Faith Becomes Sight With

San Francisco's New Church!

     After years of praying and plowing the ground I had the privilege of seeing faith become sight as the final detail of the first church in the village of San Francisco was completed!  This was truly history in the making and the people of the community were very excited about it.  We also had the privilege of having two of the Assembly of God authorities from our area with us to officially dedicate the church building and congregation to the service of the Lord as an Assembly of God church.

Left to right:  Pastor Roger, Pastor Edwardo (Assembly authorities in our area), American missionary
who brought construction team, and Pastor Rodrigo, Assembly Superintendent of his area.

     For our first church service Nilton, one of the village authorities and now church leader, invited people from Santa Rosa to attend the church dedication, which we were very pleased to see preset with us.  This is exactly what we are praying for.  That people from San Francisco will invite people from their neighboring communities to join with them in hearing the Word of God and seeing their lives transformed.  Nilton is a man who has this same vision.  Would you stand in prayer with me for this new Body of Believers that they would become strong in their faith and commitment to Christ and be senders and goers for the Gospel?

     In addition would you please keep me in prayer for protection and a successful trip as I travel to another part of the country to meet with a pastor who is working with the Ashenika Indians?  I have met with him on two prior occasions and am very interested in working with him to reach the lost among this Indian group.  As we combine our resources I believe we can accomplish a great deal in establishing the Kingdom of God in this area.

     God bless each of you for standing with me in prayer and support for this tremendous work of God and seeing the fruit of our labor together.  May you be blessed in every way!

Yours in Harvest of Souls,

Sharon Malcolm

Sun setting over the village of San Francisco

     Our last trip to San Francisco in April was to bring the Assembly of God pastors who will be overseeing their new church to meet the rest of the village and minister in the Word of God.  It was a very special and blessed time because the residents and the pastors got to know each other better and bond more deeply.  We will be traveling again to San Francisco this Saturday, June 10, with an Assembly of God team from the States to build the first church in their village.  While the men on the team are doing the construction the rest of the team, Maria and I will be traveling to the other villages of Santa Clara, Santa Rosa and Yarina to minister in children's and adult Bible studies.  By the end of the trip we will have had baptisms, a wedding, a church dedication and a commissioning of the village leader named Nilton, who has chosen to be the church leader and pastor of his community.  He will be going through a Bible institute which, upon completion, the Assembly of God will ordain him as the pastor of San Francisco.  In the meantime he will be the acting authority in the church leading Bible studies and Bible storying for the congregation.  Would you join with us in praying for this trip from Saturday, June 10 to Thursday, June 15?  We will traveling with a total of 26 people including the boat drivers in three boats full of equipment and people and so safety as we travel is a must.  Also that the Holy Spirit will touch hearts and souls for the Kingdom as we minister.

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Bio-Sand Water Filters in San Marco

     I had the privilege of having a team from a supporting church in Nazareth, Pennsylvania join me at the end of May to make 12 bio-sand water filters in the village of San Marco.  This is a village made up of Maria's extended family and it was such a joy to meet and work with them in completing this project.  We did have a few challenges though.  Fortunately it rained quite a bit so the water in the river was high enough to travel to the village without having to push the boat over a sandy bottom.  Unfortunately though, because it was so high it completely covered the much needed sandy beaches we needed to make our water filters.  The only option was to dive into the water with a bucket and scoop out the sand from the bottom of the river in order to have enough to properly wash and use to install the filters.  The team, along with the villagers bravely did this until there was enough sand to complete 12 of the 16 filters we set out to do.  Four of the families choose to wait until the water receded before collecting their sand and they will wash and install at a later date.

         

     The team also ministered to the community in beautiful hymns song acappella, skits based on Bible stories, testimonies and preaching the Word of God.  They also had the opportunity to minister in my home church in Yurimaguas when we got back in the same way.  I was so very blessed to have this team and be ministered by them and minister along side of them.

During our stay in San Marcos we witnessed one of the many rainbows in the jungle.

A very rich blessings on all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Disaster Relief Efforts in The Coastal States of Peru

Government-issued tents for displaced flood victims

        I had the opportunity to work with a pastor in one of the affected areas in Northern Peru and saw first-hand how extensive the devastation caused by the flooding was.  Whole towns looked like war zones and people everywhere were desperately trying to get their lives back in order. 

     Fortunately by the time I got there the rains had stopped and the water was finally starting to recede but not without leaving huge deposits of mud and debris in every part of the affected areas.  Everyone was trying to salvage whatever they could from the wreckage of their houses but the losses for most families were enormous.  Many, many people lost their homes and farms and are still not able to return to their neighborhood because of standing water or because they were moved to tent communities far from their homes issued by the government to help with relief efforts.

Houses and businesses affected by flooding.  Notice the dark water line running across all the buildings.

Mud being cleaned out of a house but furniture, appliances, clothing and other household items were destroyed.     

    In contacting several disaster relief organizations I learned that many churches have responded greatly to the needs of the people even though they themselves suffered huge losses.  The pastor that I worked with, Pastor Walter, was diligent to reach out to as many communities as he could with bags of food, clothing and medical clinics.  He told me that in the beginning of the disaster he had about 200 people living in his church/school for refuge while the people in his church were taking shifts to cook 3 meals a day for all of them.  When these precious ladies were not cooking at the church they were in their houses trying to clean out the mud that engulfed their property.

