A Time to Serve

“When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.” ~ Romans 12:13a, NLT

While it seemed in my mind like we would NEVER arrive at our destination to start the service part of our trip... we did finally arrive on Monday, July 10th, late morning. Previously I shared about our warm welcome, shared pictures of the dance we shared with them,  and how this particular village, Vista Alegre, had not seem Americans in 12 years or more.   For Morgan and I, the arrival to the village took us back to our time of service years before in Kingston Jamaica.  The work project, the villagers and the children that appeared from seemingly nowhere, while in a new country and new faces, at the same time very comforting.  It was awesome that our years of training and service previously had prepared us for the same situation; only 1,830 miles and about 5 years apart and for the first time, found us serving together!

Our work goal for our days in the village was to build a church.  The mention of a church brings images to mind of churches we pass on the streets or the one that we worship in.  This one was a bit different. There were no glass windows to install, no drywall to hang, no electric outlets to place, no lights to install, no colors to choose for the walls from paint swatches, no decorating committee needed, no permits or codes that had to be enforced.  Just some sweat inducing labor was needed! Our hands and feet and willing attitudes!

I digress, prior to getting to the church site and actually working on the construction project, we had to get our tools and supplies to the village and the job site, up a hillside from the boat and then a mile into the village by foot.   The team all worked together to transport the paint, varnish, lumber, rollers, cement mix (50lb bags) about 30 bags, tools, and wheelbarrows up the hillside. Remember, there is no Lowe's delivery truck...  and yes that is a cement mixer coming off the boat!

  As you can see in the above pictures, we just walked up the side of the hill making footholds where we could.  This was not an easy task for all of us (well me anyhow) I can't speak for the rest of the team!  However one of the things that sticks out the most in my mind from this trip is that while we were all at the village working, one man with a shovel, spent a significant amount of his day cutting in actual steps for us.  I do not know who,  but his gift of steps was a blessing to us for the remainder of the trip each time we went up and down between the village and the boat.

When we arrived at the location of the church, we found that there had been a team of two men from the church that went before us to stick frame the walls of the church and put on the tin roof.  Please know that part of your donations to Morgan and I and our team, went to purchase these supplies for this building.  You are part of this village due to your generous giving!  This following is the clearest photo I could find to depict our starting point for this project.  I would also suggest based on how the Shipibo people showed up to help us on the days that we worked that the two men that put up the frame and roof also had many hands helping them make light work of their part of the job!   

We did not waste any time breaking up into teams and getting to work. Three members of the team (myself included) learned from the team how they wanted us to cut the wood planks for the teams that were nailing them to the outside of the frame.  They had a generator that ran the chop saw, and each team would bring their measurements to us, and we would cut 5 -10 lengths at a time for them to return to their team to be fitted against the previous board and nailed into place.  We did not do more than a few at a time because of course the building was not square... so some cuts would be 93 inches and others 93 1/4... We spent the remainder of Monday and all of Tuesday finishing up the walls and the peaks of the outside.  Late Tuesday afternoon a few of the girls on the team began rolling the varnish on the outside.  The goal was to have the first coat on the whole outside so first thing the next morning we could put on the second coat and start painting the inside.  

We kept to the schedule and sure enough, we were painting Wednesday morning! It was a little tricky for the painters to keep out of the way of the flooring guys and their fresh concrete!   As always with so many hands, it is hard to have enough supplies to do the job efficiently, however coconut shells make great paint dishes!  When you see how light the paint is, understand that they dilute it with water to make it "stretch".  To our way of thinking, it seems counter productive, especially since they desired multiple layers.  I am sure however that there is a reason, perhaps paint on as we know it (the thickness) would bubble and peel in the heat and humidity.  Again, there are just some things you do their way, because that is how they desire it to be!  Flexibility is key!  

