Mangos and Miracles

What a great, and at the same time crazy, week it has been her in Pucallpa. The ever hot Jungle son keeps on shining but fortunately we were blessed with a little bit of rain to cool things off. The special thing about Pucallpa is that when it rains, the streets turn into a thick red mud which acts like glue and makes for a lot of build up on your shoes.

Here in Pucallpa its Mango season and needless to say there are alot of mango trees. Never will you eat anything quite as delicious as a fresh picked mango. Its great because when we get a little hungry we just find a mango tree and pick a couple, one to eat and one to eat a little bit latter. One of my new favorite snacks is a sliced mango sprinkled with lemon juice. Some people also sprinkle on a little bit of aji (one of the spicy spices that the people here eat) in order to give it a bit of a spicy kick. But all and all it looks as if I will be able to enjoy fresh mangos till the end of my transfer.

We are teaching some many great people right now, its humbling to see the way the Lord is giving us so many opportunities to teach and find new people. One of the families that we are teaching is the Zambrano Family. They are about as Junglish as they come in just about every aspect. The Father, Wilson, is a hunter and goes out in the jungle for weeks at a time and brings back everything from parrots to fifteen foot anacondas. He is what we would call back home, an animal trafficker. The stories he has are nothing short of amazing and its a miracle in itself that he is still alive despite everything that he has experienced. His wife, Nelly, is the sweetest lady who is always preparing us strange jungle dishes with the animals that Wilson brings back. She has actually been attending church for about a year but just recently Wilson is attending with her. They have plans to get married here withing two weeks and they are both very anxious to be baptized and put things in order. You can´t help but feel such a strong spirit when you are with them. So humble and so willing to follow Christ and his gospel.

One of the little miracles that I was able to witness this past week happened with the Zambrano Family. We were on our way to their house for an appointment and when we climbed up the steps leading to their house I noticed that there was someone in their house who I didn't recognize. As we entered the house I went to greet him and when we saw each other we instantly knew who the other was; he shouted “Brother Schofield!” and I shouted “Jorge!”. It was Jorge Martinez from the Versalles Branch in Iquitos. He is here in Pucallpa visiting family which just happened to be the Zambrano Family. I don´t know if you remember The Martinez Family from Iquitos but during my six months there I spent about five and a half months working with this family. Jorge and his wife weren't members or married and I spent alot of time working with them and teaching them. While I was there with them they had made alot of big sacrifices in order to change their lives and when I left the area they were in the process of locating their documents in order to get married. I really grew to love that little family and quite honestly didnt think that I would ever see them again. When Jorge and I found each other here in Pucallpa what a special reunion it was. He told me that shortly after I had left he and his wife got married and now he, his wife, and two of their kids are members of the church. He also told me that his kids always ask about me and he honestly didn't think that we would see each other again. The Lord has his way of making little miracles come to pass as well as answering even the most humblest of prayers.