Sitting outside tonight, enjoying the coolness and the occasional bat flying by, we talked about Noah, the ark and God's patience and goodness. 120 years to repent and earn a round trip ticket on the ark, yet nobody accepted!
As the children colored, I was able to talk to Kati, who is a young mother of two, born and raised in this Ashaninka community. Her husband is from Lima, so the community had to vote on whether they would accept him and give this couple a piece of property to build their own home. They are now in the process of building a wood platform 6 feet off the ground, with about 100 square feet of living space. This will take months, as money is very tight and materials are bought when possible. Edison, Kati's husband, was out fishing tonight so they would have something to eat tomorrow. They also have a 3 year old son, Omar, who is very sick right now and there is no money for medicine. Life is hard. Life is harder without Christ. Please pray with us for this sweet young family.
On another note, "invading", or moving onto someone else's property and setting up a shack or small house is very common in Peru. As a matter of fact, Pichanaki is so big because of the thousands of people who invaded one man's property and there was nothing he could do about it. The police will get involved sometimes, but have to be willing to fight, have rocks thrown at them and even be shot at. Needless to say, usually the invaders win. There is a large invasion happening now in Pichanaki, down by the Pichanaki River. This river runs right through Ashaninka territory and they are now worried there will be invaders on their property. We saw a man leaving the community with a big bow and arrow tonight and were told they were arming themselves, ready to fight for their land. They are requesting permission from the military to use their hunting guns as well.
We don't know the end of either one of these stories. God is in control, and in this we rest.
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