Day 42... But really I'm still talking about day 41

Hey all :)

I wanted to start by continuing my post from yesterday... You see yesterday I gave in to my tiredness... I'm beginning to understand this experience... Now as I face it's conclusion... It has manifested it's self over the last few days with uncontrollable tears and a deep fear that I will somehow loose what I've learned here, once I leave this place...

Yesterday my body decided that since I have taken to ignoring it's need to cry, rest and process, none of which I am willing to do yet because that would mean my time here has ended and I just don't think I will know what to do with myself once that happens.... Well my body has decided to retaliate by manifesting my stress and emotional fears into the physical realm, a realm not easily ignored... I'm sick, mentally and physically exhausted, and completely emotional overwhelmed... But take heart I will not serenader, this experience is not over yet.... And now I'm beginning to understand that it will not end Saturday, it will go home with me, and continue to live and grow... Grow as I process all I have seen and come to know about the Lord, his world, and his message... The real struggle starts once I leave this place... Once I'm home, and have to begin to process what it is to truly live the life Christ has called me to in my own terms...

Last night I almost passed on an amazing experience, I've found myself bitter as of late, angry that I have to leave this place, when their is still five more weeks of work here yet to be done... I found myself sad that the amazing experiences and exchanges will continue long after I have left this place... Then I am astounded by how prideful and arrogant that idea is .... Of course this work should continue here once I have gone, of course I am sad to go and leave the work in someone else's hands, but they are capable hand, they are hands that love the lord with all their heart, and they are hands that will ensure Gods love and message continues. I now understand my job is to try and grasps that I am only a small part of this great experience and the true challenge God has set before me... Is to take the lessons, skills, and message I have learned down here and become a missionary in my own community, in my own home, and in my own heart... Because really God is calling each and everyone of us to live a missional life of service and love. Service and love for any and all who are in need, even if that need is not always know or acknowledged, whether it be across the globe or in our own backyards...


Anyways... Enough with the deep and emotional, I'm supposed to be telling you about what happened last night, after our day of work we went out to dinner, I'm not going to lie, I was a little exhausted and worn out from our day spent running around, I knew we had agreed to participate in the prayer service with the church next-door but... Honestly the idea didn't trill me... Don't get me wrong I knew it would be wonderful... As their services always are, but I also knew that it would be quite long... Like crazy long... Service in Peru generally are a minimum of two hours, generally more... And I knew how tired I was... And that my nose was running and my throat was sore and that I'd probably sneeze throughout the entire service, which I did, and each sneeze notified me more than the last because I felt that with every sneeze I distracted everyone more and more... But one Gods talents is humbling us... And oh how I was humbled... As we gathered with the 15 or so members gathered they prayed for their families, and health, and the future... But they also prayed for the sweet American girl who couldn't stop sneezing... The girl they said came down to worship with them despite illness... Illness really it's a head cold... A mild one at that... Yes it's annoying but really if my biggest problem is a little sneezing I think I'm in good shape.... They gathered around us when closing the service and prayed as a congregation for our safety and health and asked God to make us be successful in all our endeavors... talk about humbling... People who struggle everyday to just get by, people who rely entirely on God to provide...provide For their needs... Took the time during their prayer meeting when they could be praying about their own problems to pray for the Americans... Who came down to visit and do some minor construction... Really, humbling... Message received lord... Even when it could be easy to feel sorry for myself and indulge in self-pity, brought about through "illness", I am reminded that million, maybe even billions of people have less than me and most likely always will, and yet they still take time out to pray for us...

We gave the pastor's wife Graciela the supplies we bought for their bible school, and she was so moved by our generosity that she said that she would bring over a chocolate cake for dessert after our dinner... Their generosity is astounding even when it seems they have nothing to spare... They give graciously and happily, it real is remarkable...

