I live on the Amazon River.
I don’t think I’ve quite come to grips with
that yet! We’ve arrived in the village of Nauta, and we are living on a barge.
The girls are on the upper deck, which isn’t big enough to hold our all of our
tents, so we’re doubled up. Some of us set up tents, some mosquito nets (I set
up both). Kim and I are sharing my tent, with a mosquito net draped over it for
extra protection. “Living in community” took on a whole new meaning this month;
this isn’t a large boat. We are packed in like sardines, and we’re going to
learn to like it! Rachael Hunt made a great video of our living conditions, but
the only internet caf� in town has an extremely slow internet connection, so
it’s unlikely that we’ll get the video up within the next 2 weeks… I’ll post a
link to it whenever we’re finally able to upload it.
I have yet to spot a monkey, pink dolphin,
or anaconda, but I’m hoping to! Each night, we have to take turns
guarding the boat for 2 hour time slots. I will spend mine sitting on the front
deck of the barge with a pile of rocks, ready to throw them at any alligator
that comes within a mile of me. If I sound fearless, it’s only because you
can’t see my face.
The bugs are amazing. I think they are attracted to bug repellent. Despite the
heat, as soon as the sun starts setting, I put on pants, tuck them into socks,
pull on my sweatshirt, and pull the drawstrings to make the hood cover as much
of my face as possible. THEN I spray bug spray all over my clothes and avoid
sitting still to lessen the chances of getting bit through my pants. When I go
to bed at night, I take off my eskimo armor and survey the damage. Lastly, I
take out a marker and see if I can connect lines between my bug bites to create
constellations. The Big Dipper has shown up on my right leg, and the Milky Way
has made a glorious appearance on my left forearm! So much fun.
Today we walked around in teams and just asked
the Lord what ministry should look like for the next 2 weeks. I really feel
called to disciple young women, but I don’t really know how to go about th…
we’ve got 3 translators for all 27 of us. My spanish has definitely improved,
but I’m nowhere near being able to disciple someone else. We met with the
pastor of the small church we’ll be working with and he shared with us that
this town has been dealing with a lot of darkness. The suicides start at age
10, and have been increasingly common as kids are experimenting with Ouija
Boards. They begin by making a “covenant” with Satan, without fully understanding
what they are doing. Many have killed themselves, while others have admitted to
hearing voices in their heads telling them to kill their mother, take out her heart,
and give it to Satan. We’ve definitely stepped into a spiritual battle ground,
and the enemy knows we’re here, but we’re ready. Please be praying that the
Lord empowers us to be a light in this dark place, and that he would continue
to prepare the hearts of these people.
Here’s our home! The Good Samaritan : )
Miss you all,
-Teag