Speaking of concrete!  Well can I say for Morgan and I, it was a definite flashback to our days in Jamaica serving with Bud and Lynda Kay and our teams from East Shore and Lancaster Bible College!  Goodness, who can forget 9 buckets of sand, 3 buckets of stone, a bag of cement mix, and a couple splashes of water.... Morgan and our team happily and diligently repeated the pattern, working the sand and stone pile in between loads, in a manner that would make Mr. Lingle proud!  We were again rejoicing in the skills that we have previously acquired,  and while my body is not as young as it used to be, my girl and I hung side by side working the recipe!  What a joy to my heart! 

Here are the men from the church team putting the front door on the church.  Amazingly, it is my understanding that they got to use an electric planer for the first time!  I do not have that documented, but it made a challenging job, I assume much easier!

Thursday before departing on the boat for our four hour trip back to Pucallpa, we got to celebrate with the village church at a dedication ceremony,  pose for a group photo in front of the church and shop the village women's amazing handicrafts!  What an amazing way to end the trip.  Really no more words are required, the photos will say it all!

It is always an amazing time for me as I witness the combination of old school and in this case, tribal ways with new and more modern techniques and resources, which often are still so far removed from the tools and technology that we are used to seeing and using!  As always,  I walk away from the the experience thinking, "If I sent this, or that item; their job would be so much easier." Or, "If only they would do things this easier, faster way, we could get the job done quicker."  But the reality is that these locations in under developed countries, have a great system in place for how they do things. Combining that with the fact that they have a great appreciation for their resources, and take great pride in their work, their way is ultimately is the right way!  To join them in co-laboring their way is a huge blessing to them and to us, if we humble ourselves in service to them!

Sometimes as Americans, serving in other cultures, we think our ways are best.  They are not if they risk offending the people group that you are ultimately there to serve.  How could we brilliant Americans offend, you may wonder?  By not listening to their directions and just serving by doing it their way.  By not recognizing the pride that they take in sharing with you their skills and abilities. By not understanding the value that they place on their resources.  Just because we can get in our pick up truck or SUV and drive to the home depot for some bags of stones or sand, we must not be so arrogant not to realize that the stone and sand available to us for this work, came to them at a cost. The cost of their time and efforts digging the stones and sand, placing it in bags and transporting it on their backs or motorkars to the work sight.  Additionally, while we may share a great idea with them, and manage with the language barrier to convey why an item would be help assist in the job, often these items are simply not available to them.  Additionally, even if we follow through and send that item that we think they can't live without to them, the chances that they it will never reach them, either getting hung up in customs, returned to the sender or stolen in the process, could lead them to believe that we did not follow through on our promises.   I guess all that to say, we can offend them by making promises of things, that even if we follow through on our end and do, may never reach them because of situations outside our control, hence risking our witness and testimony.

Lastly, it is always important to lead by example when you are serving with and for the body of Christ.  Hard things are just that, hard.  No one ever said they were unattainable.

"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35 

Fun facts about Peru and the sites that we visited

We flew into Lima after dark, on July 5th, it was roughly 9:30 pm when we loaded into our tour bus to head to the hotel, and while our tour guide was able to give us some wonderful facts about the city, it was not until the next morning on the way back to the airport at 7 am, that we were able to see the city for ourselves!

• Lima is the largest city in Peru home to over 10 million of Peru's 30 million people and the 5th largest city in all of South America.
• Because Lima is a coastal city (the Pacific Ocean) not only is it a famous destination for surfers, but it is also a city with very little rain fall.  1-2 inches a year falls.
• Summer is considered December - March.
• The city is almost always (except for about one month) overcast and dreary.  The people of Lima are okay with the cloudy skies because they believe in the myth, that there is a large donkey standing over them and protecting them, and thus when they look up they are looking at the grey belly of the donkey.
• There are only three places that Coca Cola is not the leading soft drink and Peru is one of them (along with Scotland and India) Inca Cola is the beverage of choice in Peru.  It is neon yellow in color and is said to be bubble gum flavored, although many on the team thought that it was banana flavored. But that does not stop Coca Cola from advertising in a big way! 

