Back from the Jungle

This past week was pretty special because I got the opportunity to visit some friends that I didn't think I'd see again this summer. I went to Puerto Alegria to visit the boys living in the Amazon near Iquitos.

When I got off the boat, the boys immediately recognized me, even though I no longer had the giant beard. Another thing that made returning special is that I can speak and understand a great deal more Spanish now, which lets me get to know the boys better. I was able to tell the boys about my family, and my life in the states, and most importantly, about all my favorite delicious foods. I recently added pollo a la braza can aji to that list (roasted chicken with chili sauce).

One interesting thing that I heard from Gabino, one of the older boys, is that he thought they only had crime, alcoholics, drugs, and sexual immorality in Peru. He was surprised to hear that we have those in the states. After thinking about it, I realized that the only Americans he's met are folks on mission teams, so his impression of Americans is completely based on folks that travel halfway around the world to help people.

Speaking of the Americans, I went to Puerto Alegria with a group from Nashville, Tennessee, and a couple folks from Alabama. We were a small group of 13, so we didn't do the major construction stuff. Instead we fixed up the boys dorm and the dining hall - we replaced mosquito nets, sanded, and lacquered. I was really excited that we would be doing light work, until I became the "sanding expert" and spent hours scraping doors. I felt like the karate kid, painting Mr. Miagi's fence.

The work wasn't too tough in the end because we actually only did a half day of labor each day. Each afternoon the group did a vacation Bible school with the boys and with the other kids from the town of Puerto Alegria. They told Bible stories, did crafts, and played games with the kids.

I came out of dodgball retirement this week after a 15 year hiatus, and I'm happy to report that I'm AWESOME. The best part of playing dodgeball in Peru is that the name of the game is mata gente. This translates literally to "kill people." Every time I told Elvis how much I liked mata gente, he'd said "Mata gente - knife, machete, pistol. Let's play!"

On Sunday we went to a little church in Belen, the slums of Iquitos. It was a wooden house on stilts and looked no different from the other houses. I'm convinced this is the greatest church in the history of mankind. The people greeted us with such joy, and we ended up dancing and singing with the kids in front of everyone before the service was over. It was amazing to be so foreign and so welcomed at the same time. The most encouraging part was seeing how many young kids were in the church, and how they were so joyful to be at church and have us there.

We made our regular tour of Belen, which is a city where the streets are essentially sewers. Be happy I don't have my camera to take pictures of Belen. While we were there I saw a soccer ball roll into a sewage ditch. A 10 year old boy picked it up with his hands, threw it back on the field and continued playing. Belen ("Bethlehem" in English) is where most of the boys in Puerto Alegria came from.

Of course the highlight of the trip was spending time with the boys. Played some good volleyball, played some bad soccer, swam in the river, sang songs, played games, and jumped on the trampoline in the rain. The rain is absolutely beautiful in the jungle. It feels wonderful to play outside in the rain and even shower under the rain spouts. The advantage of showering like that is that you don't smell like the river afterwards!

We also watched a movie every night with the boys while the generator was running and we had electricity. They love professional wrestling apparently. I can't say the same for myself, but I stuck around and watched with them since they were enthralled by it. The first night I was exstatic to see they were going to watch Thundercats on DVD, which gave me a great excuse to change into my newly purchased Thundercats t-shirt (bought it in Lima). We also watch Terminator 4... For those of you who will make accusations that there is no Terminator 4, I tell you that you are wrong. I think it was some kind of ridiculous cancelled TV show pilot. If you haven't already guessed from the last 3 sentences, "The Sarah Conner Chronicles" were indeed horrendous. Please ask me, and I will tell you much more about this ridiculous film/show.

There was also an adorable little kitty in Puerto Alegria. It was amazingly resilient to the harsh treatment of 26 little boys. It also caught a mouse and ate it in front of me, which caused me to perceive kitty as slightly less adorable, although still cute.

Our last night with the boys was by far the most fun. They performed 4 choreographies for us, and following their last one, they told us that we had to do something too. This was hilarious because we had to make up a choreography on the spot. I made sure to throw in the robot, and some handstands, and that move where you grab someone's hand and make a ripple effect with your arms (sorry - I have no other way to describe this move). The kids and the gringos had a blast, and I got to set loose my passion for dancing.

Of course the best part of my time in the jungle was the boys themselves. I got to play vball with Elvis, who I got close to last time. Steven is still brilliant, and joyful, and infinitely patient. Steven is going to do great things for the Lord some day. Gabino is a comedian and a great example for the younger boys. Junior is the littlest, the cutest, and an total terror.

The last day the house father, Gene, set aside some time to tell us the stories of some of the boys. The were all very tough to hear, but they also showed us how God was working through Scripture Union in Puerto Alegria. As an example, there was one boy who was thrown in the garbage dump because his father thought he had beaten the boy to death. For years after he arrived in Puerto Alegria, he would hide in his room instead of spending time with the other boys, and would not participate socially. Gene told us this boy has touched his heart much more than the others because, as we could see ourselves, this boy was laughing and playing games and joking around with the other boys. This is a life that was literally pulled from the garbage, literally saved from death. He now has a family that loves him and a hope for a future.

Now that I'm looking at the clock, I realize that I still have to say goodbye to the boys here in Lima and get ready for my flight tomorrow. I'm making an executive decision to not proofread this post, which I already know is completely discontinuous. So you're just going to have to deal with it, and give me a call tomorrow to find out about Puerto Alegria directly from me!

I have a ton on my mind right now and I'm a bit upset because several boys left the center here in Lima this week, some of which I was pretty close to. Pray for all the boys here. I have no idea what my future in Peru looks like, although I want to return for a month or two next year and lead teams. I also want to bring YOU with me next year, because I want my friends in Peru to meet my friends from the US.

I'm seriously questioning what God has planned for me next. I anticipate a horrible time returning to life in the US, seeing all the waste and greed and selfishness in the US. I hope to never become indifferent to these things. I hope I never stop suffering as I witness these things, and I hope God can use what I've learned in Peru to change lives in the US. I'm especially interested in getting involved with kids back in the states, specifically teenagers, maybe playing basketball with them or something...

I'm also feeling very guilty, knowing that I'm returning to a life of luxury compared to my life here. I feel that there's a huge irreconcilable gap between my life here with the boys, and my life at home, enjoying pleasures that these boys will never have. I'm anticipating a rough time dealing with this, so please send a prayer my way as well.

Sorry again for any unproofread nonsense above. Love you, Mom. See you soon.