The team went down to a river village about about 100 people two days ago. Half the team flew in with SAM Air (15 minutes) the other half took the canoe in (2 1/2 hours). They met up in the village and were able to entertain all the people in the village with their Guppets Show, dance and more. They played with the children and learned about Peruvian River Village Culture!
The half of the team that flew in, canoed back up river, while those that canoed in got to fly back. This gave the entire team the full experience of what it takes to get into remote areas to share the Gospel. The half of the team canoeing back had a bit of an adventure when the motor quit on them. Rest assured, Todd and the Pastor of the church Todd works with were there and knew the village they could go to for parts. SAM Air ended up taking the team back to Pucallpa with just Deborah, Amanda and Todd staying behind to finish the motor repair. They made their way back to Pucallpa talking about God’s wonders, watching the Southern Lights and just being in awe!!
Each night, they do team devotions and debriefing, talking about what they encountered, what they felt, what was amazing, challenging and how they are feeling and seeing God working with and through them. They did this last night with a Youth Group that is at the local church (a program similar to our JAM/1:20). They helped with games, English speakers taught Spanish teens, Spanish speakers taught English teens. Deborah said that they night was an amazing thing for our team. Knowing brothers and sisters in Christ was very cool.
They went into Pucallpa “proper” for a “real dinner” in a restaurant and had Peruvian restaurant food. Most of the team is really enjoying the local food fare and their house mom/cook is quiet talented. This was a cool experience for them and they really enjoyed it. One of the local delicacies is Guinea Pig. They did order one to share and try. All but one team member gave it a try. I will let you all ponder who that was! 
Tomorrow the team hopes to work with the Pregnancy Center, but as Deborah said, they are all learning to take each day moment by moment as the culture is very laid back and planning well in advance is just not the way they do things. The first day, the teens asked constantly, “What are we doing? What is next?,” etc. The last few days they are just learning to go with the flow and enjoy the divine opportunities that unfold. Tomorrow will be their last “work” day before heading out Tuesday for Lima where they will spend the day sightseeing and being tourist in the market. A few team members have gotten slight diarrhea, but nothing that Immodium AD isn’t managing.
PRAY: That the last three days of their trip will not be rushed and the effort that has been so strong so far will continue to be steadfast with the awaited opportunities to serve the Lord on this mission trip right until they land at O’Hare. Pray that the team will be focused and protected and that all lives will be changed by this experience.
