Back in Breu After 2 Weeks in Nueva Luz Village

We had a wonderful two weeks in the small Ash village of Nueva Luz. Always good to be there with
Laureano (an Ash believer) and his family. We "camp out" in Nueva Luz, sleeping in a tent and using
a rustic latrine. Nice to be back in our house here in Breu again with a few more conveniences. :)

We did have an interesting patient this week at Nueva Luz. A little girl (maybe 12 years old)
showed up with a pretty large lesion on her leg. My immediate thought was leishmaniasis, but wasn't
sure, so sent a couple of pictures off to a doctor we know in Brazil. He got right back to me and
definitely thought it looked like leishmaniasis. So, I mentioned to the girl's family going to
Pucallpa for a biopsy and treatment which was met with blank stares....there is no way her parents
are going to take her there.

Then Kamicha took a look at the sore and declared that her son had a sore just like that and it
healed after her treating it with the fluid from the gallbladder of a type of game bird that they
eat. Our doctor friend was actually all for them trying the gall treatment. Most often the lesions
heal on their own and if not, they spread to the nose. If her nose truly gets a lesion as well, I
know that they will be scared enough to take her somewhere for treatment.

When we arrived here in Breu, I went to the clinic and talked to one of the workers who right away
thought the picture looked like leishmaniasis as well. She said that they can give her treatment
here and that they don't worry about the biopsy. I was so relieved to hear that as I know that is
much more doable in their minds, so when we return in Sept, if the lesion is not healed, we'll
encourage her to come here for treatment.

Another interesting cultural incident: one of Laureano's sons shot a pregnant cutia (large rodent).
They delivered the fetus which was still barely alive and let their little girls carry it around
like a baby doll until it was dead. Then, Laureano's sister's family ate the fetus/baby cutia!

-Rebecca

Beware of what trail you're on!

One of the things I really enjoy when we visit Nueva Luz village is hanging out with Laureano, one of the few believers among our dialect of Asheninka. It has been a joy to come alongside this man and disciple him in his walk with our Savior but also to learn many things from him. He's an expert hunter and I always enjoy hunting in the jungles with him. He patiently teaches me the ropes of how to hunt in the Amazon rainforest.

On one of our hunts in Nueva Luz we were returning to the village and we were following this "trail" that wasn't super distinct. Laureano wanted me to go first so that I would possibly have a good shot at something along the trail. At one point I thought I was following the trail only to suddenly notice that Laureano wasn't following me. I look back and he motions to me to indicate where the proper trail goes. Once I get close to him he matter-of-factly informs me that I was following a jaguar's trail. :) OK, you probably don't want to be doing that!

-Brad

Nueve Luz village - jaguar country

One morning while we were in Nueva Luz village I took a couple of buckets over to the spring on the other side of the village to get some water. You go by Pookiritzi's house on the way to the spring. He right away wanted to show me what he had shot early this morning just a little ways upriver. He had a wild pig and a woolly monkey. He then told me that he shot two woolly monkeys but a jaguar (or puma) nabbed one of the monkeys before he could get it. Can you imagine? Last December an old jaguar came into the village here and attacked a dog, trying to get it for food. The dog survived, although it lost one eye. Then one of the villagers shot the jaguar. I haven't seen a jaguar while out hunting with, Laureano, an Asheninka believer, yet, but have seen jaguar feces close to the trail.

-Brad

Easter with Brad's Brother and Family

A belated Happy Easter to all! We were able to celebrate Easter with Kris, Mary Jane and their kids this year! Someone even came up with the idea to take a family photo. :)

-Brad

Another missionary family to join us in Breu!

This past week Brad and I were able to meet a couple from the Swiss Mission here in Pucallpa who would like to live in Puerto Breu for extended periods of time and help there with the Spanish church plant.  We really liked them and see how God is providing more help, especially for Jose Maia, through them. 

They are in their mid-fifties and called themselves Paraguayan Mennonites.  Their grandparents are German refugees from Russia.  So they look European, but have lived all their lives in Paraguay, except for when they studied in Canada and now here in Peru with the Swiss Mission.  So they speak German, Spanish and English.  We enjoyed hearing their story and how they feel God is leading them to work there in Breu.  Praise God for this dear couple who desire to be used by Him in the ministry in Puerto Breu!

-Rebecca

Derick Heads Home Today

Well, the day has arrived for Derick to make his way back home to PA. Pray for him today and tomorrow as he makes his way from Pucallpa, Peru all the way back to Harrisburg, PA. He has about 24 hours of travel ahead of him.

We have appreciated having him with us these 3 months and trust that God will continue to direct his steps as he seeks to be used of Him in cross-cultural missions!

