Our Thanksgiving: 3 turkeys, 1 parade

Our family with a decoration for the missionary potluck -- a jungle turkey made of palm branches, a squash and some aji peppers. Angelyn is wearing ears because ....

 She was invited to ride in the hospital's float in the local Shell Days parade.

No Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade here but this also drew a big crowd. 

The dancers are hospital employees doing a traditional dance.

 Meanwhile back at the compound ...

Lynnelle and Jayson were baking pie crust cut in leaf shapes to decorate our pumpkin pie (ok, it was squash with pumpkin pie seasonings ... it tasted great!)  

Jay was in the clinic and ER seeing patients.

The boys were helping Mom set decorations up for the evening potluck.

Our Thanksgiving celebration... outside in a picnic shelter on the compound.

 

 Eric -community development, from Michigan; Gabriella - midwife at HVO, from Sweden, Enka - speach therapist at HVO, from Denmark; her husband Wvm - community development, also from Denmark; Lynnelle and Jay.

 Lots of food: 3 turkeys, potatoes, sweet potatoes, strawberry jello, cranberries, peas and creamed corn, stuffing and of course that cui! (See the blog post: Yes, We Ate That...)

 Later... hymns of praise.

A jungle-copia!

It was a busy but very good Thanksgiving.  

It is easy to count our blessings. Thanks for being a part of them. 

Blessings, 
the Allisons

Yes, We Really Ate That...

Every country has it’s national dish. But here it’s definitely not pizza and hamburgers.

It’s cui.

That’s guinea pig to you and me. Giant guinea pig.

Boiled whole… head, teeth, feet, claws.

Jay was served a little one when he worked in a village in Peru five years ago.

We received two big ones a week ago as a gift from a thankful patient.

Each cui costs $15. That plate represents $30. Quite a gift.

I warmed one in the oven for supper. Being brave. Trying to meet this national treat with enthusiasm.

We all laughed and launched many one-liners about our unique supper. The boys even put a little tomato in its mouth and took a picture.
 

But in the end we all had our little bites and chose a second helping of potatoes.

Except Jayson. He dug in like it was chicken.

Did it taste like chicken? That’s what you hope for in a case like this. No, it didn’t. It tasted like fish. My brain couldn’t get past the idea of a land-critter tasting like an aquatic critter. Way too fishy.

So what happened to the second cui? We froze it and warmed it up for the Thanksgiving potluck for all the missionaries. The Ecuadorians in attendance applauded the inclusion of a national dish. The non-Ecuadorians sampled little bits. With 50+ in attendance, there was still plenty to go around. : )

One national dish down, a few more to go.

Ever heard of chicha? It’s the alcohol of the Amazon. 

Villagers chew yucca or manioc root and spit it into a collective bucket where it ferments and later becomes a drink for the whole family.  

Lightly fermented for the children.

Heavily fermented for the men. You get the picture.

Enzymes in the saliva help break down the sugars in the roots and start the process of fermenting. I'd guess the alcohol properties also kill germs. Hope so, because....

This guy drank some.

You smiling? You're not the one who kisses him good night.

Thanksgiving in My Heart

Thanksgiving is holed up in my heart. It has to be here. There are no colorful trees or orange pumpkins. No apple harvest. No cold nights and no tumbling leaves in a nose-dripping wind.

For Jay, no deer season. For the kids, no snow.

        It makes me realize I’ve taken this season of thankfulness for granted.

When all the visual cues of the season are gone, you have to search for Thanksgiving. Isn’t that true of thankfulness in general? We take things for granted unless we have a heart of thankfulness at all times.

Today I’m so thoroughly thankful. Have you ever needed to hug someone because your love and deep feelings were ready to burst from your chest and they just had to be released somehow? Well, I’m squeezing my thankfulness into this letter. I pray it blesses you. 

Seeing the Lord Move– As my faith has grown, I’ve realized I can see the Lord’s hand move or bless most weeks. That is true here as well. Consider today: Jay was scheduled to visit via Skype with Dennis Shaw’s high school class at 1pm. At 12:30 a neighbor walked in the door with a gift from one of Jay’s patients -- two grilled cuwi (large guinea pigs).

 What a great way to add a little culture to Jay’s talk with a sociology class in Iowa. Not to mention that dinner is covered, too.  : ) And yesterday, a family that is moving stateside gave us a few toys… just right for Jayson at Christmas. Thank you, Lord.

Living in Community – Serving here provides a myriad of blessings, touching each member of the family differently, but one that touches us all is living in community with fellow believers.  Walking together. Serving together. Supporting each other in trials and giving grace the best we can when someone falls.

Right now we are waiting on the Lord together.  Here’s why: The Lord is bringing changes to the hospital here. The hospital has had financial challenges for some time. That paired with the development of national healthcare nearby means the needs here are changing.

All missionaries want to work themselves out of a job and move on to fresh fields. That time is being realized at Hospital Vozandes del Oriente. Exactly how will it happen? We aren’t sure. The need for health care deep in the jungle remains. The need for training residents remains. But when ministry begins to compete with local services, it’s time for change.

