Last Week in Cabana :(

Monday we decided would be our rest and recuperation day from the crazy exhaustion prompted by the Chacco. We slept in, which for me meant getting up at 9 am, and it was wonderful because I got nearly 11 hours of much needed sleep! Then I went to the internet and tried to put the Chacco into words, which you can decide whether I succeeded or not. After lunch, we were heading back to the hostel when we saw a big truck full of bricks and cement being unloaded at a store nearby. We stopped to admire the sight of a man sitting on top of the truck and tossing two bricks at a time to a man standing on top of the roof of the store, and then we were asked if David and Shane could help out. Them, being always ready to do anything manly, readily agreed and set themselves up, one on top of the roof, and one in the truck handing bricks to the man tossing them. We quickly realized that this was going to take a long time, so Kelly went to talk to some people down the street and I went in the store to help the lady unload and arrange the various products that had arrived. They guys were great, working hard the whole time through all the nasty dust and brick residue flying around, and we were rewarded with some fresh cheese, some tangerines, and the promise of some mote (the delicious boiled corn we had at the chacra many weeks ago) if we came back in an hour. So, it wasn’t quite the r and r we had expected, but it was good nonetheless. We came back to the store a while later and got the mote, which we took to the park and ate with the hard-earned cheese. Then we played some volleyball, which was really fun because it was only a few adults and a lot of kids, so it was way more relaxed than usual. We had talked with Wílder a little earlier in the day about whether we could talk with Elva later on, and when we talked to them again they agreed that around 7 we could come by and talk. So, after volleyball, we waited for them to get off work and then went with them to their house. Originally, we had intended it to be Kelly and I talking alone with Elva, but then Wílder came, so we decided to get the boys, too. We were really nervous about how everything was going to play out, but we had prayed earlier, so all we could do was trust and hope for the best. We started out just saying how much we wanted to get to know Elva like we had gotten to know Wílder and how we regretted if we had upset her in any way. Then she explained that it wasn’t us she was upset with, but that she felt that Wílder always put her and their son aside to hang out with his friends and that she felt that he didn’t think they were very important. It was kind of awkward because it felt that we were caught in the middle of their problems, but Elva assured us that she didn’t resent us for anything and that all her frustration and hurt feelings were due to Wílder’s behavior. We tried to be as sensitive as possible, and Shane offered his dad’s counsel for them when they come on Sunday. [Kevin and a church team, which consists of Shane’s mom and dad, are coming on Sunday, and Shane’s dad is a counselor.] They said they would like to talk to someone and get some advice, and we asked if we could get together all of us to hang out sometime. So, we scheduled some hangout time for the next evening. By the way, it was pretty tense the whole time we were talking with them, but I just have to mention this one part that provided some much needed comic relief: while we were talking and Elva was kind of tearing up, Kent, their 2-year-old son who was also sitting there with us, just farted and everyone started cracking up. It was hilarious! So that was Monday.

Tuesday we got up early to go to our friend Anthony’s chacra with him and his little brother Luis. It took us about an hour’s descent into the valley, and we went all the way to the bottom right next to the river. We had expected to do some work like weeding or shucking corn or something, but Anthony told us that we were just there to have fun, which was fine with us. We immediately set up a fire to start boiling the potatoes and corn we had brought with us. Anthony started wading across the river because there was supposedly a hot spring on the other side, and the boys went exploring down the river where there were a bunch of big rocks. Unfortunately, someone had to keep the fire going so that we could eat, and that someone was me. I sat there for nearly 2 hours adding wood and blowing on the fire to keep it going, even though I would have liked to do some exploring. It was kind of frustrating because no one wanted to even take turns so that I could cool off a bit or have some fun, but in the end the potatoes were yummy and we were all satisfied. After lunch, Anthony, Luis, and Kelly decided to walk to Sondondo, which is a town about a half hour’s walk from the chacra, while Shane, David, and I stayed to try swimming across the freezing cold river to find the hot spring. I waded in to a little above my knees, but I just couldn’t go any further. The water was so cold it was painful, and there was no getting accustomed to it or anything, so I stumbled back to shore with numb feet and tons of mosquitoes flying around my unprotected legs. Then I got the video camera out to tape the guys as they went all in and swam across the river to end up not finding the hot spring while I laid on a warm rock and dried off. Then I decided to take a nap in the shade while we waited for the others to come back, and it was very nice, except for the stupid mosquitoes. [Not what you’re thinking of, either; they look like little yellowish gnats, but when they bite you they leave a raised up bump with a tiny red dot of blood in the middle.] Anyways, when Anthony and Luis got back, they told us that Kelly was going to stay in Sondondo and get a ride back, so we rested for a bit more and then started our ascent back to Cabana. It was really tough because we took many crazy paths and only parts of the actual road, but we finally made it a little over an hour later, and we all collapsed in our beds. I took a shower, which was the first time I had showered twice in three days, but it was worth it. Then we went to Wílder and Elva’s house and helped them clean up from Kent’s birthday party on Sunday. And another friend named Roy came over, and we ate some bread and drank coffee, and then we played cards, which was so fun! It was great hanging out with the whole family, and I really feel that it helped relax the tense situation.

Wednesday I got up and cooked with Jackie, which as always was awesome. I just love spending time with her, and each time we hang out she opens up a bit more. I shared with her the impact that Christ has had in my life, and I had hoped that she would be a little more interested than she actually was. She mainly just said that it was nice, and that’s about it, but I’m going to keep talking with her and loving her and just hope that God will open her up. The meal was once again delicious, and we all hung out talking a bit before we left. Wednesday evening we walked to Aucará for the second English class and Bible study, and there was some crazy wind that was making it really cold and not fun to be outside. We got there and waited about an hour, and then a couple of people told us that because of the weather no one wanted to leave their house. So we rescheduled for Saturday, asked people to spread the word, and got a ride in a huge truck back to Cabana. I was pretty tired from getting up early to cook and then walking to Aucará, so I went to bed early. Right before I went to bed, though, I realized that my head lamp was missing, so I searched through my back pack and my room, but I couldn’t find it. I finally gave up and accepted the fact that I probably lost it in the truck, but I’m still pretty bummed about it because it was so handy and helpful. Anyways, that’s not important.

Prayer requests:
- Pray for all the summer mission teams as we all prepare to leave the homes we’ve had this summer
- Pray for the church team as they fly tomorrow to Peru and then make the long, nauseating drive to Cabana on Saturday and Sunday
- Pray that we would make the most of our time left here
- Pray for Elva and Wílder’s relationship and our friendship with them
- Pray for Jackie, that she would take to heart what we share with her and that God would water the seeds planted in her
- Pray for all the people of Cabana, that they would come to know Christ
- Pray that we would know how to handle leaving all this behind and trusting that God will use what has happened this summer to continue revealing Himself in this village
- Pray that we would all focus on God and not on leaving, going home, or anything else that might hinder Him working through us

Thank you for your love, prayers, and comments :).