As someone who loves closure, it seems all too perfect that today we went to Nvo Valentin, you see it was our first village, and it turns out it will be my last... At least my last for this years trip, I already know in my heart that I will find my way back to this place... One way or another I will wander the jungles of Peru once more... But that s for another blog, some other time... Lol. The symbolism between starting and ending in the same village is remarkable, it was like returning home once more, except this time I'm acutely aware that I enter this place as a different person, it's amazing but I'm already overwhelmed by how much I've grown and been changed by my experience over these last six weeks...

We came to Nvo Valentin today to delivery water purification buckets, they were ordered by the partner church from First Scotts Presbyterian in Charleston SC, but were not delivery to Iquitos till after the group had returned to the US... So the group from Chapin got to take them out today:) I have to admit it was fitting to have my last boat ride up the amazon be the one that gave me an hour and a have to wrestle with my emotions and feelings surrounding my leaving this place, and this experience behind me... It was a neat to see some of my favorite kids again, Fatima and Alex... At least behind me figuratively because I believe this experience will be at the forefront of everything I do from now on, or at least I hope it is...

Today I made the executive decision that once I've left this place, once I'm gone from the place that now begins to claim a part of my soul, that I will work through and share some of the deep things I've been working through this summer, with all of you... To share with you the spoils of the Labor of Love, I have toiled out this summer, so be on the look out for more blog posts after my physical departure on Saturday, I say physical because I know now, with out a doubt that, part of my heart will remain in Peru forever...

Location:Iquitos, Peru

Day 40 and 41 Monday and Tuesday :)

Hey all :)
Sorry I'm late in posting, our Lake Murray Group from Chapin SC, is looking to partner with the First Presbyterian church of Iquitos... So we've been sticking close to El Jardin, seeing as the First Presbyterian church of Iquitos is right next door... The men have been working with the construction team on the new building, the pastor research center. They continue with demolition of the old rumble from the old building.

On Monday I assisted the other women in the group do some yard work, we raked up some leafs, and scrubbed the sidewalks that were covered in moss.

Today we went out to purchase some materials for the Sunday school program next door, we got paper and pencils, crayons, scissors, stickers, and all other little goodies, then we went out and bought sewing supplies for a recreational center for elderly woman in Iquitos, we had a nice time :)

Tomorrow we head out to Nvo Valentin to disturb water buckets, weather permitting... I can't believe I'm leaving on Saturday.

That's all for now.

Sorry for the delay, and my brevity... I'm not really feeling well, I'm getting a cold.... So I may not be all too descriptive, bare with me :)

Location:Iquitos, Peru

Day 37, Day 38, and Day 39 we say goodbye and hello, and go to the zoo

Hey all :)

On Friday, we said goodbye to the second half of the First Presbyterian Group from Huntington VW, I was very sad to see them go, after two weeks with members from their church, its almost like joining the congregation :)

So here's to all my long lost Huntington friends :) you are all so generous and friendly and truly made us a part of their fellowship, and you all were so generous with us, and we loved working with you, it was an amazing experience for me to see the partner church relationship at y'alls phase, because you have deep emotional connections to the people of Gallito you love them and they love you, and through those connections Gods love truly shines... I was privileged to be a part of it, I've been so very privileged this whole experience meeting all these amazing men, women, and young people going out and doing the lords work that I can't imagine leaving this experience behind me, so I want to take a minute and thank y'all for the deep impressions you have made on my experience here...
I wrote out a draft of this, where I thanked each of you by name for the amazing experience you allowed me to become a part of these last two weeks, but instead I'm just going to list the many things that I experienced with y'all that I am thankful for...
Thank y'all for your ability to make me laugh like a fool, with their strategy of just adding an "O" to the end of ever word to make it Spanish, which we learned didn't actually work all that well... but more importantly thanks for radiating your love for these people and this place :)
Thank you for your shared kind smile and jump rope :) which I'm happy to report I use everyday :)
thank you for sharing your passion and organization with me and giving me some great bible school craft ideas...
Thank you for making me smile every minute even as we ventured from pharmacy to pharmacy looking for children's victims, y'all exude a happiness that should be bottled and sold...
Thank you For the opportunity to learn Rooke and perfected my appreciation of UNO :) I plan on teaching my family once I'm back stateside...
Thanks You for sharing your "America's favorite cookies" the real Oreo, and teaching me peanuts, which although is another card game I'm terrible at... I will go home and teach my family...
Thank you for your passion for and discomfort with the situation down here, you manage to inspire us all to examine every minute.
Thank you to the amazing women I painted and played with... Y'all are amazing :) I had so much fun getting to know y'all and seeing the lord work his message and spread his love through y'all
Thank to the amazing men, who labored tirelessly to do the jobs I could have never done.
Thank you to the people who organize this trip and continue to organize future trips it is through y'alls dedication that relationships are formed and bridges built... Bridges that start in the US to Peru, from Huntington to Gallito :)

