Nauta is a hillside town going down to the Maranon River, which flows north then east out of the Andes before it finds this little map dot. People sold food streetside and children greeted us with amazement and open hearts.
We got in a "real" motor boat, which was meant for fewer people than our group, resulting in a soaked left side of the boat. We cast out a few group members into a passing canoe of strangers that were willing to hold a few extra passengers while our first batch was dropped at San Jorge, our river village destination.
About 30 minutes later, we arrived at San Jorge, a beautiful little village of a few hundred people that live in open wood homes roofed with palm leaves. We explored the village and visited their small church, talking to residents and taking in the native flowers, birds, and trees. The people live simply and seem happy.
We gathered in a classroom at the school to eat sandwiches of butter and jelly or ham and cheese before bringing the schoolkids out for our presentation. We did Shackles twice, the second time with volunteers from the crowd helping us, then Doors. Mark spoke, translated by Cesar, about the gospel and asked for anyone that wanted to accept Christ to raise their hands. Jennifer Kim and I walked around to parents and gave out tracts and prayed for anything that they needed. I read the tract in Spanish to two ladies; my stumbling was humbling.
We gave out candy and small gifts to the children before a futbol game broke out. We played in loosely fitting rubber boots that the YWAM base said we would need, and the resulting blisters were intense. Once we finished, a new crowd had gathered, so we did Tu Has, Shackles, and Family, another drama more oriented towards children. Afterwards as we made our way through the crowd, Jenn and I spoke with a woman that asked for prayer. Her husband had left her for another woman, leaving their seven children (aged 1-19). She accepted our prayer for restoration and also accepted Christ as her Savior. We also spoke with a few men that stayed near the back. We read through tracts and prayed for them as well.
We were given the opportunity to buy local crafts, where I got a small turtle of wood and real shell that cost about a dollar. The first group went back on the speedboat, but Danielle and I took the open air canoe ride, which was such a better way to appreciate the glory of creation. Young kids paddled boats on their own alongside villages while I ate a yellow fruit that Carlos gave me. On the way back, Osmar (on the right side of the picture), a YWAM staffer and one of our local translators and guides, shared his story. He grew up in Iquitos to a broken family and frequently lived on his own on the streets. His friends got into drugs and alcohol at an early age (9 or 10) but he met some missionaries that he held onto and after gaining some language skills and working as a tour guide, he joined YWAM.
When we returned to Nauta, Cesar met a woman with a disabled child. Angie wore a bright yellow-green jumpsuit and was in a makeshift wheelchair with mountain bike tires and a plastic lawn chair seat bolted together. Nine years old now, she had fallen on her head five years earlier and has not walked since. She cries frequently for no apparent reason and has occasional seizures. We gathered and laid hands on her and prayed for several minutes. PR tried to help her up, but she was still unable to use her legs. We vowed to continue praying for healing and restoration and bid goodbye to her thankful mother.
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