Ben & ROW Team Visit Peru

Map of Peru

Ben’s Notes On The Trip:

We got back to Atlanta on Sunday (7-17-11) – tired – but in a great way! Peru was superb – solar Bibles, solar DVD players & solar light bulbs, VBS, an incredibly well prepared and organized team – they learned to pray and sing in Spanish and loved families in 8 villages and mess of homes/families who are simply scattered along the rivers of the Loreto Region of Peru. We are healthy – blessed and safe.

Highlights:

Pui and Melissa printing pictures of children and families – so many have never had a photograph of themselves!
At the end of a long hike – the team delivered solar lights and a Bible to a woman who burst into tears when she heard the Word on her Bible!
The amazing attitude of the team from Northwood Presbyterian in San Antonio – Peru has been loved in Jesus by Texas!
Children, Children, Children – and the love shared!
Aldi and video – Charles and slide shows
Most of the team was “adopted” by a pack of 15-20 monkeys! The climbed all over the ladies, curled up in their laps- and fell asleep!
When tasting lemon ants, rat, venison, alligator, and other jungle delicacies, the team just smiled and chewed….
I took pictured of some children, a Chief, and a folk medicine vendor 6 years ago – and was able to find them all and deliver photos- 6 years late!!

Didn’t mean to wax on so… but there’s lots to process – and in 13 days we will be in Venezuela!

Check out all the great ROW Radio updates and Team Photos below and keep checking back here at ROW.org for the ROW Adventure Films to follow!

God bless – praise the Lord for Northwood Presbyterian and for Charles, Melissa, Brien, Jane, Mitchell, Madi, Patti, Carol, Norma, Ann, Sarah, Pui, and Aldi,

In Jesus
Ben

Ben Mathes, Charles Johnson, Aldi and a team of eleven from Northwood Presbyterian Church in San Antonio are in Peru and cruising the Amazon River doing good works wherever they go!

Click to hear the people of Peru singing “Jesus Loves Me”! (You’ll need to turn it up a bit!)

Check out the Stories, Pictures and ROW Radio Updates below:

ROW Radio Updates

Madi’s Trip Update:

Monday, July 11, 2011

After failed flights and lost luggage, we’ve finally reached San Isidro, the first village on our trip along the Amazon. We brought soccer balls, solar-powered light bulbs, a solar-powered DVD player with Christian movies en Español, knitted caps, a volleyball net, a volleyball and school supplies. My brother Mitchell and I led a group in dancing the Hokey Pokey, my poor Spanish skills more than apparent as I tried to put the all-too familiar tune with the unfamiliar words. Sarah and I read the story of Noah’s Ark (or Noé’s Ark, as it is in Spanish), and our fluent Spanish speaker, Norma, directed the kids in the “reenactment.” We passed animal masks around, one child got to be Noé, and the ark was simulated. Then the room was broken up into stations: BEN IS GREAT, nail painting, animal tattoos, and coloring. Everyone got their picture taken, and once either Melissa or Pui had printed it and glued it to a paper plate, the villagers decorated the plates with stickers. Patty and Brien started a game of soccer (fútbol), Carol got some kites in the air (which inevitably ended up in a palm tree, to be rescued by a villager) and somehow we managed a group picture with all of the villagers who were at the schoolhouse. But I have to admit that the highlight of my day was the latter part of our visit. I took out a can of bubbles and the kids ran around trying to catch them. Melissa, Brien and I took a little side trip to one of the native’s houses where she generously gave us salted fish and yucca cereal in exchange for clothing. Her house looked all hand crafted, with a hammock hanging from the ceiling and a thatched roof. But the coolest feature of her house by far was the baby monkey living there. That monkey was the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. It crawled up my arm with its tiny little hands and curled up next to my chest…adorable. It’s only been one day, but so far, I’m loving Peru.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