It's relationships like the one y'all have that made me want to come down here and I'm so privileged to be a part of that, so thanks for showing me the amazing bonds you've formed...

Friday in general was an amazing day for me because I got to see a whole new side of Pam's missionary service work down here in Peru... After me and Pam left the airport, we went to visit another pastors family, Pastor Herman from Santa Clara, it's the pastor whose church is partnered with Pam own church in Spartanburg, and its a partnership that has existed for, I believe 13 years now. The love exchanged in those walls, watching Pam, truly at work.... Working at comforting, consoling and communicating with the pastors wife not just as the missionary in residence but as a missionary who has become one of this women's nearest an dearest friends, the experience was eye opening because i finally got to see what Pam sends here time doing when all the american mission teams go home, the experience was one of my most amazing experiences down here to date... Pastor Herman's wife confided in Pam over the pressure some pastors families experience, pressure created by the critical review they receive from their parishioners. I'm not going to discuss the personal nature of this woman struggle because I was a guest to this conversation, a mere fly on the wall of a Great personal struggle, she grieving a deep personal loss and struggling with the understanding that humanity is imperfect and bound to fail, even the section of humanity who knows better, who are educated in the way of the lord, even the every family members of pastors... It was amazing to see Pam at work relating the loving message of God to this Peruvian woman who was clearing struggling. I'll be praying for her and her family.

After all of the Huntington group made it out of the airport and all our other work was done... We were exhausted so we all turned in a little early to ready ourselves for the Lake Murray group from Chapin SC, they arrived early on Saturday morning... We collected them from the airport it being only five of them... our week seems like it will be filled with tons of time getting to know each of them personally

We had lunch toured El Jardin and the city of Iquitos, and then had dinner and gave them a little time to themselves... All in all they seem very nice and excited to get to work, they'll be working on the new pastors research center building and exploring the possibility of partnering with the First Presbyterian Church of Iquitos, so we'll spend a good amount of time with them this week.

Today Sunday, July 10th my 39th day in Iquitos is my last Sunday I will spend here this summer, and I'm completely in nots about it... I fly out of Iquitos next saturday July 16th.... I'm not ready to leave this amazing place, but I press forward knowing my time here has not ended yet :)

Today we went back to the Cista Coche Zoo :) sorry to disappoint you but their won't be any ant pictures this time, actually I didn't even bring my camera so their won't be any pictures at all... We had a nice time, I enjoyed returning to it on a weekend because their were a ton more people their and it really came alive today :) then we went out for a lovey lunch and are going to do some odds and ends now, before dinner and church this evening... It's been a pretty amazing day :)

I ask all of you to please pray for Villa, (pronounced Vija) our amazing handyman here at El Jardin, he has Stones in his gallbladder, they need to operate but they have to wait because he has a bad case of gastritis, and they won't operate on him if he has an infection... Please pray for him, his health and his fast recovery!!!

