Security Worship

We are blessed to have a house to live in while in the jungle. The owners are a sweet older couple.  The woman we call Asacha, which means aunt in Shawi and is often used as a sign of respect for elderly women. When we arrived back in Santa Clara after a two-week hiatus, Asacha was sitting in her house.  I have never seen her sit in her house during the day. She is a non-stop, hard working woman of many talents.  She is four foot six, weights 80 pounds and could work me into the ground everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. She works in the fields cultivating and planting, spins cotton into yarn and makes clay bowls by hand and that is when she is not cooking or doing laundry or taking care of the chickens or watching grandkids or… You get the idea. So when I saw here sitting in the house I asked what was wrong and he husband told me she had malaria.

Malaria is a common enough occurrence that unlike my bout with malaria she knew right away what it was and started receiving treatment. Within a couple of days, she was back on her feet and as good as new.

Another day Jennifer was talking with Asacha. Sort of. Asacha does not speak Spanish so we speak to her in broken Shawi or through her daughter as a translator. Jennifer asked how old she was and she said 48. Truth is that 48 is an estimate. Asacha has a younger sister and when we asked how old she was they told us 24, then when Jennifer asked her directly she said 39. That is a big discrepancy so we asked more about it only to find out no one knows her real age. Her ID says she is 24 but she is probably mid 30’s.  It is common among the Shawi to not know a person's actual age.

So Asacha is around 48 years old and for our culture that is young but in the Shawi culture 48 is old. She is one of the older women in the community. She has 5 children and 11 grandchildren.  That is why when Jennifer said that her mom was 63 they were shocked. “Can she still walk?” they asked. They could not believe that she was still alive. Then Jennifer really blew their minds when she said that her grandmother is still alive and almost 90.

It made me think. We live in a culture that values longevity of life. We put a high priority on safety. We want the best healthcare and a fat retirement account. Those things are not in and of themselves bad things. In fact, they are good things. The problem comes when we over-value those things.

We tend to worship security. We look for safe jobs, schools, cars and houses. Usually it is the first thing we evaluate when making a decision. Is it safe? We want our children to be safe. We need good insurance. It is necessary to have a reserve in the bank. Security is our idol.

In the Shawi culture there is no such thing as security. Especially food security. If they have food they eat it all. If someone has a good day fishing and has more fish then he needs, he invites all his friends over and everyone enjoys the feast. Then the next day they go hungry. I don’t understand this part of the culture. But what if friends are more important than food and people are more important than security?

And can anyone really guard their life? I am suddenly reminded of the parable of the rich fool from Luke 12:15-21.  
"Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
Please read it here.

Some people call me crazy for taking my family to live in the jungle because it is dangerous. It is contrary to our protective priority. But what if there is more to life than security? What if storing up earthly treasures is a waste of time? What if taking my family to the jungle is the best thing I can do for them? I have learned a lot from living with the Shawi. Probably the most important thing I have learned is that life is fragile so make the most of it. I would rather live 50 years full of generosity and love then 100 years full of fear and greed.

I hope no one reads this as a criticism of other people. It is more for myself. I would like to be more like the Shawi. I do not want to idolize security. But I fail. I still sleep better knowing we have some canned meat and rice for tomorrow. I still worry that my family gets enough to eat before giving away the extra. I still want a retirement account and good healthcare. I would love to live to the age of 80. But I am praying for God to change me. Relationships are more important than my security. Love is more important than a longevity.

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. Matthew 16:25

Village Life

Update Note:  This was written when we arrived back in town a week and a half ago but we didn't post because we were waiting to add another video.  Our internet is not the fastest and we have not been able to upload it.  After our time in Yuri of rest and rejuvination, we are headed back out the the village today for another 2 weeks.  Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.

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We are back in Yurimaguas after a three-week stint in a village. We are here for about ten days before we return for another month; ten days to restock, recuperate and rethink.

Honestly, it was a tough three weeks. I (Josh) have visited villages over 50 times since moving here, but was still not prepared for the culture shock. Everything is different. Language, culture, way of thinking, worldview, social activities and the food are all so different that most days Jennifer and I just looked at each other and said, “What just happened?”

The challenges are too many to list. There is no internet, cell phone or electricity. As a result, we go to bed at 7:00pm most nights. There is no refrigerator so we eat rice and beans everyday. The bathroom is a hole in the ground that is difficult to use so Maggie decided to un-potty train. Henry struggled with the change and got shot in the eye with a slingshot. Jennifer had to wash clothes in the river daily. We all had to walk a half mile to the river to bathe every evening along side other people. The bugs are relentless. It is always muddy.

