Saturday, January 18, 2020

Outreach in the Villages

 

Village of San Francisco holding Christmas outreach

 

We took full advantage of the holiday season in the communities this year by inviting neighboring villages to join with us in a Christmas celebration with two Assembly of God pastors who came from Yurimaguas with Maria and I to the Shishinahua River to minister. It went very well and several people joined us from the surrounding villages to hear the Word of God preached.


We had meetings in the morning, afternoon and evening to work with adults and children and all were very responsive. Visual aids were used to explain the events around the birth of Christ since many had never understood this before.

 

Sharon using nativity figures to explain the events leading up to the birth of Christ.

Christmas outreach to the village of July 6 on the Nucuray River

 

We went to the mouth of the Nucuray River to the village of July 6 to do a Christmas outreach with them as well. Since they were a little more versed in the Christmas story it was easy to present the Gospel in this way and both children and adults were very responsive to the Word of God.

 

I also brought some reading glasses to distribute to those that needed them and many were very blessed to receive this free gift to be able to read the Bible and/or do close up work.

 

Maria working with the people to try reading with their new glasses

 

On our most recent trip to the village of San Francisco where we are conducting our Bible institute for those who are preparing to be church leaders our course of study this time was how to do children’s ministry. Afterward we practiced it with the children and adults of San Francisco in the form of a Bible memory verse, visual aid and a drama on the Good Samaritan. Each of the five people taking the course participated in some part of the lesson (one man who is not shown below drew the visual aid for the lesson) and had a very good time preparing it and then teaching it to the people. That is exactly what we want to see, people learning how to do the work and then doing it for those that need it. This also went very well, especially the drama because they made it real but funny.

 

      

Left to Right:  Nilton, Maria, Richar and Jilton each taking a turn to explain the visual aid for the lesson.

 

As we embark on this New Year I want to encourage you to please continue to pray for us as we bring the message of the Gospel to those who have yet to hear and to those who are being discipled.

 

Although these events that I have shared were very positive and the people responded well to what we were bringing them this is not the case each time. On our last visit to the mouth of the Nucuray River in late December as we were ministering in the village of July 6 one of the authorities came up to me to inform me that I was forbidden to enter any of the villages that reside on the Nucuray River and if I or any other “Gringo” did there would be severe bodily harm. This news came through a message from a village authority that we had worked with several times over the past two years sent by word of mouth to the village authority of July 6 in order to tell me. Needless to say it was very disconcerting to hear this and shut the door for further evangelism to the communities on this river.

 

As it turned out there had been a news report of a horrific murder where body organs were surgically removed from someone killed in a community not far from their river and the crime was attributed to some “Gringos”. Unfortunately, this story is not the first time it had been circulated. Gringos stealing vital organs from Peruvians had been passed around for more than the 14 years since I’ve been in Peru and this incident just gave it more credibility. It’s anyone’s guess how much of the story is actually true but nonetheless the people absolutely believe it and so are protecting their own from any potential danger. I know this will eventually calm down and the way will be opened again but for now I am not entering the river at all and even informed the other missionaries who work in this area what was said to me in case a similar threat would be directed at them as well.

 

Other incidents that have hindered the work are rumors of moral failures among one of our leaders preparing to be the pastor of San Francisco. If any of the rumors are true it could have a devastating effect on the work on the Shishinahua River. These and other stories are nothing but an attack from the enemy to hinder the work of the Lord but God is so much bigger than the words and actions of men. His Kingdom will come and will be established as He makes the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of our God. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers and standing with us in this fight. May the Lord bless you in every way in this New Year.

 

Yours For The Kingdom,

Sharon Malcolm

 

No comments:

Post a Comment