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We had the opportunity to spend time with 4 church leaders from different villages. I asked them how folks back in the U.S. could pray for them.

Here’s what they said:

Nicanor Policio Perez – lay leader in Corongo church – Pray that God will use me and form me according to his power. Pray for my spiritual life. Pray that God will bless me economically. And pray that God will fill my heart with his power and love.

Milagros – 30 years old – missionary from Lima – starting a church in Aco – Pray that I will recieve financial support to be able to stay more time in Aco. Pray that the new Christian in Aco will become prayers. Pray that God will bless Aco and raise up more believers from the village.

Roger (31) & Betty (25) – youth leaders in Cuzca – Pray for his wife and their marriage. Pray that he will grow spiritually WITH his wife. Pray that God will bless his ministry with the young people of Cuzca.

Julio - pastor in Corongo – pray that God will bless the Corongo church with devoted believers.

The scenery here in Corongo has been amazing. It´s rainy season, so everything is green . . . but that also means washed out roads and bridges.

In the mornings the clouds literally cover the mountians. At times we can only see a few meters in front of us!

I wasnt prepared for the cold weather here in the deparment of Ancash!

Mike and I and Daniel (from Markham St BC, Little Rock) have been travelling between villaged in the Corongo area. The purpose of this trip is to evaluate the health of the churches in this area. Also, to spend time training pastors. We finished up our evaluation today and will start training tomorrow morning here in Corongo.

It has been a huge blessing to be able to meet the believers in Corongo and here their stories and pray with them. It´s awesome! God is the same here as in Lima, Little Rock, where ever.

Please pray for the leaders that will attend the training. The God will use us to encourage them and help them grow closer to God.

A week at home . . . . and now I’m back on the road again. Except this time to the Andes in Ancash. Mike and I, and a guy from Markham St. in Little Rock will doing some onsite assessment and training national leader. That is, if he made it out of LR today . . . I heard the weather is a little rough there.

Send Amanda some emails . . . she’ll be home alone this week.

We’ve been in Peru for almost a year now. And we have learned so much! God has stretched us more this year than in our maybe our whole lives. We’ve had to learn to function in a new culture and a long way from what we’ve always known as home. God has been so faithful to us. So patient with us.

It’s so strange. We seem to always forget to important stuff. And then, God will show us again what we’ve known all along, but just let get out of view.

- That we’re his kids. And as our Father, he calls the shots.
- He wants us to spend time with him. By talking to him. And reading the letters he wrote us.
- We’re supposed get a long with eachother and love eachother, especially our brothers and sisters.
- We’re supposed to be at work. But not just any work, the work he asks us to do daily.

That’s why we’re here. To know him. To obey him. God did not send us here to save Peru. He sent us here to . . . . well, obey Him. And today that might mean letting a fellow missionary stay at our house. Or spending time with kids selling on the street. Or spending hours reading his word. Or shedding tears praying for those around us who need him.

That’s liberating! Freedom. That our Father is calling the shots . . . . and that our job is to be with him and obey him! That’s life!

If you’re ever in Iquitos, you’ve got to stop by “The Yellow Rose of Texas” restaurant. Run by a real live Texan. I had Gator nuggets, bbq ribs, and some of the best mashed potatoes in my life there. Check out these stories about it.

http://www.geocities.com/yellowroseoftexasiquitos/about-us.htm

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/paper410/news/2004/09/15/Focus/A.Slice.Of.Texas.In.Peru-719126.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailytexanonline.com

We saw several of these monkeys as pets.

We also saw several of the parrots as pets. One was riding a motorcycle.

Most of the Yaguas we visited were wearing the same kind of clothes we were. However, we did come across a few of the older people who still maintained the traditional Yagua customs. This picture shows traditional Yagua dress.

We also came across many people who did not speak Spanish. Just Yagua.

This is a typical village. All the houses are build up on stilts. This is to protect from flooding.

The boats they use are usually carved out of one log.

These boats are used for transportation to other villages, to gather food, etc.

Because my camera is probably drifting along the bottom of the Amazon towards Brazil . . . . I found some pictures online taken in the same general area we were.

This is the Amazon river. As we flew into Iquitos early Sunday morning we were able to see the Amazon snaking through the jungle . . . . which of course made me think of all the snakes snaking through the Amazon.