We affectionally call this trip the BRT – this was a name given by one of our faithful medical professionals. I was trying to come up with a catchy title, and he said this was his normal moniker, simply meaning: Buddy’s River Trip. To be honest, the trip is not about me, it is about King Jesus. We want Him to be known and worshipped, and we push hard towards that goal with these expensive, difficult, and tiring trips. The work begins months in advance and continues long afterwards.

This year was just as difficult as always in regards to getting the authorizations. This year was different, however, because for the first time we had a Peruvian doctor with us. She “supervised” all of the medical activity, and was a great blessing to us!

This year we had big plans to begin our big river trip first thing Monday. However, we ended up having two major issues: One of our doctors was delayed, and the boat had motor-issues. This reminded us that our God often gives us “curve-balls” with the purpose of driving us back to Him. He wants us to depend on him, and not on ourselves.

We ended up going to the closest village first, using a different rented boat. God gave us a great day trip with 11 professions of faith!

We were loading vans and a 4×4 truck the next morning at 5am, and left shortly afterward. We had nearly an hour on a nice paved road and then turned onto a gravel trail which eventually lead us to the “port”.

This term must be used very loosely, because it is just a wider spot in the river where boats are tied, which happens to have a few buildings there.

We had hoped to make it to the top of the river, where the last village resides, but the boat was weighed down, and the river was fast. We ended up staying once again at a small settlement perched high on a hill overlooking the river. If you look closely you can see our 60 foot boat far below.

We held the medical clinic there that night, and saw several professions of faith, in addition to the gator meat that some of our team enjoyed.

The following days sort of blurred together, as we spent hours on the river, showed the love of Christ through medical attention, set up and took down our camps, and enjoyed good Christian fellowship.

Our last day was especially memorable however. The motor began to overheat due to a dying water-pump. It finally failed in a random place along the bank of the river. Imagine our surprise when Segundo, our boat-driver and church-member, announced that we were just around the bend from our port, and there was actually a trail!

Forrest and I leapt off the bow, and began jogging back to the port with the goal of finding someone to come tow our boat back. Thankfully it was less than 2 miles, and we were blessed to get a boat. To lighten the load, I had everyone else begin to walk back.

We really enjoyed seeing the sights and the wildlife!

We enjoyed our time together immensely, and had a great team dinner and team breakfast upon our return.

Our highlight was the support of our church-members serving as the evangelistic team, and the dozens of professions of faith during the week. May the Lord be praised!

Thank you for your prayers and support.