We left Lima at 9:45am and headed to the city of Cusco.  Cusco is 11,200 feet above sea level.  We were all instructed in advance about what the potential change in altitude could do to us, shortness of breath, dizziness, headaches, stomach issues etc.   It is highly thought that the Coca leaf if brewed in a tea or chewed the medicinal benefits would help offset the altitude change.  While a few members of the team suffered mildly from these maladies, most of the team were able to adjust well to the altitude.  Two team members did get to experience great care in the Cusco hospitals on two different days due to altitude sickness and dehydration.  

• Cusco is the home to many amazing sights.  The Nevado Salkantay or Sakantay (sacred mountain) is 20, 575 feet above sea level and is ice capped and covered in glaciers.  
• The above mentioned mountain sits close to the former Inca capital and is located directly south of Machu Picchu.    
• The airport is centrally located, and is literally surrounded by the mountains and the city.  
• We toured the Imperial City, which included Saqsayhuaman, which is 12,142 feet above sea level
• The walls of the city and were hand carved to fit against the previous stone with such precision that no mortar type substance was ever needed.
• These stones were dragged with a rope by 100's of men at a time to get them to their location for carving or scribing.  
• Today many women dress in traditional clothing and pose for "fotos" for Sol's.  If they "catch" you taking their photos they demand payment.

Machu Picchu is an absolute highlight of this trip and this city,  and demands it's own write up! I will mention it here as it is part of Cusco but will try to pay it honor with it's own photos and historical information.  It is note worthy, that we did not reach elevations as high as this location (12,142 feet) at Machu Picchu as our highest elevation there was only 8,240 feet.  (thanks Blake for use of your technology!) 

In my first post I mentioned many facts about Pucallpa, which was the other city that we visited in Peru.  While I will not rename those items here in this post, I am sure that I will cover additional facts in other posts when I share about our work projects and our time in Pucallpa.

Other interesting facts about Cusco...

• They grow over 55 varieties of corn in many colors, yellow, black and purple
• 6th largest producer of gold 162 tons a year approximately
• They grow over 3,000 types of potatoes
• Two thirds of Peru is covered by rain forests
• In Peru it is traditional to give friends yellow underpants for New Years Eve
• Peru is the 8th largest producer of coffee in the world
• Cuy or Guinea Pig is a traditional dish served as a celebration meal, complete with its head and legs and eyes.

And with this visual in mind... You really, really can't make this stuff up!! 

The City of Pucullpa, the Ucayali River and the Shipibo People

This is harder than I thought it would be, putting my thoughts in some organized fashion, describing and detailing our time in Peru.  Literally, so much share and chronicle, and as my mind spins in countless directions regarding all the ways in which I could present the information, by day, or by sight, or by adventure... I am just going to start with our arrival to our service portion of the trip that began on Sunday, July 9th.

We flew into the city of Pucallpa, population around 100,000 persons, located on the banks of the Ucayali River.  Founded in the 1840's by Franciscan missionaries.

We departed from the airport as a team with our luggage on one bus and ourselves on another, through the streets of the city to the river bank, where we were greeted by our home away from home for the next five days, the Evangelista.

We unloaded from the bus, and took our luggage on board, walking down a slight embankment to the wooden gang plank and on to the boat.

Once we were on board the boat, we received our life vests. (which we were required to wear in the harbor, and had to know where they were at all times once outside the harbor.)

The team enjoyed a few moments taking in the sights of the city, as we traveled by bus, but even more so once we were on the boat.  

The Ucayali River is one of 70 tributaries that feeds into the Amazon River.  The Ucayali along with the Apurimac and Ene and Tambo Rivers are considered the main headwaters of the Amazon River.  Its length is 994.3 miles long and averages 3.1 -3.7 mph currents.  

