Only 1 more day and we head to Bogota!

Our time here has been utterly amazing.
There are little motorcars here, which I am hoping to upload some pictures of. They are like a rickshaw driven by a motorcyle - a lot of fun to ride in. Only 3 adults -maybe 4 small ones can fit in them. There are hardly any cars, just motorcycles, motorcars , buses and a very few cars. The kids have really enjoyed riding in the motorcars, but sometimes the buses come so close you can literally touch them by barely sticking your hand out of the car !
Luis (the pastor we are staying with) took us on the river the other day and we went to an island that is like an animal reserve where you can hold and touch the animals. The kids held anacondas, monkeys, an anteater and a prehistoric turtle. The monkey would climb up their leg, get on their shoulders and try to climb down in their shirt. One grabbed Rachelles glasses and transferred them to his feet. She managed to get them back. David Luke really enjoyed the way the monkeys climbed all over him. The anteater was fun also -almost like a little dog.
All of the kids have made friends from the camp and love to worship with them. They love to hear testimonies from the Kimler kids and to spend time with them. I wish we could bring a group of kids here. They are so open to Americans and so hungry to grow in the Lord.
David had a good group of Pastors and he taught them how to build the water filter model that Thomas Soerens´class designed. They had a drawing and one of the Pastors won it. We wanted to provide funds for each to build their own filter but just did not have enough. They cost around $25.00 each for a household filter that holds about 5 gallons. There were around 20 pastors so as you can see that adds up. We are asking the Lord that we can give send money later for them. Then he taught the latin version of cat and dog theology. That covers missions and challenging them to be God centered in their focus on the word of God. Helen and I taught the ladies in the afternoon. Most were leaders or pastors wives with a few church members. We had a wonderful time of worship, teaching and ministry. The leaders seem so burdened with the cares of the ministry. Helen shared about burdens that are not ours and I shared about the secret place of the Lord - His presence, abiding in Him and being a lover of the Lord Jesus. They soaked it in and would share afterwards about needs in their own lives or church members. We finished the ladies yesterday and David finished the mens. Today we had the awesome priveledge to share with the married couples that are leaders. Some pastors from other churchs came with their wives. They learned to pray over each other which sadly is not a regular practice here. The American missionaries have left so many religious boxes that the Lord is wanting to break. Simples things like pastors feeling that a pastor must wear a white long sleeved shirt if he is really a man of God. I can´t imagine being in this humid hot climate wearing a long sleeve shirt! They equivocate putting God first as putting the ministry first and marriages have suffered with pastors not spending time with their wives or because they have to leave their families for months at a time to go to the river churches. We´ve talked to many who had no honeymoon but went straight into the ministry. Today we saw God move as they put their hands over each others hearts and asked the Lord to heal the hurts they had caused to their mates. It was so beautiful to see them holding each other, hugging, crying, smiling and then hugging with big smiles. We just sat back and worshipped and watched God work showing them the power they have to minister to one another. The Lord has continued to amaze us and show us his amazing hand every time we have trusted Him. It has truly been His work. We can take no credit. Only God can move in hearts like this. We had lunch with a woman who works with military men and also with young people. She had a houseful of young people that she wanted us to pray for. One young man shared his testimony how he had been kidnapped by guerillas and spent 2 years of torture being forced to kill people and how he told the Lord if he would let him escape that he would serve him the rest of his life. Our heart went out to him hearing all the traumas he had been through. We asked the Lord to heal his heart and watched the Lord minister so beautifully to him. We are leaving now for a youth meeting. Tomorrow we will be in 2 different churches and on Monday we leave here at 6:00 a.m. to fly to Lima and then we leave Lima at 5Ñ30 p.m. (AR. time and Lima time) to fly to Bogota. Please bathe the rest of the time in prayer. Pray especially for our physical health and stamina as well as fruit that lasts.