REPORTING FROM TALARA AND NEGRITOS, PERU

I made it! Of course you know that because I am writing this!

No problems with the flight, no the connections in Pirua, where we were met by Gene Gayle, who pastors there. He took us to meet our bus for a 2 hour ride to Talara. And here Pastor Girogio Schiantiarelli of Mision Cristiana Pan de Vida met us and took us to our abode.

We are staying in the compound of Petro-Peru, a petroleum plant. The plant was originally built by a US company but now is under Peruvian ownership. The compound was built in the US style, so we have large rooms, hot water and better than that – it is running water 24 hours a day. That is not the case in the city. They only have water a few hours a day, and not every day at that. So we are blessed.

Our host and hostess is Jesus and Lily Torres. He is in the management end of the company having worked here for 30 years. He has worked in almost every department of the company and thus has knowledge of almost the entire process. That makes him a very valuable employee who is often asked to go to the US and assist petroleum plants there. Lily is an excellent cook and again we are blessed.

Pastor Girogio has gift of organization and so every detail of our time is was planned and every person responsible for anything to do with our stay is on top of it!

And then there is the weather! It is like December in Florida. 73 degrees this morning when I awoke. There is a sea breeze constantly and it makes for excellent sleeping. Sometime I will take a walk down to the Pacific. You cannot swim here because of the currents. But the beach is famous world-wide for surfing. Surfers come here from many places to compete. There isn’t any competition going on at this time however.

We arrived on Tuesday, a holiday for Peru 9 – Rose of Lima Day – which is for one of the saints of the Catholic Church. It was also the birthday of Pastor Giorgio’s wife Jessica. Then on top of that it was a marriage celebration – the Church service for Carlos and Karla for whom I was requested to give the wedding sermon. The time allotted was one hour. I did it in forty minutes. Then the Church ceremony began with the ring ceremony, the blessing, the signing of the Church certificate and a lot more including setting while all relatives from both sides came up in specified groups according to their relationship to the bride or groom. Finally it was over!

But that was just the beginning! Then we journeyed to the reception and waiting and waited for the bride and groom to arrive. We were served appetizers of various varieties with many different tastes along with grape juice and of course – Chicha Morada – the purple drink made from purple corn. It is delicious and good for you – they tell me. But the tell me it is good for you about almost everything they serve me.

Around one hour into the celebration, the pastor indicated we could depart if we would walk out one at a time. So our hostess started the process and I followed, then Marco and Javier. Boy was I glad to get back to my room.

Wednesday began rather slowly but I did the bones moving, even though it was just 9:00 when I walked downstairs to meet Lily and Marco for coffee in the kitchen. Added to the men was sliced meat – deli – with cheese and compressed and heated in a waffle type machine. For juice I was served papaya, freshly cut and juiced. And of course, “it is good for you!”

Pastor came for us about 1:00 and took us across the city for lunch – skewers of beef, hot dogs, onion and tomato with some vegetables – I can’t remember the rest BUT that was just the appetizer! The main course consisted of chicken, rice, Peruvian corn on the cob, potatoes with their “yellow sauce” and broccoli, cucumbers and ??? – cold – with special lemon sauce (their lemons are our limes). Then came desert - peaches and a typical cookie/brownie (but not so) – do not ask me to describe it – I took a picture of it to remind me but words do not describe it! It was delicious! And upon departing, I was handed more of it – new all wrapped up about the size of a half-sheet of paper and two inches thick.

We walked from our lunch to the square of Talara to get our phones re-charged (add money to our account via a kiosk, bou)ght some bottled water and caught a motorcyle cab to take us to our home here in Talara.

The evening found us in Negritos, about 30 minutes drive along the coast (north or south – I do not know because it was dark but I think it was south). We arrived at 7:00 – the time for the service to start. I had to set up my projector. Completing that project I made a DISCOVERY! Because our host, Jesus, came into my room and said it was time to leave – 15 minutes prior to the time we were instructed by the pastor – I failed to get my iPad with my message on it. So I had to improvise! Fortunately I had my computer with me, so I put the message on a USB drive and Marco found a printing business and had it printed out. He returned about 10 minutes before the worship service was over. WHEW!!!!!! We made it!

Pastor Victor then requested that I do the section I skipped on Friday evening. We had handed out outlines to go along with the teaching, but time prevented me from doing it all – however we will finish it on Friday evening.

The evening did NOT END with the final prayer. It was now time for a typical Peruvian meal. Chicken, green rice, with huancaina sauce (yellow sauce with taste of a hot spice), cold broccoli with Peruvian corn sprinkled in and with the “lemon dressing.” And the drink of the evening, fresh pineapple juice.

Then 30 minutes back home and flopping onto my bed about 11:30 PM but enjoying the cool breeze as it swept across me. It took a while to get over the pressure of the late meal – but I made it and finally drifted off to sleep.

Thanks for your prayers.
Dr D