There and Back Again

  Before I get into details about my trip, I want to inform you about a guy that I went to high school with. He was in a car accident on Sunday Night or very early morning, I’m not sure. But he was driving home around 3 in the morning and fell asleep and when he woke up he over corrected and his car started to roll. He has a shoulder injury and a serious hip injury, also he has a horrible injury to his foot. His wounds are open and he is wrapped to keep from infection until he is stable enough to do reconstructive surgery. This is a very serious situation. There are many details that I do not have permission to give out, but I ask that you would join me in prayer for Brandon Jacobs. 
  Lord, I pray right now for Brandon. I don’t know all of the details and I’m not sure what kind of relationship he has with you. I know that he knows of you, Lord, but if he has strayed from you, Father, then I ask that would draw him close to you. I ask that you would use the pain and the suffering from these injuries and even the long-term effects that he knows it will cause to have him run to you. Lord, great physician, I pray for your hands of healing to come overwhelmingly over his body and to miraculously heal these injuries. Lord, you are perfectly capable of healing even the most deadly of injuries and diseases. Lord, This is nothing for you. But father, if it is your will, that Brandon is not healed, I ask that you would use this as a testimony of you to all of those that will hear his story. I pray that not only would you heal Brandon and use him according to your will but also that you would heal the hearts and souls of others that need to hear about you and your amazing works and beautiful character. We don’t know why all of these things happen, but we do know that all things work together for the good of those that love you. In our weakness, lord, you are made strong. Lord give Brandon strength to endure this incredible amount of pain. Let Him know that your strength is what sustains him. That it’s your kindness that leads him to repentance, not your wrath. Sometimes you need to do big things to get our attention. Lord, I pray that those that need to direct their attention to you will have open eyes and hearts to what you have to say through this. I know that your will is going to be done. I know that you love Brandon. Comfort him and his family now as they go through this incredibly tough time. We love you, Lord. And we trust that you know what you are doing. Amen.
  Please keep in prayer for Brandon.
  So, my trip to Iquitos was pretty incredible. It was very trying. I didn’t always have the best attitude, and I really regret not fighting it and just smiling—because technically, I was going there to be a witness to the people of Iquitos and Panguana. I was extremely tired the entire trip and we were busy a lot of the time. Every night we went to the boulevard to perform dramas, witness to the locals and play with the kids. The scary thing about this was seeing all of the witchcraft going on in the streets and with some of the parents of the kids that we were playing with. We could really feel Satan’s hand over this community. Many were open to the gospel, but many were also so stuck in their ways and Satan had such a tight grip on them that we were not able to penetrate their walls. Luckily our job is not to convince people of God’s love and grace—it’s simply to share. The Bible doesn’t say that we remove the veil, but that God removes the veil. I would venture to say that around 100 people or more altogether in Iquitos came to know the Lord. Several nights we went to the Church which was about a 30 minute bus ride away from the house where we were staying at. This area is incredibly poor: mud roads, children running around without shoes, dirty water, shack like buildings…it was crazy to see this. But the kids all seemed very happy. It really was such a blessing to be able to play with them and bless them. On Thursday, we got up early in the morning and went out to breakfast at this Texas restaurant down the road. This place is awesome and open 24 hours! After breakfast, we all caught motor taxies to the port which was like a little opening in the trees by the water where you walked the plank onto this sketchy looking boat. When we got inside, we all took our hammocks out and hung them up all lined up in a row on the top floor of the boat. Most of us slept, but some were doing the Lord’s work and led 3 of the guys that ran the boat to the Lord! The boat ride was a 3 hour trip----this brought to my mind the Gilligan’s island theme song. Once we arrived to the shore of the area of the jungle that we were to trek through that day, we walked over the plank onto the muddy shore of the Amazon River. After getting everything together we started a good 30-45 minute walk through the jungle to get to the village. We came to a part in the walk where the path was under water from flooding and we had to take a canoe to the other side. Luckily, there were canoes there.