Sharon with Pastor Walter presenting the food bags she helped put together
for the pastor of this community.

  

The Pastor of the town (red top in the doorway) handing out food bags to her community 

  

Women filling their buckets with water for their families since the city's water
supply system was damaged.

   

     The tragedy of this magnitude can be so overwhelming because of the quantity of needs that never seems to be met but praise God many churches, ministries and secular organizations across the country of Peru have been contributing to the relief efforts.  It will take a long time for people to recover but prayerfully this will be an opportunity for the Church as a whole to seize the moment and respond with the love of Christ to help as much as possible.  I want to thank all of you that have stood with me in prayer for this very desperate situation.  As time allows I would like to return to this area in the summer to help with reconstruction efforts in any way possible.

Two-Week Trip to the Shishinahua River

     Maria and I will be going to the Shishinahua River to bring our 5-day training to the villages of those who were not able to attend when we had it in Yurimaguas.  On this trip the leadership of the Assembly of God denomination in Yurimaguas will also be joining us to meet with the village of San Francisco to get to know them and be known by them to further the process of bringing them in as an established church under their leadership.  This is truly a momentous event and the community is very excited about this since they have never had a church in their village before.  In June a team from the States will be coming to construct a church building for them led by an American missionary in Yurimaguas who was also instrumental in getting the initial steps under way for them to become a church.  Would you keep us all in prayer as we travel?  

Our dates of travel are:

April 20 - 23 pastors and American missionary will travel with us to San Francisco

April 20 - May 1 Maria and I will be visiting the other communities to bring the 5-day training.

Please pray for:

safety as we travel

open hearts and minds to the Word of God

God bless each of you who pray for this work in every way.  Thank you so very much for all you do for the Kingdom.

In Him Always,

Sharon Malcolm

 

Flooding in Peru

          According to Humanity Road, a disaster preparedness and response information organization, "Intense rains have caused severe flooding and landslides in 24 of Peru’s 25 regions and 12 regions have been declared in a state of emergency.  It is the worst flooding in two decades, and more storms are expected.  According to the National Emergency Operations Center, 99,475 Peruvians had lost everything since the beginning of the year, while 626,928 had suffered less serious damage to their homes.

             Highways, bridges, and railways have been damaged hindering the flow of aid and leaving some towns stranded.  Communications are also out in some areas.  Water treatment facilities and sewage pipes have been damaged impacting the water supply.  There is a shortage of drinking water in some areas.  Some hospitals have been damaged by flooding and/or are in need of supplies and water, and there is the possibility of increased disease outbreaks due to mosquitoes."

             According to a news article, "Across Peru more than 90 people have died since the start of the year as unusually heavy rainfall caused landslides and flash floods."

            All of the affected areas are along the coast line of Peru and are bracing for more rain this weekend.  Since I am quite a bit inland in Northern Peru our area is not affected.  I have been trying to contact different organizations for volunteer opportunities to help with clean up, food preparation and distribution or anything else I can do but so far have not made contact.  We have two missionary families from the Assemble of God that have come to Yurimaguas about 1 1/2 years ago and one of them is going this Sunday to work with a church in one of affected areas.  They will let me know how things are and what can be done to help so that I can possibly join them later.  Please pray for the quick restoration of the affected areas and that no more lives will be lost.

5-Day Training 

          

The young woman up front, Sharquira, is telling the Bible story then leading the discussion.

           I want to thank all of you who stood in prayer for our 5-day training.  It went very well and I am so excited to say that not only the men participated in leading a Bible story but also the women.  They all stepped way out of their comfort zone and took the challenge of getting in front of their peers to lead a Bible story and a discussion to draw out the meaning of the story in order to apply it to their daily lives.  The goal was to get the people accustomed to doing this as much as possible so that when they returned to their villages they could continue doing this with those who did attend the training.

Alcidia sharing a Bible story and then leading the discussion

       

    

Men sharing Bible stories and leading the discussions

         

A New Church Plant

          On a village visit just prior to the 5-day training we met with the residents of San Francisco, one of the villages we've included about 1 1/2 years ago, to discuss the option of them becoming an established body of believers with the Assembly of God.  San Francisco has been very responsive to the Gospel and several people have already accepted Christ, been baptized and now, as a community, want to become a church.

          The authorities of the Assembly of God church in Yurimaguas and I coordinated a time to meet with San Francisco and the rest of the people attending our 5-training to discuss what needed to be done in order for them to come under the covering of the AG church.  It was a very profitable meeting and once the paperwork is filled out by the community, reviewed by the AG authorities San Francisco will be a church!

         In a prior meeting, the authorities told me that they had been praying about reaching out to the villages of the Shishinahua through a contact they had and so my coming to them with this request was quite timely.  I had met and worked briefly with two of the three authorities in the past and was quite impressed with their commitment to the vision of reaching the unreached with the Gospel and raising up leaders from within these areas to carry on the work.  I am looking forward to working with the Assemble of God to expand the Kingdom in this area and feel very confident that the Lord will richly bless our efforts together.  

