A Typical Letician Week

Now that we're leaving the jungle town, I decided to describe a typical week here in Leticia. On Sundays we have Sunday School at 9, or 9:30, where everyone either said a verse by memory or shared one they've been enjoying recently. It has been really neat to see how a lot of the time, many of the verses relate to one another. Then at 11 we have Breaking of Bread.

After eating lunch, the last two Sundays we've had Sunday School. Lydia put a ton of effort into painting signs, one that we put outside the house for the neighbors to see, as well as posters having songs in both English and Spanish. Shortly after lunch, we would go out into the neighborhood inviting any kids we saw, and even knocking on doors. The first week we had absolutely no idea how it was going to work out. We told people we were having a free, hour long Sunday School from two until three in Spanish and English. Both times we've done it, we've gone out a bit late (like half hour before it started). About fifteen kids came the first Sunday. We sang songs, and Dad had a word. This last Sunday, it was pouring rain when we went out, getting us all soaking wet, but amazingly, more kids came than last time. We split into classes. Dave and Ben had one, with older kids (which ended up being all girls), and Lydia and I had younger kids (of whom at the beginning were all boys). A guy and girl, around twenty came, and talked with Paul, Mom, and Cam. Dad was still off inviting people half way through, so when he arrived, he joined their circle. Lydia had everything set up for our class. She had picked the story of Daniel, and was going to read it in Spanish, then have me talk about the importance of prayer. Because things come up so quickly, it ended up I kind of came in not knowing what I was doing, reading the story, then talking to the kids about it. They had never heard the story of Daniel before! Lydia had carefully traced enough coloring pages for all of the kids since we didn't have a photocopier, and they loved coloring them.

After being in classes for about a half hour, everyone came and joined back in the living room, where we sang the B-I-B-L-E (la B-I-B-L-I-A) and “Yes Jesus loves me”. I got the privilege of standing up in front of everybody, and doing the chorus in Sign Language (but it wasn't that bad considering there were mostly only kids, and people here at Roberts). Even though we really didn't/don't know what we're doing, the Lord worked everything out very well.

In the evening there is a gospel we invite anyone to come too. If nobody comes, we have an open meeting. If they do, (which eventually we've had at least one person every time) we have kind of a gospel, or answer questions they have. This last week we had a full house, a bunch of guys and a girl in their twenties (the girl, and the guy who came to Sunday School, as well as some of their friends), a seventeen year old girl who is visiting her family next door, who her aunt told her we were “evangelical Christians”, and she just showed up, as well as Lesli's mom, and three little neighbor boys, who none of us recognized, or invited, but we were glad they'd all come. Right in the middle of one of our songs the electricity went out... that was an interesting event. As soon as we had candles all lit, and flashlights, having sung a couple songs, it came back on.

Every Thursday night we have a reading meeting where it's pretty much open question and answer time. It is really neat having that, where we can talk about things freely, having a time set apart, and bounce verses and ideas off each other.

Saturday is the only other night we have a fixed plan... that is prayer and reading meeting.

Other than those, what we do during the days really varies. Every day we have wash to cycle through the washing machine (which we fill manually) and hang them on the line, do dishes, dump garbages, cook meals. Just those things can easily take up most of the day. Intermediately we do go to the internet too, where they have air-conditioning!!

Throughout the week, everybody does different things. Nate, Anna and Matt have been going to the local school in Spanish. Off and on Cam has been going with Paul and helping out with his English classes. I'm not really sure what Ben and Dave do... they kinda float and do whatever needs to be done. That's pretty much what I've been doing too. This last week I went with Cam, Paul, Dad, Bethany, and a few of our neighbors to pass out Ticuna tracts on the Brazilian side of the boarder. One day I went and helped translate with the Roberts when they went to the consulate for papers to get signed for living here.

Lydia took a girl named Lesli who has cerebral palsy to school a couple days. Lydia is absolutely awesome when working with her. I think her work back home really brought out her love for those kind of people. Lesli is in a wheel chair, and when you come to her house, and knock on the door, usually her mom is off at work, leaving her alone because her dad left her mom when she was little. She pulls herself around on the hard tile floor with her arms, considering her legs have almost no strength in them. Her feet are curled up, as are her hands, and she is very skinny. On Thursday Lydia, Dave, Ben and I went to a Christian “art school” with her, while Lydia taught an art class on how to draw eyes, then painting also. I think it was good for the girl to get out of her house, and interact. You can tell she is shy, and ashamed of how she looks, especially when she's with a bunch of other “normal” kids. But, she's smart, it's only her body that doesn't work right. It was convenient having the art school right down the street from her house, and we could walk her there.

Together we've visited places like the kilometers, and the river villages... other days we go to a nearby pool and go swimming when the heat is unbearable.

Two weekends we went to “Cafamas” almost a water park, where there is one big swimming pool, and two very large slides. They also have a volleyball and basket ball court. The first time we went there, we invited those from Kilometer 18 to come along too. When they showed up, none of them had swimming suits, which were absolutely mandatory at the pool. It was really disappointing for them, especially since the Indians had never been in a swimming pool in their whole life! It ended up Mom and Martha used their swimsuits for a while, then lent them to two of the girls, who were so excited to be able to go in, but also felt awkward wearing swimming suits, always having worn just their regular clothes in the river and ponds. Naturally living by water their whole lives they were expert swimmers, but I'm sure they'd NEVER swam in such clear water. I had fun going down the long slides with Tita.

Lesli had come with us here too, but just watched us. Lydia made her feel included by letting Lesli use her camera, and take pictures. She took pictures of people going down the slide, playing volleyball, then our group picture too. She absolutely LOVED it!

At the end of that day, all the kilometer 18 people had come back to our house, as well as Lesli for a spaghetti dinner with us, then a meeting afterward.

And that's pretty much as ¨typical¨ as our untypical weeks go...