First Presbyterian Church
Peru Mission Trip
2006


Sent: Fri, 16 Jun 2006
Subject: Home Safe From Nueva Vida

Greetings from Peru...

We arrived at about 8:00 PM on Tuesday, and began to settle in to our new home. My friend Raquel came to the house to greet us, and informed us that our plans for the week had changed. Rather than going to the jungle on Thursday, we would be leaving at 6:00 the next morning. This was quite a shock since going to the jungle for 3 days requires a bit of preparation. We had yet to unpack our bags, and already were packing for the morning journey. Sorting of medicines and allocating mosquito nets, preparing water and supplies...quite a lot to be done, but all was ready when we fell asleep around midnight.

The journey to the jungle required a 6 hour boat ride, which went well because the river was at a good level. We ate and enjoyed fellowship with the Aguaruna in our company and the members of the Luke Clinic. The moment we arrived at the Aguaruna port, a torrential rain began and continued for most of the night. This would not be such a big deal if we didnt have to walk 30 minutes uphill. ( things are never measured in distances, only in time...and it actually took us quite a lot longer. It was always one step forward six steps back...sliding down the hill in mud. Several of us could actually be seen crawling on hands and knees at times because we were trying so hard to maintain our positions without falling backward.

We stayed in the Community building as we did the year before. We set up our mosquito nets, and came to the next realization of our big adventure... One of the bags of supplies did not make it to our location. We have yet to locate this bag, so it is not clear where it went...The bag had some supplies, and three sleeping bags belonging to myself, my Dad, and Raquel. We ended up having to sleep the two nights in the jungle without covers...The first night was very difficult because we were wet, and the jungle nights reach around 55 degrees F. The second night was much better with dry clothing. We prayed for warmth, and rejoiced that more had not been lost.

The day in the community was an amazing time. We held a clinic for most of the day and saw patients suffering from various ailments. Many children had parasites because they would drink from water sources in the jungle while traveling. It is difficult to impress upon them that if they drink unclean water, they will get sick.

Another group helped to plant vegetable gardens at each home in the community, and the third group built a nursery for sachi inchi - also called the Incan Peanut.

The Aguaruna were always a nomadic people, but because of conflicts, the government has assigned them a territory in which to reside. Because of this they are having struggles surviving. The situation is much the same as what happened to Native Americans in the U.S. The Luke clinic is trying to help these people to plant gardens and sustainable food sources like the sachi inchi. The new water system is another factor that is maintaining the health and vitality of the community.

I can not express easily the differences that I have seen in this community, Nueva Vida (New Life). Last year the people had skin infections, and were visibly depressed. This year, people were healthy and smiling and interacting with us like we were part of the community. There are many problems still, but slowly the life of this community is changing. This village is the first that the Luke Clinic has helped, and it is the model for how they will cotinue to reach to others in the tribe. It is a blessing to see how God is working among the people, and how he will continue to work with them. These things take time, so please pray that they will continue to accept Christ with greater force so that they can help to reach to other villages.

I am excited to continue sharing our adventures with you all. We feel your prayers each day and are blessed by your interest and support.

In Christ,
Lorien