Miracles in the Jungle

When they set the plate before me filled with jungle rat, boiled plantains and a side of grubs, I knew I had finally arrived in Nueva Era. We had come for the church anniversary. The trip was difficult, two days of travel, but the last four hours were the worst. We had traveled up a small jungle stream full of fallen trees and sharp curves while ducking under thorny vines and wasp’s nests. The pastor of Nueva Era had met us at the mouth of the stream to guide us, I knew we were in for an adventure when I saw him carrying a chainsaw and machete to help clear the way. The stream had many forks and alternate routes and without our guide we would have never had made it to Nueva Era.

The worldview of the Shawi people is very different than that of us North Americans. They live in an animistic culture. The shaman is the center of their spiritual world. If they are sick, they visit the shaman, if they need guidance, they visit the shaman and if they want someone killed, they visit the shaman. The shaman has the power to kill and it is very real. They never would doubt the existence of the spiritual world because they live with it everyday.

The Church in Nueva Era

How does the shaman kill? If you pay him to kill someone, the cost is often a bull, then he will enter into a spiritual trance. He then enters the spiritual world where he finds the spirit of the one he wants to kill and does “damage” to their soul. Without fail within two to three days that person becomes incurably sick and dies.

Baptisms in the creek

If this sounds crazy, I agree. But the good news is that many of the Shawi now believe that there is one Creator God and He is all powerful. This is changing their worldview. In Nueva Era they pray to God for healing as opposed to seeking the shaman. Last time I visited we prayed for a one-month old baby. The dad told us that the baby was not eating and was so sick it wouldn’t cry. My first response was to tell him they need to walk three hours to the nearest health outpost for the below average treatment they can receive there. But instead the elders and pastors of the church gathered together and we all prayed for the baby. The baby was healed. I, in my weakness, doubted and upon returning this time I asked the man how his baby was doing. “100 percent healthy,” he replied. I was surprised. Lord help my unbelief. Another man we had prayed for had bloodshot eyes and terrible headaches such that he could not sleep at night. Again I was surprised to find he had received healing. But the craziest thing was the man who brought his blind wife to the anniversary. They had walked from a nearby village because they heard that people could be healed in Nueva Era. She had slowly been going blind and was to the point where she could only see a few feet. We prayed for her at the evening service and the next morning when she woke up her vision was completely normal. 

Some of my friends from Nueva Era

After service one evening I sat and talked to the leader of Nueva Era. He looked around the church and began to tell me stories. People had come from 8 different communities for the anniversary, all walking. Some where 2 or 4 or 6 hours walk, but one community was a day and half walk away. He also told me about their stories, that man in the red shirt was sick and God healed him, that man in the corner had a sick child that was healed and his entire family are now believers. On and on he went and I began to realize that God’s healing was common place in Nueva Era but as a result God’s glory is extending into unreached communities. You see, when people are healed they believe in God and receive Christ. It is showing that God is real and more powerful then the shamans.

And the shamans are not happy about the Christians of Nueva Era. They are trying to kill them but upon entering the spiritual realm they say that the souls of the Christians are surrounded by fire and they can not touch them. They openly admit that the God of the Christians is more powerful then the spirits they serve. Suddenly Romans 8:31 has new meaning: If God is for us, who can be against us?

Rainbow over the nearby mountains

Going to Nueva Era reminded me of James 5.
Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  

God is healing people to show his power and the people are responding. During my time in Nueva Era 12 people came to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

April in Yurimaguas

What a crazy month it has been. We have been very busy and I just wanted to share a little of the happenings here in Yurimaguas. 

In the beginning of April we held a cacao training for the men of Nuevo Junin. They had many problems with disease and fungus in their cacao fields so we hired an engineer to go to the community and train them. I went along and helped prepared the lunch of boiled yuca and piranha over an open fire.  The 20 men that attended learned how to maintain their fields with pruning and composting practices as well as how to prepare organic pesticides and fungicides.

For Good Friday we were invited to attend services in Nueva Pachiza. Lucy was sick so I went by myself, with 7 other Peruvians. It was amazing to see believers travel from all over the Balsapuerto district to attend. Some traveled 4-5 hours in canoe. It was an amazing time of worship and celebration.

On Sunday we celebrated Easter with our missionary family here in Yurimaguas. We all got together for lunch and the kids hunted candy afterwards.