But those are the physical challenges and we can get over those but even harder is the cultural challenge. Most of the time I don’t understand what is happening. When someone kills a monkey or jungle rat they invite all their neighbors over to enjoy the feast. They sit around one pot and eat with their hands while the successful hunter tells the story of the kill. Whenever you go somewhere you announce it to everyone you pass. For example, when going to bathe I walk past 8-10 houses and each one I say, “I am going to bathe.” After the bath on the way home I then say, “I already took a bath and I am going home.”

Also in communal living there is no privacy. Everyone knows everyone else’s business. There are always children just sitting in our house. Food is almost always shared. They love to laugh at other people’s misfortune. It is not offensive to make fun of someone for falling in the mud or getting hurt.

Despite the challenges, it was a successful few weeks. Our goal going in was to learn language and culture; and that is what we are doing.  There were things we really enjoyed. We ate monkey, wild boar and jungle rat. There are some small monkeys that we often saw in the trees near our house. We found a boa constrictor. At night we could see the southern cross and the big dipper at the same time, although the big dipper is upside down. Lucy made some new friends. Henry loved climbing trees and swimming in the river. Maggie loved the boiled corn drink. I got to help the men work in their fields. Jennifer enjoyed homeschool al fresco.

Jennifer also brought some basic medical supplies and I am glad she did. She was able to help a malnourished baby get to Yurimaguas for recovery. She helped a man with boils on his legs. Another man fell out of his boat while driving and the propeller cut his leg in five places. At the local heath outpost, 25 minutes away, they stitched up two of the cuts without any pain meds and sent him home. Jennifer was able to help him clean and bandage his cuts as well as give him some pain meds. After a couple of days, he was back up walking and working in his fields again. 

While there, we took four days and went farther upriver to visit another community, San Juan de Paranapura. There we did vacation Bible school for the children. They told us there would be 60-70 children and over 100 showed up. It was just Jennifer and I and a translator. It was very difficult but worth the effort as there are only a handful of believers in the community. We had to stretch supplies for the crafts and stretch the food but it worked. We also showed the Jesus film twice, one time to over 50 adults.

We praise God for his provisions and protection during our time. We thank you for your continued prayers and support.  Please pray for us as next week we plan to head back out for another month.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

-Ephesians 3:20-21

Attached are some videos of our time in the village or you can check out our You Tube channel by clicking here. 

The Secret

It is difficult to understand poverty. Everyday I see friends, brothers, and sisters in Christ that struggle to find their next meal. Yet they are content, even joyful. It is strange that many of my impoverished friends live content while some of my rich friends live discontent. Those content Christians living in extreme poverty must have some secret.

It hit me full on in the face the other night when I was walking down the street after dark carrying home some food for my family. We had just returned home from a six-day trip upriver. It was long and grueling but also amazing. We went to a distant river system that is difficult to access, and as a result the people struggle. Physical and spiritual needs abound. We, my family and Jennifer’s cousin Rachel Peery, went to encourage and bless the believers.  

Our trip began with a four and a half hours on the boat ride.  Once we reached the mouth of the river, we found the water very low. It had been raining in Yurimaguas off and on for a week and the rivers were all flooded so I was surprised to find it so low. We started heading up the river only to get stuck immediately. Rachel got out and pushed the boat while I drove, and after about 10 minutes we had made it only a few hundred yards. I decided we were in trouble; so we turned around and went back to the nearest community.  As we sat there trying to decide what to do, I spoke to a man and explained our situation. He said he owned a peque-peque, which is a motor designed for shallow water, and that he could put it on our boat and take us for a small fee. Soon we were back in business!

Lucy with some of her friends.

As we arrived at the community of Nuevo Jerusalen, we were greeted by 40 children. Some of them were on the beach a half mile from the village waiting for us. They ran along the river chasing the boat. To say they were excited is an understatement.

In the next two days, we taught Sunday school three times, held church service, showed the Jesus film twice, and had a medical clinic. At the clinic, Rachel, an ER nurse by trade, attended everyone in the community with problems. Most had parasite and fungal problems, but one man had boils on his leg and could not walk. It was a continual problem for him causing him to lay in bed for a week or more at a time. Rachel was able to treat him giving him some much needed relief. Another night we were woken late, as a nearby child had an extremely high fever, and Rachel was again able to help. We are thankful for her service.

Maggie taking a nap with a Shawi mother.

After two days, and some rain to fill the river, we left to head to the next village. Pastor Santos, pastor of the church in Nuevo Jerusalen, said he would go with us to help guide us as I did not know the river well. I was extremely thankful for his help, especially when I realized he had to walk two and a half hours the next day to get back home.

