18.03.13 Mazan

Sorry that I am behind on my blog. As you would expect, internet service is limited in the Amazon. Even with Iquitos nearby and villages with basic amenities, the reach of this area is still difficult. As I may have mentioned in last year's trip blog, Iquitos is only accessible by air or river. This time around, we are staying at Ceiba Tops; a jungle lodge on the banks of the Amazon River and about a 45min boat ride downriver from Iquitos. Our first day was to Mazan, a village accessible much easier by the small road indicated in the picture. Actually it was more like a double wide sidewalk. Otherwise, as you could tell by the map, a boat ride on the river would take forever (Mazan to Ceiba Tops going upriver is 16 hours !!)

17.03.13

We left Lima about 0630. We arrived in Iquitos at about 0830 then took a little boat ride to Ceiba Tops Lodge downriver on the Amazon about 45 minutes. We briefly settled in before getting right to work on sorting our meds for the pharmacy.

 

We ate a great buffet lunch at 1230 and have had some downtime since then. We meet again in about 10min @ 1600 to go down to Monkey Island which I visited last year. I need to go now, so I'll post some pics when I get back.

 

16.03.13

2013. My blog has been resurrected. I last left you all with a video by Thomas Coiner of our trip to Peru in 2012, and my first medical mission. If you haven't had a chance to see the video, you can view it in my last post. It's a great video, professionally done by Thomas Coiner. I was fortunate and blessed by many supporters last year that I am happy to say I am back in Peru. The University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing has two medical missions planned for this year; China and Bolivia. I had originally opted to go to both trips and have since put those on the back burner and now here I am in Peru with Dr Chris Harmon and his team. There are 13 team members including myself. We've had quite a few drop out in the past few weeks due to unfortunate circumstances. We will continue to pray for those who were not able to join us. So I'm not really sure about the fine details of this trip. However, as always, flexibility is the the key. We arrived in Lima a little over 2 hours ago. It is now 2:00am here in Lima, and if I'm not mistaken, it's CST. We are staying at the hotel across the street from the airport, literally about 50 yards from the entrance. This makes for a convenient transition for our morning flight to Iquitos. We will meet at about 0430 to go back to the airport. This time around, we will not be staying in the city of Iquitos, rather, we will be out in the jungle, up the Amazon River. We will be staying at Ceiba Tops and will be providing a medical clinic to the surrounding villages. Here is a link. Check it out. http://www.explorama.us/ceibatopslodge.shtml Over the past year, I've been working a little harder on sharing my faith. I've made some big strides in being able to openly share with others, and most importantly praying with some of my patients who find comfort and peace in it. With the team being quite smaller than the last, we will each be wearing many "hats" this time around. I'm looking forward to getting started and letting the Holy Spirit take over and guide me through the week. For some of my friends, it's probably weird to hear me say that. It even sounds a little weird for me to say it to myself. God has done great things in my life over the past year and I'm slowly getting to the point of giving it all up to Him and putting my faith to work for Him in all that I can control. I won't lie, it's hard, but I'm trying. I hope you all will be able to take a peek at my blog throughout the week. I'll try and keep it updated day to day to share all the new experiences. I'll have an update later this evening once we get settled in the jungle and after I've finished my homework that's due today. Yeah, I've been a little slack on homework. This trip ended up on a bad week of battling the stomach bug and school and homework, but I know I'm here for a reason ! Peace Jek