my week in the mission field. (part the fifth)

Day 5 (7/14) Thursday.  Awakend at 6:00 by either Melissa or mom, too sleepy to tell which one.  Somehow manage to get air mattress deflating and tent broken down within 3 minutes of being awakened.  As we break down camp, breakfast is being served.  Today we have egg-in-the-hole.  It's fry-bake batter made doughnut shaped with an egg fried in the middle.  It's a little like egg the basket, but only a little, and like everything else Sister Lorna made, it was awesome.  After breakfast and breaking camp, we're back on the river.  Today I get to see some kind of snake (not sure what kind, but I tell myself it was an anaconda), and a sloth.  We stopped and turned around for a better look at the sloth after Sister Lorna pointed it out chillin' in the tree as we passed.  We got close enough for some great pictures of it, and it was utterly undisturbed by our presence, it just went right on eating.  And let me tell you, if you're into cute, this sloth would have been right up your alley.  After several hours on the river, we stop at Pastor Adam and Sister Lorna's home.  It's a big farm most which Pastor Adam has cleared mostly by hand.  He's got corn and cucumbers and okra and several other things of which I forgot to take note.  As we were walking back towards his house, we pass a young lady and (I believe) her young (3 years old-ish) brother.  That little boy took one look at me and screamed and took off running like his shoes were on fire, running over plants and roots and paying no attention to where he was going.  I guess the monster under his bed is a big harry white guy.  Then photos with the family and mom and I offer advice on how to eat radishes (Pastor Adam grew them, but no one was sure how to use them), and then back on the river.  By mid-afternoon we reach Hotaqui (Hotakwai, I believe there are two spellings for this village) the last place that I'll be participating in missions.  We set up camp (this time in an unused school room), and gather children for a late afternoon time of fun and Jesus.  We play many of the same games, and our memory verse is the same.  I do the same puppet show with Billy the Lamb.  The kids love it!  Today, before we dismiss, we let them each choose a finger puppet.  These adorable things were made by my mom and sister and several ladies in our church.  The kids loved them!   After we send the kids home, Melissa convinces me to take a dip in the river with her.  We jump in, in all of our clothes, and holy cow is that river cold!  A welcome change to the (nearly) unbearable heat and humidity of the rain forest.   Children gather, amused to see adults swimming.  The kids swim all the time, but the adults don't swim for fun nearly as much.  They decide to strip down to their underoos and join us.  As Melissa and Gladson decide to swim across and back, I get out.  Swimming is fun, but (obviously) I'm very out of shape and already winded from the light splashing around I've done.  Thoroughly cooled off, I grab a nap before evening service.  That evening, as we gather at the church, we meet the local pastor.  He's blind, but that doesn't get in the way of his passion for God or his love for life, both of which spill out of every word he speaks.  After we sing, Melissa is introduced (again, she's been here, folks know her) and again, I'm up first.  I give the same micro-sermon I gave last time, and it is well received.  Mom and Melissa each give their message, and the service is handed back over to the pastor.  It's obvious that we haven't spent enough time in communal worship, so the pastor and his wife lead us all in a few more songs.  As the worship winds down, we have the usual meet and greet, and then back to camp for a nice long night of sleep.