-Brad

We're Out in Town

Praise the Lord that we had great weather yesterday and were able to fly out of the community! We will be town for about two weeks.

-Brad

Brad and Derick Return from 10 Days in Nueva Luz Village

Well, it truly is good to be back in Puerto Breu. Funny how Breu can feel so modern and nice at
times. :) I did enjoy my time at Nueva Luz. Probably the most wearing thing there is having people
at your house every waking hour, watching you. Privacy is very limited. For the 5 meetings a week
that Ash believer Laureano does, I showed all of the Genesis videos. They loved them, especially the
kids. I don't think I have ever heard such quiet meetings as most everybody was still and
listening/watching. These videos are dubbed in Pajonal Ash. There are different words used by the
Pajonal for different things, but these Ash understand what is said. So glad that I could share
God's Word with them in this way!

-Brad

How to Take Care of a Big Spider in the House

We had a spider war yesterday. I was cleaning our bedroom when I came across this big spider that
I've been seeing off and on. I decided it was time for him to die. I hit him with some poison, but
he ran away like he had a lot of energy still. So, I called Koleman and we started shooting it with
Nerf bullets. The bullets were only bruising him as he was THAT big. Finally, we knocked him down
to the floor and then Koleman kept dousing him with bug killer spray. He tried to escape under the
bed and into one of Brad's shoes, but that was the end of him as he was practically swimming in
poison spray. Koleman thoroughly enjoys our spider wars and I appreciate his help as he is a lot
braver than me with getting close to the spiders when they're still alive.

-Rebecca

Back into the Studies

On Wednesday afternoon we all walked out to Baile Lorito to visit the Ash crowd that lives there.
They all seemed glad for a visit and were very patient with our Ash. They definitely prefer to talk
to us in Ash. They offered us a very watery pyaarentsi (yucca beer) that we worked on getting down.
They were all curious about Derick, too. Then when we left, they sent a whole stalk of plantains
with us that Brad carried almost the whole way with a little help from Derick. The path was pretty
muddy and we had to cross a rather murky stream at one point, too. Koleman was loving the adventure
of the stream.

The next day, one of the young men showed up to do a language session with Brad. It went pretty
well, but Brad doesn't think he (Toyoyo) has the patience for a two-hour session. Please be praying
for us to find several good language helpers for Brad to get back into the routine of his language
sessions. Mauricio is awesome, but he is still in Pucallpa and may be going to another small city
to study. We have been working on our culture filing, which is good to get done and also to see
some of the holes in our cultural knowledge.

-Rebecca

Going Batty!

We have a lone bat wondering around above our heads between the aluminum roof and the Styrofoam
sheets we put up under the aluminum. We expect that he or she escaped the great bat war that the
guys fought in this week to rid the house of some bats that took residence in our absence. Brad was
scaring them out of their hiding place and Derick and Koleman were getting rid of them and trying to
get the cats to go after them as well. The cats were only mildly interested at best and in the
process one bat got away. Well, we have been hearing it scuffle along all over the house now, and
Brad even saw him peek his head out between Styrofoam sheets the one morning while I was
praying....what was Brad doing while I was praying??? Unless the bat finds a way out, he will die
up there and then we'll have the stink to use to find him, hopefully.

-Rebecca

We're here in the village and getting settled

Thank you for your prayers! We had beautiful weather yesterday and the missionary pilot had no
problem flying the 1 hour flight to our village. It is always a busy, dirty, sweaty time as we clean
our house of dirt and cobwebs and get situated back in the house...but we are very happy to be back!

-Brad

Flying into the Village

We're waiting to leave for the village. Praise the Lord for nice weather today!

-Brad

Off to the Ash Village on Tuesday

The plan is to fly into the community this coming Tuesday. Pray that the weather would be nice for flying. It's rainy season now and the missionary pilot and plane depend on suitable weather to fly.

We praise the Lord for the buying and catching up with our teammates we 've been able to do during this time in Pucallpa.

Derick, the young man who is staying with us for three months, has been adjusting well. On some mornings he has been Koleman's home school teacher (see photo) which has been a big help.

-Brad

Lots of Catching Up with the Arrival of Brad's Sister-in-Law and Family

Mary Jane and the kids were able fly out of the village today. Praise the Lord for nice enough weather this morning that the missionary pilot could do the flight. Pray for good weather tomorrow and Kris' flight out of the village.

Koleman is enjoying having his cousins around again!

-Brad

We've in Pucallpa!

We are in the jungle city of Pucallpa. Our flight from Lima went well. We'll be here till the 16th when we fly out to the Ash community.

Later today Mary Jane (Brad's sister-in-law) and her kids will be arriving from the community. Kris comes out on Saturday. We're looking forward to catching up with our coworkers.

-Brad