For our 13th wedding anniversary we took a weekend off and traveled to Tarapoto. We stayed in a hotel with air conditioning, hot water, a pool and a television. It felt strange to sit in cold air conditioning and then take a hot shower as opposed to the other way around. We even went to a swimming hole up in the mountains with some missionary friends. I think the kids enjoyed swimming in the river more than the pool. We even enjoyed a snickers bar together which has become our anniversary tradition.

Then we hosted a Sunday School training here in Yurimaguas. We invited anyone interested in teaching and had a good response as 26 attended. Jennifer worked hard for weeks preparing materials and translating the teachings. Our goal was to teach them how to tell stories, do activities and memorize verses creatively using only materials they have available in their communities. It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun as we watched them act out stories such as the Good Samaritan and Jesus washing the disciples feet. Many of those who attended have no Sunday School for the children in their community and returned home planning to start one. Please pray for them as they bravely embark on their new endeavor.

This past week we traveled to some nearby communities as a family. Ricky and Carol Hendon, missionaries here in Yurimaguas, had visitors from the states that brought water filters. What a blessing it was as they built the filters and taught how to use them. It was a beautiful thing to see my family serving together as Jennifer taught about hygiene and hand washing, Lucy handed out soap and Henry played with the boys.

Thursday we spent the day preparing clothes for the community of Naranjal. If you remember from our last post it is a community that is mostly nude and very isolated. I will deliver the clothes next week to the community of Nueva Era and some Shawi pastors will carry them in from there. The pastors then plan on spending a week in Naranjal sharing the gospel with the people for the first time! There is so much that can go wrong with sending such a large amount of clothes so far away that we are asking for prayers. Protection against the weather, injuries, sickness, snakes and the many other unforeseen things. But most importantly we are praying that the people are not only open to receiving the clothes but are also open to receiving the gospel. I will be gone a week to deliver the clothes and attend the church anniversary in Nueva Era. The pastors continuing on to Naranjal plan on being gone two to three weeks as they will stop and preach at other villages on their return journey. 

It has been a busy month and not without difficulties as we have all struggled with illness in one way or another. There is a lot to do and it can be overwhelming. Yet...

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has call me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Phillippians 3:13-14

The Needy and The Naked

You never know what your going to encounter in the jungle. Last week I ate monkey, jungle rat, armadillo and live ants. I prayed for a man that people are trying to kill because he is a Christian. I visited a community with an abandoned church and when they heard we were Christians five people asked for prayer, we were only there 45 minutes. I taught a Sunday School class of 70 Shawi children, by myself. But the craziest part was my visit to the community of Nueva Era. 

 To say that Nueva Era is remote is an understatement. We traveled two days, almost as far up as you can travel on the Paranapura river in boat, and from there we walked three and half hours into the jungle. I don’t mean your everyday walk in the park, I’m talking dense jungle with enormous trees, ducking vines, climbing downed trees, crossing streams on logs and trudging through ankle deep mud. I thought I was in good shape but by the time arrived I thought I was going to die.

 

After some monkey soup and a little nap, I recovered and met with the pastor and leaders of the community.  I expected them to talk about their community’s needs but was surprised.

The needs of Nueva Era are great. They are sick. In the last six months most people in the community have had malaria, including every child, and many of them have had it multiple times. Vomiting and diarrhea is an everyday occurrence as they struggle with parasites and poor diet. Their diet consists of plantains, yucca, and whatever jungle meat they can find. The nearest health outpost is back on the river. They have to hike that same trail that almost killed me every time they need healthcare. I can not imagine walking that trail with vomiting, diarrhea, fever or with a machete cut that needs stitches. 

Feeding the children after Sunday School

 They need clean water. Their “well” consists of a six-foot hole in the middle of the community that collects water in the rainy season. It is covered with a piece of metal and it is full of mosquito larva and spiders. In the dry season they walk 15 minutes one way to the nearby stream, which does not flow that time of year and becomes stagnate.

The well

 They need a generator. They work all day to cook and clean and provide food. Then after dark, about three to four times a week, they meet at the church for service. They had service every night I was there. They begin by looking around the room for someone wearing shoes, which is hard to find. Then they ask them to take off their shoe laces so they can use them to tie a flashlight to the ceiling over a small wooden table which serves as the pulpit.

In spite of all these needs, when I met with the leaders, they began talking about other communities. They began to tell me about communities deeper in the jungle, only reachable by walking 2 and 4 and 6 hours further in from Nueva Era. These communities are unreached with the gospel and many of them pass through Nueva Era to reach the river and healthcare or to travel. As they pass through they often spend the night and attend church services, hearing the word of God for the first time.

