Hey there, I’m sorry I am just now updating the Peru team blog. My wife and I are leading a one week trip with AIM down in New Orleans and my internet time has been limited. I was able to catch up with the leaders of the Peru team today via the satellite phone and I have their update for you.
The health of the team has been much better since their mid-trip debrief. The leaders said there really hasn’t been any illness over the past week or so. They will be in the village they are in currently until Thursday and then they have two more villages they will be visit for 3-4 days each. They will spend their last week in Nauta and then spend their debrief time in Iquitos before they head back to the States.
Some highlights from the past week or so are as follows:
Since the team has two Canadians on their team they celebrated Canada day (July 1). The team got some unexpected “fireworks” when a couple of lighters exploded because the cooks left them too close to the heat source. Everyone was startled at first but then had a good laugh when they realized what had happened.
The team also was able to celebrate the 4th of July with the 1 month Ambassador (high school) team from AIM. The sang the nation anthem and had a sweet time of prayer for our country. The biggest highlight for the team though was definitely the ice cream that they had. You have to understand, the team has not really had anything cold (ice, ice water, ice cream, anything frozen etc.) since leaving the States on June 3rd. Although the ice cream wasn’t really all that good, everyone from the team had multiple servings because it was such an unexpected surprise. The vendor was also thrilled because of the amount of ice cream that he sold!
Another highlight was an beautiful place they found in the river where they were able to swim, chill out, and bath AND the water was cold there as well. Another interesting experience that comes from bathing in the Amazon River are these tiny little fish that nibble at your skin. Apparently it is a very interesting experience!
Last week the students hosted a soccer and volleyball tournament in one of the villages they were in. This was a huge hit with the locals and everyone wanted to win the “trophy” which were big 3 liter bottles of Coke. They also hosted an open air event in this village and 5 people accepted Christ!! Praise God!! While in this village the team also battle through some tough spiritual warfare and the Lord was victorious. The team has been learning the lesson that spiritual warfare is not something they have to be afraid because of the freedom and victory that we have in Christ.
One of the girls on the team built a friendship with a lady in one of the villages. On this participants birthday the lady wanted to give her a birthday present and this lady gave her a baby alligator and a baby turtle!! Needless to say, she accepted the gift and after having the alligator and turtle as pets for a few days the team was able to give them to someone else who could properly take care of them.
In the village the team is in currently they felt the Lord directing them to divert from the ministry opportunities that they had planned and to just trust his leading. As a result the team had a since that this village just needed an opportunity to experience and learn about joy. So, the team planned game events, skits, and one of the leaders preaches on the topic of joy. This was exactly what this village needed and they have seen lot’s of fruit as a result of laying down their plans and following the Lords leading.
A final highlight for the team was that in the past week, they were actually able to put toilet paper in the hole in the ground that is the toilet. This is the first time in several weeks that the team has not had to put used toilet paper in plastic bags and dispose of it later. One of the leaders said that being able to use and flush a toilet is the thing he is looking forward to most when he returns to the States.
Well, I hope this blog has given you a better picture of what the team has experienced in recent days. The Lord has truly been good and continues to blow the team away with is goodness and all the ways he is working. Please continue to keep the team in your prayers and I should have another update in the next week or so.
Blessings,
Chad M.
Thanks so much for all the wonderful details of this amazing trip. It was also FANTASTIC to actually hear Ashley’s voice on July 4th. The fact that the call was so unexpected made it even more special. I am thankful that the team’s health seems to be improving and will continue to pray that the remainder of the trip will be productive for everyone involved. God bless you all!
Bethany, we were blessed to hear about your team’s great experiences. I made copies of the update to give to your prayer partners at church. Everyone can’t wait to see you and hear about your trip. God bless you all in these last weeks of your Peru adventure. God is so good! Love, Mom