Late Day 81 Biology class? Try again

Biology class? Try again

Saturday
An eight hour road trip in Peru: it’ll take you from the foggy, misty Pacific Coast, through the chilly snow tipped mountains of the Andes, and into the warm, humid High Jungle of La Merced. We hired a personal bus driver from a nearby church to drive us from Lima to the Jungle. On our way, we were pulled over at least seven times. We went over a speed bump so fast that the luggage in the back literally flew into the air and toppled on top of a sleeping Alyssa. And half of the group got headaches from the altitude. But finally after eight hours, we make it to the Jungle town of La Merced. Pastor Jim announced that we had reached the campgrounds and our bus pulled over to the side of the road. All I could see was the greenest mountain I’ve ever encountered on one side of the road and a river on the other side. I probably gave Pastor Jim some raised eyebrow look I sometimes get when I don’t believe someone. I kept searching my surroundings looking for some sort of campsite when I saw three cables running across the width of the river. Next thing I know, two men from the camp are pulling their way across the river on a cable car. I got that excited feeling that starts deep inside and shivers its way out the tips of my fingers. We’re supposed to be in the Jungle for three days of hands-on Biology studies. However, as I’m suspended dozens of feet over the river I know it won’t be like any class I’ve taken so far.  

Sunday
We didn’t know exactly what time church would start. Pastor Jim and Miss Becky had been to the church before, but they didn’t really know the pastor and they couldn’t remember the service time. We decided to leave around 9:00. We set out on our mini hike that would take us across the river in the cable car. We got to the church around 9:30. The doors were open and we could see the Pastor at his pulpit teaching the Sunday School class. However, by the time we all got off the bus, the Pastor was outside waiting at the door to greet us. The whole Sunday School class had taken a break and everyone wanted to give us kisses of greeting before the Pastor continued his lesson. After he finished, everyone greeted us all over again before the morning service started. We all felt very welcome, and the Pastor even asked Pastor Jim to preach for the evening service. After church we came back to the campground, all the ARRIBA students wanted to go play in the river that we’d been crossing in the cable car, so we set out to find a way to get there. We ended up climbing through some jungle beds and over some jungle rocks and eventually made it to a giant boulder that we liked. Some of us stayed on the rock enjoying the jungle sun, while others played in the river enjoying the jungle water. When we first arrived in Lima, we encountered the fascination stage of culture shock. Now we’re right back where we started. Everything we see is exciting and adventurous. The jungle definitely is a different culture.

Monday
Botanical gardens, waterfalls, soccer with the kids; Jungle life. We started our day by going to the Botanical Garden. A man with bushy eyebrows and a thin gray mustache came out to greet us. He was only the groundskeeper, but he offered to take us around the gardens. Dr. Deckert (a retired Biology Professor from Clearwater) knew just about every plant within the garden, and the ones he didn’t know, he looked up in his Peru Flower travel book. We spend quite a few hours exploring the Garden enjoying the beautiful Peruvian plant life. Once we got back from the Garden and had a few sessions of Biology learning, a few of us set out to find the waterfalls. We followed a well worn path into the forest and followed the water system that the camp had made to get their water supply. We went up a few steep hills, crossed the river two or three times, and finally made it to the waterfall. We stood in awe for a few minutes basking in the creation of our God. The powerful water surged over the edge and cascaded some dozens of feet to where we stood underneath it.  We played in the water for a while before heading back to the campgrounds. Once there, we immediately turned the other direction and headed to an orphanage not too far away. As soon as we poked our heads over the hill, the kids started running for us. They had no idea who we were or what we were there for, but they started talking to us and inviting us to explore their home with them. We were invited inside the dining hall by the director of the orphanage. We were able to meet all the kids and give share testimonies with them. Then we were able to play soccer with the boys. We played ARRIBA students vs the kids. They killed us, and enjoyed doing it. We played and laughed until the sun dipped below the tip of the mountain.

Tuesday
What do you get when water drips down a limestone ceiling? Stalagmites…or stalactites. I don’t remember which one starts at the bottom and which one starts at the top. However, I do remember that caves are now my favorite sort of adventure. Even after watching a horror movie about college girls getting lost in a cave and getting eaten by nonexistent creatures…anyway…Four months ago, my roommate at CCC, Joanna Feliz, and I were trying to repel down the side of our dorm. Unfortunately we weren’t able to accomplish it due to a slippery wall. However, I can now say that I have successfully repelled down a cave and am anxiously awaiting my chance to do it with Joanna! On our way home from the Jungle, we stopped in the mountains to explore a cave. It wasn’t like the caves I’ve been in the states that have the touristy walkways and hand rails next to the river so people don’t fall in. No, this cave had walls that you had to climb, cliffs that you had to repel down, walkways a foot wide you had to get across, etc with only the light from our flashlights. Mrs. Deckert was not a fan of the whole rock climbing/repelling thing…but we got her through it and now she has a cool story to tell her grandchildren! My favorite part was when we had reached the end of the trail and were about to turn around. We all turned off our flashlights and sang a few songs about the greatest of our God. In the cave of a mountain or in the depths of the Jungle, our God is greater, stronger, and higher than any other!