When we arrived at Nuevo Moyabamba, we were again warmly greeted. It was also very busy as we did Sunday school for 60 children twice, another medical clinic, and showed the Jesus film twice more.

The pastor of the church in Nuevo Moyobamba was not there, and when I asked they said he was in a distant community because his three-year-old son was sick. He had been gone for over a month. Yet on the day we arrived, he did as well. Walking 7 hours back home, he had come to get a pig. He had visited the local health outpost, and they said his son needed to go to Yurimaguas for medical treatment. He did not have the money to take his wife and kids to Yurimaguas for an extended stay, so he came to get one of his pigs to sell. We offered to help pay his passage and told him his son and wife could stay at the Hogar were we live in Yurimaguas. He said he would bring them to town as soon as he was able. The next day he left for the 7 hour walk back, this time with a pig in tow. Please pray for Pastor Juan and his family.

Rainbow in Nuevo Moyobamba.

After our time in Nuevo Moyobamba, we returned to Nuevo Jerusalen to check on the sick children. They were 100 percent better and running and playing like normal. Pastor Santos asked us to give him a ride back to Yurimaguas. I said sure as we were headed that way anyway. He said his son needed a uniform for school, and so he wanted to come to Yurimaguas with a few plantains to sell and buy a new uniform.  He was soon in the boat with his wife and three youngest kids.

Late in the afternoon, we arrived exhausted. It was a grueling trip. We were so glad for a cold shower and fresh clothes. But then hunger set in, and I went looking for food. And so that is why I was walking home in the dark, after our long six-day trip, with food in hand. Then I ran into Pastor Santos. He, along with his family, was scrounging the streets looking for scraps of wood. He explained that he had bought a couple of fish for his family for supper but that they needed firewood to cook. They were not upset, not sad, in fact they were all smiling, as they always are. They were thankful for what they had. What was the secret to their contentment and joy?

Rachel handing out medicine.

In the words of Paul:

I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and being hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

-Philippians 4:12-13

There is the secret.

My strength does not come from possessions, not from comfort, not from security.

My strength comes from Christ. 

Henry with one of is new friends.

Santa Clara Visit

Last week we went upriver for four days with Mike and Kristin Schrock. We had a great time and we are thankful to them for coming and serving here in Peru.  Attached is a video of the highlights.  It the video does not work you can visit our YouTube channel by clicking here. Josh and Jennifer Hire

Boat fun

Yesterday I had to take our boat out of the water for some repairs. The transom was cracked and in order to weld it we had to take it to the repair shop. It took most of the afternoon but now it is ready to travel again. Attached is a video of some of the highlights.  If the video does not work you can also visit our YouTube Chanel. By clicking the link here. Josh and Jennifer Hire
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Well content with weaknesses

There I was, bumping along in the back of an old truck with ten shrink wrapped packages. I could peak out of a crack in the wooden sides to see the heavy Lima traffic. It was interesting to see all the other drivers staring and pointing toward the front seat of the truck where Jennifer sat with the kids. Obviously they were looking at Maggie’s blond hair, something you do not see every day here in Peru and draws a lot of attention. We were headed to the shipping company to ship our packages to Yurimaguas. The driver had me sit in the back due to space but told me to stay low so the police would not see me. Lima must have different rules then Yurimaguas, where it is not only allowed to travel in the back of a truck but it is normal. Soon we had missed a turn and the driver was backing up a one-way street, for a block and a half, and he was worried about me attracting the attention of the police?

We pulled up to a run down building in a shady part of town. The driver pulled around to the back entrance. There we unloaded our ten packages and put them in a pile with other boxes labeled Yurimaguas. The guy in charged explained that there was a bus leaving for Yurimaguas in three days. They would load our packages on the bus and then it would take two more days for the bus to make the drive over the Andes mountains to Yurimaguas. It is the rainy season and sometimes there are land slides and road closures so it could take longer. I felt strangely comfortable with the situation as this was not our first time using this company, yet I could not help saying a silent prayer that our packages would arrive in one piece.

Nothing is easy here. Nothing is cut and dry. The previous day we where shopping. The goal: buy some good Rubbermaid plastic totes, some supplies, and some Bibles, fill the totes and ship them to Yurimaguas. Sounded simple enough yet we spent the whole morning dragging our tired and hungry kids store to store searching for the totes. All we wanted were the good outdoor grade totes with strong enclosures. We hit every Lowes type store we could find to no avail. Lima is a modern city with almost 10 million people, I thought they would have some decent plastic totes. We finally settled on some to the clear plastic cheap ones. Between the totes and the hungry crying kids, Jennifer and I were both frustrated.

