John Wilkens donates golfing equipment.

A guest post by Mike Collis

Patricia and John, donating golf equipment to the Amazon Golf Course. Margarita and Bill gratefully accepting the golf equipment.

John Wilkens first came to Iquitos in February 2000 and was immediately accepted into the expat community. John fell in love with the city but soon also fell in love with Patricia. John and I were always talking about bringing in new things into Iquitos. We talked about a paintball club, a military type assault course and a golf driving range. We checked all three out but decided on a driving range. No matter how hard we looked we could not find a suitable piece of land at the right rental so we shelved that too.

In August 2002 John and Patricia were married and left to live in Florida in December of the same year. John found work in security working in Iraq , where John stayed until August 2006. Although Patricia had seen the golf course on her occasional trips to Iquitos to visit family and friends John had never seen it himself although he joined as  member number 6 in April 2004.

On Christmas Eve this year Patricia suddenly appeared in my office. What a joy to see her again but then John came in and we had a great reunion after 7 years.

I invited John and Patricia to the Christmas Bar-B-Q on 27th December at the golf course. This would be John’s first time he had seen what we had achieved over these last 6 years. John and Patricia arrived at the Bar-B-Q along with his brother-in-law. John had brought with him a complete set of golf clubs, lots of new sets of boxed golf balls along with a host of other golfing gadgets. John said that they lived in a place called “The Villages” in Florida where the community is based on golf and that he had no trouble asking for donated golfing equipment for the Amazon Golf Course.

Everyone had a great day at the Bar-B-Q  and John knocked some balls around the course, a golf course that was just a dream when he left in December 2002.

On behalf of everyone at the Amazon Golf Course I want to say a Very Big Thank You John and Patricia for the desperately needed golf equipment.

John Wilkens donates golfing equipment.

Mike Collis is founder of the Amazon Golf Course and editor of the Iquitos Times.

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