Location:Iquitos Peru

Day 36 the last day in Gallito

Hey all :)

Thursday was my last day in Gallito, it was an amazing day, but a sad one in the end... We went out and did a little more painting, we painted the church, painted faces, painted nails... We even finger painted :)

We had a really good day :) we finished off with bubbles and sidewalk caulk at the school yard, we also played soccer and foursquare. It was really fun :)

Here are some pictures....


The kids were waiting for us right when we got there...



We painted tons of faces... Big and little


They taught us their favorite games...


We drew with sidewalk caulk...


They were happy to see us...


And we love Gallito :)


Several of the kids drew us pictures... Claudio gave this one to me


When We left Gallito the children and several adults lined the banks and waved us away...

Ok now comes the part I've been avoiding the emotional part, I'm not gonna lie I had made an executive decision that I would not cry in front of the kids... And as he often does the lord laughed at my plans, I held back tears all day as I got hugs and te queiros from the kids, I held back tears when they drew me pictures or wrote out my name in hearts on the sidewalk ...



I only really lost it when I saw the tears in Laura's eyes... She'd already told me she'd miss me, and that she would pray for me... That's when I lost it, this little girl 12 years old, in the middle of the Peruvian jungle is praying for me, never in my life have I experienced something so humbling... I have more now than Laura will probably have in her whole life, but she wants to pray for me, and to pray that she'll be able to see me again

I have no words... Still

Pray for the amazing people of Iquitos :) pray that I can remain strong enough to handle their amazing capacity to love unconditionally and give so generously,

Stay tuned

Location:Iquitos Peru

Day 35 oh Gallito

Hey all :)

Not gonna lie today was hard on me... Its our second to last day in Gallito and all the little faces I've grown to know and love.... Just reminded me of how hard our goodbyes are going to be...

Instead of the usual play by play that I give y'all, I'm going to focus more on the amazing people I have fallen in love with...

Today like the rest of the days we've been in Gallito this week, we worked under the church, I'm happy to report we finished our project... And changed out every support post under that church, we celebrated a little in cultural victory with a path on the back, and a muy Buen from the pastor :)

Today on the children front it was all about face paint :) I can attest because I painted I even still have a little on my face... Semi permanent not so semi... Jk it's
fine... just leaves a tiny stain, but it's fading fast :)

Then it was off for more games and adventures... We even thought them baseball basic :) they were actually really good at it...

Here are some pictures :)


Look at all that paint :)



Selenie and Laura puts their hands and names on the banner that will eventually make it back to Huntington :)


Elise :) painting faces...

My incredible people portion of the entry..

Y'all hang in there with me because I'm already crying... I can't let all this build for tomorrow's entry cause I won't be able to get it all out... So here it goes sentimental and emotional... But honest and from the depths of my heart...




Pam :) with Rochelle age 17 months (I believe) ... I can't yet sum up into words the inspiration God has given to me through Pam McAbee McCraw... She is amazing, and with her guidance and conversation I have begun to understand just how deep I want my relationship with God to go... She has help me through things this summer, that I didn't even know I was struggling with, she radiates a love for this place, for these people that infectious, and If I leave Peru with nothing more than that infectious love for this place, then I go home richer... Than I could have ever imagined...




Laura age 12... My quoted best friend in Gallito, today we went from saying te quiero to her saying te amo... I sobbed. Because I knew from the depths of my heart that she meant it, and that pure unconditional genuine love comes through Christ and Christ alone... She is amazing and I already miss her... She is very artistic and smart, but more than anything she loves sports... She an amazing soccer player, better than most of the boys in Gallito and they all always want her on their team... Pray for my dear friend she's one in four children in her family she has one brother and two sisters, just like me... But she will probably never leave the village she was born in... Never go to college, or see the world beyond her amazon paradise...




