Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings from a soggy Pucallpa, Peru! From October to April is our rainy season, when we have to adapt to a change of pace and function. Many days we are either working out in the rain, which I often do, or finding things to do under a roof in the dry. The rain has been one of the most trying things these last few months. I suppose it only points out my need to be flexible in my plans. That verse in Matthew keeps coming to mind – the one that says, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust”, although I sometimes find myself wondering into which group I fall. Be that as it may, we’ve been extremely busy.
As some of you may remember, our faithful truck had been running poorly and was in need of an engine rebuild. Driving conditions here are extremely rough on a vehicle. With some help from David Kooistra, a fellow missionary who is an aircraft mechanic, we have taken the engine out, cleaned it, and have it ready to go back together. However, it will still be a while before it is in use, as we will need to wait on some parts to come in from the good ‘ole USA. Hopefully, it should be up and running soon. Praise God for a supporter who has graciously donated all the parts for this project. We anticipate that it will be ready for use by the time some of the teams arrive to help with construction this summer. The old “Rover” is now our steady transportation. It’s a bumpy ride with its stiff suspension, but as it is built for this type of terrain it always gets us where we want to go.
Another huge project is the preparing of the boards for our house. The “Wood-Mizer”, our portable sawmill, is a large part of my life these days. It saves us a lot of money in wood, so we are grateful for it, but it is a lot of work. (Both the Rover and the Wood-Mizer were generously donated by our good friends, Jeff and Carol Morgan, - former missionaries here in Peru.) I need to get enough wood cut and sized for the teams so that they have plenty to do when they arrive. We are so very grateful for people’s willingness to come and help, and we are looking forward to their visit. Pray for continued strength and safety in accomplishing this somewhat overwhelming task of building our home from logs lying here in our yard.
I am organizing a Bible study among some of the Shipibo natives from the village across the lake from us. Pray that God will continue to use us as a light to those who are still in the darkness.
We are praising the Lord for those he has sent to help us here. Felipe Suarez continues helping me to maintain the base property. Ashley Tello comes several times a week helping to school the kids. Vanessa seems to be feeling better – especially during the mornings – and the new medications to help keep her blood volume and pressure regulated seem to be helping her feel better. She still isn’t back to normal, but is so much better than before. Thank you all so much for your e-mails, calls, and prayers for her. Long-term physical problems of this kind can be discouraging and sometimes difficult to bear, but because of them, we are reminded of how loved we are and how we are not alone in our mission here, but held up in prayer by those back home. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. We thank you for being a part of our team and love hearing from you.
Grace and Peace.
~Vann, Vanessa, Corynn, Ethan, and Clara