Comeback

Some of you know that "The Princess Bride" is one of my favorite movies. I'm mostly a fan of Inigo Montoya's quest for the 6 fingered man who killed his father, but if ROUS's want to make a comeback, I'm all for it. The photo below was taken by a friend while visiting the high jungle city of Tingo Maria. They were looking in another direction, when her sister said, "What is THAT?" She whipped out her camera to catch this shot. We're all still wondering many things, not the least of which is, who taught that Rodent Of Unusual Size how to HOLD ON to a person on a bicycle?!!

Reaching the Amazon

In the Peruvian jungle, there are dozens of ethnic groups, and in the first part of October, I got to facilitate at a workshop for Christian leaders from 6 of those groups. I can't explain how cool it was, turning to your right and meeting someone from a culture and language so beautiful and so different from your own, and then turning to your left and meeting someone from yet another completely different culture. Then, standing behind him, is someone from a third...and this keeps on going around the room. I was also kind of star struck because these guys hail from people groups I have only read about, deep in the heart of the Amazon region. You know, the kind where you have to swing your machete to clear a path to walk through the jungle.

Missions has been a mostly foreign-led effort here for decades. Now the Peruvian church is growing and sending missionaries themselves, even within their own country. Instead of depending on an overseas agency and staff, the three organizations at this workshop were 100% local folks. They are self-starting and self-supporting, and their goal is to reach their "neighbors" for the Lord and to see those communities transformed because of Christ.

Here in the Amazon, reaching out to a neighboring people group can take more effort and sacrifice than a trip out of the country. It often takes days of strenuous travel, learning an unrelated language, and being prepared to face dangers from drug traffickers and other smugglers. Venturing to Africa might actually be easier, but these guys are getting it done!

Our workshop was designed to help each organization solidify their vision and then plot a course of action which will allow them to see their ultimate goal (hopefully God's ultimate goal!) realized in the communities they serve. To teach this "results-based management" style, we used a lot of practical analogies and examples, including an illustration involving the wheelbarrows below and lots of splashing water--no one complained about that in the over 100 degree weather!

I was a facilitator for the group MINAP, Misión Integrál Nativa de la Amazonía Peruana (which translates to the Holistic Native Mission of the Peruvian Amazon). They are the first missionary-sending agency run by leaders indigenous to the Amazon. At our table alone, we represented 5 distinct cultures and languages, but that didn't stop us from working together, getting a huge amount of planning done, and seeing God move as we sought Him throughout the process. Here's a picture of us on the last day and you can see their organizational plan laid out on the board behind us. Please pray today that God would continue to empower and provide for the ministry of MINAP.

Jungle 101

Weather: Hot and sticky like you forgot to leave the fogged up bathroom after your shower

Flora & Fauna: Even within the city limits of Pucallpa, the largest city around, it's lush and green, and there are butterflies, birds, free-roaming pigs, and sounds in the night that I could never identify.

Surprising fact: Peru is 2/3 jungle, the popularity of the Andes leading to the assumption that Peru is mostly mountainous.

Streets: 1/2 paved, the other half are red dirt roads - "Pucallpa means 'red dirt'" and it is red, everywhere!

Transportation: Mostly by moto-taxi, half motorcycle, half covered backseat, that lets the red dust in, but not the sun

Languages: Dozens of people groups and languages separated by hard-to navigate Amazonian rain forest

Food: Fried plantains (bananas), lots of crazy fruit, fish, palm heart salad, cocona salsa...

People: Even more warm and friendly, lots of music, flowers, offers of help, low crime rates, but struggles with poverty, familial abuse, and justice (just my opinion)

Why was I there? I got to facilitate at a workshop for the leaders of 3 indigenous missions groups. More on that in my next blog.

Amazon Bible Dedication

I never thought I'd get to spend more than 1 night in the jungle (remember Tingo Maria a few weeks ago?). Then I got invited to attend a New Testament dedication on the Chambira River, deep in the northern Amazon region of Peru. What an honor! We flew from Lima to Iquitos on Easter Sunday morning and traveled by boat for 2 days to reach the Urarina village of Nueva Esperanza. For two days we were docked at the village, spending time with the Urarina, dedicating the New Testament, and participating in the first church service in this village.

It had been 10 years since Ron and Phyllis had been able to visit the home of the Urarina. The story of their almost 60 years with the Urarina, recovery from life-theatening illnesses and accidents, and the sacrifice of their Urarina translators demonstrate how this New Testament and this dedication trip were miracles not accomplished by human hands.

Scroll through more of my pictures for more of the Amazon and the Bible dedication by CLICKING HERE. (Clicking on the first picture will let you see it a little larger and give you the caption too.)

Works of Art

Butterflies are everywhere in the jungle! I had to chase after these and take about 30 pix to get these shots. Thank goodness for digital cameras!

It's a Jungle out there!

Last weekend I spent my first night in the jungle! Traveling down the eastern slope of the Andes, we reached Tingo Maria in just 3 hours.

We spent about 30 minutes waiting for these two bus drivers who were nose to nose in the middle of landslide debris. I heard that's not very long to wait for someone to back up. Ironically they were from the same bus company, but neither driver felt he should be the one to move. You can imagine that nobody gets very far down the road when cars are line d up single file yet facing both directions!

Emily and Katie, two friends who work with Paz y Esperanza (see blog about the River Swing), came with the Bensons and I. It was a great break from "the routine", which doesn't feel much like a routine yet. :) I'll post more jungle pix and stories soon!