---that was one of my biggest fears, was having to swim through snake infested waters. But the lord provided a canoe and that held me off a little while until the next challenge. We all finally made it to the other side of the flooded area—some did have to swim though because there wasn’t enough room in the canoes. We had to walk about another mile on the other side to get to the village. Just as we arrived to the church in the village, it started pouring rain. It was such a relief because it was so hot outside! It really cooled us off. We were supposed to paint the building but because it rained, we weren’t able to. So, instead of painting, we went to a little creek down a little path and went swimming with some of the locals. The water was pretty disgusting. We held a children’s service in the afternoon and afterwards went to the hill and ran around with them. In the evening we held a service for the adults. Not many came though because just before service started and incredible thunder and rain storm and lightening display came upon us and it lasted all night. We didn’t leave until around 10 at night….let me mention that there are no lights out there and we are in the middle of the pouring rain in the pitch black darkness and on a path that has missing boards----through water that is snake infested (but the Lord did provide canoes) that was a blessing! And then back up through the mud to the edge of the water where we waited for the boat to return and take us back down the river. Did I mention that there is no such thing as a toilet in the jungle?! I avoided going to the bathroom all day. That was a serious chore! Hehe. But the walk back to the boat in the jungle was probably my favorite part of the entire missions trip. We saw beautiful displays of lightening and heard amazing thunder and thanked God for the rain the kept us cool and kept the mosquitoes away! Some of the guys were telling silly jokes along the way to keep everyone entertained. So the big joke of the night was the thunder was God laughing at the dumb jokes and the lightening was God taking pictures! Ha! This was probably one of the most memorable experiences of my life thus far 
  On one of the other days in Iquitos we visited a district called Belen. This area is right on the shore of the Italia (?) river which is a small river that branches off of the Amazon river. But during half the year (rainy season) the entire area of Belen is under water---so the people’s houses are all built up several levels because they always expect the first floors of the house to flood every year. The streets turn into canals that need to be traveled by canoe. It is very sad to see this part of town but it was very eye opening. At one point, we crossed the Italia river and saw a catholic church that was almost inaccessible. The people of that area know that the pastor is a drunk and have seen his behavior outside of church---they all refer to him as Satan. It really is very sad.
  On the plane ride home, a few of the members from my team claimed that they sensed some sort of evil spirit on board. A woman collapsed during the last hour of the flight and caused an uproar onboard with all passengers trying to figure out what was going on. Medics were helping her out and the flight attendants were trying to get the pilot to land the plane. In the last few minutes before we landed, they got an oxygen mask on her got her back into her seat. We landed and taxied up to the terminal where we were met by an ambulance ready to take her to the hospital. Interesting experience.
  When I arrived back here on the Lima campus, I ran directly up to apartment 2, where I was met by my parents! Yes, they came to Peru! It was my Dad’s first time outside the states. Pretty cool. They brought tons of stuff for all the students. I sent an idea request list and they brought almost everything that was asked for. I saw about 5 of them making burritos today for a snack with some ingredients that my parents had brought for them. They can’t stop raving about how awesome it was that my parents came. I had a great time with them here. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until I got to hug my mom and chat with dad on morning walks to get coffee. The first day was Sunday and so we spent the day going to church services and just visiting. On Monday, dad sat in on my class where we watched the Luther film because my professor was out of town. We really enjoyed that---it was pretty intense. I would definitely recommend it. Later on that day, we went to the Indian Market and burned holes in our pockets. We could have looked around there all day if we didn’t get tired…there is so much stuff!!! The next day, we walked to the cliffs, where there is a beautiful and peaceful view of the coast and we could see for miles! It was a fairly clear day  We took a bunch of pictures, did a little chatting and then caught a taxi over to the mall that is constructed down in-between the cliffs. After that we caught another taxi to parque Kennedy and the market and then to Dinner at a Brazilian SteakHouse called Rodizio—it was delicious!!! We ate Big bird—oops, I mean albatross  on Wednesday, Daniel was sick, so he wasn’t able to be the translator…so I had to be…that was definitely interesting. I caught 4 (?) taxies. We went to the Indian ruins, the Indian market, and T.G.I. Fridays for lunch---then we came back home to pack up for their flight home  I was incredibly sad. I’ve never been so homesick in my life. I really missed them. Daniel and I rode with them to the airport and caught a taxi back. So today it was back to normal schedule—chores and sleeping in my own bed  Only 44 days left!! I miss home! Don’t get me wrong, I love it here; but I do really miss home. I’d like to apologize for the disorganization and the horrible grammar in the blog. It’s a lot of time to cover in one blog and I was trying to remember everything. I’ll do my best to get back into the swing of posting several times a week to keep you updated!!