Hello Everyone!

Are you ready for the new school year?   Or are you still very much still in the midst of your summer?

Well, I have to admit I still have one foot in summer mode although school and learning are never far from my mind.  One of the main reasons my head is still in the summer is our oldest is still on a mission trip to Peru and won’t be returning until next week, God willing.  We would covet your prayers for her, as she is in the Amazon jungle.  Her small team of college students and a few Journeyman missionaries are participating in a “storying” conference, telling the Yagua people the Bible, for the first time, as a series of stories.  How exciting is that?

A Yagua with his blowgun near Iquitos

OK, I have been a homeschool mom too long not to make a geography lesson out of this.    No, really, I mean it.

Map work:

• Chart the trip – DD flew from Atlanta, Georgia, to Miami, Florida, then to Lima, Peru.  From Lima she flew on to Iquitos.  Iquitos is a fascinating place as it is the largest city in the world with only water (not road) access.
• From Iquitos, they traveled west by boat down the Amazon approximately 43 miles, then trekked south through the jungle about three miles to the village of Catala Urco.
• Although Catala Urco is too small to see on a map, its GPS coordinates are -3.536683 – 72.758633.  If you would like to see where she is, download Google Earth .  (Based on satellite imagery, this program allows you to examine anywhere in the world!)  Type the GPS coordinates into the search box and label a ‘push pin’ Catala Urco.
• “Explore” the city of Iquitos in the Google Earth program by double- clicking on the small blue boxes.  This will enable you to view photos taken by visitors there.

Science Exploration:

• How big is the Amazon jungle?  What type of climate does it have and what kind of forest is it?
• What types of animal life does it contain?  Near the bottom on the right side of this  webpage, to hear the sound of a poison dart frog, howler monkeys, a scarlet macaw and the roar of a jaguar, click on each image.
• What types of products are made from plants found in the Amazon jungle?

Language Arts:

• Read my DD’s prayer blog.  (Mom, read first-there are some references to non-believers in her “Lives at Stake” post you might want to censor.  Just cut and paste the blog into a document and edit as necessary.)
• Questions to answer from the blog:
  • What are a few interesting characteristics about the Yagua people?
  • What are some of the preparations that had to be made before travel to a place like the Amazon?
  • What did you learn about the city of Iquitos?  How do people get from place to place without a car there?
• If you were going down the Amazon on a trip and you only could carry two backpacks, what would you need to bring with you?
• Journal the preparations for an upcoming trip as well as the trip itself.  Take pictures, as well.

I am going to stop there!  I could have kept you busy for hours. LOL

Thanks again for your prayers on behalf of my daughter, the team and the Yagua!

Warmly,