March Prayer Letter

Dear Family and Friends,
This past month passed rapidly, filled with a week of Ladies Camp, a week at home (finally!), and two weeks in the jungle out by Iquitos in the northern part of Peru.
Ladies camp went very well. The women encouraged me with their attitudes of servanthood as I was there to serve them but they served me instead. God used this week to show me a lot of things in my life that I need to focus on and let the Lord change. It was a very beneficial week as I had some extra time to study. I was a lifeguard, helped some in the kitchen, and did some different things like judging contests that the different teams had.
The next week I was finally able to be home for a week. It was really nice to have somewhat of a normal schedule again, or at least sleep in my own bed and not have to live out of a bag! I was able to use that week to relax a little, spend some time with my Peruvian family, and prepare for the Iquitos trip.
As for the Iquitos trip, I am not sure what all to write because we experienced a lot of new and different things while we were out there. Our goal going on the trip was to train the leaders of the churches that have been started, to encourage those that are already believers, and to witness to those who did not yet know Christ as their personal Savior. The ARRIBA! group traveled with Pastor Evelio Villalobos (my Pastor from here in Musa) and Pastor Christopher Cardeñoso (a man who used to be a missionary in Iquitos but had to come back to Lima for health reasons of his wife). We spent some time in Grau, a small town down the river from Iquitos. We rode in a boat for 14 hours to get there. Pastor Christopher spent time with the Pastors and the leaders of the churches teaching them how to properly study their Bible. The ARRIBA! group held kid’s clubs and I taught the ladies one day also. The ARRIBA! guys took turns preaching at night in the church services which were held by gas lamps.
We spent the second week of our trip in Iquitos, helping out with the Calvary Baptist Church there. We helped run the services every night, and on Friday we were able to present the drama that we did in Trujillo to the kids that attend the school there. The church has an elementary school. On Saturday, we had a outreach sports activity and presented the drama again. We were able to assist the youth group at Calvary on Saturday night also. It was interesting to see the differences between their Jóvenes and ours in Musa.
Our last Sunday there was the busiest day of the whole trip. We started out the day driving an hour and a half and then hiking 35 minutes through mud and water to get to Nuevo Lamas, one of the new church plants started by Calvary Baptist Church in Iquitos. I was very thankful for my mud boots! We spent some time with one of the women from the church and then had a service there. In some of the church services, I worked with the children. The jungle children are much different than the city children. The jungle children wouldn’t talk very much, they would just stare. It was harder to get to open up, but after a little while they would usually warm up.
After lunch, we hiked through the mud again and went to another church plant off of the road away in Quistococha. We had an afternoon service there. We had an evening service at Calvary Baptist Church in Iquitos, and afterwards they did a huge send-off for us, giving testimonies and giving us gifts. It was pretty amazing.
Please pray for the people of the villages and churches that we have visited. One man in Iquitos said in his testimony that he was very pleased because he knew that people even in the United States would be praying for them and the church. Pray that they would grow spiritually and that the people working in the new church plants would continue and that the Lord would continually encourage them. Calvary in Iquitos would also like to build an addition on their church, so keep that in mind also as you pray for them.
Another prayer request that is a personal one: I am still lacking the finances to finish out this trip, so please consider praying about that, and if you feel the Lord’s leading, donating. I need to have the money pretty quickly, so I am trusting that the Lord will provide it, He always does.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. I pray that you are all also well and growing in the Lord. One verse that really has encouraged me lately is Galatians 6:9-10. “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” At times, I get really worn out and it becomes really easy to be discouraged. This verse is a great reminder that I should not be weary in well doing, but press on for Christ.
Please remember to keep me in your prayers as I have just over one month left and then I face the changes of coming home to the States. It will be a shock and there is a lot of planning for things that I have to do when I get back.
Thank you for your prayers!
In Christ-Galatians 6:9-10