Taking Off!

By the time you read this we should be in Orlando or at least Miami. Our flight leaves at 5:30 Am March 28th. Which means we leave the hotel at way to early. Please pray for our safety in our flights.

Next week we will be attending the ALTECO conference in Orlando. Pray for all that will occur there.

While here in Lima alot of things were accomplished. We were able to talk to some of the staff at Wycliffe and ask about the Chayahuita translation and its progress. It was great to meet the people so involved with getting these translations in print and funded. Please keep them in prayer as they continue to work on not just the Chayahuita Bible but others. They have an awesome responsibility.

We hope to see you all soon (in Colorado). We will be there for the weekend service on the 12th.

Photos of Road Damage

People crossing over the rockslide

Gera River where the bridge fell Main Highway Lima to Tarapoto

Another Prayer Request

We asked for prayer for rain a few months back. Those prayers have been abundantly answered. The major roads in Peru are falling apart under the extreme amounts of rain that we have had. The road between Lima and Tarapoto has reported a minimum of 5 landslides with boulders bigger than cars blocking the highway. There are more than 2000 vehicles stuck on the road. You can imagine how that must feel; no food, no facilities, no 7-11. Pray for thos that are stuck.

Then this afternoon a bridge crossing the Gera River near Moyobamba (just outside of Tarapoto) collapsed. The river is running extremely high and flooding the area with flash floods. We are not sure yet about the road from Tarapoto to Yurimaguas. We will find out tomorrow. The strike has been called off there and we'd like to return home,but if there is a possibility that we'd get stuck because of a slide it might be better just to stay put. Please pray for discernment for us.

Jesus Safely Arrives in Pucallpa

Thanks for you prayers for Jesus. We did have to put him on a bus. There were no seats on the plane. Ken wired his money to him so he wouldn't have to carry it on him. He was relieved. Pray for the Xtreme team as they now travel to Lima for a conference. After that Enoc travels south to the Ashanenka and Jesus returns to Nueva Vida. Pray for their safety.

Video From Xtreme Team Wtih Chayahuita Team Singing

Video of Jesus Pua

Prayers Answered

Thank you so much for your prayers! We have arrived in Tarapoto safely. There was a landslide but it happened before we got there and they were already in process of cleaning it up. We were delayed an hour. That hour was spent sharing the Gospel with the taxi driver. God always has a purpose! We still don't know what the strike will bring in Yurimaguas. We'd like to be able to go back instead of having to stay in a hotel for a couple of weeks, but that may not be God's plan. We'll wait on Him to show us what to do next.

Jesus is with us until tomorrow. We are trying to get him on a flight instead of going over the road. There is a flight out tomorrow, but there are only 12 seats. We are praying that there will be space for him. If not he will leave on bus. There have been daily assaults on that road, so please, please keep him in prayer. He will meet the rest of the Xtreme Team in Pucallpa and then they head to Lima for a conference. Enoc will go to the conference and then head down south by boat to the Ashaninka.

Pray for Jesus Pua

The more we hear from Jesus Pua the more we are impressed with him and his love for our Lord. He made it into town yesterday and will be traveling with us tomorrow (Sunday probably today by the time this gets sent). He has had a month to recuperate from his travels well, actually no rest since he and his wife have spent the last month planting their farm.

Last year he put more miles on his feet than we put on our cars while in the US. He is an amazing man. He was telling us stories about people asking him why he is doing what he does as a missionary. Even some of the older pastors have said they never worked as hard as he does. Jesus responded by telling them that God has called him to do this and it may be hard at times especially when it has rained so much, but God will allow him to walk where he needs to walk and to share with those that need to hear. His son, after a long, wet trip, also asked him why they do this and what they were going to eat along the way since their farm was a long way from where they were. Jesus responded that it is a privilege to be able to walk and share God’s word with others and that God would provide for all their needs. Alex, Jesus’ son, is only 3 but is learning how God provides and how important God’s message is first hand. Many times Jesus’ family arrives without food and very wet from walking in the rain and muck. God always provides what they need as they come into a village. Many have come to know the Lord as Savior through this family’s faithful testimony. His desire is to reach his people (Chayahuita) first then go into other tribes (which he is already doing with the Chivaros) to share with them.

