IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE!

We spent 6 days total in the jungle regions of Pucallpa and Iquitos.  We first traveled with President and Sister Blunck and their two assistants to attend a zone conference.  We were asked to teach about low back pain and provide exercises to strengthen their backs and teach them good posture, as well.  The missionaries are out walking each day and carrying heavy packs, doing strenuous service projects, and most forget to use good posture.  We had a great trip and got to meet lots of new missionaries.

This was our hotel in Pucallpa.  Too bad we were too busy to enjoy the pool.  But, we took time to enjoy the beautiful flowers and trees of this jungle area.  These were on our hotel grounds.

Steve and the Bluncks from Oregon walked around the gardens, too.

 The Bluncks stay here once a month to meet with their missionaries.  

This patterning is specific to the tribes in this area and the pottery all have similar designs, as well. 

Wood carvings are everywhere, because of the jungle trees.  This one greeted us by the front door!

 Here are a few of the famous motor taxis in this region.  We really had fun riding in them.  They are everywhere and they don't go too fast, which is a real change from Lima traffic.

 We headed into the chapel for our health presentation at the zone conference.

We visited this small hospital/clinic and met with the administrator.  We were glad to find out that this is a good place to send our missionaries.

 Steve talks with the Elders inside the hospital with Sister Blunck.  We were able to have them agree to send the mission all the medical reports when the elders need treatment.  That usually does not happen, unless a doctor visits and asks for that.  Below is the entrance to their lab.

 A zone conference is a big deal to the missionaries.  They get to see each other, Pres. and Sister Blunck teach them, and they get to share a yummy meal together.  They really look forward to this gathering!

The missionaries love serving in the jungle.  The air is fresh and clean because of the rain and winds and the people are very humble and love the missionaries, too!

After the conference, we headed out to the local zoo in our motor taxi.  The zoo was under construction, but we still saw a lot of animals from the jungle!

We all three squeezed into this motor taxi and enjoyed talking with our driver.

The monkeys were very entertaining and their were lots os chetas and panthers.

There were many varieties of birds and more monkeys, too!

The colors on the birds were brilliant!

Don't worry,  alligators don't grow this big in Peru.

This was a beautiful day to visit the zoo!

The beetles, butterflies, and other insects are amazing in the jungle.  I'm glad they're behind glass!

Our next stop was Iquitos our second jungle city, located next to the Amazon River,  and we were met by torrential rain!  We went right to this chapel to teach another back clinic at a zone conference!

The whole room was lined with these missionaries!

All the chapels have tall iron fences and the grounds are very nice.

Outside the chapel the roar of the motor-taxis!

The zone conference in Iquitos was held in this chapel.

This is a hospital/clinic where the missionaries are treated when injured.

We were given a tour of this complex and were surprised at their advanced equipment and facility!  We now know the missionaries will be well taken care of in this jungle area.

The lab and equipment was well run and updated!

This mural was donated by a patient to this Seventh Day Adventist Hospital.

Steve and this missionary were able to check out their ICU section.

You could not tell by the outside appearance how nice things were inside.

Steve is riding back to the hotel with the Elders!

Today we headed out to the harbor and the Amazon River!  This river will rise nearly 30 feet each year and thus the buildings on stilts and the floatable homes below deal with that problem.

This was a wooden boat with a thatched cover.  We were glad our boat was metal and road higher in the water!

We left the same time as these high school students on a field trip.

Look how low their boat is in the water!

The Bluncks and their assistants.

The jungle terrain begins and it's thick, lush and green.  Our first stop was a fish farm that had many jungle fish, turtles, alligators, etc.

We fed these piranhas and alligators!

We feed the alligators some fish and grateful for a thick fence!

You can hardly see these huge serpent like fish!

These lily pads are everywhere and about three to four feet in diameter.

We all loved our adventure in the jungle!   We headed back to the river to travel to a Bora village!

Entrance to the Bora village!

This is a typical Bora home and keeps dry even in the rainy season.  Below is the chief of the tribe who plays the huge drums to welcome us.  

The villagers danced and chanted for us and seemed to enjoy themselves and seemed very happy.

Then they invited us all to dance with them!  This young boy walked over to get me.

We traveled back up the river to another stop to see some rare animals.

Steve decided to wrap this anaconda snake around his body!

This toucan enjoyed resting on our shoulders!

This cute little monkey climbed all over my head and really wanted my earrings.

This pre-historic looking turtle was a little scary.  I think I should bring it home for Steph's turtle collection!

Amazon River dwellings!

When we got back to the harbor we walked through the local market and saw their fish, sausages, and alligator heads!

Their fruits and vegetables are wonderful and tree ripened.

These are giant grubs that the missionaries eat as part of their initiation to the jungle!  Below are roasted grubs and other delicacies.

Piranhas and another unusual fish.

We went back to our hotel to have dinner.  The next morning we went to the Puchana Stake Conference.

 Pres. Blunck and Steve were asked to speak and we enjoyed meeting our brothers and sisters in this  stake and area of the North Mission.

We survived our jungle trip and amazed at the dedication, strength, and humility of the saints in this area.  The Puchana Stake Center is very beautiful and also maintained very well.  This was the nicest building we saw in Iquitos.