I wish I could show you a photo of the elusive Amazon River Dolphin, or the pink dolphin, but alas while I witness them dropping into the waters briefly after a sighting by someone else on the team that yelled for us all to look,  all I know about them is what I managed to research.   The Amazon River Dolphin is a real thing.  It is has a pink tint to its gray skin,  and has some serious mythology behind it.  There are only a few places in the world that claim the pink dolphins in their waters; South America, Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Venezuela and of course Peru.  Some of the myths that surround the dolphin include, but are not limited to: If you make eye contact with the dolphin, you will have a lifetime of nightmares in your sleep.  It is also said that they are guardians of the Amazon Manatee and if you desire to find a manatee you must first make peace with the pink dolphin.  It is unknown how many of these animals are in the waters, as the water is thick and murky, looking like a watered down version of chocolate milk, or never ending muddy water run off after a big storm.  

Our journey down that Ucayali River was a long trek.  We were told that it would take nine hours to arrive to the village and that we would have to stop for the night once the sun set.  The Evangelista like the other boats on the river have no lights, so all boats are prohibited on the water after sundown.  

Of course we were not disappointed by our first sunset and its splendor on Sunday night!  While I think many of us were sad that we had to stop for the night, which would only delay our arrival to the Shipibo Village of Vista Alegre,  it was just one of many ways that we had to exercise our flexibility on this this trip.  We shared dinner and were blessed by Riccardo and his son Levi and their team with some games, songs and a devotion on board our first evening.  

Monday am, Morgan and I were up on deck at 5:15 am to do our quiet time and wait for the sun to rise.  Sadly, for us, this would be another opportunity for us to exercise our flexibility, as we were delayed in our departure a few hours because the sunrise was a fog rise... and again, lack of lighting on the boats caused us to sit still for a large part of the morning.  There were cheers all around as the engines began humming and we were chugging back up the river.  

There is no way to describe the site that met us when we arrived at our final destination!  We were greeted by the Shipibo villagers and a group of ladies dressed in traditional Shipibo clothing.  All waving and cheering at our arrival!  There was music playing, and we eagerly awaited the gang plank to be placed down for us to go greet this village and its people! The ladies, to the best of my understanding, are a group of villagers that stand as part greeting committee, and dancers and singers that are used in celebrations (such as our arrival) and the dedication at the church days later.  Their head bands showed the name of their "group" LAMEC, which is an acronym, but for what I never got a clear answer.  The song, we referred to as the "song that never ends" goes on as everyone dances in a circle holding hands, and swinging your arms back and forth in a wide downward arch, occasionally, rotating the the direction of the circle, or taking steps in while lifting your arms high, or taking steps back while dropping your arms.  Eventually, they form an inner circle, and I was honored to be part of that small group.  I am not going to lie though, it was hard to keep up with their enthusiasm and pace, and additionally as you can see, I am much taller than these lovely women, so I felt like they had to work extra hard to get me to move in the right direction, and make my arms do the correct moves.  But their welcome so sincere and contagious!  What an awesome experience!  

The Shipibo people are a group of indigenous people that live along the Ucayali River and have approximately 150 small villages up and down the shore line. In conversations with Riccardo, via a translator, I understood that there are many many villages that have not yet been reached along this river.  Additionally, on the second day of our trip, a small portion of our team went to another local village, that required them to take "locals" with them to gain admittance, and walked through the woods that to the mere observer would not look like a pathway to anywhere, much less a village of people. 

 The proper term for this people group is the Shipibo-Conibo  people group as these two indigenous people groups over the last several years have combined through marriages to become one.  This particular village was a little larger and was made up of 625 families.  It had been 12 years since any Americans had stepped foot in this village.  We were surprised, even though they lived in a very rural area, there was a path that by motorkar, you could reach the city of Pucullpa in three hours.  Morgan and I both got to ride in versions of this vehicle, one time pictured below, a passenger type and once in what would resemble a smallpick up truck bed, each attached to a motorcycle driven by a villager.  