Selenie age 13 my other friend near and dear to my heart, the oldest of three girls and the brightest little girl I think I've met to date, she was always the first to answer my questions in bible school, the first to volunteer to do... Well basically anything, and the first person to run up to me the second day I was in Gallito and say Natalia, we missed you, and give me a hug... She reminds me so much of myself it's crazy and I can't imagine leaving her amazing smile behind... Pray for Selenie, pray all her dreams come true, whether they be big or small
I have fallen in love with this family... Here she is with her two little sisters...



Selenie age 13, Miriam age 7 and Ami Paulina age 4... They remind me so much of my sisters, it's crazy...




This is Miriam and Ami again... They are angels who I would whisk back to the US in a heartbeat... Miriam looks after Ami like a mother goose watches her goslings it's remarkable the care and compassion she shows blows me away... She is also quite a cuddle muffin and let's be honest children like that were made for me...




Me and Miriam


My little Ami :)




Esmeralda age 6 and Estefanie age 10

They are not sisters or related in anyway to my knowledge but Ben has taken to driving poor Estefanie crazy... Apparently the first day she was shy around him or something and every since he rags on her... Telling her don't worry I'll be back, I know you'll miss me... Every time she walks into a room... Ben calls out don't worry I'm right over here... I know you were looking for me... It's actua
Ly kind of hilarious :) she is less than amused and avoids him... With a playful smile... Her little brother has quickly become one of my favorite men...




Samuel age 5 is adorable and quiet... Till a game starts and then he's the loudest kid around :)

Now comes the little boy who melted my heart so that I literally picked him up today and touted him back to my bench shouting "I claim this one! Bids! His mine! I'm taking him back with me! Hello everyone meet my future son..."




Meet my Claudio :) age 6 and the cutest little boy in all of Peru... We met e first day when James demonstrated to the lovely Peruvian children that I was quite ticklish... Well that's how our great relationship of tickle wars began... He walks by me and tickles... He runs by me and tickles :) heck he sits on me and tickles... He was the first little person to say te quiero to me.. And his picture and the heart on which he wrote those words will hang in my room once I'm stateside... He is the son I hope to one day have... He has a life and a smile I would trade every piece of gold I could ever hope to earn for... I'm in love :)




My man... He's trouble... a trickster who plays great soccer for someone not yet three feet tall, climbs trees like he was born in them, someone who very seldom wears shoes... To my dismay... He gives the best hugs :) hugs that make me feel some warm inside that I think I finally begin to understand why my mom hugs me so much... Saying goodbye to him tomorrow will be the hardest... I will sob I'm sure... But I know that he will be fine under Gods watchful eye... Pray for my Claudio, pray for him that he life may be full and happy :)

Pray for the children of the jungle, pray for the Amazon :)
And pray for me that I can manage to keep it together tomorrow enough to enjoy my day, the day God intends for me to remember for many years, as the day not that I say goodbye to those I've grown to love, but the day I remember that I will see them again on this side or the other, because Gods love unites us, across miles, across language and cultural barriers, across what seems like the whole world... But it unites forever, together in Gods love:)

Stay tuned :)

Sorry if I made you cry, if it makes you feel better my pillow is soaked...

Location:Iquitos, Peru

Day 34 Tuesday in Gallito

Hey all :)

Sorry this is late, Tuesday once we got back from Gallito I went with some of the people from Huntington to help them do a little shopping... Then after dinner and devotions the ranggled me into playing cards... Then me and Pam sat down for one of our amazing chats and before we new it it was midnight, and that a problem when your getting up at 6:15...

