Dear Prayer Warriors,
I am so excited to share with you about this last river trip to the Shishinahua River. We went with the purpose of inviting the three villages that we've been working with, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa and Yarina to the 5-day Bible training we will be having in March and also to minister to them in the Word of God. Several things happened while we were there that were a direct answer to all of our prayers:
First, I did not have any attacks of pre-trip stress or anxiety, which often occurs at some level before going and lasts at least through the beginning part of the trip. It is distinctly a spiritual assault on all the preparations that need to be made in order to minister well to the communities. Also, the trip to and from the villages went very smoothly and only took 9 hours each way.
Second, while we were in the first village of Santa Clara four people came to the Lord, two men and two women! The two men are husbands of women whom we have led to the Lord and baptized in the past but the men never wanted to do the same--until now that is, Glory to God! After we led all of them to the Lord I encouraged them to be water baptized right away to solidify their commitment to making Jesus Lord of their lives but they were not ready to take this step. The next day however, one of the men told me that all during the night he "was tormented" about not being willing to follow the Lord through baptism and that he was now he was ready to be water baptized and live for the Lord alone. He is choosing to do this during our 5-day training in March where we will have others baptized as well. Praise God for His mercy, love and incredible patience with all of us.
The other man did not come back to any more of our meetings but I trust that the Lord is dealing with him as well since he at least prayed to make Jesus Lord of his life. The two women are a mother and an adult daughter. The daughter is also making plans to be baptized with us during the 5-day training while the mother is not able to join us for that event and did not come back to our meetings. I believe the Lord is dealing with her as well as He is patiently dealing with all of us through our many struggles in bringing us to a saving knowledge of Him.
Third, in our next village of Santa Rosa, 4 women and a young man prayed to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Even though all of the women who prayed with us had prayed to accept the Lord before, this time there seemed to be much more clarity and understanding of what it meant (even though we've explained it several times in different ways in the past it seemed to click this time).
The oldest woman in the group, the mother of one of the younger women, was very sure of what she wanted and so after leading them all in prayer to make Jesus Lord of their lives we offered to baptize them. Unfortunately, all but the oldest woman, named Sabina, declined indicating that they were not ready to make that level of commitment yet. However, we did have the privilege of baptizing Sabina. This was a huge step for this family since Sabina's husband is the chief leader of the community and so far has not responded at all to any of our invitations to come to our meetings and receive prayer. He was not there when we were in his village this time and so did not have the opportunity to see his wife get baptized. I am praying that Sabina will be strong enough to openly bear her cross in front of her family by encouraging them to receive and walk closely with the Lord and that her husband will not hinder her from her commitment to Him. It is very difficult in these communities because there are no pastors or church leaders to help them live out their faith and so we have been trying over the years to raise up people within the villages that will facilitate in meeting this need. Please pray with us for Sabina and all the other people who have accepted Christ in their hearts that they will continue to follow Him in all their ways and that leaders will emerge from these villages.
We did not get to our last village of Yarina because one of the people that travel with us named Florentina stepped on a stingray while she and I were washing a large plastic tarp in the river. These bottom-dwellers burrow in the sand of the riverbed and cause excruciating pain for several hours if stepped on. Fortunately, the venom does not cause damage to any other part of the body just severe pain. In order to alleviate her discomfort we took Florentina to the nearest health post, which was an hour and half up river, where she and Maria, the YWAM Shawi missionary that's been traveling with me for 6 years, stayed overnight to receive treatment. When we got back to them the next day Florentina was much better and pain free!
We were able to pass by the village of Yarina however, and invite those we saw to the 5-day training and briefly visit and pray with a dear family that has become close friends of ours who will also be attending the training as well.
I want to thank you all so very much for your intercession and consciousness to pray for us while on the river. These souls that have come to the Lord are the direct fruit of our labor in prayer and persistence and I believe that we will see their growth in the Lord and be with them for all eternity in heaven. Never take your persistence in prayer for granted, these souls are proof that God is using all of us to reach the lost and complete the Great Commission. May God mightily bless you in all that you are doing to serve the Shawi people through your intercession.
