Prayer and Praise update of the strike

I have such excitement as I write to you because I can tell you that we did get to the villages, completed the water filter project, ministered to the people and the team and I got back to our homes safely and soundly! Let me tell you how it happened.

First, let me apologize for not contacting you sooner with an update but things fell into place very quickly and we had to move when the opening was available. I was able to get to Tarapoto, the closest airport to me, in order to fly to Lima to meet the team, but on our way back we found that a strike, which was very strong, had also started in Yurimaguas. This is where we had to leave from in order to get to the villages.

The chief of police, who assured me that he could help me, texted me that day to tell me that he was in a meeting with the strikers and that absolutely nothing was passing through the picket lines for any reason and therefore could not help us get through. His recommendation was to wait out the strike for a couple of days in Tarapoto and try to get in to Yurimaguas then. This was not an option for us because our time to complete the project was quite limited so together with your prayers we sought the Lord and trusted Him to provide while we spent the night in Tarapoto.

In the meantime I had contacted the company that ran small engine planes to put our names on the list should there be anything coming in to Tarapoto. At that time there was only one person that wanted to come from Yurimaguas to Tarapoto so it didn't look too promising but we trusted in the Lord anyway. The next day I called because I didn't hear anything and praise God there were two planes coming in from Yurimaguas to Tarapoto that could accommodate all of us, and our gear so now we could get to Yurimagaus!

When we got there however, I saw that the strike was in full force and only a very few cars were moving. That meant the extra challenge of moving 10 duffle bags plus our backpacks to a river port that was about 15 minutes away by motorcar. Again, we joined with your prayers and trusted in the Lord and once again He came through. I got up early the next day, which was the day we intended to leave, and searched for a boat instead of a motorcar that was big enough to fit all of us, our cargo and was ready and willing to leave right away in order to drive us to the port that was 15 minutes away. It just so happened that a boat driver was sitting on the stairs when I got there and he said he could completely accommodate us! Another answered prayer.

Then I found a motorcar willing to take the first round of cargo to the boat and just then a dear friend pulled up with his motorcar and offered to help us. He was an angel sent from God because he was very helpful and made 2 or 3 trips to get all of us, and our gear to the boat. Once we got to the port, we loaded everything onto the two boats that would take us to the villages and we were on our way in spite of so many obstacles!

I tell you this so that you know how much the Lord is using your intercession and persistence in prayer to open doors that no man can shut. It's just one more demonstration of what the Body of Christ can do when we all join together in prayer under the power of the Holy Spirit. May God bless you richly and thank you again so much.

Yours Forever in the Fight,
Sharon Malcolm

Strike update2

Dear Prayer Warriors,

I want to share with you the triumphs that we experienced as a result of your intercession.  The strike that closed the only road in or out of Yurimaguas to the nearest airport in Tarapoto got quite rigid over the weekend not allowing anyone to pass through the picket lines for any reason.  Even the chief of police and the president of the strike said it was impossible to get through for several days.  That meant that the team and I would have to wait in Tarapoto until the strike lifted.  There would be no danger from the picketers but it would cause precious time to be lost in ministering to the villages.  The team and I prayed along with you for a solution and once again the Lord came through with the option of taking a 2 small engine planes to Yurimaguas from Tarapoto which we were able to do and arrived in Yurimaguas around 11:30 this morning.  The planes do not fly from one side to the other unless they have passengers and fortunately for us there were several people that wanted to come from Yurimaguas to Tarapoto in order for us to leave Tarapoto to come to Yurimaguas.

When we arrive however, I noticed that there weren't many vehicles on the road and almost everything was closed.  This was not a good sign because it meant that there is now a strike in Yurimaguas, which turned out to be the case.  We are now in the middle of a double strike for an indefinite amount of time making travel within Yurimaguas quite challenging.  Again, there is no danger from the strikers it just hinders us from getting to the villages.  Our plan is still to leave at dawn tomorrow morning and the challenge is to get some kind of vehicle to move all of our gear from my house to the river port in order for us to leave.  There is a man from my church who has a motorcar (the 3-wheeled vehicles they use here as taxis) that said he and his son could help us but that was before the strike started so I'm not sure what they could do now.  I will be contacting him and praying for other options if it is not possible for him to help.  Please continue to keep us in prayer since the Lord is continuing to answer our prayers and is providing for ways of escape.  God bless you and thank you all so much for your continued prayer support.  I will do my best to keep you posted as things develop.

