Update

Well, we've only been gone a week, but a lot has happened in that short amount of time. We were supposed to come back to Huaraz on the 10th to exchange translators, but Mijail agreed to stay with us until the 17th, so we came back for more supplies.

Mijail brought his guitar with him. He and Zeke have been playing all the songs we do at LifePoint Church. It's great! We also learned how to sing Tomalo (Take it All, by Hillsong, in Spanish) We're working on learning One Way in Spanish next.

Last Friday we had a Bible Study with the vice mayor, Franklin and his girlfriend, Flor. It really opened our eyes to how little these people know about God and the Bible in general. We gave them each a Bible in Spanish and marked some good places for them to start reading. I'm told that the average Peruvian doesn't like to read, so pray that God puts a hunger in these people's hearts to read His Word.

Last Sunday we took a cake to the clinic for Doctor Jose's birthday. He turned 25. None of his family were able to come, because of a sick grandmother. Doctor Cynthia, a good friend of Jose's, traveled 4 hours to visit him for his birthday. She made lunch for us and we spent 8 hours at the clinic talking to Jose' and Cynthia. A lot of our conversation was centered around God and the Bible. We were very encouraged by their questions and were able to point out some Bible verses to help them. Pray for Doctor Cynthia. She's a young woman, working in the small village of Paraden, without any family, friends, or spiritual leadership.

We had a group Bible Study, this past Tuesday with 5 people from the village. We 're still trying to figure out the best time to meet, so the most amount of people are able to attend. Please pray that many people will be interested in God's Word and that nothing will hinder them from coming.

Wednesday was interesting. A drunk guy got mad at the mayor, grabbed another man's cane and kept waving it around, threatening people. With no police around the only thing the people could do was close all their doors and stay away from him. Alcoholism is a major problem in Tapacocha. Whenever we talk with the older women in the village their greatest worry is that their children/grandchildren will start drinking when they turn 18. Pray that God will flood Tapacocha with His Spirit and the people will no longer have the desire to drink alcohol constantly.

Also pray that God will keep all evil out of Tapacocha. We've been told by the doctors that the people sometimes go to witch doctors. Please pray that they will stay out of Tapacocha and away from the people here.

While visiting one of our favorite women in the village, Francisca, we found her husband, who is deaf, reading one of the Spanish Bibles we gave them. That was a thrill! He told us he wants to read the whole thing and then ask us questions about it. We're planning on going back to visit them and hopefully study the Bible with the whole family.

To end this update on a lighter note, I would like to inform you all that Zeke and I had the pleasure of tasting one of Peru's greatest delicacies, Cuy. Aka Guinea Pig. (Apologies to any of you that keep them as pets.) We thought it tasted pretty good until Zeke looked closer to find he was eating the mouth, teeth still attached!

God has set His heart on Tapacocha and we plan on loving them with everything we've got these next few months. We love you guys and are very grateful for all your prayers.

Joy and Zeke