        I want to thank all of you who stand in the gap for this work in so many ways and pray that you will take part in rejoicing in this monumental move of the Holy Spirit.  This community has never had a church in their village before and so by taking this step they are declaring that this is now God's territory!  God bless all of you for all that you have done to help bring this about.

Rejoicing With You,

Sharon Malcolm

          

Victory in Jesus!!

     I want to thank so many of you who stood with us in prayer for this last river trip.  I am happy to report that everything went very well.  We got to the villages easily and were able to invite them to our upcoming 5-day training that will happen from March 11th to the 15th.  

Community meal that we were invited to.  Note the taper skull on the left side,
this is the meat that we were eating from.

     We also had the chance to talk to the villages about the stories that were circulating about us: 

1) that we, and specifically me, were not teaching from the Bible and therefore no one should listen to us, and 2) that I was inviting people to the last conference in February not to learn about Bible storying but rather to receive the mark of the Beast (which would make me or one of the other missionaries helping with the conference the second Beast according to Rev 13).  Fortunately, when we went to one of our villages we had about six people with us who attended the conference in February and so I was able to say to the people there that clearly they do not have the mark of the Beast and therefore the story was false.

     As we continued to the other villages to coordinate for the 5-day training and to talk to them about these stories they all assured us that they do not believe them and would gladly come to the training to learn about the Word of God.  These incidents are exactly why we are having these trainings and village visits.  It is to teach the people what the Bible says so that they can compare that to what they are being told.  Please pray with me that this pastor stop going to all of our villages and sowing discord among them.  I don't believe I've ever met this man and so I don't understand the basis of his stories but because he is a pastor and carries a lot of authority the people believe what he says...or at least they're telling me that they did but not anymore.  Prayerfully they will still continue with us as we try and minister to them.

     Lastly, I would ask if you would join with us in prayer for the 5-day training from March 11 to 15. 1)  That whole families would attend and there be no hindrances to prevent them from coming.

2)  That the attendees will be able to grasp and retain what they are learning and not only be able to use it when they return home but be transformed by it.

3)  Safety for our boat drivers as they travel back and forth to return the people to their villages.

God  bless each of you and thank you again for your faithfulness in keeping us in prayer.

Always For His Glory,

Sharon Malcolm 

    

6-Day Bible Storying Conference

Shawis and missionaries that participated in learning and teaching Bible storying

     After a six week trip to the States to visit supporting churches, donors and family I had the opportunity to involve the Shawi villages that Maria and I work with in a six day Orality Conference.  It was an exciting time to be a part of this conference to help teach the Shawis how to learn the Word of God in a story format of the events that took place in the Bible.  Since most oral cultures use the story-telling method to pass down their traditions and history to the next generation missionaries in the past adapted this same technique to "pass down" the content of the Bible.  It was so encouraging to see how our people were grasping the stories of Creation, The Fall of Satan/Man, Noah and the Rainbow and many other stories come alive for them for the first time.  Even the most timid were participating by repeating the story they just heard in small groups as well as in the general meeting.

     The purpose of the conference was to open doors for the oral based Shawi communities to not only know the Word of God for themselves but to be able to tell it to those who have not yet heard.  For the Shawi villages that we work with we will be having our own 5-day training in March and will repeat this information for the rest that could not attend this conference.

Sharon teaching one of the classes

  

Shawi participants sharing Shawi worship songs in the evening church service

 

Prayer Request

     We will be traveling on the river again this Saturday, February 18 until Wednesday, February 22 to coordinate with our villages to attend our next 5-day training.  Gloriously, a fourth village called San Francisco, has been a vital part of our outreach and training this past year and has even asked us to help them build their own church building.  We will, of course, help them do this within the next few months.

     I would ask your prayers as we travel to minister and coordinate with our villages of Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Yarina and now San Francisco for our 5-day training.  

     I also have a very special prayer request concerning a family in the village of Yarina.  This family has been very close to us over the last 7 or 8 years but recently a pastor has come to their village at their request to live with them.  He's only been there about 3 months but has succeeded in completely turning this family and some others of the village against us to the point where they do not want us to visit them anymore.  One of the reasons for the trip is to try and talk to this family/families and let them know that this man has done this very same thing in another village that resulted in a church split that is still unreconciled to this day. 

    I would ask your prayers for wisdom, tolerance and love as we talk to this family/families about this man, and if need be, to the man himself.  He has apparently thought it necessary to relate his feelings about us to the other villages that we work with as well according to the families that came to the conference from San Francisco and Santa Rosa who are the ones who told about the situation.

     I know this is an attack from the enemy and it's not the first time that rumors such as these have gone around about us but this time the man that's doing it is living there and has done this before with devastating results.  Please pray with me that the enemy's plan of division will be destroyed and that every word from this man will fall to the ground void of power.  Lastly, that the Lord will remove this man from the river forever.  Thank you for standing with me in prayer for this and if the Lord shows you anything in particular to pray for please let me know.

Yours In the Fight For Righteousness,

Sharon Malcolm