Sharon Malcolm

Strike update

Dear Faithful Prayer Warriors,

I want to thank you so very much for standing in the gap for the strike situation.  The latest update is that as of  yesterday late afternoon there is no strike in the town that live in, Yurimaguas.  The decision was back and forth for a few days but apparently it was decided that there will be no strike.  For the team that is comin and me that is very good news because we will be able to move freely within the city and get to the river port to go to the village of Varadero with no problem.  Now the only challenge is the road to Tarapoto that is still blocked due to a strike there.  However, I did speak to the chief of police asking for his help in getting us through and he assured me that he will help us out.

I would ask if you would keep us in prayer for this so that I will be able to contact him on Sunday afternoon when the team and I will be arriving at the picket line to go through to Yurimaguas.  Aslo, would you keep us in prayer for the village outreach following the points below?

1)  Safety as we travel in and out of the village Oct. 6 to 13.
2)  That we complete all 25 water filters for each of the families and that they will be used correctly
3)  That the ministry of the Word and prayer for the people will be powerfully impacting resulting in a permanently changed life for the Lord.
4)  That the Lord will do a powerful work in each member of the team that will change them forever.
5)  Wisdom and discernment from the Lord for all of us so that we will know how to minister and hear the Holy Spirit as we minister to the people.

Thank you so much again for your faithful and powerful intercession.  The Lord is truly moving through what you are doing and I am so very honored and blessed to join with you in this.  God bless you in every way and I will keep you posted.
Faithfully Yours,
Sharon Malcolm

Safe Passage Prayer update

Dear Prayer Warriors,

The latest development on the strike issue is that it now includes the town that I live in called Yurimaguas.  Orginially it only included the town of Pamper Hermosa who said they would block their part of the only road in or out of Yurimaguas.  This alone would have made travel a bit challenging since there is no other option to get to the airport, which is in Tarapoto about 2 1/2 hours from where I live.  Now however, since Yurimaguas decided to get involved not only is the road blocked but the whole town of Yurimaguas is shut down for an indefinite amount of time as well.  That means there are no businesses open and no cars running until further notice.

I was able to meet with the president of the strike a few days ago and then followed up with a call to him this morning and he assured me that he would help me get my team from Tarapoto to Yurimaguas.  Although he did not say he would meet us at the picket line to take us in he did say to call him when we got there and he would take care of it.  Since the strike starts at midnight on Oct. 1 he is very busy and my request is not on the top of his priority list although he was very kind and seemed like he would truly help me.  However, would you pray with me that he will keep his word and get us to Yurimaguas and then help us move all the equipment necessary for our outreach to the village through Yurimaguas via motorcars to the river port (which are not permitted to operate during the strike)?

I will have to leave my house 2 days earlier than planned in order to get to the airport in Tarapoto to go to Lima to meet the team.  This cuts my preparation time down quite a bit so would you please include this in your prayers as well?  The prayer points below will help with prayer focus.

1. That the president of the strike, Segundo, will keep his word in helping us get all the way from Tarapoto to the village of Varadero with no delays or problems.
2. That I will be able to make all the necessary preparations for the trip in the time I have.
3. That the strike will end by the time we leave the village on Oct.13 so that we can get to Tarapoto with no problems.  This is also very difficult on the townspeople because they are not allowed to work during the strike and many of them have extremely tight budgets.  Therefore, to take their livelihood away from them for what could be weeks at a time is grossly unfair.
4. For the village outreach in doing the water filters and ministering to the people with the Word of God.  That we are safe in all of the travle, complete all of the water filters and bring the Word of God through His Holy Spirit in a way that will deeply impact all who hear.

Our dates of travel are:

• Oct. 4 Lima to Yurimaguas through the picket lines
• Oct. 6 - 13 travel and ministry to the village of Varadero.
• Oct. 15 Yurimaguas to Lima 
• Oct. 17 morning flight to the USA from Lima

Thank you so very much for keeping us in prayer for this situation and I will keep you posted as things develop.  God bless each of you and thank you again.

Sharon

Safe Passage Prayer letter

Dear Prayer Warriors,

I am writing again to ask you to stand with me for an upcoming issue that could temporarily thwart the work of the Lord.  A team from the States is coming to Peru on October 3 to make bio-sand water filters with me in the village of Varadero.  This is where we just got back from and where 20 people accepted the Lord.  Just recently though the state that I live in, Loreto, started feuding with a neighboring state called San Martin over a city that is part of Loreto.

San Martin wants this city to be part of their state and Loreto wants the city to stay with them. The city itself, called Pamper Hermosa, also wants to stay with Loreto and so to force the authorities to settle the issue Pamper Hermosa is going on strike.  The way they do this is to close part of the only road that goes to Tarapoto, which has the closest airport to where I live. This affects me and the team because I need to fly to Lima from this airport in order to meet the team when they arrive in Peru and then bring them back through this airport in order to get to the village to do the water filter project.

