Misty today received her medical clearance to return to the jungle with the team for the next couple of months. We'll be leaving for Iquitos, Peru, tomorrow afternoon, and the five of us (Leah, Misty, Lori, Amy, and I) will be going together. What a blessing it is to be together again!
Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers:
Please continue to pray for Misty as she continues to experience loss of appetite and bouts of fatigue. Also, pray for us as we return to the jungle. Pray for unity for us as the women's team and that we would learn every lesson God has for us during this time.
Inquiring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):
I finally arrived in Bolivia on March 25 and, after spending a couple of weeks in the cities of Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, Leah and I moved into the Quechua community of Sijcha Alta on April 7. (The "j" in "Sijcha" sounds like a hard "h," so the word sounds almost like "Seek-cha.")
The community (pictured above) has about ten families living there, and w
e stayed in the home of Nicolas and Everista. They are a couple in their mid-50s, and they have seven children ranging in age from 16 to 35. The oldest two have families of their own, but all still live within the same community. They are the only believers there. (Evarista with her two youngest daughters is pictured to the right.)To say the least, the first week was an interesting experience. Here are some "firsts" for us:
1. Eating goat. One of the men slaughtered the goat the second day we were there (watching that was also a first for me!), and we ate nearly every part: Stomach, liver, kidneys, intestines and, of course, legs, ribs, etc. Interestingly, it did NOT taste like chicken. :)
2. Making cornmeal (pictured left). They use two large, smooth stones and mill their own flour and cornmeal. Leah and I both tried it, and it was definitely hard work!
3. Digging up potatoes. I have now learned what a potato plant looks like and how to use a pickax. For a city girl who has never been closer to a potato plant than picking up the bag of Russet potatoes at the grocery store, that was quite a feat! :)
4. Milking a goat. While I was donig this, all I could think about was the scene from "Meet the Parents" where they talked about milking cats. I think this was pretty similar. :) At least goat milk tastes pretty good!
5. And, last but not least, hearing and reading Quechua. I've learned that, other than a few scattered words, it's not in the least similar to Spanish. And the words are crazy long! It's not unusual for some words to have 15 letters or more. The good thing is that I learned a few words and phrsaes while I was there, so I'm hopeful that will help when I start Quechua school in July.
Stay tuned for the next update, when I describe week 2 of our Sijcha Alta stay.
"I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples." (Ps. 57:9)
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