Additionally, they had access to some electricity in their village, and had a cell tower.   Completely speculation on our part, but we are assuming that the village was paid handsomely to allow the cell tower to be located in their village, and as an off shoot of that there was also electric run, at least as far as to where we were working. Again, we are assuming that the electricity came with the cell tower.  None of their homes had electric, nor did the church that we built, but we could use some power tools run off generators, like the chop saw and nail guns. Since I do not speak Spanish, and the Shipibo have their own language that is not Spanish, I was unable to find anyone that could help me get the real story.  

The women of the village make textiles, do beading and make pottery.  It is unclear to me what the men of the village do, or if they are even concerned about work.  Several men were present each of our work day to help with the construction and were clearly strong, smart and willing to do hard work, but there were also many that sat and watched from the sidelines.  It seems in my conversations that the men that worked alongside of us, were men of the church congregation, but again that was not clearly confirmed for me.  

The history of the Shipibo people is one of great resistance and courage.  They were never conquered by the Incas, nor did they allow themselves to be colonized by the Spanish priests.  They live off the land and they use the provisions that are naturally provided to treat their sick,  and feed their people.  They have a strong spiritual, physical and cultural connection to the rain forest. 

Of course this is only a scratch on the surface of this amazing village and its people.  A great starting point for me as I organize my thoughts.  Many thanks to Morgan, for faithfully capturing over 4,000 photos, it will be a few days until she gets them all posted and organized, but until then, I hope you enjoyed the sneak peak!  

You can't make this stuff up! 

What is 25 Cents Worth to You?

Twenty five cents.... a quarter, two dimes and a nickel, 25 pennies, one quarter of a dollar.

Here is what 25 cents meant to Happy this week:

• It made him feel like he was part of a team! 
• It made him feel important! 
• Bragging rights, none of his other siblings have gotten raises at their jobs this year! 
• It gave him a renewed purpose for his current working position! 
• It made him feel like an adult! 
• It made him smile, like an ear to ear smile! 
• It caused him to do some math!
• It lead to great discussion about hard work and following through! 

Now, I am not going to lie, I was starting to wonder if his job was going to ever bless him with an increase to his salary.  We have had many job reviews in the past year and it seemed to me that they always found a way to skirt the issue of increasing his pay.  For a person with special needs it is hard to take an evaluation or several evaluations worth of feed back, process it, and then work on those goals while still doing your job as well as you can. Something inevitably suffers and you end up letting an area that you do well already, slip into an area that you get dinged on at your next review.  

I am grateful that Happy works somewhere that they are getting more comfortable with either the Prince or I attending meetings for discipline issue or for evaluations and reviews.  While this is not the best practice, having your mommy and daddy at work with you, it does help us help them, by reinforcing the areas of weakness and encouraging him daily at drop off on how to stay on track and not loose focus throughout the shift.  

It doesn't aways work the way we think it should, as sometimes the distractions are just too great for him to overcome, but it seems that the longer he is employed at this location, the more they are starting to see his uniquenesses and understand the limitations of what can be asked and what is understood by Happy when they are talking to him.  

All this to say, Happy got his 180 day evaluation and review this past week and at the end of the overall assessment, received a high enough score to finally get a raise!!!  I had the privilege of watching his face as he processed the news!  High fives with his manager and a smile that would not disappear from his face!  Heck, the Prince and I have done a lot of work for this raise too... I was jumping for joy inside as well! While twenty five cents to you or I may not seem like a lot, to Happy it was as if he had won the lottery!!  He could not wait to text the Prince from my phone on the way home and tell him the good news, and as soon as we got home he could not get the words out fast enough to tell the other dwarfs about his raise!  

It was nice as his mom, to reiterate how hard work, diligence and consistency pays off!  His math skills still need a little fine tuning, but he is working on his plan to become the first millionaire grocery bagger in the world!! 

Sometimes I am glad that I don't make this stuff up!