Rain, rain, rain

This last Saturday, we walked to church with the preconceived notion that it would not dare to rain. I do believe even Kelly ventured to say, “I do not think that it has EVER rained on us going to church,” which were some famous last words. Church started out normal. The clouds started bellowing in from afar. The sky turned from a silvery grey to a tar black. The wind came first and then came the torrential downpour. The wind blew so forcefully that a house in front of the church actually collapsed during the storm (fortunately no one was inside).

Our church only has one wall –well technically it is only half a wall (it is not quite finished). Our little congregation stopped the service, crowded into the middle of the church, and hoped to wait it out. It was at this point in time that Kelly politely reminded me, “Hey Aaron, I think we left the back windows open.” Note: when the back windows are open during a rainstorm, water enters our room like a raging river.

I quickly located a scooter, jumped on, emptied my pockets of anything valuable, and headed for home. Scooters have absolutely no traction in mud. I skidded all over the road. I went from nice church attire to soaked and dirty in a matter of seconds. I rushed home was more like it. I pulled out the keys from my pocket, but due to my pockets now being full of water, it took a few seconds to get them out. After finally opening the gate, I ran to our room. I finally got inside, threw off my shoes, ran to the back window, and wouldn’t you know, everything was completely dry. There was hardly even a midst coming through the windows. The heavens were letting loose, but nothing entered our room. Everything that I had done was in vain.

I quickly changed; tossed my soaking clothes in the shower, put some new clothes, put on my boots grabbed my raincoat along with 5 others, and headed out the door. I decided to walk balk due to the condition of the road. By the time I got to within 5 minutes of the church, the rain had stopped, and everyone was walking back. Again, everything had been done in vain.

Here Kelly and Tatelyn pose for a shot after finding it easier to walk barefoot in the mud that in shoes.

Here is the house that collapsed.

Here are some ladies singing ¨Showers of Blessings.¨ It was rather comical.

Sarah Leaves Soon!

It´s been awesome having Sarah here with us. Here is a picture of her with all the girls on her last Saturday night here. She leaves on Wednesday.

Photos!

Gabi, the girl in the very back, is one of our newer girls.

Sarai decided to teach Marcos after recently learning to ride the bike herself. Adorable.

Kelly got up the courage to FINALLY hold the baby. Although, she was tecnically forced to do it.

Here is our newest girl, Meri. She is the proud mother of Vivian, the girl Kelly is holding in the above picture.

Another adorable photo of Vivian.

Here we have the famed Kevin. He is overly eccstatic to be through with his charcoal treatment.

This is a giant bass that someone gave us. It tasted sooo good.

Our dog Lolita is being bathed. She actually loves it.

Again, Vivian in the camera. She was making the funniest faces when the camera flashed.

Here is a great family shot while my mother was still here.

Reunited at last. It was great having my mom here.

Here is another of our new girls, Briggith (on the right).

Sarah got caught working in the kitchen with Kristi.

My mom was so kind, she helped us out with some of our clothes. Reminds me of the good ´ole days when I was a kid.

Sarah is conducting class with the little kids.

Peruvian Independance, July 28

Last year we were unable to celebrate the holiday because of the H1N1 scare, so we really had no idea what to expect. This year, with all swine flu scares aside, we went on as scheduled. The girls all participated this year. The school had each class choose some sort of theme, and then march around the plaza here in Santo Tomas. They decided to celebrate it on the 26^th and proceeded to do nothing on the 28^th –the only reason we can think of is because they wanted a longer vacation. A two week vacation was in order for the school, so the teachers decided to celebrate everything on a Sunday, as opposed to the actual holiday, Tuesday, in order that they did not have to come back to work during the week…

Here are some great photos of our kids.

L:R Ana Victoria, Gabriela, Sarai and Vanessa


Here are two of our girls, Briggith and Milagros (two middle girls in the photo).

Marcos is one of the Spidermen. I am almost certain he is the one upfront, totally releshing his role. You can just tell by his walk.

Here were some adorable kindergarteners performing their military role incredibly.

Youth Campout

This last week some of our girls participated in a youth campout for Iquitos through the church. They left on a Tuesday and came back on Sunday. My sister was also able to accompany them for a few days –she came back early due to some food poisoning… I am not exactly sure on the numbers, but I would say close to 150 kids came from all over Iquitos –quite a feat considering there was an $18 entrance fee per person (which is a lot of money down here).

The days started early, 5 am, and then continued on until about 10:30 pm. The girls came back exhausted. They girls seemed to enjoy their time getting to know other Christians around Iquitos as well as feeling a closer connection to God. Here are some photos:

Here is a group shot.
My sister Sarah with Maybeth.

A swim race in the pond.

Some sort of game. No idea, but it looks fun.

Last but not least, the bathrooms. They were just holes in the ground. Sarah could not get over it.
Here, Sarah got to take a photo with a famous christian musical artist named Evelyn (far left).

