Coworkers Among the Ash...on Another River

It was a pleasant surprise to meet the Dumitru family here in Peru. They are a Romanian family that ministers to the Ash people on another river system here in Peru. The Ash in their village speak a slightly different dialect of the language than the people we work with. It was encouraging to hear what God has been doing in their village during these ten years that they have been living among the Ash people!

-Brad

Koleman Parades in School Anniversary Celebration

This past Wednesday Koleman participated in his school's anniversary celebrations by being part of a parade that went through downtown Pucallpa and then dancing one of the ethnic dances of Peru down in the city park. We are thrilled that Koleman continues to become more comfortable in Spanish and though he is somewhat timid, we have heard him using his Spanish! This was one of our main reasons for enrolling him in this local, private school.

-Brad

Say It With a T-shirt

On our trip visiting the Ash people we couldn't help but notice some of the t-shirts they were wearing. Where all these t-shirts come from, I do not know! I was somewhat happy to find a fellow football fan on the trip. :) I will have to make sure he gets a Philadelphia Eagles shirt, though! He, of course, had no clue what his shirt said.

-Brad

Filter That Water!

We're back from our trip to the Ash villages and are very encouraged in all that we learned in respect to moving back to an Ash village! We were also able to take water filters in and begin a campaign to provide the filters to the native people in the area. We really sensed God's hand in all the details of the trip and praise Him for what He is going to do among the Ash people!

-Brad

*photo is of Rebecca explaining how to set up the water filter system

Heading Back In....Please Pray!

Lord willing, it is back to Ash-land this Friday, May 30th! We have our flight scheduled with the missionary pilot to fly into the area here in Peru where there are a number of Ash villages. This will be a 5-day trip. Please being praying with us regarding the following:

1. Pray that as we talk to Ash village leaders we would be sensitive to God's direction as to where He would have us establish ourselves among the Ash people here in Peru.

2. We will spend at least one day back in the Ash village where we were located in Brazil. Pray for a good reconnection with our Ash friends from that village and that we could continue to communicate to them our desire to learn well their language so that we can clearly share God's truth with them.

3. We will be spending time with a Brazilian missionary family that live and work in Peru. Pray that we can be an encouragement to them during our stay with them.

4. Pray for good health as we travel.

We look forward to reporting back to you on how this first trip back to the Ash went! Thank you for lifting us up in prayer during this time!

That HE might be glorified among the nations,

Brad, Rebecca and Koleman

A Happy Mother's Day to Some Local Moms

One of the advantages of living right here with Mr. and Mrs. Portugal is being able to be involved
in some of the outreach that they do here in the area. They have been involved in the lives of
several families of very low income. For Mother's Day we were able to accompany the Portugals' as
they visited these families and presented each mom with a special gift of rice, cans of tuna, and
other food items. Pray that these moms and their families will put their faith in Jesus for salvation!

-Brad

Last night Koleman's kindergarten class performed at the annual Mother's Day celebration at his school. I guess he is now our "flower child." He continues to do well in this new classroom setting and we praise God for how well he has adjusted. We have noticed that he seems more than happy to get home from school each day and have a time of solitude playing with his Legos and cars. I know the feeling!

-Brad

p.s. Koleman is second from the left

Sunday Meeting

On Sundays we have been part of a small group/church plant that meets in Kenan and Vanessa Ketchams' house. This past Sunday we celebrated two birthdays after the meeting. We are excited to see how God will work within this group of people! It has also been an excellent time for us to practice Spanish.

-Brad

New School

After much prayer and thought, we've decided to switch Koleman's school. Where he was attending
wasn't the best learning environment due to a huge class and much chaos. This week will be Koleman's
first full week at Colegio Sudameriz, a private, evangelical school here in Pucallpa. The two days
of class that he had last week went very well. On the first day he cried a little on his way to
school as he wasn't sure he wanted to go if neither Daddy or Mommy would be in the classroom with
him. But he ended up loving it and was anxious to go back to school this week! We praise the Lord
for how well Koleman has adjusted to life here in Peru.

-Brad

The Parque Natural of Pucallpa

Yesterday, Saturday, we spent the morning at the local zoo here in town. It was a bit rainy so not
many others there but we were very impressed with the exhibits! All animals from the Amazon
rainforest and many of them very active inside their exhibits. There was even an Amazon parrot that
entertained us by saying loudly to us, "Hola!" and then he would give a big belly laugh.

The photo is Koleman going through the entrance of the zoo...a big jaguar mouth.

-Brad

On the Banks of the Ucayali River

The city of Pucallpa is situated right on the banks of the Ucayali River, which is a tributary of
the Amazon River. Yesterday afternoon we went downtown with Alfredo and Maruja Portugal (our hosts)
as well as Kenan and Vanessa Ketcham and their kids to see an open market right on the river's edge.

-Brad

Our Digs in Pucallpa

The house with the red wall is where we and Mr. and Mrs. Portugal live. We have a family living on
the second floor above us, two families behind our building, and then neighbors on both sides! We
are thankful for a place to stay where we can focus on improving our communication in the Spanish
language.

