Safe back in the US! I thank you so much for your daily prayers and encouragement on behalf of this team and trip. I am so excited to report what the Lord did and share just a few of the more adventurous moments. It’s overwhelming to capture 3 weeks on paper however here is my best attempt. I bolded the main parts of the story so if you don’t have time to read the whole thing you can know mainly what happened. Please ask Lauren and I you have any more questions about the Yagua people and work that the Lord is doing in their hearts. Thank you so much for every prayer on their behalf. I cannot wait for you to meet them, if not in this life than by His grace and glory most certainly the next!!

Setting off the first morning for the Yagua village we traveled along the winding Amazon, parts of which looked surprisingly similar to the Low country with green dense marshes interspersed with graceful white Egrets. Men fished and traveled in small dugout canoes and women washed clothes and bathed along the shore. Most responded by a friendly smile and wave. However, as we progressed further into the jungle people became increasingly sparse and more often gave us a blank or perplexed stare. We finally dead ended at the village of Catalan Urco, Jeremy got out to ask the chief for permission to enter the village. He was gone for what seemed like ages until we heard, “Climb out guys- we’re in the jungle!” We set up camp and prepared to meet with the village leaders that night to discuss the nature and purpose of our visit. Several hours later the village men and women one by one emerged from the darkness and sat around in circle- shooting us indifferent and reserved glances as they swatted themselves with cloths to keep away the occasional mosquito that pestered them (the mosquitoes had been eating us gringos alive for nearly an hour by that time, demanding that we keep moving constantly while wearing layers of clothes and several applications of 100% DEET). Jeremy explained our mission there: a group of young people from many miles away desiring to live here and learn their way of life, to help them with their daily work, get to know them and their families, and share with them stories from a true book called the Bible which we believed in with our hearts and lives. An awkward silence insured until it was broken by a deep voice, “Por ejemplo.” We froze as we realized the story telling would begin that night! I listened to my friend jump straight into the story of Creation and watched as curious expressions occasionally alighted on their faces. Looking up at the night sky my breath was taken away by thousands upon thousands of stars that dusted the black sky. Surely these people have witnessed marvels of natural creation which we only see in pictures. My mind grasped anew how full the earth is of His glory and how desperately I wanted these people to see and know that- to know Him!

The following week was intermingled with disappointments, encouragements and spontaneous adventures. We did not get the opportunity to work alongside the people as much as hoped for the sheer reality of the physical differences between our bodies and theirs. The second day we worked to gather and shuck Yuka with machetes. After only an hour we were drenched in sweat and bugs and quite the entertainment to the skilled Yagua working beside us. We were also having fewer and fewer attendants during the evening story times. One man however continued to come faithfully and one night inquired when we were going to talk about repentance. Obviously this man had heard something of Christianity before and we set out on a completely different plan of action. We spent the entire next day dividing up stories from the Bible and working to memorize them. It was overwhelming but amazing to get such a comprehensive view of God’s plan of salvation from Adam to Abraham to Joseph to Jesus and SO MUCH in between! Sunday morning Johnny and his family agreed to give us the day to tell our stories. He sat, hour after hour, story after story, attentive but with an unchanging firm expression. We shared with him some of our food in between (he seemed to really enjoy the Cliff Bars and Beef Jerky). By four o’clock we were only at the birth of Jesus and obviously in need of a break. We asked him to come back that night and hear the rest. After hours went by it seemed he was not coming back but finally his face appeared from the darkness, carrying a battery operated light swarming with insects. Taking turns sharing the rest of the gospel we spoke of Jesus’ life, His miraculous healings, insightful parables, and the story of His death and resurrection. When it got to the crucifixion Jeremy stepped forward to explain the nature of such a death and we held up a nail that was found to aid in further demonstration. Having no idea of what to expect we all watched as Jeremy explained the glorious purpose behind every stories heard that day. With a quiet but steady voice Johnny said he wanted to give His life to Jesus Christ! Listening to his prayer in Spanish I could not understand all of what was said but the sincerity of His tone was undeniable. For the first time a large smile broke over his face as we welcomed him as a new brother!

telling stories at Johnny's house, he is in the middle beside the missionary Jeremy who lead our team

During the remainder of our time there we took time prayer walking the village and mapping out the community for future teams. We often were invited in, providing the opportunity to visit and pray for families out loud. Some of these home visits afforded us the most memorable moments. Some included meeting a family pet Spider monkey, owl, and Capybara, making a palm thatch roof by learning how to weave palm leaves on a pole, and being serenaded by a family who owned a small flute, drum, and maracas. After demonstrating their tribal dance they asked us to teach them an American one. Swing dancing and doing the Electric Slide to a jungle rhythm wasn’t easy but very fun and apparently quite entertaining. We also had the chance to make their most popular drink: Yuka masato. Made from crushed up Yuka (the Peruvian Potato), members of the household take turns swirling a purple liquid in their mouths then spitting it into a large canoe of mashed up Yuka. This mixture of spit and Yuka ferments until it becomes alcoholic and then bottoms up! The drink is usually offered with such enthusiasm it is hard to turn down and why would you want to?

