There are four districts in the city of Iquitos. Belen is one of them.
This evening we took a tour of Belen, and to summarize this district I would choose the following words:
Sewage
Poverty
Flood
Colorful
Solitude
Yep... that´s Belen.
The district is only able to be seen by canoe because almost eight feet of sewage water floods the area. There are houses with only the roof visible. As we meandered through the ¨alleyways¨ on our canoe, the children looked at us from the windows of the second story of their underwater homes, many even lacking walls and therefore windows altogether. The ninos definitely didn´t seem as joyous as the ones we had been smiling and waving at previously. Poverty was rampant. Silence hovered across the surface of the murky water. The beauty of this place shined through the colors and shapes of the laundry hanging from clotheslines, framed by the painted wood planks of the flooded homes. Colors always bring beauty, even in Belen.
Pictures will be coming... and you know how the saying goes...
I´m going to save myself some words!
Please pray that the part for our boat comes by tomorrow. We are anxious to venture into the jungle soon!!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
So little yet so much...
Today was our first clinical. Personally, the first clinical of my life.
I was ¨clueless¨ for the most part, yet at peace despite my inadequacy.
Jumping right in, I used the little Spanish I knew, as well as the help of a twelve year old boy translator, to get the history of several Peruvian mothers and their sick children.
Personal questions were flying across the table left and right, yet no one seemed to mind... the culture here is very open with no sense of what privacy even means. Very different from America.
As we started assessing the patients, I found myself just wanting to hurry up and figure out their problem, give them some medicine, and move onto the next one... but then I stopped that thinking and asked myself what good that would do. Nada. These people needed education. They needed more than that... they also needed hope. Perhaps our somewhat unorganized team provided that today. That is my prayer. I am praying that the very little that we did for them can be more of an impact that we can even comprehend... by God´s power, that is.
Oh, I could go on for hours I am sure... but this will have to do for now... the mosquitos are biting.
I was ¨clueless¨ for the most part, yet at peace despite my inadequacy.
Jumping right in, I used the little Spanish I knew, as well as the help of a twelve year old boy translator, to get the history of several Peruvian mothers and their sick children.
Personal questions were flying across the table left and right, yet no one seemed to mind... the culture here is very open with no sense of what privacy even means. Very different from America.
As we started assessing the patients, I found myself just wanting to hurry up and figure out their problem, give them some medicine, and move onto the next one... but then I stopped that thinking and asked myself what good that would do. Nada. These people needed education. They needed more than that... they also needed hope. Perhaps our somewhat unorganized team provided that today. That is my prayer. I am praying that the very little that we did for them can be more of an impact that we can even comprehend... by God´s power, that is.
Oh, I could go on for hours I am sure... but this will have to do for now... the mosquitos are biting.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Joy Joy Joy...
About noon today, while walking through the dirt paths of an area called Puchana, I felt true, deep joy for the first time on this trip... the sun was still blistering hot and the humidity almost unbearable, but the agony slipped away from me as children started walking down the path in groups of three to six... holding hands, smiling, and waving shyly to us, the "gringos." School had just apparantly gotten out (maybe just kindergarten, I am not sure), but everything about that place got so much more beautiful the moment the children entered the picturesque scene.
Their smiles were enough to bring me joy, but when a scroungy six year old boy with a grin pasted on his face from cheek to cheek started showing me his small plastic parachute man... throwing it up in the air and laughing at it... I started to feel at home in this place. He immediately became my friend the moment I said ¨Hola! Como se llama?¨ He proceeded to follow me down the dirt path, smiling, laughing, and throwing his probably one and only toy. Parents do not seem to care where their kids are or who they are with. It´s a very interesting contrast between Peruvian culture and home. I am starting to fall for it here... despite the heat!
Today we also visited another community... one that I will remember forever. The kids, again, were by far ¨mi favorito¨... their curiosity, joy, and depth. They are so innocent, most likely not knowing how poor they really are. So precious were their smiles as they intently followed us around as we asked the adults health questions about their families and the community. The ¨ninos¨ were, I am sure, watching our every move, intrigued by how different we may seem. Oh how I wish I could communicate more with them! Why didn´t I learn more Spanish before coming here?
What I kept close to my heart the entire day, however, were the words from the devotional that Paul (the leader of People of Peru) spoke to us this morning. They are from I John 3: 18 :"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." Okay, I may not have been able to use all the words I wanted to with the children I met today, but I loved them as best I could with my actions and in the truth. That truth being that God loves each and everyone of them... and my actions being perhaps as simple as a smile to demonstrate that love from the Father.
I can not wait to love through my actions tomorrow as we serve through our first medical clinical!