-Brad

Koleman at School

Every once in a while in Koleman's class of five-year olds things are pretty calm and work is
actually done! Rebecca was able to shoot a picture when this was happening.

Koleman is still pretty quiet in class but is hearing A LOT of Spanish. He kind of begrudgingly
posed with his teacher for a photo, too!

Although, there are educational activities for the kids to do at school, our biggest hope is that
Koleman will benefit by learning some Spanish. After our time here in town is finished and we are
situated back in a village, Rebecca plans to continue on with home schooling for Koleman.

-Brad

Meet the Ketchams!

We are no longer the only members of the Pioneers Ash team in Peru! Kenan and Vanessa Ketcham, along with their two daughters, Kaedith and Kayli, are now part of our missionary team. Kenan and Vanessa will be our supply buyers in town as well as doing a myriad of other things to help support us while we are out in the village. Kenan and I go WAY back as we both attended the same school for missionary children in Brazil. We are excited about having the Ketchams on our team!!

Pray for them as they spend three months back in the USA this summer to try to raise their financial support. Pray for more contacts for them as they plan road trips and meetings across the USA.

-Brad

Koleman's First Day of School

School has begun! Koleman was a bit wary of this idea of attending Peruvian school, but with Mommy by his side he was willing to give it a try. His first morning of school went well and though he didn't try to talk to any of the other kids in his class, many of them loved talking to Koleman. Koleman's favorite part is riding the motokar to and from school. We have contracted a Christian fellow to show up every morning at around 7:45 to take Koleman to school and then around 11:00 a.m. to bring him back to the house. We are not sure right now how long Rebecca will accompany Koleman. She might for the duration as it is a good Spanish learning time for her, too!

The motokar is like a large motorized tricycle of sorts. They are EVERYWHERE in this town and the number one way to get around. The traffic can seem chaotic but as long as everyone goes with the flow, few accidents happen.

-Brad

Arriving in Peru!

After a 7-hour flight from Newark to Lima we were glad to touch down and enjoy a day in the beautiful city of Lima, Peru. This was our first time in Lima. Close to where we were staying there was a dog park and Koleman got to know one of the dogs that was always there! Ha!

Goin' on Strike

We just received word from Kenan, a Pioneers coworker in Peru, that there is a general strike planned for April 1,  the very day we are to fly into our Peruvian supply town! Kenan and Vanessa are hoping to get a grocery list of items for us today as a strike could end up bringing the country to a standstill with stores, banks, etc. closed indefinitely as well as lots of demonstrations in the streets. Nothing like a little excitement for our arrival in Peru! Thank you for praying.

-Brad

Post-op

Rebecca survived the removal of her cancerous "pimple" this morning! Next week she gets the stitches removed and, Lord willing, we are still set to fly on Monday, March 31. Thanks for praying!

Skin Cancer!? Really!?

Well, Rebecca felt like she, too, needed something medically peculiar and decided to get skin cancer! As we've been packing and organizing that strange pimple on Rebecca's forehead continued to get our attention. Finally, Rebecca decided that she would go ahead and make an appointment with our family doctor to get it checked out as that would "just make us feel better about things." Neither one of us thought that it would really be anything too serious. Weren't we surprised when after church on Sunday our family doctor approached us and told us that Rebecca's biopsy came back positive for basal-cell skin cancer!

In order to have the necessary medical insurance coverage to have the pimple removed by a dermatologist, all of Rebecca's doctors' appointments had to be this month! We praise God for His providence in working out the details for Rebecca to get in to the dermatologist this month and that we can still fly to Peru by the end of the month.

These various health issues that we have encountered does sober us as we think about returning to the tropics where lots of sunshine and lots of fire ants (thinking of Koleman's allergy to fire ant stings) abound. We do feel confident that God would have us go to Peru, though, and look forward to His continued guiding in our lives.

-Brad

Koleman is Ready to Fly

Koleman just received his brand-new passport in the mail. I think all of our travel documents are now in order for our departure to Peru!

-Brad

Yum!! Give me some of those!

The imoowo grub is a favorite of the Ash people. And, in all honesty, they aren't that bad. If you can get beyond a somewhat slimy texture, you will then be able to enjoy a very palm-fruity flavor as these big juicy grubs taste like the palm trees they eat.

Sankori humored my brother Kris in this video and allowed him to get this footage. Thanks Kris!

-Brad

We Have Our Tickets to Peru!

Lord willing, March 18 we will be embarking on a new phase in our ministry to the Ash people! We are nervously excited as we think about the future and what God has for us and the Ash people of Peru and Brazil. :)

We do praise the Lord for how smoothly this transition from one sending agency to another has gone for us during this time in the States. We also thank God for improved health for me during this time back and that Koleman was able to get the necessary shots for his fire ant allergy.

Thank you for your interest in what God is doing among the Ash people and we look forward to keeping you up to date through this blog!

Thank you for praying,

Brad, Rebecca and Koleman