I thought that upon reaching Nueva Era I had come to the end of the world, only to learn that it was on the frontier of a whole host of unreached communities.

Then they began to tell me about the community of Naranjal, eight hours walk from Nueva Era. They sometimes pass through Nueva Era and attend church, nude. Next time you want to complain about someone’s church attire think of these people. One of the pastors has visited the community and says that all the children are naked and most of the adults. A few of the men have clothes but the clothes are in bad shape. They desire clothes but are too poor and remote to do anything about it.  

Over the next few hours we talked and prayed and began to put together a plan to help Naranjal. Nueva Era is having a church anniversary on May 10^th.  They have invited all the surrounding communities including Naranjal. If somehow we can find clothes for the approximately 125 people that live in Naranjal, and get the clothes to Nueva Era by May 10^th, we can bless this community with the clothes to carry back. Also three pastors have committed to traveling with them to help carry the clothes. Then they would spend up to a week in the community blessing the clothes and sharing the gospel with the people. They have asked me to go along but I doubt I can physically make it.

 

Traditional Shawi attire/Sunday best

The logistics of the situation are crazy. We want to provide a generator and some basic medicines for Nueva Era. We want to provide clothes for 125 people and that is only a guess. I don’t know how many adults or children or men or woman. I don’t know how many sacks of clothes it takes and if it possible to carry them. And we would like to do this by May 10^th. 

I do not even know how to buy that amount of clothes or how much it will cost. On our two-day trip back home, I had many hours in the canoe to think about it and I began to worry. But then it got crazier. Upon returning home Jennifer showed me the report for donations last month and we had some unexpected large donations from some generous supporters. We already had the money to buy the clothes! Before I could ask, before I even knew about the need God had already provided! Seeing the report brought tears to my eyes. What a good God we serve!

Please pray for Naranjal. That we can get the clothes there in time and that they come to the anniversary. And please pray for Nueva Era. They are on the frontier of unreached people. May God bless them and strengthen them as the continue in the work.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. –Matthew 25:35-36

Praises and Prayers

JAMES - We have had many requests for an update on this little guy.  Thank you all for your continued prayers on his behalf.  Praise God he is doing so well.  He now weighs in at 8lbs 2 oz and is eating like a champ!  He does have a small hole in the roof of his mouth which will require a surgery at some point unless he experiences a miraculous healing first.  He also has what appears to be a hernia.  Please continue to pray for his growth and development and healing and wisdom as we navigate these minor health issues.  Also pray for his protection against illness, especially chicken pox as another child here at the center recently had them.  Finally, please lift his mother in prayer that she would view her son's life as a miracle and be open to the gospel when the Lord presents the opportunity for us to share with her.  She has not yet returned to visit him.

LUZ MILAGROS - This little beauty just turned 2 years old.  She has been here at the center since she was about 3 months old.  Her mother died during child birth and she was brought here close to death herself as she hadn't received any milk in her community.  She has recovered beautifully and is simply a joy.  Her names translate as light and miracle and she lives up to both names.  We praise God for her life and are praying for His wisdom as we approach her dad about either receiving her back into his home or placing her with a forever family.  We pray that God would be glorified and His character and love revealed in all our interactions with him.

YOSE NANAMEN means GOD'S WORD - We were blessed to purchase 40 Bible in Shawi on our last trip to Lima.  We incorrectly understood at that time that we could relatively easily get more.  However, it seems there are no more in print at this time.  Please pray for wisdom as we navigate the process of getting more printed as we have sold all we were able to purchase and have brothers in Christ who are requesting more. 
Josh and I are also feeling called to learn Shawi.  Please pray for us as embark on this new adventure!

VISIT FROM FRIENDS - We were so blessed to have visitors this past week.  The kids loved on Aunt Kristin and she cleaned lots of teeth.  Sandra held James and then held him some more!  She also cleaned and organized the kids play room for us.  Berta held babies and helped kids with their English homework.  Most of all we just enjoyed doing life together again, even if it was for only 5 days.  

  
COMMUNITY VISITS - Josh will be leaving March 28 for his longest and furthest trip up river yet.  He's planning to be gone 8 days - this is all he's taking with him.  He'll leave Tuesday morning around 5am for a 5 hour truck ride.  It is supposed to be a 2 1/2 hr drive but the road conditions are so bad right not that it is a 5 hr journey.  He'll then get in a canoe and go another 2 hours up river before stopping for the night.  He will be traveling with one of the men that works for the mission at the farm and a Shawi pastor. 

