Going up into the mountains

We went into the mountains to talk to some folks that we'd visited before, and to find some folks we hadn't caught before.


We took a colectiva up into the mountains, winding up among little aldeas (villages).  Finally we got out.  As we stood by the road, I noticed the amazing quiet. There was almost no ambient noise, just some wind in the trees. Amazing.

We walked through cornfields and into little clusters of houses.  As a friend spoke to a woman, I saw a grandma come out and wander into the yard staring into the distance while listening, then a girl of about 10 years old giggled, peeked around mom's skirts, then over to grandma - still giggling and peeking.

Not the most flattering picture - but nice memory!

At another home, we spoke with a teenaged girl about some faithful examples in the Bible, and about God's promises. On the porch was also her mom, who was weaving something on her backstrap loom. Beyond her was grandma.  And on a house just 5' from their house were two more women sitting on the stoop, listening some and giggling some to have these white women from far away visiting!

Andy was 'having a moment' ... :-)

As we were slowly walking on the dirt path, there were a couple kids coming, overtaking us.  The little boy, about 3, was sobbing in terror.  There is a belief that foreigners snatch and sell kids, or even snatch and eat kids. His bigger sister, about 10, was trying to console him.  The more we tried to seem friendly just backfired - we had to ignore him!  Finally they passed us and ran home!

The views were spectacular.  (Though my camera battery died and I couldn't capture more!) We could see the whole valley below and the many small communities nested in the sides of the mountains.

We had such a thrilling time.  It was delightful - the connection to the outside, the walking, and being able to talk to others about my best friend, Jehovah.  Perfect day.