I will be talking to the chief of police and the president of the strike to ask for safe passage for us through the picket lines so that we can get in and out without any problems.  Usually these strikes are not dangerous but quite bothersome and could cause a lot of time to be wasted for our team.  Would you pray with me for enormous favor from both of them and an escort from the police or a strike representative through the check points.  Unfortunately, just their word is not good enough for the strikers.  We would need a physical presence of one of them in order to pass through.

I would also ask you to keep us in prayer during our time in the village since we want to complete 25 water filters and greatly minister to the people with the Word of God and prayer.  We will be working in three locations in this village to complete the project and hold church services in the evening as well as daytime activities as time permits.  Would you join with me in these prayer points?

1. Safe travel to and from the village.
2. Good health among the team from stomach issues or any other sickness that would hinder the work.
3. Strong bonding with the team and the people as we work with them and minister.
4. Wisdom and discernment on how to effectively present the Word of the Lord and pray with the mind of Christ.
5. That the people will be as open and receptive as they were on our first trip to the Gospel and receive all that the Lord has for them on this trip as well.

Thank you all so very much for your intercession and I will surely keep you posted on the outcome of our concerted prayer.  God bless you mightily in every way.

September Newletter

Maria’s sister’s-in-law mother with her grandchild

I want to thank everyone who stood in prayer for us as we completed this last river trip. I am happy to report that we were able to get in and out of the village with no problem even though the water was very low. The purpose of the trip was to deliver the water filter materials for the 25 recipients in the village of Varadero.

In meeting with each group of 10 families I was able to explain why we were doing the project and what both our parts would be in completing the filters. I also shared that the purpose of the project was not just to meet a physical need but a spiritual need as well.  This led to the opportunity to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all three groups which resulted in 20 salvations!  The woman pictured above is one of our new sisters in Christ.

Our safe travel, completion of delivering the material and, especially, the salvation of souls came as a result of our combined faith and intercession for the people of this village. I can’t thank you enough for taking this part of the ministry so seriously and faithfully. The outcome of our prayer far outweighs any sacrifice that we had to make in bringing this about. Our precious Heavenly Father had long ago prepared and planned for each one of these precious souls to be part of His eternal Kingdom and we had the privilege of being instruments in His hands as He brought that about. God bless each one of you for joining together with me in seeing this realized!

When we return to Varadero on October 6 with a team from the States to do the filters we will also have evening meetings to teach the Word and pray for everyone who like prayer. I am expecting great things to happen during this time together so I would ask you to please join with me again in seeing the full measure of the Holy Spirit poured out on the villagers and on the US team as we minister. Thank you so much again for all that you do for this work and may God continue to bless you mightily.

Faithfully Yours in Christ,

Sharon Malcolm

Maria’s brother Camilo, driving our fully loaded boat past a river port on the way to Varadero.

Maria in the front as the point person to help guide the boat

with her mother in the center with the yellow blouse.

September prayer letter

Dear Prayer Warriors,

I want to thank you so very much for keeping our travel and ministry to the villages in prayer all this time, I so appreciate it.  As a result the Lord has truly kept us and protected us while on the river and has opened many doors of evangelism in order to share the love of God with those who have never heard.

This Saturday we will have another opportunity to share God's love with those who do not know Him as we travel to three sub-communities in the greater community of Baradero.  These are smaller villages that we have never worked in before and are the families of Maria's cousin and sister-in-law as well as the families of five of her brothers.  Maria is the Shawi YWAM missionary that has been traveling with me to minister to the Shawi Indians for the last five years.

Our goal is that Maria's cousin Jonnie and sister-in-law Antonia will become the initiators of the follow up and discipleship of these communities so that they can grow in their new found faith as they accept Christ.  Would you stand with us for the following prayer points as you and I go forward to advance the Kingdom of God in this area?

1)   Safety on the river as we travel to and from the villages.

2)   That Maria's cousin Jonnie and Maria's sister-in-law Antonia will be burdened to work with their extended families in these villages in leading them to a strong walk with the Lord.

3)   That the villages will be very open and receptive to the Holy Spirit as He reveals the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them.

4)   That we be extremely sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in knowing how and what to share about the love of God so that it is very clear to everyone.

5)   That each person will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Thank you again so very much for keeping us in prayer and for joining with us to reach the lost for Christ.  It is truly my greatest privilege and joy to be able to stand in agreement with each of you as the Body of Christ to bring in a great harvest of souls!  God be with you and keep you in all that you do.

May Blessings Beyond Containment Be Yours!

Sharon Malcolm