 On Wednesday they will then go 8 hours up river in canoe and visit a community.  Depending on river conditions, they may then have to hike in 3 hours on Thursday to visit another community.  They will travel even further up river over the weekend to visit a third community.  They will then have 2 days of travel home.  The purpose of this trip is to evaluate feeding & Sunday school programs in these communities.  Please pray for his health and safety as he travels and perhaps more importantly, his ability to understand and communicate clearly that which God lays on his heart to share. 

                                                                                                ~ Jennifer

Nuevo Pachiza

Along the Paranapura River there is a small church in the community of Nuevo Pachiza. A month ago I was talking with the pastor of the church and he told me that they have a Sunday School for the kids on Sunday mornings but that the teacher was discouraged and did not know what to teach. We decided to visit and have a weekend Vacation Bible School to help. The problem is that the community is only accessible by river. Although I have traveled by river, Jennifer and the children had not. I was worried how to find transportation, how to pack all our stuff and I was worried about the rain. As usual I committed to a date by faith and God worked out all the details.
A believer from the community, who rarely comes to Yurimaguas, "just happened" to be in town a week ago and he is one of the few men from that community that have their own boat and motor.  I "just happened" to run into him and mention our upcoming visit and he offered to transport us. Praise God.
Thursday, my furgon was in the shop for some warranty work and when I went to pick it up it was in a thousand pieces on the floor. They told me it would not be ready until Monday, but we needed it to travel to the port the next morning. We called a couple of local drivers and transport companies but no one answered the phone so at last we called "Uncle" Ricky Hendon, a missionary and servant of God, and he quickly insisted on taking us. What a blessing!
Despite all of God's provision I could not sleep Thursday night. I was worried about my family and the rain and the trip and... Well I was worried about everything. Friday morning I got up early and turned to Matthew 10. I am reading through Matthew right now and "just happened" to be in chapter 10 where in verses 29-31 it says:

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? 

Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside of your Father's Care.

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

How silly of me to worry.

It is the rainy season here. The locals call it winter which cracks me up and the rains have been relentless. I have been in a canoe in the rain and it is not fun but once again God provided.  On Friday we traveled up river and it was one of the few sunny days we have had here over the last couple of months. Then Friday night the rain came and it rained all weekend. Monday morning when it was time to leave the rain quit again and we had a warm dry ride back. Gracias a Dios.
It was an amazing weekend. We shared Bible stories, played games, sang songs and made crafts. Twenty plus kids came including some that walked 30 minutes in the pouring rain from a neighboring village. Both Saturday and Sunday we started at 9:00am and quit at 4:00pm with a small break for lunch. Once again we left exhausted but with full hearts as it was such a blessing to be there with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Some highlights from our trip:

Random Happenings

We were blessed to have my mom and Beverly here with us to visit last week.  We enjoyed seeing them and all the treasures they brought.  I'm enjoying a Reece's peanut butter cup as I type!  The kids said they most enjoyed snuggling and reading books with Grandma! 

On the banks of the Paranapura River

Lucy wearing a dress Grandma Peery made for her.

We miss good chocolate!

Maggie

While we traveled to Lima to pick them up we did some shopping as well and were blessed to find a source for Bibles in Shawi.  The Bible has not been completely translated but it contains the entire New Testament and portions of the Old Testament.  It has a nice vinyl cover, maps, and cost less than $2!  God is good!

A case of Shawi Bibles

We also finally had the opportunity to buy some quality toys for the kids at the center with funds  given last summer from Burr Oak Church VBS.  Quality toys do not exist in Yurimaguas and this was our first trip back to Lima since arriving.  The kids are really enjoying them - Thank you!

Train and road set is a hit with the boys.

Dollhouse fun for the girls.

While we were there we visited the doctor and orthodontist and had some fun as well.  Maggie played on a playground for the first time - she loves to slide - and we enjoyed things like Papa John's pizza,  tortilla chips, and hot showers!

Sisters sliding

While we were in Lima the closet in our bedroom was finished and as of yesterday for the first time in 6+ months, we are no longer living out of suitcases.  Feeling settled is a wonderful thing!

A whole new meaning to living out of a suitcase.

Upon returning from Lima we also found that baby James has passed the 5 lb. mark.  He continues to gain slowly and is just precious!

Sweet James

Feeling settled only lasted about 3 hours before we began packing!  Friday morning early we're headed on our first family boat trip to a community where we'll host a 2 day Bible school for the children and encourage and train the Sunday School teachers. 

