July 6, 2008
Iquitos
Finally. Phwew. This was one trip that someone obviously didn´t want me taking. I left my house for the airport Wednesday before noon. I planned to arrive in Iquitos, Peru on Thursday morning, around 6 AM. I actually touched down here about 7 AM FRIDAY morning. After late flights, cancelled flights, a few hours in a hotel, a lot of hours in four different airports, misplaced luggage, hours on the phone with customer service, a whole lot of confusion in person at several ticket counters and corporate offices, and the joy of having to pay for a new ticket after being told I wouldn´t have to, I´m HERE! I won´t even get into the fun that happened on several of my flights....
Iquitos ranks right up there in my favorite places to be, and this trip sure reminded me why (as if I needed a reminder!) I´ve seen my buddies, Manuel and Maribel, and their beautiful little girl Catherine. I´ve gotten several pitchers of the famous camu camu juice I´m always raving about. I´ve met new people and reconnected with old friends.
The campground was gotta be close to what the Garden of Eden looked like, with beautiful tropical trees and plants and grasses and flowers and.... oh, it was just really lush and beautiful. We had over 70 kids plus staff at the first ever Iquitos Campamento Juvenil. My goddaughter Glendys was one of the campers. What a privilege to be able to spend time with her there! Amber Smith was also there, one of the youth from our church. How proud I was of her on this trip!!!! She was a great help in teaching new words to the locals. ;)
The staff worked very hard and did a super job, and now they are trained to be able to put on the camp without us gringos. The kids had a great time playing soccer, learning through classes, singing, dancing, worshiping, listening to the Word, and being together. It was great to recognize some of them from my past visits and know they are still active in the church. I leave tonight for Lima, where I´ll spend the night and take a bus the next morning to Trujillo, 8 hours away. More later....
My favorite spot in Peru as well. Nothing like the banks of the Amazon. Praying for you!
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