We traveled down the Amazon and into Yanayacu tributary to visit the Yanayacu village (I wonder where they got their name). The group got together last night to discuss what we wanted and didn’t want to change for today’s lesson, so this morning we headed into the village with a mission (literally). We decided to introduce ourselves, where we were from and why we were here, and had the kids all say their names. Our group sang “Jesus Loves Me” en Español to break the ice, and then I read the story of El Arce de Noé. After the reenactment, tattoo and nail polish stations were set, pictures were printed and the DVD player rolled a Spanish “Veggie Tales. I spent all of my time painting nails. Toddlers and parents alike came to the table, and I painted fingers and even some toes. Ben actually started a trend: I painted only the pinky nail on his left hand, and before long, Brien had some verde polish on his left pinky, Charles got oro sparkles, César was rocking azul, and even men from the village came up, pointed to a color and stuck out their pinky. The only one who has proven to be not man enough to put on some polish is my brother Mitchell, who apparently hates fun and frivolity.

Now he and Brien are off bartering with the locals, trading candy and clothing for fishing spears. I’m a little worried about what’s going to become of the partnership between Brien and a sharp object, especially one that he intends to throw. Carol, Norma, Sarah, Patty (or Pati, as she spells it in Peru) Anne, César and I went out into the village in search of a paddle to trade for clothes or batteries. Only Anne returned having met with success. After lunch, another group set off to distribute the light bulbs and Spanish bibles. We walked by the village jail (basically a large chicken coop for people), BEN IS SUPER, a young couple cooking a trough of yucca cereal and finally a cat. There were plenty of dogs running around the villages, but being a cat person, I was a bit dismayed at the lack of gatos. But that was remedied when a cute little kitten came scampering down the stairs of one of the huts. In speaking of cute animals, there was a red-faced monkey in another hut. I had the foresight to bring a banana, and, in accordance to all monkey stereotypes, he seemed to really like it. By this time it was pouring, so what was left of our group (some of them had run for the boat at the first sign of rain) slogged through the mud to get to the boat. Once everyone made it on board, we got going and stopped at a tiny village where we distributed supplies. A little girl named Talea gave my mom a baby tortuga, which now resides in a bucket on deck. We will be releasing Nemo when we get to the research center, although I want to take him home…although I have no idea how he would make it through Customs, so his release is probably for the best. But if I do find a way to smuggle the turtle into the country illegally, would anyone be willing to give him a job?

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 – Posted by Patti!

This morning on the Amazon began a little differently. After an early breakfast on the Nenita, anchored on the Arumbasa River, we squeezed (all 14 of us, plus 2 crew) into a skiff to take a short-cut over to the Orosa River, where the Madre Selva Research Station was located. I am constantly amazed at how many people we see travelling from one village to the next, some in dugout canoes, some with outboard motors. All of them smile and wave as we pass.

At the Research Station, we had a short ‘nature hike’ into the jungle, here recent (30 years) re-growth jungle. The vegetation was wild and wonderful. Most of the animals stay hidden from us, but we did have the opportunity to taste ‘lemon ants.’ The Research Station currently is home to about a dozen honors students from Florida International University, doing various research projects on the environment, public health issues, and language.

We then took the skiff to the village of Comandancia, where the villagers have crafts trading set up for us. For us, the most common trade items are clothing, batteries, and flashlights. For the villagers, the trade items are woven purses, jewelry and carved animals. Although it was not planned, we could not leave the village without going to the school and having some interaction with the children. We had our photography supplies, and took pictures of about 30-35 school children. As in the previous days, others come to the school to ask that pictures of their younger children, and of families be taken. The smiles on the faces of the children when they receive their pictures is priceless. Back home, most of us get ‘school photos’ once or twice a year – sometimes it seems like too many. Here in the jungle, many of these children have never had a picture of themselves to take home. We later sent some soccer balls and volleyball equipment back to the village.

Back on the Nenita, we split into groups – one group headed downriver on the slow-moving Nenita, the other group going on the faster skiff, stopping at the many isolated homes upriver from the town of Yanashi, with solar-powered light-bulbs and caps and other items. The skiff caught up with the Nenita just after we reached the main flow of the Amazon at sunset. It was an awesome sight to see, at the end of a day filled with beautiful people and places.