Week one update

Well, we have lived in Yurimaguas a little over a week, and what a first week it was. Here are some of the highlights and low lights.

We spent a lot of time this week looking at houses. On Monday we found a really good house and we told the owner that we would take it. We were set to return the next morning to sign a contract. But that night we had no peace about the decision and the more we prayed the worse we felt about it. We felt that we had made the decision without God’s leading. So the next morning we called the owner and told her we had changed our mind and why. We instantly had total peace about it, and I am so glad we did. If we had signed the contract we would have spent Tuesday cleaning the house, installing mosquito screens, and moving in. Instead God had different plans for the day. Jennifer was able to go to the hospital to assist a 17-year-old Shawi woman in child birth. The woman had never been to Yurimaguas or a hospital and was very scared. The hospital was very different and scary for even Jennifer so I can not imagine how the woman felt. But mother and child are doing well.

 This morning she left for a 3-4 hour canoe ride back to her village. In the afternoon a 14 year old Shawi girl came to the hogar. She is pregnant and running away from home because her parents want her to abort her child.  It is rumored that in the villages unwanted babies are killed at birth instead of in utero although the Peruvian staff here cannot confirm that.  The young age of the pregnant woman is common as most Shawi woman are married by age 15-16.  She does not want the baby either but does not want an abortion. She came to Yurimaguas to look for work when someone told her to come the hogar to receive help. We called the local authorities because in Peru you can receive medical treatment at little to no cost if you are a citizen but you must have documentation. Obviously this woman had no documentation but the authorities can give  the native people the proper documentation.  She spoke no Spanish so we had to have the help of a translator. She was put in the custody of the hogar until she could be processed. She lived in a remote village and has never received any education or health care.  She is approximately 30 weeks gestation.  I am struck by her bravery - to save a child she doesn't want to raise, she left everything she's ever known and broke ties with her family.  Today she left the hogar and said she was returning to her home village. Our hearts our broken.  Whatever path she chooses, the decisions and consequences will be difficult.  Please pray for strength and wisdom for her as she navigates this difficult road.

So instead of moving into a house we spent the week loving the woman and children here at the hogar. I am so glad we did not take that house. It seemed like the logical thing to do but we would have missed out on some amazing opportunities. I was able to spend time talking with a ten-year-old Shawi boy named Percy. He was here in the city for the first time. I asked him many questions about his village and life there. I learned a lot, including some Shawi words.  Jennifer spent a lot of time talking with the hogar staff, playing with the children, and painting fingernails. She learned a lot as well. Sometimes following God does not seem logical but He always knows what is best.

This is Percy doing the limbo.

Now for some culture highlights: One Monday we saw a naked (and I mean stark naked) man just casually walking down the street. I don’t think that is a highlight but I was surprised. I would expect to see nudity in the native villages but not in a city of 30,000 people. At the market I saw grilled rat.

I asked twice to make sure I understood what it was although it was obvious because it still had the head on it. Wanted to buy one just to show Jennifer but decided to take a picture instead. Henry and I held a monkey. Almost bought that too but was wiser.

Also saw a boa constrictor skin.
Right now is a 15-day celebration in town. Every night there is a huge party. It moves around town and they close the roads and set up a huge stage with loud music in the middle of the road. Last night was our neighborhood’s turn, it lasted until 4am so not much sleep for us. At the party the people celebrate traditions from the jungle which include a parade led by a cow and dancing around a totem pole.

Overall we had a good week. Still don’t have a house but that’s ok. God will provide, He always does. 

Maggie has adjusted to the heat and is feeling much better even though she still has a heat rash. 

Lucy started home schooling and that is going well. Henry made friends with the Shawi children and shared his toys with them.

We are homeless, hot, and struggling to understand the culture. Life is hard but we are doing exactly what God has called us to do and therefore have peace.

Que Dios les bendiga.