So many people have “reminded” us that we haven’t updated our website recently. I think it’s easy for us to forget what it’s like to be on the other side – the ones who stayed home in the States – wanting to know what’s going on with those who are on the field. Our lack of updates is not a matter of our being neglectful or lazy as much as it is just feeling like our life here is not as interesting as it probably is.
So I think I’ll give you a little glimpse into what we do.
Right now, Scott is up at a village called Ututupampa (Please excuse the spelling – I’m sure I get a lot of the spelling of the Quechua villages very wrong!). He is up there to talk with a teacher about potentially being able to teach a Bible lesson to the kids in that village once a week. These kinds of things always take a while, mostly because they don’t have phones for us to call and say “are you available for me to come visit you this afternoon?” Instead, we have to travel the 45 minutes to an hour up there, hoping that the teacher was in school that day, that they didn’t have the day off, that they didn’t decide to end school early that day – or some other obstacle that happens often. Scott and Larry have gone there many times, but it’s still not definite whether or not we can teach the kids there. A lot of times, the permission is there, but it isn’t logistically possible (ie there is no space for us to meet, no free time, etc.) Sometimes the facility and availability are there, but they aren’t open to us coming.
But there are places where we have a facility, availability and permission.
We go to a village called Huanja on Tuesdays, Collahuasi on Fridays and Jauna on Saturdays. Usually it’s to do a Bible lesson with the kids. These kinds of lessons look a lot like your typical Sunday School class in content and structure. We pray, sing songs in Quechua and Spanish, have a Bible story lesson in Spanish, and do activity/crafts/coloring based on the lesson. They look very different in that they happen outside, sometimes in the rain sometimes in the cold. Some villages have a facility in which we can meet – but it’s often times a cold, dark room with a dirt floor. Some have a hook-up for a light, but we need to provide the light bulb while we’re there. It’s different, but very awesome to see kids come without being dragged there by their parents and without other incentive. They just like to come.
We also go to Jauna on Thursdays and Huallcor on Sundays to show a video on the book of Genesis. It has to happen in the dark since we use a projector to show the video. And since we’re in rainy season here, we sometimes have traveling troubles going up to the villages this time of day – which is often the rainy part of the day. The roads can be dangerous, especially in the rain. If the rain is particularly heavy, we will do the safe thing and not go on that day. It all depends. PLEASE keep our traveling safety in your prayers, among other things. Larry said the other day “I don’t think I know how many times the Lord has protected me on these mountains.” And he’s right.
Many times in our journeys we stop to give medicine as needed and food sometimes. Other times there are specific individuals who want to learn more about the Bible, and so we meet with them individually.
Even as I write this, I feel inadequate to even write this post. I know I’m going to forget important details. Maybe my attempt at updating you all will prompt Scott to write his own version of what it is we do. He’s a better writer than I and will, I’m sure, give you a more interesting version of what we do.