Their smiles were enough to bring me joy, but when a scroungy six year old boy with a grin pasted on his face from cheek to cheek started showing me his small plastic parachute man... throwing it up in the air and laughing at it... I started to feel at home in this place. He immediately became my friend the moment I said ¨Hola! Como se llama?¨ He proceeded to follow me down the dirt path, smiling, laughing, and throwing his probably one and only toy. Parents do not seem to care where their kids are or who they are with. It´s a very interesting contrast between Peruvian culture and home. I am starting to fall for it here... despite the heat!
Today we also visited another community... one that I will remember forever. The kids, again, were by far ¨mi favorito¨... their curiosity, joy, and depth. They are so innocent, most likely not knowing how poor they really are. So precious were their smiles as they intently followed us around as we asked the adults health questions about their families and the community. The ¨ninos¨ were, I am sure, watching our every move, intrigued by how different we may seem. Oh how I wish I could communicate more with them! Why didn´t I learn more Spanish before coming here?
What I kept close to my heart the entire day, however, were the words from the devotional that Paul (the leader of People of Peru) spoke to us this morning. They are from I John 3: 18 :"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." Okay, I may not have been able to use all the words I wanted to with the children I met today, but I loved them as best I could with my actions and in the truth. That truth being that God loves each and everyone of them... and my actions being perhaps as simple as a smile to demonstrate that love from the Father.
I can not wait to love through my actions tomorrow as we serve through our first medical clinical!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Cold Shower... ahhh....
Never before has a cold shower felt as good as it did in all my life!! I took one about an hour ago, and I am right back to being just as sweaty as I was... but aye aye aye... it was worth it!! =]
Iquitos is hot and humid. It's funny that you can "hear" about it all you want, but never really understand until you get here. We all feel like we are melting. It's going to be a challenge to keep the complaining to a minimum. Please pray for us!!
My favorite part of the past 24 hours was flying into Iquitos There was NOTHING BUT JUNGLE and meandering river until a few scattered huts came into view just about one minute before we landed at the airport. We truly are in the jungle, and I can't wait for the adventures to continue!!
Iquitos is hot and humid. It's funny that you can "hear" about it all you want, but never really understand until you get here. We all feel like we are melting. It's going to be a challenge to keep the complaining to a minimum. Please pray for us!!
My favorite part of the past 24 hours was flying into Iquitos There was NOTHING BUT JUNGLE and meandering river until a few scattered huts came into view just about one minute before we landed at the airport. We truly are in the jungle, and I can't wait for the adventures to continue!!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The day before...
Well... the suitcases are packed and ready to go... all 60 pounds to be precise.
It is hard to predict whether or not I will have too much, too little, or "just right" (no, my name is not Goldilocks) ... but then I ask myself... why am I predicting?
This is my outlook on this trip: Do not make predictions. Do not try to imagine what it will be like (even though this is somewhat inevitable). Do not set expectations that may or may not be fulfilled. Ok... TIME OUT. You may be thinking that this is a really negative view on my part, right? You may be thinking to yourself... "Why isn't she talking about her goals, desires, and aspirations...?" Right? Maybe I am wrong... anyway...
Here is my thought: ALLOW GOD TO DO ALL THE WORK. I am willing, yes, but I need to leave room for the Lord to work in and through my life. Lots of room. If I am (even before I leave) already caught up in what I want this trip to be and look like, how am I able to say God is the one working? I have faith and confidence that He has prepared me enough for the work I will be doing there... It is all Him and none of me. That is my prayer. Please pray for this with me.
Truth of the day: I Corinthians 3:7
"So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
It is hard to predict whether or not I will have too much, too little, or "just right" (no, my name is not Goldilocks) ... but then I ask myself... why am I predicting?
This is my outlook on this trip: Do not make predictions. Do not try to imagine what it will be like (even though this is somewhat inevitable). Do not set expectations that may or may not be fulfilled. Ok... TIME OUT. You may be thinking that this is a really negative view on my part, right? You may be thinking to yourself... "Why isn't she talking about her goals, desires, and aspirations...?" Right? Maybe I am wrong... anyway...
Here is my thought: ALLOW GOD TO DO ALL THE WORK. I am willing, yes, but I need to leave room for the Lord to work in and through my life. Lots of room. If I am (even before I leave) already caught up in what I want this trip to be and look like, how am I able to say God is the one working? I have faith and confidence that He has prepared me enough for the work I will be doing there... It is all Him and none of me. That is my prayer. Please pray for this with me.
Truth of the day: I Corinthians 3:7
"So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
Monday, May 11, 2009
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