The Amazon receded so that we were in danger of getting stuck in Catalan Urco if we stayed there. Therefore, the last week was spent in upstream communities of Vanilla and Orellana. Both much less isolated, we received warm welcomes and worked with existing churches there. In Vanilla we spent much time encouraging the Pastor and telling our stories at the nightly church service at 7:00 (aka 7:30ish Peruvian time . Desiring to encourage personal study, we broken the congregation into small groups after the stories and ask them questions trying to get them to think about the passage, recognize questions about what they heard, apply it to their lives, and walk away with a better understanding of who God is. It impressed all of us with how often we open the Bible without reading and praying through it in such a way that changes our understanding and our lives. I usually walked away every night with more questions than answers but it gave me, and God-willing the people, a desire to dig so much deeper into the word. I’m excited about wading more through the rich history of the Old Testament and learning how the gospel of salvation is weaved through every book. We also enjoyed running a VBS for the children two days and working with the jovenes (teenagers and singles by teaching them dramas and a few Christian songs in English. We were an endless source of laugher for the energetic children who were constantly underfoot. One of their favorite past times became watching us bath in the Amazon. They loved to catch live fish with their bare hands and hurl them at our heads with incredible aim. Already squeamish about the Piranha caught nearby, we got a lot of exercise dodging the fish that flew through the air and the fish that nipped in the water.

It was difficult to leave yet encouraging that churches in the US have recently adopted these people groups and have committed to sending teams three to four times each year. There will soon be believers visiting these villages again to meet physical needs and encourage new believers there. I am so thankful to very small part of the amazing work that God is doing in the hearts and lives of these people of the jungle. How awesome it is for the opportunity to plough, plant, and water but it is God that causes all growth! Please continue to pray for the Johnny and his family, that his faith in Christ will grow and his life will change in ways that testifies of Christ to the Yagua community. Pray for the Pastors and church in Vanilla and Orellana!

Thank you so much for being a part of what God is doing there. He has and will continue to use every prayer to further His kingdom there. To Him be the glory!

“Cristo, puede mover montes
Solo Dios puede Salvar
Mi Dios puede salvar!
Por siempre, autor de Salvación
Jesús la muerte venció
El la muerte venció!”

hello friends! i only have a few minutes unfortunately (and am having trouble figuring out this spanish keyboard!) but i really wanted to send out a quick note to say we´ve arrived safely! God has been so good in so many ways so far during the 24 hours of travel to get here, going through customs, and the days we´ve been spending in this city! Iquitos is a very lively city for being surrounded by of thousands of miles of Amazon jungle on every side and has quite a culture of its own. its been such a blessing getting to know the people on our team (8 of us), spending time in prayer and worship, and learning more about the Yagua and practicing our stories with the translators. its also been very exciting to travel around the city on the very popular “mototaxi”s that are driven at a million miles an hour with no lanes, speed limits, or road sign, haha exillerating! and trying some authentic foods including aligator and papaya juice. the most amazing part has been being able to interact and engage in conversations with the people we´ve interacted with thus far in the city! Many have expressed a great interest in why we have come so far and what the stories are that we find so important to tell, opening up an opportunity to tell them of Christ´s love! ok here are a few prayer request before we head into the jungle tomorrow morning! (unfortunately we will not have any internet access for the 14 days we are in the Amazon).
-please pray that these people will have open and hungry hearts to hear our stories.
-we will be able to present them with passion, earnestness, and enthusiam, and not let the uncomfortable living conditions distract us in any way from the honor it is to be living among them.
-pray for our translators Alejandro and Luis. Both learned English from missionaries when they were children and also have a passion for the gospel!
-pray against spiritual warfare. interestingly enough, unlike Americans we will not have to convince them of the validity of the spiritual world. They activily practice animalism and sometimes witchcraft so they have experienced the supernatural first hand. Pray God would open their eyes to see that those spirits they are worshiping are of the devil.
o my goodness there is so much more to say- alas! Thank you all so much for your prayers. He is so good! To God be all the glory!

