Taquile Island and the Puno Quechuas (Day Three)

I finally made it Taquile Island, home of a group of Puno Quechuas, the best weavers around!  In this island, weaving and cooking are chores for both men and women alike.  Taquile has about 2,000 people living in it.  There is one leader for every one hundred.  All of them profess a form of religion which is a mix between the Catholic church and the anismistic worship of their ancestors... they have not been presented with any other choice. 

There are several arches along the main roads of Taquile.  This is the first one.  It had taken us about three and half hours to get there by boat, and from this first arch, we had to walk for almost one hour.  The altitude and the steep hills made it a challenging hike, but it certainly was worth the effort!

This picture was taken in the main square. Even though we were able to see the outside of their Catholic/animistic temple (it had a lock and chain on the door), we were not allowed to go near their ritual sites where they practice an even more pure form of the Inca religion.  Some animal sacrifices are still performed.  They do believe that there is a higher god whom they call the Creator (Viracocha), even more powerful than Inti, the Sun god and any other gods. They just don't know yet that this Creator, left a book that is ment to show them how to have a personal relationship with Him...

The Puno Quechua carry heavy loads on their backs as they get supplies from the main land.  There are close to 500 steps in the island and many steep hills.  The physical loads are in plain sight, but their spiritual needs are as real as the loads on their backs.  The following are prayer requests for the Puno Quechua...

 

• Pray that the Puno Quechua will have the opportunity to hear the truth of the Word of God, and that they will realize that the God of the Bible is the Creator, and that they will trust and worship Him alone.
• Pray that God will burden some of His children around the world to pray for the Puno Quechua.
• Pray that God will give His children creativity and wisdom to share the Truth with the Puno Quechua in such a way that it will be received gladly.
• Pray that the eyes of the Puno Quechua will be open to the Truth, and they will be able to see the Devil's deception behind their animistic practices.
• Pray that as the Puno Quechua come to know Christ, they will use their uniqueness in culture, color, dance, music and art to express worship, thanksgiving and love to their one-and-only God, the Creator of the universe and the Savior of their souls!