Then in the afternoon we hit the Bible stores. Once again dragging kids in and out of taxis we had less luck. We were only looking for children's Bibles and Spanish Bibles in a simple translation. Finally, we were able to order some Bibles. They said they will arrive in two months.  I have my doubts.

As we left the shipping company I once again was sitting in the back of the truck thinking through the events of the last couple of days and feeling frustrated. Why did God call us to such a different culture, where everything seems so difficult? The language is difficult. Travel is difficult. Even shopping is difficult. In the US I could have gone to Wal-Mart for the tubs and ordered the Bibles online and had them shipped to my door in a couple of days.  Living in a foreign culture I often do not understand what is happening or how to do anything. I feel useless and helpless. I feel like I cannot do anything on my own. Then I realized, it is true, I cannot do anything on my own. I was reminded of what Jesus said in John 15:5:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Maybe it is a blessing to be helpless, because then I have to remain in Him. Maybe He called us to a foreign culture so that we would rely completely on Him. Here I am weak, but in my weakness He is strong. Maybe, just maybe, God is still on His throne and He knows what He is doing.

I pray that I can remain in Him, that we can all remain in Him. No matter the situation, no matter our weaknesses. May we all allow our weaknesses to drive us to Christ, because apart from Him we can do nothing.

The driver pulled over and let us out. He said to return to the house where we were staying we only needed to walk six blocks east and around the Huanca. I did not know what Huanca meant but with a renewed sense of trust in the Lord, I had no doubt we would find our way.

   

Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

-2 Corinthians 12:10

Snakes bites and wind storms

It is amazing how the love of God can change a life! A Christian should be transformed into someone full of love for others. To love your neighbor as yourself is the command; but to overcome our selfish nature is a work of the Holy Spirit living inside us. This is the story of life transformed:

Antonio with his Sunday School class

Antonio lives in Nueva Era with his wife and three daughters. He teaches Sunday School and helps with worship at church. Every time I see him he has a huge smile on his face. He is faithful and never misses a Bible training here in town. Yet a couple of weeks ago there was a training and he did not show up. I was told he was bit by a snake and that is why he could not come.

Mike, Ricky and I in Nueva Era

Missionaries Ricky Hendon, Mike Trei and I traveled to his village this last week. We brought water filters for each family and shared the word of God. The river was low and the journey was 17 hours in a boat just to get to the trail head. Then we walked over four hours to his village. To say it is remote is an understatement.

Upon arrival, he hobbled over to shake my hand, using a stick as a crutch. He apologized for not coming to the training and said that until a couple of days ago he could not walk. He invited us into his house for chicken soup and boiled plantains. Then he told us the story of his snake bite.

Three weeks ago he was out hunting. He was walking home at 9:00 o'clock at night on a dark path when a large poisonous snake jumped up and bit him in the back of the thigh. He described a struggle with the snake in which he scared it off but was unable to kill it. With the poison in his body he could not walk and laid in the path all night. He said all he did was pray.

His wife went in search of him the next morning and at 9:00am found him. He was covered in blood and his tongue was so swollen he could not talk. He had laid there praying for 12 hours. I can't imagine.  The men from the village carried him back to his house in a hammock. For three days he did not eat as his tongue was too swollen. His whole leg turned black as did the lower half of his back. He could not get to the health outpost as it was a three hour walk away and the little nearby stream was too low to travel. All they did was pray.

After three days he began to eat. For two weeks he could not walk. He could not provide food for his family or take care of his plantain fields. Benito, the leader of the village took care of him. He made sure he and his family had food, a big task when it is difficult to provide for yourself. To make matters worse, Benito does not have a house. His blew over in a large wind storm. Benito’s son had a hunting accident and recently had to come to Yurimaguas for reconstructive surgery on his wrist. Despite Benito’s difficulties he made sure that Antonio and his family were cared for in their difficult time.

The remains of Benito's house

Later, Antonio showed us what was left of Benito’s house. Concerned for his neighbor he asked if we could help Benito. Antonio wanted to buy metal for the roof of the new house but only had enough to buy half. He asked if we could help. We did some calculations and half the metal for the small house came to about $60. Needless to say, we were happy to help.

The thing that really touched me was Antonio’s heart. Here he was barely able to walk, trying to provide for his family, giving us chicken soup and yet his concern was for Benito. He did not ask us for help for himself. He was more concerned for his neighbor.

That evening at church Antonio told the believers that we are to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” He is an amazing man that not only teaches this commandment but lives it. He was an example to the whole community of how to love your neighbor. To see such love is amazing. But the glory should be to God. Antonio’s life is a life transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I want to live like that. I want people to look at my life and see a life transformed by the gospel. I want people to look at my life and see Christ.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.      ~ Galatians 2:20

Nueva Era in the morning