Thursday, June 5, Children Prep and Belen

I was up at 6:20 and went on the roof to pray, read, and journal, but I was sweating and had to seek shelter by 7:00. After breakfast, we planned for the children's ministry meeting on Saturday, working through our motions for children's songs, crafts, acting out Bible passages, and general roles and responsibilities.

One of our hosts, David, had become very sick, and his wife Cecy was one of the main chefs for us. David came home and needed help setting up the IV's that the doctor gave him (apparently this is self-service in Peru), so Juanita and Danielle helped the other folks at the base. Cecy needed to take care of David, so we had to make new arrangements for a few meals.

We had a few minutes free, so we walked to a nearby store to get some chocolate, to provide an afternoon energy boost. About 20 men were playing soccer on a small field, and another 4-5 were watching. Slowly, more motocar drivers pulled up to watch as well. Don't these people have jobs? This is a weekday! Who knows. Women began to roll carts of sweets and treats up as well. Soon, mothers began walking young children out of a daycare center I had not noticed, which was the excuse for the drivers. But soccer players, come on! I tried to imagine rolling up my suit pants and knocking a ball around on Charles Street at lunch time back home.

Back at base, Cecy had made us an incredible traditional Peruvian meal of Papa a la Huancaina (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papa_a_la_huancaina), potatoes and rice smothered in slightly spicy creamy chicken sauce, topped with half a hard boiled egg and a black olive. We had purple maize juice as well, which was sold in plastic bags with a straw in Belen.

Around 2PM, we headed back to Iglesia Belen, and walking through the streets I got the same "Hola gringo," from the same kid, who must have gotten a kick out of my positive response last time. While waiting for some church members to arrive, I watched the street scene. Raw meat sat on brown paper on the cart right in front of the church, and prospective buyers came by and felt the pieces with bare hands before dropping it on a scale and taking it off in plastic bags. Across the street, alligator claws hung off the table, with larger cuts behind it. A woman deftly peeled fruit with a small knife and dropped finished pieces into a bucket of water to keep flies off.

We soon moved swiftly through the slum to a dock area where logs were set perpendicular to a waterway to allow walking over the muddy shoreline onto canoes, lined up like a pack of hot dogs. I got in a boat with Danielle and some locals, including Danielle's favorite, a young curly-haired spunky girl.

Houses by the water were set on logs to float with rising water. The boat was paddled about 200 meters to another shore as we passed a man in a canoe fishing with a craggy stick and some string, a la Huck Finn, while jubilant latin music carried across the water. We dropped our stuff at San Francisco (seriously, that's the name) and went door-to-door inviting people to our "presentacion gratis en cinco minutos."

Osmar entertained the local children until we began Tu Has Cambiado, Shackles, and Doors, which Juanita introduced and then gave the gospel message. There were mostly children present, but we gave everyone attention, providing candy and toys for the kids and tracts and prayer for parents nearby. I made friends with a chubby little boy that spoke about as much Spanish as I did, but understood peek-a-boo and liked when I tickled his belly. His mother is in jeans in the background of the picture, probably scared that I was going to take him with us.

Back on the mainland we set up another presentation near the dock, at a fairly busy intersection surrounded by houses on stilts. After Tu Has and Shackles, I introduced Doors and then gave the message, using illustrations of accepting a gift and a lifeless glove that is filled with a hand that I had seen used effectively in Young Life. This time I led all the way through the prayer and was encouraged to see a large number of people praying for salvation with me. Everywhere we went there were at least 100 people watching, but I always felt secure knowing that God would use whatever we did for His glory.

We then moved back to the large plaza with lights where we had been on Tuesday night, knowing that we would see a different mass of people. Tim Farmer introduced the presentation and preached the gospel, and there was a strong response. I had portrayed Jesus in the Doors drama, and at the end, the character signifies that all that Christ did was for each individual, by opening their arms towards the people three times and making eye contact. I constantly prayed for specific people in the audience and noticed many that I could tell sincerely understood the message. Danielle and I moved to talk to a crowd of men, including a thin, smallish man in a white tank top and blue soccer shorts. He asked some questions and read through the tract with us, then prayed to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. This was one of many, but for some reason I knew this guy was special, that his life was forever changed.

After PR shouted, "Let's go!" we went back to the base, showered, and went to Chifa, the Peruvian version of Chinese food. Long Fung's Chifa was cool and bright with a fairly open layout, located across from the "Bienvenidos a Iquitos" sign in the main city square. PR and Cesar ordered and we pigged out after a long day.

Back at the base, we had a team meeting to share some of the interactions we had with people and general experiences in ministry, then headed off to bed.