fire.

October 2, 2010
Sabbath was anything but restful today. Lauren and I made our traditional biscuit and gravy breakfast and it was quite delicious once again. :) The travel team (which consists of Steph, Lauren, and me) was going to Pucallpa for church at the same area that we had been working at for clinic this week. We were supposed to be there at 9, but because of the fires last night we were a little behind schedule and got there at 10… thankfully, Peruvian time is about 47 minutes late anyway. Haha. Church was good, and then we ate at some friend’s house that we had met this week. They had been really helpful with the clinic and they are super nice.
After lunch we came back to the base and much to our dismay there yet ANOTHER huge fire behind the house! I feel like the fire gang is out to get us this week. Seriously. The fire had completely burned all the grass by the barn and was quickly spreading through the pasture where the cows are. We made a line and hauled buckets of water for hours. Firefighting is no joke in case you were wondering. Oh, and I just have to insert something here- we have a tractor and a trailer with a big tank on it that we fill with water. The tractor is an antique, the hitch consists of a metal pin and a rope to hold the trailer on, and we fill the tank with a garden hose. Then we douse the fire with buckets and large cooking bowls. It’s just SO effective. Gotta love Peru. :) As we were fighting the fire in the pasture we saw another fire right behind Hector’s house. We all rushed that way to save the house. Thankfully we got there in time and the house was safe. Then, we went back to the pasture to finish putting that one out. We got all that done, and on our way back the Doctor yelled that there was another fire at the Yerbas Buenas church! We had to move the tank from the tractor to the back of the truck, fill it, and then all of us crammed in and drove as fast as we could to the church. By the time we got there the fire was pretty much under control and the church was not harmed so that was a relief. At the end of that, one of the guys was calling for water behind the church. I didn’t see any fire back there, but I thought they saw something that I didn’t see. So I just took a bucket of water back there and when I got there Daniel, Alfonso, and Anthony were waiting. I stopped and just then they drenched me with water. They had a bucket and the stole mine and just soaked me. It was funny now that I think about it, but I was so cold and just soaked to the bone. I screamed and they laughed. :) We got back and took showers and made popcorn and started to settle down for the night. Then, our worst nightmare came true. ANOTHER FIRE!! This time it was across the road from our property. It was spreading fast so we all got dressed once again and went to help them. We were out there for a while… finally, we got it all out. The headlight went out on the tractor so I used my head lamp for a headlight while Alfonso drove us home. By this time we were all beyond exhausted. Four fires in one night really takes it out of you. I never dreamed firefighting would be my Saturday night activity. Haha. I almost didn’t want to go to bed in fear that I would just have to get up again. But, I crashed into bed and slept really good. :)
I really just want to be a nurse when I grow up, not a firefighter. :) haha. But I’m making memories and everyone has been so good about being flexible and helping however they can. It’s cool to see us all come together. I just wish it wasn’t to fight fires. Haha.