Hosana was up for breakfast this morning so David and I kept her entertained while Andrea and Pato got ready for church. Today we were headed to the Shimpis church. It is a Shuar community outside of Macas. The pastor from Santa Isabel is also the pastor here. The JT van had to park at the side of the road and we walked down a dirt/gravel road to what resembled a one room school house. It was the center building surrounded by very simple homes and even thatched homes. There was a mix of people dressed in traditional Shuar attire and others typical causal clothes. Everyone was fascinated by us as we walked in. There wasn't enough room to fit everyone in the church! People were standing along the walls of the church and on the outside steps. The service began by the Pastor saying a prayer and reading Psalm 23 and 24. Then 3 ladies came to the front and lead the church in songs.
As a gift to us they sang two songs in Shuar. Then it was our turn to sing for them. Another woman came to the front and read some mor scripture in Shuar. We sang "Shout to the Lord" in Spanish and "Blessed be your name" in English. They seemed to enjoy it. Next Dr. Oetzel came to the front and did the sermon. Dan did the translation for him. The congregation threw in amens and yeses. After the sermon, the Shuar pastor presented Dr. Oeztel with a Shuar bible. It was a very touching gesture. The pastor wrapped up the hour service with a prayer. Pato took over the mic and we did the pet fair right then and there! We had four animals for the fair. One kitten was dressed up in the traditional blue dress and necklace made from seeds, a very young puppy was dressed in traditional jewelry, a duck was dressed in necklace and the last animal was a dog dressed in a dress and scarf. They were all very cute. Then some of the villagers presented a Shuar dance for us. We were supposed to eat lunch with them but there was a hunting accident this morning and a man form the community was killed, so the village was heading to care for the family in mourning. Some of the women had made some jewelery for us to purchase before we left. The Shuar still sent some food back with Pato for us.
We headed back to Rio Blanco to change out of our church clothes and eat. On the way home we were singing all the church camp songs we could remember. I don't think we annoyed Dan too much. Lunch was chicken cooked with heart of palm, onions, and other leaf bits wrapped in two different types of leaves to give it flavor as it is cooked in the oven. It was delicious! Bailee and Lizzy also got the coconut meat out of coconuts for Andrea'a coconut milk. It was a fantastic lunch and all of us were stuffed so we decided we all were going to take a siesta before we toured Macas. It was good for all of us to take a rest.
Then Andrea lead us on a tour of Macas. Mission number one: HELADO (ice cream)! We went to a little ice cream/ gelato shop to get our fix. Once we were all satisfied, we went to the city plaza to take some pictures in front of the Macas sign. We then went to the Catholic Cathedral. It was a beautiful white washed church that had a fountain and gardens in front of it. Inside the stained glass windows were breathtaking. They told the story of this region and Catholic beginning in Macas. As we were walking down the steps of the plaza to leave we began to see Sound of Music songs because where we were at reminded Dr. Barnes of the children singing on the steps in the movie. A lot of the people in the plaza turned to listen to us, or maybe it was because we are gringos. Then we were off to a new city park. It has an infinity bridge that over looks the river valley and towards the jungle. It was so beautiful. Then we were on for the most exciting part yet. We were heading up to the Virgin Statue on the mountain overlooking Macas. The thing that made it an adventure was the road it took to get there. It was a rock/ gravel road. There were a couple times we weren't sure if we were going to make it, but we had Dan the Man and JT the van! The view was amazing and minus the graffiti the statue was impressive. We spent a lot of time taking photos and enjoying the view. We ended up singing all the way back down the mountain too. We ended up switching to disney songs though. Our last stop on the tour was the food market. We all picked out fruits that we wanted to try.
When we got back. Andrea helped me identify all the fruit we had brought home. We made a sampling platter while the final touches were being added to dinner. The fruit was granadilla, achotillo, pitajaya, pepinodulce (sweet cucumber) and uvilla. Pictures to come! So what was for dinner tonight? Fish... whole fish! They take the guts out and then fry the rest of the fish. The eyes are very tasty and the caudal fish tastes like a potatoe chip. Everyone enjoyed it. It was a better hit than guinea pig. After dinner, we all sat around the table and sang. We didn't have a team devotional tonight but we spent an hour singing and praising the Lord! Fatima and Stephanie even sang with us in English! It was a joyful and fun time for everyone! Then everyone went off to do what they wanted. A group stayed and played cards at the table with me as I started to work on the blog. After th card games ended Pato came out and told us legends of th Shuar and mestiso communities. They were very interesting! I ended up moving to the hammock to finish up the blog and Bailee gave me the kitten to keep me company in all her funny positions. I think even the roosters take Sunday night off. All that can be heard are the crickets and frogs of the jungle. What a beautiful night!
Tomorrow we stay and visit farms around the Rio Blanco and a pet fair. Continue to pray for our continued health and ministry!
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