Days 4 and 5

Day 4- Hey. One of the main reasons we go on OE is to educate the villagers on the dangers of HIV/AIDS. Many of them know nothing of the disease or how it is spread. All they know is that their loved ones are dying of this "mystery disease". We do dramas, and have posters, videos, and question and answer times. So today we did our first of many presentations. It was so well received. We always pray that they will take this info and pass it on so lives will be spared.

Day 5- Today was an exciting day. We were invited to explore the local caves. This is a big deal. Tourists come from all over begging to see the caves and are usually turned down because the caves are very special to the villagers and they don't want anything to happen to them. It was a 3 hour guided hike to the base of the caves and another 45 min-1 hour hike up to the top. Then we explored them for a few hours and then began the hike back. It was a LONG day but so worth it. The fingerprints of God were all over that place. I just stood there and reminded myself to breath. Over and over it took my breath away. The pictures don't even begin to capture it, but here they are anyways.

Setting off:

We went through a village where all that was left was this lady and her son. Everyone else has died.

​There was an awesome canopy of trees

Wyatt helping us cross the river

Crossing the bridge...that was tricky!

We can see it!

This natural archway was amazing!

Looking up to the Heavens

Wyatt chillin' with some of the local boys

That is Wyatt down there with his arms outstretched. All that black stuff is bat poop. Haha. The kids didn't care. They were rolling down the hills in it and doing back flips in it.

Me with some of our guides. You can tell it was a hard hike. We all have our walking sticks. And my shoes are covered in bat poop.

See the kid there on top of the mound?

There is a huge part of the cave that is so dark you can't see unless you have a flashlight. We weren't down there long because the water started rising so they yelled for us all to get out.

Days 2 and 3

Hello. There has been sickness going through here and it has kept me from writing to you. Sorry. Everyone is on the mend so here I am.

Okay I want to tell you more about my adventure into Danama. Four groups left to hike into their small village and four groups stayed in Ilugwe. Emma's group was one that left. My group and Wyatt's group were among those that stayed. We hiked up the mountain to work on digging trenches and laying pipes to try and get clean water down into the village. We also worked on collecting mud to build a rocket stove in the church kitchen and helped build the gardens.

It is such a blessing to get to know the people and the kids. Their attitudes are so joyful. They compare their life to what it was before they knew Jesus. Now they have hope. HOPE! Real hope. And that gives them joy. So how can they be grumpy, or sad? Jesus is their joy. Everyday. I have so much to learn from them! Here are some pictures:

Some groups getting ready to leave. Do you see Emma?

That's all for now.

Love

Rachel

Day One

Back in Sentani! WOW! What a journey. As we were traveling home I was thinking about how to tell you about all that happened and I have decided that instead of just giving you the Readers Digest version in one or two emails I would take you along and share my days with you. So my next few emails will be about my time in Danama, the people I met, and the experiences I went through. There were so many of you praying for us each day and I want you to see how your prayers were answered.

Of course it started out with a bang - our flight was delayed and several bags never made it to Wamena. We were told they would come in a few hours so we waited before continuing our journey.There was a lot of pouring rain as we drove down the muddy roads toward the village, several times having to get out and push vehicles that got stuck.

Once we got there we unloaded our barang (stuff) and hiked up to the village. It was still pouring rain but we were full of excitement and anticipation. We were greeted warmly and taught a worship song in the Walok language. The kids loved having us pick them up and we spent the rest of the day hanging out with them.

We are back!!

Hallelujah! We are all back safe and sound. Thank you so much for your prayers. I can't wait to share with you all the stories and show you the pictures. But for now I need sleep! Love you all.

Rachel