Thankfulness in Uncertain Times – So uncertain times are here in Shell. Perhaps with the presidential election results, times seem uncertain back home, too. This is a hard place to be. It’s hard to not worry but instead to know that God has a plan and in His time it will be realized. He is faithful. He knows our needs before we do. He knows the needs of a changing ministry, too.

Last month I mentioned a visit by a young couple from Sweden. They feel called to serve in Ecuador. Called to serve in the jungle even with their little children. That is where the need is. That is where the needs point to. God knows. God is prepared. It’s great to see Him going ahead of this ministry during uncertain times and preparing people to serve. 

We share these experiences that you may know the King lives. He walks with us. He cares about each detail of our lives. If only we will meet him in each moment and turn each detail over to him. No, that is not easy. Not at home or in the jungle. But we have tangibly seen his hand and we are encouraged and so we offer you the details of HIStory so that you may be blessed and join us in our thankfulness.  

Until next time…

Lynnelle for the Allisons

Visiting the Other Side

Took a trip to the other side today.

Few countries have the lifestyle enjoyed in the US. Ecuador included. However, Ecuador is doing well in many ways. So finding and seeing the poor isn’t always easy to do. You must seek them.

Luke & Matt leading worship songs.

 During our time here we’ve served at a soup kitchen in Quito, visited the orphanage here in town, and walked streets in several cities and towns so we’ve seen a pretty large slice of Ecuadorian life. The poor are sprinkled here and there but today Dane, Luke and I visited a truly meager community. Dane and I were debating if the people here had more or less than the dump-based slum where we saw patients in Mexico. 

Welcome to Sicha Puma.

 

The concha (the simple structure in the picture), built by the residents, is the extent of the infrastructure here.

No roads, no electricity, no running water, no sidewalks… No neighborhood, almost. 

Homes are scattered in the head-high brush. You can see a metal roof here and there. There is one outhouse.

Matt and Amy Kappen, formerly of California, come here each Sunday with their children: Lilly, 5; Violet, 4; and Enoch, 1. 

Maria sharing a Bible lesson.

Together with Maria, two adult volunteers, and a few children from their church they put on a kids club to tell the children here who Jesus is. That He died for all our sins. That He loves you when it seems society doesn’t. That while one’s surroundings are sparse and hunger is not far away, there is a future and a hope in Him.

 These people belong to the Kichwa tribe and most of them came from the same jungle village so cousins abound. Jobs are rare in many jungle villages so their choices are to live like their ancestors or move. Many leave seeking better education for their children.

Hands up to answer a question about the Bible story. Matt & Amy's church in CA donated their extra green VBS T-shirts.

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This is a squatter community. If land isn’t actively worked or if it is abandoned in Ecuador, you can claim a chunk of it and build a home on it. Squatters even have some rights in a court of law.

 

 Following songs and a lesson by Maria, today’s special guest is announced: Hernan – a player from a local soccer team. He shares about his faith and then futball begins. Hernan acts as ref but Matt is in the mix... always helping the team that’s behind. 

Can’t see the soccer field? Well… the mud… the uncut grass... the two tall sticks pushed in the dirt at each end to mark the goals… that’s it. The Kappens tell me the kids will even play when puddles are on the field... which is often.

I feel sorry for their mothers. Washing all that slick clay out isn’t going to be easy considering their washing machines are rocks on the banks of the nearby river. But then, judging from how well these kids play soccer, I’m guessing muddy clothes are a regular occurrence.

Life knocks these folks down quite often. They walk a slippery slope of existence… The wives grow what they can alongside their homes while their husbands walk to the nearby town for manual labor jobs. 

Lorina and her baby.

These people, their clothes, their ground… all look tired, worn, and stretched.

I find my life stretching enough. Can’t imagine their walk.

Watching the soccer game: Lynnelle, Amy, Lilly, Dane. Notice we are all wearing muck boots.

Can’t imagine my walk without my faith. Support from our church family. Prayers from faith friends. Blessings and wisdom from above. And all the times you just know the only way life could shake out the ways it does is because of God’s hand.

Can’t imagine living their walk without faith. I always know the Lord will back me up, pick me up..... and someday…  take me up. 

What future do they have????

After the game, the kids enjoyed Tang and wawa de pan (a special holiday bread).

God knows their dilemma, their fragile life, their hurt, their hunger. 

He’s sending hope with Matt…

With Amy....

With their pastor's wife

 With Hernan...

Hernan awards best girl player, best boy player.

  

With Luke and Dane...

 

Hope walks into Sicha Puma village every Sunday afternoon.

No there aren’t sidewalks or running water there when they leave but there is love. Brotherly love... reflecting Christ's love.

And there is the new knowledge of a different future. 

An eternal future.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power...

~ 1 Peter 1:3-5

 

Leaving footprints of faith near Shell, Ecuador...

Lynnelle Allison, for the Allison tribe