Throughout our travels in Peru, I had many thoughts of where or how I would use the 440 Soles that was given to me. Because we have been constantly traveling, it has been harder to gauge the needs of those around me. After 3 weeks of wondering where the money would go, I knew that something big was awaiting the money in our final week in Peru. The last day we were scheduled to be in Lima, our team received confirmation of our last week’s ministry from our stateside leadership. We had been given the opportunity to fly from Lima to Iquitos, Peru to do ministry along the Amazon River. Our team was ECSTATIC at the opportunity to do something like this. We had been praying for God to give us the chance for this crazy adventure, and little did we know that people in Iquitos were praying to have us here as well.
With the plane tickets and all of the travel that we would be doing up and down the river, the costs of travel were out of our original budget. There was the need for personal money/additional funds raised to be used to cover some of the transportation. The transportation to and from San Jose included a 3-hour van ride to the boat port, a large riverboat, and a smaller boat. The total cost of this transportation to and from San Jose was just over 440 Soles- and I knew that this is how the money should be used. Because I had this money, our team was able to reach a people who were so hospitable, kind, content, and open-hearted.
Here is the story of what and who this transportation allowed our team to experience.
Our team + Julio (a local who is staffed by the Iquitos YWAM and who leads river ministry) + Yola (Julio’s wife) + Joshua (another North American from Greenville, SC who came back to do ministry for the second time and who is further establishing a relationship between his church and Julio) + Margaret (Julio’s daughter) + Rose (another Iquitos local) set out on quite the “nueva experienca.” We reached the boat port and got busy hanging up our hammocks and mosquito nets so that we could sleep aboard our boat, named Sonia.
The next morning, we began our 12 hour journey on the boat which was now full of people, hammocks, unwelcomed tarantulas, birds, plantains, blocks of ice, dead fish, and other merchandise. On the ride we were able to speak with some locals, sit on the front of the boat and take in the newness of the river wildlife (i.e.- SO many beautiful trees/plants on the shore line and PINK DOLPHINS @janespivey I wish so badly you could have seen them), and nap in our hammocks. After unloading from Sonia, we piled onto another boat which was decently narrow, ~50 feet long, and full of sleeping locals, kids, and a few chickens. After 2 hours of riding in the dark, we arrived to the small community of San Jose.
San Jose is a small community with a population consisting of around 500 people. There is a school, a church, a concrete sidewalk that can be used to walk most of the village, and the houses of the inhabitants which are somewhat comparable to large treehouses. The village is set up right off the river bank and is surrounded by the jungle and is full of animals and plantain trees.
During our time there, we had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in a culture different than our own-
We got to eat local food with local people- strange fish, alligator, and plantains.
We took bucket showers using CLEAN water from the communities amazing water filter.
We swam in the Amazon River and played on “la playa” (aka the bank of the river).
We attended and participated in nightly church services. Nicole and Tom shared their testimonies in Spanish and Taylor shared a sermon focusing on becoming fishers of men, I was handed a tambourine to play, and we all sang a few worship songs in English.
We washed our clothes in buckets.
We were able to teach the story of Jesus walking on water in the primary school.
We played on the field that is in the center of town with kids and adults (volleyball, red light green light, duck duck goose- we called it pato pato pollo because no one could remember the Spanish word for “goose,” and we were involuntarily targets for allllll of the children to chase around and tackle to the ground).
We got to live alongside the people of San Jose and experience all that it is to live on the river.
Spiritually God showed up in so many ways in our short visit. There were so many sweet moments where His presence was no doubt overflowing. To share more- I thought I would use the words of my sweet friend NICOLE MURRAY-
“This week, while enjoying a walk in the rain that the Lord blessed us with, we were welcomed into the home of sweet Norma. Norma is a follower of God who, before coming to relationship with Christ, was unable to speak. Her petite stature was full of so much joy as she shared with us the miracle that the Lord performed within her. She prayed to the Lord that He give her His language, that He allow her to speak and to be able to communicate with others. The Lord answered these prayers for her and she now speaks! She uses the gift of language that the Lord blessed her with to share her story and the love of God with others in her community. She prayed over us and encouraged us to touch as many hearts as we can with God’s love and truth.”
There are so many moments from this past week that I will remember for a lifetime. I am thankful for the Lord’s provision through this $150 and the funny ways He shows up. Leaving, I am forever grateful for my Father allowing me to live life alongside His people in a strange and new place. San Jose did not need us to come- but they welcomed us with open arms and God allowed His people there to teach us and allowed us to teach to His people.
As always, thanks for taking the time to check out what I am up to!
Much love && xoxo
Abigail
P.S. I mentioned earlier the need for personal/ additional funds raised to be used to cover some of the transportation- and I was able to use some of the additional funds that people gave to me to cover my portion and also a little bit extra. I am beyond thankful for a support team so big that I don’t have to sweat the small stuff like that while I am on the race, and I get to fully take advantage of every opportunity handed to me. Some of my teammates however, are still not fully funded or did not receive any additional funds for things like this. They are sending out a support email and if you are interesting in receiving it and reading their perspective- comment your email address and I will be sure that we send it your way!
