• Family is doing great, all healthy and going strong
• The Natives of the Tigre river have striked against the oil company and are not allowing any boats to pass, we have been unable to get to Paiche Playa and time is running short.
• Kori and I will have been married for two years this Monday the 9th!
• The first democratic elections are going on in our country in West Africa. Please pray for their future president.
• Susan Taliaferro we need your phone numbers. We're in Nauta waiting for the Parro again, read details below.
Boiled Fish and Green dry plantain's for the Interested Reader:
Parro Strike/Blockade:
Its long, but you have gotta hear this!
The biggest news as of late is our journey to Paiche Playa (the village kori lived in while he was a single missionary to Peru). We left Iquitos at 6am on the first of August headed towards Nauta by taxi then on to Paiche Playa via Launcha (river boat). We arrived in Nauta and met the rest of the Xtreme team who were headed out to different communities along the river to share stories from scripture with the people. We all took the same launcha packed with 30 other people up to a village called Puerto Orlando. In the night the launcha passed one of the town a team of guys were going to and they had to wait with us in Peurto Orlando and get a peki-peki down river to Nueva Mira Flores. We arrived in the village at 930 pm. The village was silent and the stars were more beautiful than any I have ever seen. I followed the guys with Fisher in his wrap across me chest, a bucket on my head and a bag filled with our stuff in my left hand. As we ascended up the muddy, slippery bank i thought to myself, please Lord don't let me fall with Fisher like this. We safely got up to the top and I followed the guys to a fairly large hut. They began to yell for someone to come out and with no prior notice this family opened their house to us in the middle of the night. Eight of us crammed in the front room of the hut and slept well until morning. The guys went on their way and kori and I stayed with the family waiting for the next Lancha up River. The week before there had been a strike on the Tigre River that lasted for 10 days but we had recieved information that the Parro had been lifted (which it had) so we anticipated a launcha any day up river.
Our first full day in Puerto Orlando a helicopter came to the village and dropped off a 3 months supply of food and water for the people. It was a gift from the oil company to the people to either buy their silence for destroying their land and polluting the river or to keep their silence. Am I allowed to say that? Well... we worked all day bringing food and water from the shore to the center of the village as the people distributed it evenly to each family. Kori hopped on a boat to help bring in water to different surrounding villages.
The next morning i awoke to the CB radio (or something like one) to the peoples of Santa Cruz proclaiming to all the launchas and towns that the Parro was in place again with greater force. The Natives of Santa Cruz were infuriated by the oil company trying to buy their silence and declared that the parro would persist for another month. I was so discouraged. Paiche Playa is a 2.5 day trip up the Tigre River and if the strike were to last a month we would not be able to encourage the believer "Lapiz" in Paiche or share the gospel with the others. We waited in Puerto Orlando for three days. Praying for God to break through this barrier.
In my mind i thought, well it would have been nice, but there is no way now. I had given up, not anticipating the power of God through prayer. As i prayed I realized I did not believe God would lift the Parro. Why would He, for us to spend a week with the people? Kori's faith challenged me during this time. As i prepared a departure plan back to Nauta, kori was convinced we would have a launcha up river. I didn't understand his thought process. That night after having listened to the radio for hours waiting for the parro to be lifted we realized that only 5 lanchas go up the tigre river. Three of them had passed the point of the parro when it had been lifted (and could not return down river) and another one had passed us going down river. We knew that if we did not catch the fifth Lancha we would be stuck their for a week at the least. We decided to catch the next lancha that came by going back to Nauta. We talked through the situation and decided to go back until it had been lifted. That night we slept waiting for the 9am boat.
At 7pm we were abruptly woken up by a woman yelling "aren't you going to Paiche? The boats here!" I was so disoriented i couldnt really understand what was going on. We got on the boat after dragging our half packed luggage to the launcha and kori said "We're going to Doce de Octubre" That didn't mean much to me because i had no clue where the villages on the river are. He looked at me with disappointment as though i should be excited. So realizing i didn't understand he said "This boat is passing Paiche through the parro!" I couldn't believe it. I didn't have an ounce of expectation for God to take us to Paiche after hearing the discussions on the CB radio. God made me realize the little faith i truly have that He will establish His plans. I was convicted hard.
We spent the next two days on the lancha sitting in our hammocks reading and journaling. After a while its hard not being able to get up and walk around. And boiled green plantains... please Lord, I've had enough. Its like eating chalk. And the ladies would not leave me until i sucked the eye balls and brains out of the fishes head. ( i had thrown the first head over board not realizing and they were so offended) whoops. As we headed up river the boat was full of hope. Kori got to share Christ with four different people and I got to know the intimate parts of Edith's heart. She says shes so close to giving her heart and life to God but she's not ready yet. Please prayer for Señora Edith.
Two days passed as we traveled farther up river as we approached the town right before the village where the strike had been set, the people had fear in their eyes and urged the Duña (or owner of the Lancha) not to go. Edith was close to the owner and knew she had to get more passengers if she were going to return to Nauta, but she was determined to pass through. As we approached Santa Cruz 30 native women lined the bank in full indigenous wear (Grass tops and skirts) with their spears in hand. It was like something out of a book. The only woman I have ever seen that mad is my own mama when i would disobey. Up until this point I didn't realize the gravity of what a "parro" really was. These Peruvians mean business. As we got closer kori and I looked at each other and thought "surely she is not going to dock this boat". As we got closer to shore the Duña came to us and said "stay out of site, we'll only have more trouble if they know there are tourists on board." This was the only time i have ever seen kori truly concerned about any form of danger. I was running through scenarios in my mind of how to defend my family. “Machete… to dangerous. I could throw luggage at them… ineffective. Solid wooden indigenous paddle… perfect!” We sat still but ready as the Duña had the workers on board lock up the openings. She went to the bow of the boat and stood behind a half door (you know the ones that open at the bottom or top). The native women yelled and yelled and refused to listed to a word she said. She kept asking them to let her pass because she was a Peruvian and this is her land too. But because she was a “Mestizo” or half breed they did not consider this her land.
After about 30 minutes of intense arguing they explained she was not allowed take any passengers and was not allowed to leave! Apparently the “Apo” of village chief had banned the people from playing futbol and all had to be ready to fight if someone dared pass the cable they had set across the river. An hour passed as we sat there not knowing what was going to happen. Then four women snuck on the boat and explained that we had to take them with us because they had a small baby and the mother was unable to breast feed due to HIV. They explained to food was running out and it was urgent that they got out of there. So the Duña told them not to tell anyone and at 6pm we would sneak down river. “This woman is crazy” I thought. “She’s gonna get us killed”. By 6pm the entire launcha was filled with women and at 7 all lights were turned off and the men pushed us off shore as we slowly drifted down river. I have only prayed this hard once in my life. 45 minutes passed with no alarm, no one was following us. After two hours of complete silence the engines were turned on and we began our descent back to Nauta.
We are here in Nauta until Monday and if the Parro has not been lifted by then we will return back to Iquitos.
Prayer Requests:
• Please pray for Edith, that God would continue calling her to Himself and that she would accept His invitation of Salvation.
• Pray that the seeds God used kori to plant in the hearts of those people would take root.
• Pray for the peoples of Peru who are yet to hear the gospel of Jesus
• Intercede with us as we cry out to God for the peoples of West Africa as we prepare to serve there
• Bea is in FPO right now preparing for overseas service as well
• Continue to lift up the young men going through Training that God would continue to teach truth to their hearts and that they would be willing to live it for the rest of their lives
• PRAISE GOD for his faithfulness, provision and protection.
‘til the whole world hears,
Rach