Hello, I just wanted to shoot out a quick update as the trip is right around the corner. I’m so thankful to many of you who have been reminding me that you are praying for me and the Yagua people! I’m so excited to see and report how God uses those prayers!

Preparation has consisted of mostly checking little things off of a packing list. Since we’ll be spending at least a week continually traveling in the jungle, we have to plan to carry a week’s worth of food, a tent, pills to purify water, etc…Haha getting vaccinated for a few various diseases has also been intriguing The most exciting was ingesting pills for typhoid fever with the live bacteria inside. Many very random precautions had to be taken (such as refrigeration, empty stomach, and the temperature of the water with which they are swallowed) to insure the capsule remained intact and the bacteria was not released until reaching my small intestine where antibodies can be made effectively. Interesting huh?!

Not surprising, I can see how the Lord has been much more interested in spiritually preparation thus far this summer. Working at a restaurant as a server several nights a week has had an incredible impact on my heart. Never before have I had so many good friends of all races, ages, sexual orientations and lifestyles! These people are absolutely amazing, far more intelligent and talented than I. Many have a great sense of humor and I am continually blown away by their authentic care for me and for each other. Where does their joy come from? Yet I’m confronted with horrific sin and my heart is broken every night as I am surrounded by stories of drugs fixations, broken families, sexual promiscuity, alcohol addictions, etc….Instead of being appalled and completely disgusted, as is my normal response far too often, I am heart-broken. I see their longings, twisted and perverted by the devil, I see their hearts and they remind me so much of my own!  The knowledge that I would be exactly as they, hungry, hurting and desperately grasping for fulfillment in the wrong places, apart from solely the grace of God, is such a sobering thought! Never have I felt such intense desire for people to stop giving themselves away to things that leave them hurt and empty when there is all- satisfying joy to be found! Never before have thoughts of hell brought tears to my eyes because I no longer have the ability to imagine hell as a mass populous of unbelievers but these eternally suffers now have all too vivid faces with clear voices and heart-wrenching stories.  

How many days are spent so focused on my own ambitions and comfort that I am completely blind to the reality that there are lives at stake? How desperately this truth must sink into my heart that I may be ready always to jump on opportunities to give time and money and anything God’s entrusted me with to make His name known and understood. How desperately the Holy Spirit is needed to even know how to being to communicate the out of this world and unbelievable truths of the gospel.

It is my prayer that God would cultivate in all of us a heart for our neighbors, a sensitivity to their needs which will takes priority over being absorbed in our own.  What a desire Christ has to use us as vessels of hope to those we brush shoulders with every day and how exciting is this most high calling that we can be used mightily to further His Kingdom!

 

 

“All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

 

 

 

 

The missionaries living in Iquitos that we will be working with, Jeremy and Crystal Nelson, shared some interesting facts about the indigenous people. Iquitos is the largest city in the world completely without road access. The surrounded Yagua tribes consist of roughly 3,000-4,000 people scattered in various small communities across the Amazon Basin. The remoteness of these regions has had an incredibly isolating effect on these people. In fact, they call themselves the forgotten people, forgotten by man and forgotten by God. Only recently have many of these tribes been identified and efforts made to reach them with the gospel of Christ. Please pray for the Yagua, for the work of Jeremy and Crystal Nelson, and that the Lord will continue to break down physical, emotional, and spiritual walls of isolation in the jungles of Peru by the hope and truth of the gospel!

“But Zion said, ‘The LORD has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.’ ‘Can a women forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.” Isaiah 49:16

Just heard today from two of the missionaries we will be working with once we arrive so here are a few more specifics!

-Please pray above all that the Yagua people will have receptive hearts to the gospel of Jesus Christ! Pray the Lord will open their ears and eyes to the truths of His Word and that scripture shared while we are there will fall on fertile soil (Mt 13:8)!

-A school is established in the village of Catala Urco village however it has been difficult to keep teachers there and literacy rates are extremely low. Pray for accurate oral communication and translation between our team and these people.

-Please pray that Lord will continue to provide financial support for me and others on my team as we raise money for trip associated costs

-further details, after the morning “storying conferences” we will be building relationships with the village people by helping with chores, fishing, or playing soccor with the children. We will be staying in tents or hammocks without electricity, running water, or bathroom facilities- i’m not gonna lie though I think bucket showers actually sound pretty cool.