New Ministry Explored Among the Condosi Indians

Nine hours on the Nucuray River to visit two village churches and three non-Christian villages

     We made an exploratory trip to the Nucuray River to visit two Assembly of God village churches and three non-Christian villages in order to start a work in this area.  An American missionary, who is head of the Assembly of God in the state where I live, set up the trip through a contact he had that knew the river.  It was an exciting time as we ministered the Word of God in all five villages that were visited through children's programs and evening services.  Several people accepted Christ for the first time or rededicated their lives to Him.  All of the villages that we visited requested that we come back for more teaching of the Word and one village that we did not have time to visit requested a visit from us as well.

     Although drunkenness and strong superstition is very prevalent among the non-Christian villages the desire for the Word of God on a regular basis is what the majority of the people wanted.

River dock in the village Puerto Alegre, a non-Christian village

Sharon doing a children's program in Puerto Alegre.  Her clothing is still wet from the boat ride.

Waiting for people to arrive for the evening service at Nueva Arica.

     One community named Nueva Arica, had a strong desire to have a church started in their village and already has three men that were formally trained that can help start it.  Fortunately, most of the villages have heard of Jesus Christ and are familiar with what He did.  Now it is just a matter of helping them see why it's important to them.

     The harvest on this river is very ripe and there is great potential to reach many villages with the Gospel here.  In order to do this we will be starting the first of many 4-day training sessions in February with the two Assembly of God churches to help prepare them to take on the task of bringing in the harvest.  Since the three of us that made this trip live very far away from this area it is vital that the people in these churches understand their part in the Great Commission and get trained on how to study the Bible and how to evangelize and disciple this great harvest of souls.

     I will be doing these trainings as I have done with our Shawi Indians in the past and am believing that the Lord will use this material to open the minds and hearts of the people to be aggressive in reaching the lost for Christ.  Would you stand with me in prayer for this huge task in seeing the Body of Christ in this area rise up to their full potential?

     We will also be starting a Bible Institute among the Ashenika Indians in April to help equip them as well for the work of the Lord.  In the meantime we are continuing the Bible Institute among our Shawi Indians in the village of San Francisco to prepare the leadership of this new church to take on their role as pastors and deacons.  The Lord is truly at work in all these areas and is reaching the Christians and non-Christians alike with the power of His Word to transform individuals as well as whole communities.  May the Lord bless you in every way for your commitment to stand with us in prayer for these precious people and for this work.

Forever in Him,

Sharon Malcolm

Bible Institute Going Strong!

Bible Institute students L to R:  Francisco, Jilton, Nilton (he will be the
pastor of the village church) Francisco Jr. and Maria who travels with me. 

         In September we started the Bible Institute to train leaders and pastors for the new church that was officially planted in May of this year.  The village of San Francisco, where the church resides, is a very small village but has great influence with the villages around them.  Nilton, the man in the middle with the stripped shirt, will be ordained as pastor and Jilton, the man to the left in a blue shirt, will be the Assistant Pastor.  The other men will serve as church leaders.

     The woman in the group is Maria who has been serving with me for the last 7 years and she will continue to serve in her village church as one of the leaders.  Upon completion each participant will receive a Diploma of Theology and Nilton and Jilton will be officially ordained as Assembly of God pastors.  The other men will serve as church leaders for this village church.

     This is truly an exciting time for us since we've been working together for the last 10 years to bring this about.  It is an answer to prayer for me to see these precious people so willing and eager to be trained in the Word of God in order to lead and serve their people.

Nilton's house

Nilton's wife Paula preparing a river fish breakfast for us

Nilton and Paula's kitchen

Breakfast at Nilton and Paula's house - a very typical morning meal for Shawis

COMING UP

     I will be traveling this Monday with an American missionary and Peruvian team to visit some villages that do not know Christ yet.  These are the Condonsi Indians and we will be visiting several villages, two of which have churches but are very weak and others who may or may have not heard of Jesus Christ but are still not Christian.  Would you please stand with us in prayer for this trip so that every time the Word is shared it will impact the hearers and lives will be changed?  It is quite a long distance away and so repeat visits may be difficult although certainly not impossible.  The goal is always to prepare and equip the existing churches to go and minister to their people but due to illiteracy or very low comprehension the process is labored.

     I am also in contact with the pastors of the Ashenika villages who want to have a Bible Institute started in their area as well.  The whole purpose of the Institute and the 5-day trainings that we've had is to empower the people in the Word with understanding so that they can effectively and correctly reach their own people with the Gospel.  Please keep us in prayer as we push forward to accomplish this goal as quickly and effectively as possible.  Thank you so much for all you have done in this vital work.  Together we truly are making great strides in establishing the Kingdom of God in these areas.

Forever for Him,

Sharon Malcolm