Tuesday was amazing :) when we first got to Gallito we started working on replacing the posts under the church, the men went about digging the holes, cutting the beams, and then nailing them in place, but mind you this all took place in about five feet of space under the church... If you've ever tried to dig a hole on your knees... Then you can understand that the fact that they got 23 posts in the ground in about four hours is crazy, I worked with the women painting the posts with ceriasoak which is a termite preventative... They mix it with gasoline... So the fumes were strong to say the least ;) but even though we spent the morning crawling around under the church, we had a really good time, I teamed up with this girl from Huntington named Elise, and together we tag team to finish our posts the fastest this aloud us to do more painting :) we would claim three posts ahead of the one we were painting and no one could stop us because by they time they were done with there one post we had painted two :) the health competition kept us moving and helped us keep painting even after we realized we were doing a better job of painting ourselves, than the wood :)









After lunch we had craft time with the children, we did leaf rubbings of some of the amazon leafs and made butterflies to hang around the room :)







then we headed to the school yard to play some games, we did an egg and soup race... We played soccer, actually we got clobbered by the small Peruvian children, who are better athletes at seven then will ever be in my whole life lol... We ALS taught them how to play four square :)

I've been battling my feelings lately... I'm almost to the point where I will begin to get very anxious to see my family... To head back to my real life and leave the miracles of the Amazon jungle behind me... But even the thought of doing that makes me physically ill... How can I go about leaving a place, for which I have fallen in love... I love the noises on the street, I love the feel of the water, I love the culture, the food, the people... THE CHILDREN!!!

The thought of leaving this place pains me so much that, it literally feels like Iquitos will owe a piece of my heart forever... The reason I've been battling with my feelings is because I've convinced myself that my wanting to stay here somehow lessens my longing to go home... I've felt so guilty recently because I given away pieces of my heart to people I've just met, and yet I have an entire family at home anxiously awaiting my return...

On the boat ride in today from Gallito had my headphones in listening to whatever and then God threw me a bone... Mark Harris's Find your wings started to play... My mom put it on my graduation CD and it made it onto my iPod just for this opportunity the lyrics are listed below...

It's only for a moment you are mine to hold
The plans that heaven has for you
Will all too soon unfold
So many different prayers I'll pray

For all that you might do
But most of all I'll want to know
You're walking in the truth
And if I never told you, I want you to know
As I watch you grow

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things

I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings

May passion be the wind
That leads you through your days
And may conviction keep you strong
Guide you on your way

May there be many moments
That make your life so sweet
Oh, but more than memories

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things

I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings

It's not living if you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off
But I'll cheer as you fly

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things

I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings


And I realized that my parents, my family raised me to someday go out and better the world. And this summer is the first of hopefully many opportunities to go out and do just that :) I feel much better about my feelings now, but I still can't imagine leaving this place, and I grow more and more homesick as the days get close to my departure from this amazing place :)

I think Pam put it best in our conversation last night, your heart changes down here it grows and swells and part of it will always remain here... Calling you back :)

Stay tuned :)

Location:Iquitos, Peru

Day 33 back to Gallito I go...

Hey all :)

I'm feeling much better today :) and we had an amazing day out in Gallito today :)

We hit the ground running when we got there... The Huntington team continued to replace the support piers under the church that are being eaten away by termites.... I assisted some of the other ladies in painting the the new post with a termite resist coating... It was kind of messy :) as painting always is in Peru :) and I may have another wardrobe causality... Oh well such is life...

After we finished painting all the replacement boards it was time for lunch, and after lunch we moved on to bible school... This week bible school will morph into almost a form of sports adventure camp :) under the fearless direction of Allison :)

We started off today by decorating crosses with our names and pictures of things we are thankful for... The cross are made by a member of e Huntington Congregation from West Virginia and were donated to the mission team :) The kids loved it and wore them the rest of the day...








My handsome Claudio is my new favorite little person, I would totally take him home with me if I wasn't completely sure that his mother would have me arrested for kidnapping if I tried :) he's her only child and you can totally tell...

He is the sweetest thing and always starts a tickle war with me...

After finished up with our crosses we played some field games here are some pictures...





Our crazy group :)




Pre-kickball




They getting ready for the relay race...



Claudio on the slack line :) he was really good at it

It was a really neat day :) and these kids are so amazing














That's all forks stay tuned

Location:Iquitos Peru