Day 71- EBDV “Escuela Biblica de Vacaciones”

One hundred and twenty seven little heads bobbed into the church building. Two hundred and fifty four sparkly little eyes looked up to the front as Delsi welcomed them to church; most were there for the very first time, while only a few had ever cast a shadow upon the entrance. Eager and excited for the new adventure, they listened intently for the activities of the day.

                Monday afternoon: 3:00pm
The teenagers from the church in Monchay were joined this week by a group from England to run a Vacation Bible School for the neighborhood kids. I walked into the church building that sunny, beautiful afternoon welcomed by a blanket of balloons all over the floor. I quickly learned how to make a flower out of a few balloons. Our fingers flew twisting and turning the balloons making little presents for the neighborhood kids. Minutes later, we were headed for the door again with our flowers and animals. A few clown noses were thrown out among the group and we set out parading around the neighborhood. We chanted and cheered trying to get the kids to come out of their houses and join us. After we had a significant group, some of us stopped in the middle of the road to play games, while a few went around a few more blocks herding in more little niños. Once the kids saw we were playing games and handing out balloons they literally started running in from every direction. We gave them little flyers for the VBS and showed where the church building was, then we headed out in a different direction to do it all over again. 

                Tuesday afternoon: 2:15pm
I squeezed into the bus with my guitar and backpack full of supplies planning to arrive at the church thirty minutes before the kids were supposed to arrive. I crawled my way off the bus and walked a short distance to the doors of the church only to find that many of the kids were already there. After being bored for the past week from their winter vacation from school, they were eager to start a new week of games, songs, snacks and drama. We had planned to start at 3:00 with approximately 60 kids in the audience. We started signing them in and dividing them into teams. The line of kids kept getting longer and longer. The kids who had gotten there early were getting restless waiting to begin. Finally, we welcomed them to EBDV. I finally had a complete view of the auditorium. The cheers and chants, balloons and clown noses had surely done their job the previous afternoon. One hundred and twenty seven kids attended the first day of Vacation Bible School. For the Bible Lesson time, we had to bring benches up to the second floor in order to seat the overflow of children. We even had a class of older students on the roof. The walls of my classroom were lined with 4, 5, and 6 year olds standing without a seat. Once the lesson had been taught and the memory verses learned, we all met once more downstairs for one last song. The church was filled with happy little voices enthusiastic from the afternoon spent in church. 

                Wednesday afternoon: 2: 30pm
I got to the church again hands full of supplies to help lead the songs. I fully expected to be greeted by hundreds of hands wanting to help me with my things. The benches were surprisingly bare of children. Thirty minutes past and we had about fifty students playing and singing with us. A few more trickled in late, but our numbers were cut in half. However, those who were there participated wholeheartedly and enthusiastically.

                Thursday afternoon: 2:30 pm
“Admirable es nuestro Dios.                              Our God is an awesome God.
El reine con todo poder,                                     He reigns over heaven and earth
con sabiduria y amor.                                          With wisdom, power, and love.
Admirable es nuestro Dios.”                              Our God is an awesome God.

We had started each day with a few songs. Thursday was no different. The kids sang at the top of their lungs for the third day in a row. Though our numbers were still lower than that first day, we were still going strong with enthusiasm and energy. The theme for the week was “El Rey Pide” or “The King Requests.” Each day we learned about a different King from the Old Testament. Thursday we learned about King Solomon and the wisdom that he was given. My class of little four, five, and six year olds memorized Proverbios 2:6, “Porque Jehova da la sabiduria…” Proverbs 2:6, “Because the Lord gives wisdom…” Complete with hand motions, they tried to repeat each small little word after the teachers said them.

                Friday afternoon: 3:00pm
The last day of VBS was our second largest day with eighty kids. After four afternoons of beginning in church, they were a little more wiggly and antsy than earlier in the week. The winner of game time (a game of musical chairs) was disputed amongst the teams. No one wanted to admit that he was a little slower than the rest.  The little kids struggled to pay attention to the lesson. Instead, they just wanted to color their picture and eat their snack. The drama time captured the kids attention and had them rolling in laughter, while the prayer time afterward had them walking around or talking to their neighbor. All in all, the week was successful. The message of Salvation was clearly presented each day with a “Flip Flop” similar to a wordless book. We hope that the kids will come back on Sunday for the finale to find out which team won. They were told to bring their parents so their parents could see what they had been up to all week and so that they could hear a salvation message also. We’re praying that this week will bring the kids back to church each weekend to learn more about the Father’s love and his saving works through His Son. A successful week that will hopefully result in saved lives.