Retreating for a Peruvian Wedding - Jed and Jeny

On October 9th the other volunteers, Debbie, Harry, and I traveled to Moyobamba, Peru which is nestled in the jungle. It is only a 24-29 hour bus ride. Good thing I was in an airplane. I have discovered that traveling by ground in Peru can be decieving whether you are in a large city like Lima or the countryside of the departamento (state) of Ayacucho. On a map it can look like a short distance, but driving time is usually hours more than it would be elswhere because of our friends the Andes Mountains.
My presence in Moyobamba was for two reasons. Number one was our first volunteer retreat, the second was the wedding of Jed, a PC(USA) mission co-worker and Jeny, a fabulous Peruvian woman who works in the Joining Hands Office in Lima. Jeny is originally from Moyobamba so that is why the wedding was there. Jed and Jeny got married with the mountainous jungle and tropical orchids and other flowers as the back drop, breathtaking.

It was funny because for the night I was like Cher, Bono, or Madonna becasue on the guest list I was just listed by my first name, so when I came to the door they said ¨You are Lisa!?¨
It was also nice to have our first retreat in the jungle because that is where James, one of the other volunteers is living and working, also with Paz y Esperanza. He is doing environmental education, and seems to be focusing right now on helping the coffee farms

stave off brocha or an insect whose presence can be bad news for coffee growers. It was neat to hear about his work, and use of organic fertilizers and traps to help stave of this pesky insect.
This adventure into the jungle included not only the privilege of attending a wedding, but also a trip to the cold spring fed river for a picnic, an ambulance ride even though no one was injured (it was the only vehicle available), Peruvian pizza, and tacacho which is mushed up fried plantains and chicharrones (or pork rinds). Also the weather when we got off the plane was a balmy 99 degrees F at the Tarapoto airport, and only got nicer as we headed further into the jungle toward Moyobamba and her ¨tropicalness.¨