Amazing cloud formation in the village of San Eugenio declaring the majesty of God!
The follow up trips to the Shishinahua and Yanuyacu Rivers to check on the stoves that were done by U.S. teams this past summer proved to be very encouraging. As we went house to house we found that the women were only using the chimney stoves that we built for them instead of the hazardous open fires they had been using. This is especially good news since the toxic smoke they had been inhaling by cooking this way over time can cause severe upper respiratory problems. The men and the women were very pleased with this new addition to their homes and were very grateful for it. Below are three families representing the three villages that received chimney stoves.
Yarina Santa Clara San Eugenio
Our Young Christians Are Starting to Walk
What was most encouraging on this trip however was the strong desire among the people for more of God. Since the conference in early November the people of our three villages, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa and Yarina, have shown such resolve to know God more and follow Him more closely. One expression of this was their willingness to lead a group through Scripture reading. This is a very simple exercise where the leader would read a few verses and then ask the group what was just read. By doing this it requires everyone to listen carefully and process what they’ve heard in order to repeat it back to the leader. Through this everyone, including the leader, learns the Word of God. We started this with the women earlier this year and after several days of working with them they were able to recount the birth of Christ according to according to Matthew 1:18-21 on their own. The fact that some of the men want to take the initiative and lead a group is monumental because they had never wanted to do this before. When they were asked in the past to do this for their village they agreed but then would not follow through with it. Now they are excited to do it and this wonderful change came since they attended the conference.
Santa Rosa: Elies (blue shorts in picture on the left) is reading the scripture while the men listened and then translate into Shawi for the women (pictured on the right during a break).
Santa Clara: Tito (seated with guitar on his lap) had been reading scripture to the people and asking what they just heard.
The genuine hunger that so many of the people in these villages have for more of God was triggered by a revelation from the Holy Spirit that God is real and what He says is true. When they realized how their lives were separated from Christ and how they are now with Christ it thrust them into a deeper, more commited relationship to the Lord. I saw this first start to happen during the conference as they heard from different people but especially from the two Shawi pastors I had asked to come as guest speakers. These are men who lived and thought just like the villagers did but are now totally transformed. The cultural standards of the Shawi communtiy are no longer the measuring line for these pastors of what is or is not acceptable. Now it is the Lord Jesus Christ through His Word that defines right and wrong for them. As the villagers heard this and saw the life style changes these men had made it absolutely rocked their world and they wanted in on it.
One of things that was addressed was the custom of the Shawi community to drink a fermented drink called Masato. This is a very strong part of their culture and is offered as a social gesture to anyone who visits their house. However, it is most commonly used to get drunk especially during celebrations like the community anniversary, intervillage soccer games or just the weekend.
During one of his talks Pastor Roque was saying very matter-of-factly how he saw that drinking Masato was very wrong and simply did not do it. The reality is that it is very destructive because it encourages men to shed family responsibilities and drink as a passtime. Gloriously as a result of this at least one man verbally stated that he did not want to drink Masato anymore! Others may have been moved the same way as well but he actually stated it. Glory to God! The fallow ground is being broken up and the soil is being plowed to receive a good seed that will produce a multitud of blessings.
These are very exciting breakthroughs that we can truly thank and rejoice in the Lord for. The most magnificant part is that we all have a part of what God is doing in the lives of these percious people. This is the Body of Christ working with the Head to bring a lost world into the Kingdom of God. Let us continue to pray and lift up these fragile believers so that they will quickly grow strong enough to stand on their own. God bless each of you for joining in this work through your interest, prayers, encouragement and financial giving each one doing their part to complete the work.
Reaping the Harvest Together,
Sharon Malcolm
