July 25, 2010
When we arrived at the church....the congregation was already singing. The man in front
with the accordion was playing and singing. the rhythms was up beat with many clapping hands.
When you are at the door entering the courtyard, picture in your mine, trees as roof, benches are full of people, chairs setting here and there with mother's and babies. There is always a little activity with the younger children that do not set still and move to the rhythm of the music. A lot of clapping of hands.
After Pastor Oscar said a few words, our group went down in front of the congregation to be introduced again. As is the custom, a line is formed and we are greeted with a kiss on the cheek, shaking of hands with hugs and Dios De Bendiga (God Bless You). You are greeted this way and it is repeated when you leave. There were probably close to 60 people including children.
There were several tables set up in the back. When Georgia finished telling the story of Esther, the kids had 3 crafts, crowns with jewels they glued on, Dr George made origami swans and there were plenty of pages to color.
Since this was the last day at the Church/clinic, there were many pictures taken. After returning to the hotel and having lunch, we too the van to Lama. A town settled by the Inca Indians. The language spoken there is Quechua. The statues in the square represented a part of their history. We truly enjoyed the museum as there were fossils, skeleton heads of the jungle animals, insects and beetles. Each room showed the tools they used, and how their daily life was lived. Each case seemed to have music involved. The last case shoe the hand carved figures dancing. Every Sunday after church, they eat outside or eat as a group. Then that evening, the music starts and the dancing begins. Every member of the family is a a part of the celebration.
Just a celebration of being neighbors and celebration of life.
We went up and down some narrow dirt roads and arrived at the El Castillo De Lamas. The Castle is in the process of being built, but can be toured.
Our next stop was the Look Out Mountain. A breath taking view of the mountains in what is considered the lower Amazon The tops were crowned with light fluffy clouds that had the sky blue blended.
As we were returning to Tarapoto, we were going through town when we saw a group of people dancing. The music was loud enough to tell all those close it was time to gather for the weekly dancing. As we passed them and traveled further down the street, we could see many people coming from the side streets to join them. What a privilege to see a tiny bit of the Inca culture.
God Bless
Edna
