It has taken a while to get into a groove,
but we've finally settled into a nice routine.
Every Wednesday we bump along a pitted dirt road through the rice fields to Moropon, which is a small pueblo about 25 minutes from San Hilarion.
Usually, we arrive in the early afternoon. Yesterday we arrived a bit later because we waited for the rainstorm to pass. We're learning to operate like the Peruvians who stop everything when the rain starts.
Upon arriving, the kids jumped out of the van and ran for the field where they began playing Frisbee in the ankle-deep mud. We just received Frisbees in the mail from friends in the United States. Our Frisbee premiere was a huge success; the local kids LOVED it!!
As the kids play, the adults in the community prepare dinner altogether. This has become a delightful time for everyone. We all appreciate the opportunity to get to know one another, share stories and laugh about....life. Usually we prepare dinner outside over the fire, but everything was soaked from the rainstorm so we moved indoors. With no hesitation a woman invited us to use her house and welcomed us in with a smile.
We begin with praise and worship. Chris has mastered several songs in Spanish and does a great job improvising to accommodate requests.
During each visit we read and discuss scripture, sing praise and worship, and do activities with the kids.
Last night we shared Jesus' teachings about the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world".
We turned off the one light which hangs from the middle of the ceiling and compared the darkness to sin. The kids here are very familiar with darkness...and sin. After lighting a candle and letting our eyes adjust, we talked about the impact of one candle. We all agreed that Jesus' love is like candlelight that brightens even the darkest of situations.
During our discussion each person (adults and kids) painted a picture of a candle illuminating the darkness. We encouraged everybody to use their pictures to teach the people at home about Jesus' love. The black background represents sin, the candle represents a person, the flame represents Jesus' love and the candlelight represents the love of Jesus radiating out of the person and illuminating the darkness. It was beautiful and FUN!!!
After our bible study and art project, we enjoyed dinner altogether.
Anna had fun teaching one of her friends a hand-slapping game.
As our time together came to a close, we bid the community farewell and headed home on the dark, pitted dirt roads.
Thank you Jesus for bringing us here to this little community in the middle of the Peruvian jungle to share your love!!
