Hope

Jamie is from a distant village that until recently was unreached with the gospel. The village is located on a small stream a day boat ride from Yurimaguas. Because it is so remote the people struggle and lack basic needs such as food, clean water and basic health care.

A little over a year ago a Shawi pastor friend of ours visited the village and preached the gospel. Jamie and his wife received Christ and changed their lives. They begged for the pastor to come back and tell them more about Jesus. The pastor started to visit them on a regular basis often bringing clothes or food to bless them as well as teaching them more about Christ. More believers came to Christ and last November they built a small church in which to meet. Jamie, being one of the most experienced believers in the village, was put in charge of the fledgling church. This new believer was now the pastor. His desire for God’s word grew and he began to travel to Yurimaguas every few months to attend Bible classes.

But about a month ago we received bad news. Jamie’s wife had given birth to twins out in the village and died from complications. The pastor that visits them came to Yurimaguas when he heard the news to buy fuel so he could go visit. Not knowing the situation with the babies, we sent him upriver to visit Jamie with bottles and formula as well. The pastor visited and Jamie seemed to be in good spirits. Knowing that his wife was in heaven was his consolation. He had peace that passed all understanding. But the twins were at risk. They decided to bring them back to Yurimaguas so they could be at the children’s home where they could receive regular nourishment.  Their aunt and her 2 young children came as well to help care for them.

They were in the home for a couple of weeks and all seemed well. They were taken to the doctor for check ups and were eating and growing.

Last week Jamie came to town for more Bible classes and to visit the twins. He was attending classes during the day and visiting the twins every afternoon and evening. One evening he noticed that one of the babies had diarrhea and shallow breathing. The staff sent the baby straight to the emergency room. It is common practice here to send babies with diarrhea or fever straight to the ER. We figured that they would treat the baby and send him back home. So we were surprised when we received a call around midnight that the baby wasn’t expected to make it.  Around 1:30am, the baby passed away.

The rest of the day was a blur. Jamie wanted to return home right away to bury his child. We spent the morning getting things in order. We prayed and cried. I shared with the other pastors at the Bible class what had happened and they took up an offering to help Jamie get home. Finally, I drove Jamie down to the port with a small white casket and we loaded it on a boat.  I will never forget the image of the boat pulling out of the port and Jamie turning to wave good bye with the casket by his side. He had a long journey before him to go bury his baby next to his wife.  

My heart breaks for Jamie. He returns home as a modern day Job. In the face of his trials he will be a witness to the many unbelievers in his village. But he needs strength. He needs our prayers. He has many difficult days ahead as he faces life, raising his other 9 children and leading his church without his wife. But there is good news, Jamie has hope. Knowing that someday he will see them again his hope is not in this life but what is to come.

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.  -Thessalonians 4:13-14

Shawi Discipleship Center

We have now been in Peru three years. In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday that we arrived yet we have seen and learned so much.   Over the past few years, we have traveled to many villages in order to encourage believers.  We have done children’s programming, medical clinics, and visited on many front porches over a bowl of chicha.  This past year, we spent 4 months living in a Shawi village to learn more about their language and culture. 

It’s been a blessing to witness the work God is doing in the Shawi church over the past few years.  One of the pastor’s we work with is realizing his call to evangelize his own people. He often travels by river and walks many hours to visit remote villages with the gospel.  Through your support, we are able to help provide fuel for him to travel.  In the last few years, he planted 7 new churches.  And there are other pastors with the same passion who are evangelizing on other river systems.

We’re so excited to see God moving and hear testimonies of lives being changed.  Throughout our travels, talking with Shawi church leadership, and spending time in the village this past year, God has laid on our hearts a need for basic level discipleship and training for new believers.  Susan, the missionary we work alongside, hosts a Bible Institute in Spanish for Shawi pastors in Yurimaguas.  However, many of the new believers are from more remote villages, only have a conversational level of Spanish, and lack basic Bible knowledge.  Some of the Shawi pastors have asked us for help in discipling these new believers. Therefore, we’re seeking to add to the training offered by introducing a basic discipleship training course, offered in Shawi, so that new believers can hear and understand the truth of God’s word in their heart language.

Since many of these communities are remote, a day by boat and then a 3-9 hour walk, bringing the pastors in to a central location will be more effective for reaching and raising up new leadership in each of these remote locations.  Missionary Ventures owns an existing property outside of Yurimaguas, that was once used for discipleship and agricultural development.  The property has been let go over the last number of years but we’re planning to rehab the facility and begin to use it to make disciples.

We hope to offer several trainings yet this year using an orality based discipleship model.  We will let the power of the Holy Spirit work as believers hear Bible stories for the first time and discover the beauty within scripture.  Our first series will go from Creation to Jesus followed by stories of Jesus himself.  We look forward to using this model and facility to offer trainings in leadership, worship, and children’s ministry as well in the future.  We will continue to travel, taking our disciples along, teaching them and watching them practice new skills.  This will provide experience to them and help encourage the local Shawi church.

First though, there is much work to be done in rehabilitating the facility.  Our first 3 obstacles to begin hosting training are lodging, water, and power.  There is a wooden house with thatch roof that can be salvaged but will need a new roof and floor boards replaced.  We hope to put in a well but will also rehab old water tanks and guttering for collecting rain water.  We will either need to put in a generator and repair wiring or purchase and install solar panels to provide power so that we can hold church service after dark.  And that is just the beginning.  Screens need repaired, roofs need replaced, and additional housing needs built.

Over time we’ll work to beautify the property, but we’d also like to begin some subsistence farming to provide both income to offset the cost of our national staff and to provide food during training cycles and for the children’s home in Yurimaguas.

We have been so blessed these past 3 years by the prayer and financial support we’ve received as well as visits of encouragement we’ve had from family, friends, and the body of Christ.  We are so excited about this direction the Lord has given us and the opportunity to go and make disciples but we cannot do it alone.  We ask you to prayerfully consider how God might be calling you to be a part of making disciples among the Shawi as well. 

Perhaps he’s calling you to pray for strength for our new believers.  This past week we learned that a leader of one of the new church plants lost his wife minutes after she gave birth to twins.  He is now a single father of 10 children.  Please pray for strength for Jaime and that he may know peace that passes all understanding. 

Perhaps God’s laid it on your heart to come and work alongside us here for a time rehabbing the discipleship training center and seeing how God is moving here first hand. We are putting together a work team to come in the summer. Let us know if you are interested.

Or perhaps he’s call you to financially support the work.  Please visit this link to give directly to the work at the Shawi Discipleship Center. 

However it is the Lord leads you, we invite you to join us as we work together to make disciples of all nations.

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