Together With You in the Harvest,
Sharon Malcolm
I am so excited to share with you about this last river trip to the Shishinahua River. We went with the purpose of inviting the three villages that we've been working with, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa and Yarina to the 5-day Bible training we will be having in March and also to minister to them in the Word of God. Several things happened while we were there that were a direct answer to all of our prayers:
First, I did not have any attacks of pre-trip stress or anxiety, which often occurs at some level before going and lasts at least through the beginning part of the trip. It is distinctly a spiritual assault on all the preparations that need to be made in order to minister well to the communities. Also, the trip to and from the villages went very smoothly and only took 9 hours each way.
Second, while we were in the first village of Santa Clara four people came to the Lord, two men and two women! The two men are husbands of women whom we have led to the Lord and baptized in the past but the men never wanted to do the same--until now that is, Glory to God! After we led all of them to the Lord I encouraged them to be water baptized right away to solidify their commitment to making Jesus Lord of their lives but they were not ready to take this step. The next day however, one of the men told me that all during the night he "was tormented" about not being willing to follow the Lord through baptism and that he was now he was ready to be water baptized and live for the Lord alone. He is choosing to do this during our 5-day training in March where we will have others baptized as well. Praise God for His mercy, love and incredible patience with all of us.
The other man did not come back to any more of our meetings but I trust that the Lord is dealing with him as well since he at least prayed to make Jesus Lord of his life. The two women are a mother and an adult daughter. The daughter is also making plans to be baptized with us during the 5-day training while the mother is not able to join us for that event and did not come back to our meetings. I believe the Lord is dealing with her as well as He is patiently dealing with all of us through our many struggles in bringing us to a saving knowledge of Him.
Third, in our next village of Santa Rosa, 4 women and a young man prayed to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Even though all of the women who prayed with us had prayed to accept the Lord before, this time there seemed to be much more clarity and understanding of what it meant (even though we've explained it several times in different ways in the past it seemed to click this time).
The oldest woman in the group, the mother of one of the younger women, was very sure of what she wanted and so after leading them all in prayer to make Jesus Lord of their lives we offered to baptize them. Unfortunately, all but the oldest woman, named Sabina, declined indicating that they were not ready to make that level of commitment yet. However, we did have the privilege of baptizing Sabina. This was a huge step for this family since Sabina's husband is the chief leader of the community and so far has not responded at all to any of our invitations to come to our meetings and receive prayer. He was not there when we were in his village this time and so did not have the opportunity to see his wife get baptized. I am praying that Sabina will be strong enough to openly bear her cross in front of her family by encouraging them to receive and walk closely with the Lord and that her husband will not hinder her from her commitment to Him. It is very difficult in these communities because there are no pastors or church leaders to help them live out their faith and so we have been trying over the years to raise up people within the villages that will facilitate in meeting this need. Please pray with us for Sabina and all the other people who have accepted Christ in their hearts that they will continue to follow Him in all their ways and that leaders will emerge from these villages.
We did not get to our last village of Yarina because one of the people that travel with us named Florentina stepped on a stingray while she and I were washing a large plastic tarp in the river. These bottom-dwellers burrow in the sand of the riverbed and cause excruciating pain for several hours if stepped on. Fortunately, the venom does not cause damage to any other part of the body just severe pain. In order to alleviate her discomfort we took Florentina to the nearest health post, which was an hour and half up river, where she and Maria, the YWAM Shawi missionary that's been traveling with me for 6 years, stayed overnight to receive treatment. When we got back to them the next day Florentina was much better and pain free!
We were able to pass by the village of Yarina however, and invite those we saw to the 5-day training and briefly visit and pray with a dear family that has become close friends of ours who will also be attending the training as well.
I want to thank you all so very much for your intercession and consciousness to pray for us while on the river. These souls that have come to the Lord are the direct fruit of our labor in prayer and persistence and I believe that we will see their growth in the Lord and be with them for all eternity in heaven. Never take your persistence in prayer for granted, these souls are proof that God is using all of us to reach the lost and complete the Great Commission. May God mightily bless you in all that you are doing to serve the Shawi people through your intercession.
Together With You in the Harvest,
Sharon Malcolm
