Five Churches to start on the Shishinahua River
Nilton has been strongly instrumental in talking to the neighboring villages about the Lord and as a result 6 of the 9 people baptized during the anniversary event were from the village of New Jerusalem. This small village of 7 families is committed to starting a church in their community. They have already put up a simple structure to hold their church services and we will begin training the leaders to take an active role in leading the meetings.
A second village, San Pablo, recently expressed interest in having a church in their village as well and so plans are being made to start dialoging with them about what the Church is and is not so that they can move forward with clarity and understanding.
Before these two villages showed interest in becoming a Church there were three other villages with the same desire and we have been working with them to raise up leaders to be trained to lead meetings and initiate church services in their communities as well.
I can’t begin to express how overwhelming this is. Eleven years ago in 2007 I started on this river where the spiritual forces were so thick and dark that many times it literally felt like I was walking through mud up to my knees just going from house to house in the communities. Now, after so much intercession and ground breaking in the Spirit through our combined prayer, village after village is desiring to establish the Kingdom of God on their own land and declare Him and only Him as their Lord and Savior! This is nothing short of a miracle and my dear brothers and sisters in Christ we did this together through the power and direction of the Holy Spirit moving through us and going before us!
While I am still in awe of what is happening on this river and also how the Lord has opened new doors to do the same thing on the Nucuray River, I am not unaware of the struggles and temptations that these fledgling new Christians are facing. Over the years I have seen strong interest among the villages for the things of God but the temptations to go back to the old life were too strong and so that took precedence over their commitment to the Lord. This was largely due to lack of leadership and accountability among the new Christians but we are actively trying to change that through regular visits and training.
In light of that we will be having a 2-day conference from July 2-3 for the Shawi communities followed by a 2-day training for the churches in Yurimaguas on July 4-5. We are expecting great things to happen during this time and so I am asking if you will join with us in praying for this very special event. It is so important that the Shawis be trained/educated in the things of God and to know how to practically live that out. Since this is extremely important for every believer to know and understand I have included the churches in Yurimaguas to participate in this as well with their own conference immediately following the Shawi conference. Please stand with us in believing for transformed lives through these conferences so that they can be advocates of the One true God in their communities.
I pray this news blesses and encourages you to see that nothing is impossible with God in all that you are standing in faith for in your personal lives. I also pray that you being part of this amazing work of the Holy Spirit through your support of prayer, encouragement and finances will richly bless and encourage you to continue to stand with us to see the expansion of this work. May God abundantly bless you and keep in all that you are doing for the Kingdom.
Together in Reaping the Harvest,
Sharon Malcolm
