Day 3 - Béle, the Amazon, & VBS

(Room has started to flood...)

Today has been a very eventful day. 

We started by going to the downtown market, which I believe is called Belén. We saw many meats, fruits, weird meats, stray dogs, and expensive meats. All the independent stores are crammed, and the overall environment is noisy and smelly. Paul, our Mission leader, led us into the poorer part of the town, which is down a couple flights of stairs from the heart of the market. The people use canoes as means of transportation between houses because of the Amazon River's flooding problem during the tropical season. I was amazed to see the strength these people here had. They have to transport their belongings to an upper level every year to avoid the mass flooding. 

After lunch, we made our way to our various mission projects. My group was sent to the Amazon river to work on a raft and boat. Massive tropical rain, however, delayed our start. (When it rains here, it rains. Seattle is nothing compared, sorry.) We were able to get to the spot on the River to help unload wooden planks for the raft, and tomorrow we will go back to help paint the vessel. 

We ended our day by putting on a short VBS for some kids in the area. We bussed to one of the sketchiest slums I have seen in the area, and we occupied what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse. The turnout was amazing. At least 20 kids showed. Pastor Troy shared a great message, the Seniors shared Spanish songs, and some students put on an entertaining skit of the Good Samaritan. It was all fun, and the kids (probably kindergarten to third grade) were very vocal. They promised to come tomorrow for our Friday night vespers , and I hope to see them there. I know they were excited to see us and that we are impacting their lives in a very special way. 

Tomorrow's schedule will probably be more focused on mission and VBS. We are definitely on Lima time (or island-time), but in this place it is more important to build relationships than to be on time. 

I like it. :)