Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Hi all! I'm sorry that this update is so late. The internet here just went away for the last four days. At least it wasn't the power or the water!

Sunday was a very relaxing day off. We went to church in the morning, which is always amazing. Because it was Father's Day, they had an amazing service. Lots of specials, two messages, and gifts and food for the dads.

After church we went to a restaurant on the lake for lunch. It was delicious, and we had a great time. While we were eating, we saw freshwater dolphins jumping in Lake Yarinacocha! It was absolutely incredible. We had a long, long lunch, then got in a peque peque to go to a zoo across the lake. At this zoo, we held a 30 foot anaconda! It was so much heavier than I expected. And yes, there are pictures to prove it. We sent Sunday afternoon swimming, then went to the restaurant near our old hotel for dinner. I finally got my frapé de maracuyá (passion fruit smoothie. Amazing.)

That night, the family we're living with set up their trampoline, and Craig, Efrain, Ben, and I sat out there talking for a few hours. Those times are so precious to me... looking at the stars on a trampoline in Peru, talking and crying with my brothers.

On Monday we went to the villages of Panaillo and Nuevo Egypto. Some of you may remember the little boy from Panaillo that I talked about last year, who had AIDS. I asked about him, and they took me to his house to see him. He's doing well, but has some bad days. His family was so happy when I told them that I had been praying for their boy.

Nuevo Egypto was a new village, and it's a Shipibo Indian settlement. Talk about indescribable. The ladies wore their traditional dress, and the kids sang to us in their native language. Everyone in this village was so excited to see us. I spent a lot of time snuggling with a little baby. :)

Because Ben was leaving on Tuesday afternoon, we had a blessing for him during devotions. Everyone cried, and we all laid hands on him and prayed for him. It was amazing. Craig, Ian, Efrain, Ben, and I stayed outside on the deck for a while afterwards, singing praise songs and talking.

Tuesday morning we took the peque peque to Once de Agosta, and did our program. Craig was at the immigration office (his visa had ended up in his laundry and he had to get a new one) and Ben wasn't feeling well, so Ian and Rick did the story with Efrain and I. I saw my little Diego in 11 of August. After I took a picture with him, he disappeared, then came back with a small basket. "A gift for my sister." Precious.

We lunched at the church, then returned to our house to shower and nap. Ben packed his things. Craig was sick, so he slept. (He's better now.). Ben left around 5:30, then my mom and Marilyn went to the church for the women's Bible study. We picked them up after, and headed to dinner. It was 11 by the time we got home, so we did devotions and went to sleep.

This morning we went to the church, and the guys worked on construction while the women learned how to make Juane, a traditional dish for the festival of St. John the Baptist. We had time for shopping this afternoon.

In about an hour, we will leave for our goodbye dinner at the church. They have a huge program planned for us, with music and testimonies. Kleenex will be essential.
Please pray for us as we prepare to leave tomorrow evening. We are nowhere near ready. We just got here. We're just starting to build relationships.
So many more of my heartstrings have been tied to this country, and when they get pulled all the way back to the US, it hurts.
Thank you for your prayers.
We love you
--Alyssa