Since we're traveling on the 24th (which is Henry's 5th birthday) we're celebrating a day early!  He loves nature and would prefer to live in a community so he's excited to celebrate here and then again with his first boat trip.  It will be the the furthest adventure into the jungle thus far for Jennifer and the kids and we're excited!

Our birthday boy - he loves nature!

                                                                                                                                ~ Jennifer

Our newest resident . . . James

James after a week with us.

James came to our center not quite 2 weeks ago.  His mother was in the local street market right outside our doors when a woman who asked to see her baby sent her our way for help. 

James when he arrived at 3.3 lbs and 6 weeks old.

James' mother was preparing to leave and take him back to her community.  To get there, you take a boat to the head of the river and then walk a good 4 hours in.  The journey takes several days.  She had been brought to Yurimaguas by plane because of medical issues she was facing during pregnancy due to malnutrition.  Her skin was deteriorating and her hair falling out.  They were unable to help her with injections at the health outpost closest to her community so she was sent here.  She was 7 months pregnant.

While being treated inpatient for her medical issues, she began to hemorrhage and an emergency c-section was performed.  His mother was sick, scared, and alone.  While she had been accompanied into town by a relative, she was basically left alone at the hospital.  She does not speak Spanish and the hospital staff do not speak Shawi.  She from so far in, it's likely she's rarely, if ever, been to Yurimaguas before.  She was in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar food and little family support and she wanted out.  At just 2 weeks postpartum, she took James - born at 7 months gestation and weighing just 4 lbs - from the hospital against medical advice.  She never thought he would live - and it's a miracle he did.

In her malnourished state, she was not producing much if any maternal milk for James.  The only drink she knows is masato, a drink made from yucca, and that is what she gave him.  Four weeks later, she arrived on our doorstep because a stranger told her she needed to bring him here and we could help.  

We immediately bought formula and tried to feed him but without much success.  We also bundled him in warm clothes and blankets as he came with barely any and was so cold.  Premature babies have a difficult time regulating their body temperature and again this speaks to the miraculousness of his still being alive.  The next morning when we couldn't get him into the doctor, we took he and his mom to the emergency room.  In spite of our staff spending most of the first day there with them, she again left the hospital with him against medical advice after being there less than 48 hours.  She again was extremely uncomfortable and alone at the hospital and still didn't think he was going to make it and she was determined to go home.

Fortunately she had left some of her personal belongings here at the center and stopped by to get them on her way out of town.  With the help of another guest translating, I tried to explain to her that if she left with him, he would most certainly die.  She has no access to formula in her community and no way to pay for it even if she did.  It was a difficult conversation and finally I simply told her that if she was unwilling to stay, she should leave the baby - and thus, we now have James.

After his brief stay in the hospital, the IV fluids he'd received gave him enough strength to suck on his bottle and he is now gaining weight, albeit slowely.  

Mom said she'd be back for him but she didn't say when and the journey is long and difficult.  She left assuming he would die.  She did not show any emotion about leaving him.  Perhaps she had never allowed herself to bond because she believed he would die.  Perhaps it's cultural as it is uncommon to show emotion - especially pain or sadness.  Perhaps her life is filled with other greater pain.  I do not know, I do not know his mother.  

I do know that God has a plan for James, if not, he wouldn't still be alive.  He has defied the odds.  While he's here, we're blessed to love on him and see him grow.  At first I assumed God's plans for him were for his future as an adult.  However, after talking with one of our staff today, it occurred to me that God may have a plan for him even as an infant.

You see, James' mother and father are from 2 different communities very far into the jungle.  There are no Christians in their communities.  No one knows the Lord.  No one has come to our center from their communities before.  They have not known of our services and the love of the Lord we're here to share.  The physical needs are great there.  

You see, once James recovers, if his mother returns, his life will be a testimony of God's faithfulness and provision and we can share His love with her.  Perhaps others in physical need will learn to trust us and come with physical needs so we may minister to their spiritual needs.  If she hasn't returned once he's recovered, this opens a door for us to go into their community and share the love of Christ.  

So, I realized that while I was correct that his life is a miracle and God has a plan for it - it is not just a plan for the distant future, but a plan for the immediate future.  Please join us in praying for James' physical recovery and for doors to open for spiritual healing in the lives of his parents and their remote villages.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."                             Jeremiah 29:11

                                                                                                              ~ Jennifer