June 19, 2012
Hi All,
I hope this email finds you doing well and blessed by our heavenly Father. I wanted to write to y’all and update you on the team that just returned to the states. Eleven people came from the Texas/Louisiana District to evangelize in the Amazon region. Even though they came from different churches and states, they quickly formed a unified team and got to work. They started off kind of bumpy with their flights being delayed, barely catching the connecting flight in Panama City, having to re-buy one of the national tickets due to a wrong name and losing ALL of their luggage. I was very impressed because even though they were all extremely tired from spending the night in the airport, I did not hear one complaint. The luggage finally arrived at 9 p.m. and we got packed to head out to Nauta the next morning.
We took a bus to Nauta and got set up in our “hotel” had devotions and lunch and got ready to go out and do some evangelism with the children. This was a very interesting trip as we had never been in this area before. We were starting out from ground zero not knowing if the people would accept us there or not. Lucy and Pastor Oswaldo had come to ask permission from the authorities at an earlier date but that was all the approval that we had. I was a little nervous about it but it went off without a hitch. We had a good group of children and adults gather to watch the puppet show and sing with us. Lucy of course got the adults involved as well. We didn’t have a really long program because we were going to be returning in the evening for a service. The evening service had a good turn out and we found out there was a group of six new Christians in the area that had been holding a cell group. They were saying that they wished they had a church closer because sometimes they didn’t have taxi fare to get to church or that sometimes the rains made it difficult to get there. They said they had been praying about it and that there was land for sale nearby. Because Nauta is an actual town not a village, the price of the land is quite a bit more than we are used to but it was the actual price without knowing that there were Americans interested. It is a nice plot of land, right next to two roads and the community so very easy access and several of the team members are praying about the possibility of buying it.
One of the women on the team said while she was praying about the team, she kept feeling like God was saying, pray big. So many times we try to keep God in a box instead of realizing He is all powerful and sovereign. When we set out to Nauta, I was thinking we could maybe get some people together and start a cell group but maybe God was already planning a church. This has been a dream of Pastor Oswaldo for some time. Nauta is a town of about 16,000 so it would be a great place to have a church that could help the churches in the nearby villages and the people themselves were asking for one. I can’t wait to see what God has planned. That has been one of the many privileges of being here is that I have gotten to see so many dreams come true. It has truly been amazing and I feel so honored to get to see dreams become a reality.
The next day in Nauta, we also held two services with a great turn out. I got a little sad because the kids kept asking when we were coming back and I had to keep telling them I wasn’t sure. Some seeds were definitely planted there though. Tuesday morning we headed to Amazonas where the 4 teenage girls on the team taught the teenagers from Amazonas a dance to “Jesus, You are My Best Friend.” They caught on quickly and we decided we would take them with us to Peyorote. Since the church in Amazonas is getting stronger, we are trying to encourage them to go out from their community and share so this was a perfect opportunity to start that.
Later we held a children’s service in Amazonas and gave out the flip flops that had been donated. The kids were so thrilled to get them. That was a great idea to get those instead of toys since so many of the kids don’t have shoes. After the program we bathed in the creek which was kind of a disaster since the water was just beginning to go down. There was mud everywhere, an unstable dock which we broke but put back together and Becky, trying to keep someone else from falling, ripped off her big toenail. I didn’t feel any cleaner after this bathing experience but everyone was a good sport and we got ready for the program that night.
The next day we headed to Peyorote. This was our first evangelism attempt in this village. We had been there twice with medical teams and at the end of the last medical team the town authority invited us to do an evangelistic program. Many times medical teams have opened the doors for new places of evangelism. We did the whole program, puppets, face painting, hair, balloons dramas the dance, and the movie. There were over 100 people there and they asked us to return again to do more evangelism. It was a great outreach. We returned to Amazonas, went to bed and left the next morning back to the bus in Nauta to Iquitos where we did the service that night.
The next day we went to the zoo and shopping then Saturday, I travelled with the team to Lima and had a great time until it was time to say good-bye. That is the part of the trip that I don’t like. It was an awesome time though and I am appreciative to all those who served.
The next team, the youth group from Lima, arrives the 21st of July but we have so much to do before then. We did get the roofing supplies and nails up to Maynas for the group that is coming to rebuild the church in September and Saturday we are going to get the sand and tools sent. We have to wait until the last possible moment to send the cement so it doesn’t get hard. Also we need to get out to Santa Ana since they don’t have a leader right now. We will be going out there for a week then on to Yanashi and Nueva Esperanza. Thankfully Lucy has class this week so we can have a little break before we go out again. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers and may God richly bless you.
In Christ
Kayleen
