This last month we lost a dozen chickens to a predator! While we were a
bit clueless to what was happening, our Awa neighbors and friends jumped
in to give us a hand. The whole affair turned into a rousing topic of
cultural identification :-) as we heard stories of chicken loss due to
hawks, weasels, possums, and ocelots. Different friends showed us the
clues that we were missing. “Don’t you see the scratches in the bark of
this tree and the feathers on the ground here?” Guillermo asked us. In
the end, the predator was pronounced to be a possum coming in the night.
Neighbor
Delia kindly made us an Awa-style trap and stopped by daily to make
sure the bait was fresh. A few nights later in the wee morning hours we
woke up to a ruckus in the chicken pen. The predicted possum was out
there, trying to get one of our hens! That was the end of that possum,
although we have been warned that he was a young one that may have a big
family!
And now we have much more sympathy when the Awa tell us stories of losing their chickens!
Two
weeks ago we lost our faithful dog Toby. After living to the ripe old
(dog) age of fourteen years here at the Outpost, he was mostly blind and
deaf, although still faithfully announcing with loud barking each
visitor that appeared in the driveway. We will miss him!
And again, our Awa neighbors and friends were sympathetic to our loss.
Living here among the people full-time is sometimes tiring. Sometimes we
struggle to have a smile for the next visitor and energy for the next
request for help. And yet living close to the Awa keeps us in their
world, understanding their lives, and relating to their struggles. It
also shapes our teaching each Sunday as we work to bring God’s truth
near to them. Pray for daily strength for this around-the-clock life!
And pray for a Jesus-like response as we interact with the many Awa who
arrive on our doorstep.
In a few more weeks we will be packing up our suitcases and heading out
on our travels to Paraguay and then the USA. Pray for our coworkers Andy
& Chrissy as they hold down the fort in the months we are gone!
Young Families…and a Broken Arm
We love looking out at the Sunday crowd in Palmira and seeing many young
families sitting together on one of the benches! There are six of these
families attending regularly. While we have usually drawn a good crowd
of children, seeing more adults (and especially complete families) among
the crowd is encouraging!
One
of these young couples is Jaime & Sandra. This last month has been a
hard one for their family, as son Jimson broke his arm while playing in
the churchyard while his mom helped the Shaubs with translation work.
The local Awa bone-fixer man was called, and after rubbing and moving
Jimson’s arm this way and that, he said the bone was definitely broken.
He tied Jimson’s arm up with a strip of cloth, saying it would probably
heal up. Over the next few days
Jimson’s
arm swelled up and was quite painful, so in the end Sandra and Jaime
took him out to the hospital for x-rays. The hospital visit turned into a
week-long stay before Jimson finally had surgery to set the bones in
their proper place.
This has been a real time of testing for Jaime and Sandra. They haven’t
returned to church yet and we sense they have pulled away from
involvement in the translation work. Pray that they won’t lose their
faith in this trial! Pray also for Jimson’s arm to heal properly.
Thank God and pray with us:
- Praise for a good day with the youth May 18; and pray for our next Saturday June 22
- For Jaime & Sandra, and for little Jimson’s healing
- Pray for the upcoming medical caravan team coming later this month
- For these last weeks in Ecuador as we wrap things up; and for coworkers in our absence
- For coming travels to Paraguay the end of July and the safe birth of Baby Windler
In His grip,
Kevin & Kathy