Speaking of providing, Jesus has an uncle that is a high school teacher and this year has been assigned to of all places, Bellavista. It will be a blessing for Jesus and his family to have family in Bellavista when they arrive on their trips. His uncle has also taught in the church in Nueva Vida for years and is a solid believer. Isn’t God wonderful!?

Jesus is now on the way to Pucallpa taking the same road that Enoc took when he was assaulted. Please pray for him for safety and for his family as they stay behind this time.

Pray for Marco Lancha

Marco Lancha, the vice secretary of the Chayahuita Association of Evangelcal Churches, came on Thursday and knocked at the gate. He is usually a very upbeat guy, so when he looked liked he had lost his best friend I was concerned. He could barely speak. He told me that he has had a pain in his stomach and side and a headache for about 1 ½ months. He thought it would go away and so he just kept on going. The pain had gotten so bad on Wednesday that he hitched a ride downriver to Yurimaguas.

On Friday, Ken went with him to the hospital to be checked out. Poor guy was not only in pain but was scared to death about going to see a doctor. It turns out he had never been before this. They spent all morning running tests on him.

Today they ran more tests and took an xray of his chest. Ken and I are suspecting TB. He won’t get the results until Monday after we are gone, but hopefully we can call Pancho and find out. Please keep him in your prayers. It is hard just not knowing what he has for him.

ASSAULTED

We can never stress enough about praying for travel mercies. On Monday, Pancho, Gonzalo (the Achuar pastor) and Enoc took off on their journey to Tarapoto. Pancho and Gonzalo headed from there to Lima and Enoc to Pucallpa. Pancho and Gonzalo, as far as we know (since we haven’t heard from them), made it ok to Lima for their meeting.

Enoc called us this morning saying that he had been assaulted on the road from Tarapoto to Pucallpa. They took everything he had but the clothes on his back. This is the area where the Shining Path works to protect the drug growers. As US citizens we’ve been told never to be on this road. Please pray for him. He is pretty shook up and since they took all of his money now he will probably have to return here instead of going to the south to be with the Ashaninka Indians. His family is sending him some money. Jesus will be traveling that same road this week. Please pray for him that he won’t be assaulted and that he can make it before the strike starts.

Visit from a Achuar pastor.

On Friday we heard a knock at the gate. We saw that one of the Achuar pastors had come for a visit. He is part of FAIENAP (an indigenous organization) as the vice treasurer. He was on his way to Lima for an annual meeting along with Pancho. We invited him to stay with us until he left on Monday. We had some really wonderful conversations about the Lord. He truly blessed us with the stories of what God is doing amongst the Achuar. They face problems very similar to what the Chayahuita face. They are much more isolated though. Please pray for Gonzalo Maurish as he leads his people in the northern Amazon Basin of Peru.

Answer to Prayer for Raul!

After weeks of searching for a wheelchair for Raul, a man from the city office found him one. It isn’t new by any means, but it works and is so much better than the one he was using with no tires and broken bar in front. He can now get around town which has put a smile on the face of all of the family. Thank you for your prayers. Continue to lift him up in prayer for God to show him what purpose he has in life.

It is Official....STRIKE

Are you praying?
We just got word today that the strikes are on for sure. The first begins on the 9th and the other begins on the 13th. They are both indefinite which means they could go on for quite some time. During these type of strikes there is no travel in or out of the city, no market (no food to buy etc). For these reasons we are leaving Yurimaguas on the 8th and will have to stay in a hotel in Tarapoto until the date of our tickets (25th). It won’t be cheap but we really have no choice. This way we will be able, Lord willing, to make it to Lima for our international flight on the 28th. We would fly to Lima right away except we have tickets and they are not changeable. We would have to buy new ones which would not be cheap buying them now at the last minute.
Please pray for our safety as we cross over the mountains. We have had lots of rain. There have been numerous landslides. Pray, too, for those people stuck in Yurimaguas that this strike will not last too long nor will there be any violence.