in the open air. It was really an awesome experience.

The next day we got on a boat for San Juan de Sinchi Cuy where we played with the kids, had a children’s service and the Americans went for a walk in the jungle and had kind of a muddy experience. That night we had a lamplight service with the community and then set up our tents in the patio for a good nights sleep—that is until it started to rain and we had to move all the tents (except Jim’s) to the porch (sorry Jim).

We had a great time there in San Juan. San Juan de Sinchi Cuy is a preaching point for us. There is not a church there yet although some of the people are discussing the possibility. There are a lot of obstacles there but it really lifts my heart to see the people singing praise songs when a year and a half ago, the children didn’t know what a Bible was nor any of the praise songs. The children now know many Bible stories and are learning many things about the Lord.

We left the next morning, hiking through the jungle 45 minutes then catching the boat back to Iquitos where we got ready to go to the zoo, shopping and eat our last meal together.

The team left Sunday morning and we have another team from Lima arriving Saturday. This is a youth group and we are going to travel to the various churches teaching dramas and evangelism to the youth there. It should be exciting. I am not sure if I can take another team though. It feels like my heart is being cut up into pieces as I get so close to each of these teams then they leave. It feels like a part of me goes with each one of them and I get so sad when they leave. Good thing that one day we will all be together in heaven. I am exhausted right now and can’t believe the other team will be here in 4 days. I have so much to do. Please pray for all the seeds that are being sown through these teams that they may come to harvest. I love you and miss you. Please write to me.

In Christ

Kayleen