Back in the swing of things

So let’s face it…I, Amy McGee, am not an eloquent writer. I don’t post or blog because I feel like my blogs don’t have enough creativity and wont hold anyone’s attention. But, I think I need to just get over myself! So, I want to update everyone on what is going on. It will be just the facts. Nothing poetic or funny or inspiring, but, a lot is happening here and I want to share. So, no fluff…just facts! P.S. this one will be a long blog, sorry!

We returned to Nauta on Friday February 26^th after about 60 hours travel! It was all a pretty good trip until Lima. For some reason; the traveling this time really took a toll on Joel and I. It really took us a good three days to feel less tired. We are starting to feel our age. For me this is such a foreign concept. I have never felt my age!

When we finally got to Nauta, our neighbors, who had been keeping an eye on our cats and house, greeted us right away and were very concerned. We had told them we would be home on the 20^th and Joel had forgotten to Facebook message Miguel to tell him we would be about a week late. They were happy to see us because they were worried something had happened. I felt bad but at the same time it was nice to see the concern too. We are really blessed with good neighbors.

Anywho… Saturday we rested and started to unpack things. Joel was up and at ‘em. He worked pretty hard outside all week.  That night we were able to see missionary friends as we celebrated a birthday. We really missed them and enjoyed catching up and laughing lots.

Sunday was a pretty quiet day. Joel did some visiting out and about and talking to a few pastors upriver on the phone. Carmen and I worked on getting the house back in shape and unpacking more. Sunday night pastor Eduardo from Parinari came for a visit. He is one of the pastors that Junglemaster is sending to the seminary training here in Nauta. After talking with him for a bit, Joel and Eduardo went to visit a missionary friend that is taking a group to Parinari in May. Joel is helping to transport the team upriver.

Monday we got really busy.  I got Carmen back on her school schedule and Brother Abram and his wife Jessica came from Santa Rita to stay. Junglemaster had raised funds to help buy school supplies for the children in Santa Rita. So Abram and Jessica came to help Joel shop for all the supplies.

You know I really enjoy having the Junglemaster house full of people.  Some other friends were passing through to take the ferry to Santa Rita Tuesday morning and asked if they could stay the night too. So all the beds were full and a lot of love and laughter Monday night.  That is really what the Junglemaster house is meant for and it is wonderful to see it. 

Tuesday they were supposed to go into Iquitos and buy the supplies but a driver strike shut down all modes of transportation to /from Iquitos that day. So, the guys hung out and worked on the boat. I did school with Carmen and Jessica talked with us all and seemed to enjoy a day that she could just do nothing. Although, I think it was a little uncomfortable at first because they don’t usually do nothing. She did wash dishes after each meal and took a walk.  We had prayer group with the other missionaries that night. I love prayer nights!

Wednesday Joel, Abram, Jessica, and Eduardo went to Iquitos and shopped. They returned in the afternoon with Miguel who was also heading back to Santa Rita on Thursday morning. So another night of a full house and lots of talking and joy and we went to church. My head was literally hurting and I was exhausted at night from talking Spanish.

Thursday morning we said goodbye. Thursday night Carmen’s friend Jeremy stopped by for a visit. We really like him a lot. He is smart, learning English, very respectful, and enjoys hanging out at our house. So, we talked with him some in English and Carmen gave him a couple of books to read. They painted and we played Jenga. He hung out for about 3 hours. We also had a couple stop by to talk. Pastor Juan and Natalie. They are really awesome and fun and have a little boy named Pablo. They have been wanting to find another couple that they can visit with and talk with about marriage things and so forth; sort of like mentors. Hah, I just laugh because, again I never feel my age so to think we have hit mentoring age is just hard to wrap my head around! Anyway, they were here a couple hours. It was wonderful though because they really help us a lot with our Spanish, We are going to meet with them regularly and maybe watch a marriage DVD.

 Friday morning 6:15 am found us up at the BMS ( British Mission) helping them mix clay for a well they are drilling on Monday. We spent the morning elbows deep in buckets of clay and water mixing it by hand. We all kept saying how nice it would be to have an electric mixer.  But, this is how they do it here. There were probably about 25 people there altogether and it was cool to sit and work together. We took a break and then left around noon. They continued to work the rest of the day but, Carmen had school and Joel and I had work stuff to do. So, that’s been our week! Crazy busy, full of blessings, fellowship, hard work, and friends.  It has been so great to hit the ground running and see all that God has done in the past 17 months start to really be put into action. We are excited to see what the next few months hold.

Thanks for reading!