Al Lotz with the Shipibo people in Peru

Check out the photos & more stories from Al’s trip.

Once again I made the trek to the Jungles of Peru to teach the Shipibo people. My start was not great since I thought I had left an air mattress with Julio in Peru and upon arrival discovered I was mistaken. So the first several nights were on a thin yoga mat that I had brought to go under the mattress to protect from puncture. While I may be young at heart I learned quickly that this old man’s body is not. One of my Shipibo students and friend saved the day — actually the night by loaning me a thin mattress. Praise the Lord I was able to sleep.

I stayed in the newly constructed house in the picture; the first building built upon the donated property for the school. We hope to build the classrooms next and would appreciate your prayers for this endeavor. The lesson material was to cover the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth – a tall order for 5 days of teaching. Obviously, I did not cover every verse, but we were able to complete the lesson material and the feedback I received was that it was greatly appreciated. One student said, “Now I understand better why we are
lacking the blessings of the Lord, because of our disobedience and idolatry among his people,” (rough translation). He had begun to teach his family and now his mother wants to begin the course next year.

My future schedule includes Bolivia in September, Uganda in October and then back to Peru in November, each for about two weeks, including a quick trip to New York in
September to celebrate the engagement of my son, Jason to Molly.