Held Up

So, last week I was headed to an ATM to withdraw some cash. I was fairly focused on my objective, so I ignorantly ignored the two men standing outside the glass door. As I approached, both men pulled out their guns, pointed them up at me and said, “Sir, can you wait 5 more minutes to use the ATM?” Like anyone else in that sort of situation, I replied, “Well of course. Take 10 if you want.” The gentlemen were changing over the cash in the ATM’s. I should have noticed the bright yellow armored truck parked out front, or how they were both in uniform, Kevlar vest, talking on their radios, etc….

The Epidemic

That´s right, an epidemic bullied its way through our household...and the greater metropolitan area of Santo Tomas and Union. What was it? I tell you: PINKEYE! It started out simple (perhaps an eyelash in the eye?), then exploded into mayhem over the next several days. Within the week all of our girls and workers and volunteers (a number of about 25) had pinkeye except for 4. We soon discovered that most of the community had it as well.

Now for the interesting part. Everyone had a magical remedy that worked, supposedly. Here is a brief rundown of the various suggestions given to the girls in various encounters:

1. Antibacterial eyedrops: My first suggestion, but proven ineffective.
2. Achiote leaves: My personal favorite due to its natural charm. Google achiote and you will discover this plant has a huge list of medicinal properties, including a phlem that relieves conguntivitis. Way to go, Amazonia. We have one in our back property. Still fairly ineffective, unless healing takes about 5 days.
3. Eye ointment from the pharmacy: My next suggestion, which felt like it should be effective since it burned...but still didn´t work any miracles.
4. Breast milk: Yeah, one of our workers tried that while I was investigating the proper application of the eye ointment. I asked what the white liquid was, and found out it was from our currently nursing mother. Weird.
5. Iced Tea: I think it is just the cold that eases the irritation, but they are convinced that it is only the manzanilla tea and the one that smells like Fruit Loops. Still didn´t work very fast.
6. Coconut milk: Better to drink, I think.
7. Lemon: By this time I had it and felt hopeless to any remedy. I let the girls try whatever natural thing they wanted to try. Squeezing fresh lemons into the eye (just a drop) sounded painful—and was confirmed to be painful! I decided to wait and see if it worked before I would try. Good thing I waited—pain for nothing.
8. Urine: A motorcar driver suggested it and I vetoed it…but I think Keyla tried it later…if she did, it didn´t work.

We have all recovered, or almost recovered. In the end, it was viral so it didn´t really matter what remedy we used. The next time you get pinkeye, just take a look at this list and take your pick! Enjoy!

Aaron´s Birthday

Aaron turned 24 on July 10. The girls egged him, as is tradition, made him some cake, sang to him and then we all went out for chicken and rice at our beloved Kikiriki. It was an awesome night.

Monkey Island and Boras with family

Due to the great holiday, Teacher´s Day, we took advantage of no school to go touring with family. Here are some pics of our trip. We have visited this Bora tribe several times and are friends.

Walter (a common name here...I believe it comes from the Cocama dialect) and me.

Us with the Boras. Arthur is shirtless...because he traded the shirt on his back for an item. Classy.
Michael and his needy "friend". Pretty funny. Wouldn´t recommend crutches at Monkey Island.
Herkie´s fiancé, Ariana. She has the same coloring as our son! Just less hair.
Aaron with this cute baby Choro!!! Pooped on him, but still so cute!!!!

4th of July

The missionaries in Iquitos area threw a 4th of July pool party. It was awesome. Potato salads, sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, iced tea...it was like being at home!!!

Arrivals and Departures

We apologize for the blog drought. We have had many people come and go in the past month and we´d like to give a breif review.

Good news: THE JENSENS ARRIVE!!!

Bad news: The Jensens depart...

Good news: The Jensens will come back!!!

We never officially introduced the Jensens. This particularly tall, blonde family arrived fromFlorida early May to replace Casey and Lisa. Kathi has been here along with her three

children, Michael, Kristi and Matthew. They are an awesome family and we are privileged to have them here. Just last week they returned to the States to register their eldest son for school. They will return late August with husband/dad, David. We are looking forward to their return.

Good news: Richard is awesome and helped us a lot in the past many many months.

Bad news: Richard departed. Bye Richard!

Good news: Arthur came and even got a nickname! Arturo Maduro

Bad news: Arthur left. ¡Chau Arturo Maduro!

Our dearly rugged friend, Arthur Ordelheide came to visit for about 6 weeks. He brought so much enthusiasm and joy…and cinnamon rolls! All day he practiced Spanish with the girls and the neighbors; every trip into town he said “hola” to every driver and passenger he saw; every afternoon he tutored math to the neighborhood kids and played soccer; every Friday he “got his roll on” making cinnamon rolls for Friday dinner.

Good news: Aaron´s mom and sister came!!!

Bad news: Becky already left...

Good news: Sarah is here until mid-August!!!

The girls will forever remember Becky´s joy and contagious laugh. I will help them remember it. Hahahaha! ;) Sarah is continuing the children´s program, teaching them some songs and words in English. Nice, Sarah!
Good news: Wilson and Danika arrive!! They will be here until early August.