Building the Bee House

Working in the Chacra

Playing the recorder

Game Night

The house at dusk

Manuel

Anita painting the fence

Classic David



Over the past week we have worked on several different jobs that were a change of pace from what we had been doing in the chacra. At the beginning of the week we worked on the property line that runs along the edge of our land. Surveyors originally cleared the line about two months ago but since everything in the jungle grows so fast we had to clear it again so that it wouldn’t get overgrown. The work itself wasn’t extremely hard but a good dose of endurance was needed because we had 3 kilometers of line to clear. The work went well except for the occasional wasp sting of ant bite. We made good progress and we thought we were almost done. So at the end of one of our work sessions we decided to see how much farther we had. An hour and a half later we finally arrived back home from our hike. Needless to say we still have quite a bit of work left on the line but that is all right because God will give us the strength to perservere.
Another project that we have been working on this past week was building a bee house for the 15 new hives that we bought for the bee project. Originally we thought that we would build them a house out of the wood that we had been cutting in the chacra but Richard and Thomas thought that it would be smarter to use the wood from the sheep house instead. This ended up being a great idea because the sheep rarely use their house anyways. So on Thursday we disassembled the sheep house and made a few minor repairs to some of the trusses. Then on Friday we cleared an area near the pineapple field were the new bee house would be located. On Sunday we started construction. First we set the posts for the building into the ground which took quite a while because we had a limited amount of tools. After setting the posts we put up the horizontal supports and then the trusses on top of them. By the end of the day we had gotten up two trusses which was quite an accomplishment for only a days work. On Monday we had a little bit of tricky work because we were extending the building ten feet to make room for the bee boxes. This made it somewhat difficult to use the old wood but Thomas, David, and I combined our knowledge to figure out what to do. By the end of the day we were ready to put on the tin for the roof. Although we were doing basic framing for the whole building it was quite different from what I was used to in the US. For one, the boards are not always very straight and they are much harder to pound nails into. Because we are using mostly hardwoods to build the structure hammering nails is a very difficult process. This is especially evident when it takes two or three nails to finally get one in. Thankfully we eradicated this problem by pre-drilling most of the holes. On Tuesday we got up early to put on the roof because the sheets of tin are almost to work with when it is hot outside. It took a while for us to figure out the most efficient was of laying the sheets but once we got started it went pretty fast. We got the first half of the roof finished in the morming and the second half completed in the afternoon. One thing that I learned about working with the sheets was that they cut skin extremely easy. By the end of the day I had a half dozen cuts all over my fingers as a result of working with the sheets. On Wednesday we finally put the finishing touches on the building. These included adding a few braces to stabilize the roof and spraying wood preserver on the beams to keep the ants from eating our hard work.
This past week was extremely rewarding because we made good progress on several projects that we have been trying to get done. Also we got to construct something which really made my week. Throughout all of our work this week I was thankful for God’s strength and wisdom because there were several times were I felt tired and lacking knowledge. Every week I see God working in my life and the lives of our SM team and it makes me feel extremely grateful to be part of such a group that loves Jesus and wants to share that love with those around them!
Thank you to everyone who has been praying for the project. I hope that all of you have a blessed holiday season with family and friends and remember to continue to keep us in your prayers!

Clinica en Luz Divina

My soccer buddies

Playing soccer

The brand new baby girl

Working on a patient

The loaded truck

Signing people up for medical

The matching medical team




This past week we had another clinic just outside of Pulcallpa in a town called Luz Divina. We arrived Sunday morning bright and early, set up clinic, and saw our first patients for the day around 11 am. In dental we saw 12 patients for Sunday which was a good number to start with for the first day.
The next few days were a whirlwind of activity. David, Manuel, and I slept at the municipality were we where having clinic. Every morning we would get up early so that we could pass out tickets out to the people in line around 6 am. This was the first clinic that I helped sign people up after they got their tickets which was fun but slightly difficult. One of the factors that made it slightly hard was trying to spell peoples names on the sign up sheet. Although I can understand quite a bit of Spanish now spelling names is a completely different thing. But after a few days I started to get the hang of it. Just another new thing that I have learned while being in Peru.
One of the really fun things for me this clinic was playing soccer with the kids at night right before the kids program. I had a lot of fun and they really enjoyed getting to play with a tall white kid! In the evenings after clinic we would have a kids program and then get to go to the evening evangelistic meetings. I really enjoyed singing the songs and listening to the speaker because I could understand most of what they were saying.
The first part of the week was pretty slow for dental. We would have anywhere from 15-20 patients in the morning and about 10-15 in the afternoon. However on Thursday and Friday we got the proverbial storm of patients. Both mornings we had close to thirty partients in the morning. Normally that wouldn't be so bad but Manuel was gone so it was just me and Laura in the clinic. We literally pulled teeth from 8:30 in the morning until around 1-1:30 in the afternoon without a break. Needless to say my back was pretty sore but it was a good experience. We had some difficult patients and some really tough teeth. A couple of my patients I had to have someone come and hold their head so that I could apply enough pressure to pull the tooth. We also had some very scared patients but amazingly we didn't have any screaming kids. Another exciting thing that happened in dental was the new chairs that we got from the money that Dr. Fillman raised. The new chairs are amazing because they are much more comfortable for our patients and for us.
Another cool thing that happened during clinic was the birth of two baby girls. Although I didn't get to see the births I got to hold one of the little girls 20 minutes after she was born which was a truly amazing experience. Although this clinic was hard and their was several times when I felt discouraged or exhausted God was always there. Their were numerous times when I didn't think I would be able to get a specific tooth out and I would send up a little prayer. Right after that the tooth would come out and I could praise God for his amazing power.
One of the most memorable experiences for me this clinic was one patient that I had in Dental. When she came in I could tell that she was extremely nervous and scared so I tried my best to try and keep her from having too much pain. At the end after I had pulled her tooth she had a big smile on her face and thanked me for not giving her any pain. That comment made the lack of sleep and stress of the week all worth it.
This past clinic was one of the best that we have had so far. We were able to help hundreds of people both physically and spiritually. Please pray for the people of Luz Divina while the evangelistic campaign is going on these next coming weeks. And continue to pray for AMOR projects and our team. I know that your prayers work because things happen every week that show us God is working!

Pictures from Work

More wood...

Pushing wood on the cart

The intense gaze of an expert log carrier

Carrying some pretty heavy wood

Thomas hauling wood