June update/prayer letter

Dear Prayer Warriors,

I am writing to give you an update on the last trip to the Shishinahua River.  The purpose of the trip was to continue with the discipleship classes in the three villages were we've been working: Santa Clara, Santa Rosa and Yarina.  The focus this time was on some of their beliefs that keep them from fully trusting in the Lord.  This time it was on the belief that plants and trees have spirits and that these spirits have the ability to heal and drive out other spirits that are causing sickness or pain.  We saw an example of this on a recent visit to the village of Santa Clara where the husband of the household was lightly striking his wife's back with a branch of leaves to drive out the spirit that was causing her pain.  The leafy branch was believed to have certain powers that would not only heal his wife of her ailment but also drive out the spirit that was causing it. 

In our discipleship meetings we spoke frankly on the error of this belief and affirmed once again that there is no other power greater than God. He is the supreme power and that the plants and trees were created by Him and therefore could not have more power than Him.  We did make clear however, that certain plants have medicinal purposes and will certainly bring healing if used correctly but it is not a spirit in them that does it, but rather the qualities that God had made plants to have.  The people listened very attentively and asked questions in their language to Maria, the Shawi missionary that travels with me about some of what they believed in.  Between us we were able to speak confidently what the Bible says about such things and direct their attention to trusting in the Lord for all of their needs and not other spirits.

One very encouraging incident occurred while we were there and that is when a couple of the non-Christian women asked me to pray over their sick babies I was able to ask to ask one of our new Christians to join me and she did without hesitation.  I later learned from Maria that just a day or two earlier her daughter was sick and so her husband, who is also a Christian, told her to take their daughter to a witchdoctor to be healed.  This is a very common response to sickness and so even though he was a Christian this was his suggestion.  His wife however, explained that this was wrong and that there was only one God and He is all-powerful (as per what we have been teaching them).  Instead they should pray over their daughter so God would heal her.  Her husband was not willing to do this and still thought they should take her to the witchdoctor but the wife believed God and prayed over her daughter and sure enough her daughter got healed!  After seeing this her husband was completely convinced about what God can do and no longer wants to go to witchdoctors for healing.  Praise God!!

This gave the woman great confidence in praying with me for one of the sick babies.  When I asked the parents later in the day how the baby was they were able to tell me that she was better.  Praise God for His goodness!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1. We have two, 3-day conferences coming up June 25, 26, 27 for the pastors in the town where I live in Yurimaguas and a second conference for the Shawi Indians on June 29, 30 and July 1.  Both of these conferences are very important and are strategic in bringing great changes to Yurimaguas and to the villages on the Shishinahua through all who attend.  Please pray for the Lord to move mightily on the people so that they can then be agents of change for others.
2. The speakers of these conferences are the pastor and an elder from my home church in Bethlehem, PA.  Please pray that the Lord will give them the words to speak to the hearts and minds of all who attend and guide them clearly on how they are to minister to the people.
3. Please pray for our safety as I go and meet the speakers and as we travel together from the capitol, Lima to the town where I live in Yurimaguas to do the conferences.
4. Please pray that all the details of coordinating and preparing for the conferences will go well and all the people involved will do their part.

God bless you each of you for your continued prayer support for this work.  I am so very grateful for it and am very aware that it is because of our combined prayer the Lord is able to move so mightily.   I will look forward to giving you a wonderful update after the conferences as we stand in faith together to believe God for great things.

Rich Blessings to You,

Sharon

SHAWI INDIAN RADIO PROGRAM

SHAWI INDIAN RADIO PROGRAM

 

Pastor Antonio and Sharon reviewing bible studies that he will translate into Shawi for the radio broadcast program

  

After working for seven years traveling to the villages to evangelize, teach the Word of God and encourage the new believers we are now expanding our sphere of influence to reach several other Shawi Indian communities as well through our new radio program called Life in Christ.  The program will reach about 15 counties where many of the Shawi Indians live and tune into via their transitor, battery-operated radio.  The purpose is to have ongoing Bible studies in the Shawi language to help the Christians and non-Christians grow in their understanding of who Jesus is, what He did for them and how they can live the victorious Christian life.

The program will air three times a week for 30 minutes with the goal of having it run all year long. 

Our first airing was on Monday, April 28 and will continue for one month until May 28.  This will give us an idea of how the program is being received and what we can do to improve it if it is not.  Please pray with me so that the Shawi community will grab hold of this opportunity to learn about the Lord and all that He has done for them as He reveals Himself through the the study of the Word of God.

SHAWI BELIEFS OF HOLY WEEK

 Shawi Indian teenager with painted face to protect her from the evil spirits during Holy Week.
   

Village men (bottom) preparing to shoot their rifles to scatter the evil spirits that were loosed on Good Friday while people watch from the assembly building (top).

On our most recent visit to the villages we learned several of the Shawi beliefs concerning Easter Week.  They are:

1. During Holy Week the people were taught that any activity such as washing clothes, bathing and especially working in their fields (since there were evil spirits there) was prohibited.
2. They believe that Jesus dies every year on Good Friday and so evil spirits are loosed at that time because He is not here to keep them away. Therefore to protect themselves the women paint their babies with a black ink from a certain plant that is very common to their area. Often I have seen babies painted head to toe with this ink, almost as if they were dipped in a pool of black dye. The women would also dye their own hands and feet black and paint bands on their legs and arms and dots, stripes and Xs on their face. Somehow they believe that the ink prevents the evil spirits from entering them or their children.
3. Lastly, they believe that Jesus rose from the dead on the second day after His death and not the third (I’m not sure why). On this day all the evil spirits that were loosed on Good Friday are now on the run from Jesus because He is alive and well.  However, to insure that the spirits are completely dispersed the men shoot off several rounds of their hunting rifles together to make sure the area is clear and safe for normal activity. The rest of the day would then be a time of celebration through an inter-community soccer game and drinking their fermented social drink called Masato (feremented yucca).

Fortunately we were able to address some of these false beliefs with the Word of God by first explaining that there is nothing in Scripture that prohibits normal activity during Holy Week and so according to the Bible they are free to resume daily life tasks without consequence. We were also able to show clearly in the Word of God that Jesus only died once and that when He did He destroyed the work of the devil (Rom 6:10; 1 John 3:8).  Therefore we, as Christians, have authority over evil spirits and not them over us. In light of this there is no reason to live in fear of Good Friday or any other day.

The belief of being protected from and scattering evil spirits through black ink and gun shots will have to be addressed more specifically on our next visit. Too much too soon could be overwhelming. What was shared however, was received by very attentive listeners and so I'm confident that the Lord will continue His work in them to reveal Truth so that they can live in the abundant life that He died to give them.

            

   
 Teaching youth the meaning of Easter through making an activity about the life of Christ. 

   

Joni (one of our Christian workers) teaching the Shawi children about the Easter story.

Along with dispelling the darkness of false beliefs we had the privilege of teaching adults, youth and children the true meaning of Easter through preaching to the adults, an art activity for the youth and a story book for the children.

Our greatest highlight however, was having 5 people water baptized on Good Friday! Out of all the days they could have done this they were content to do it on a day that they believed was filled with evil spirits. In fact, Miguel (pictured below) dreamed the night before that he was going to die if he got baptized in water (clearly an assault from the enemy) but in spite of his fear he was the first one in the water! He was followed by his wife and 12-year-old son, then by Joni, one of our Christian workers and finally by Marcos, the son of the head village leader.

   

Sharon and Maria baptizing Miguel

All of these tremendous victories are only possible because we have joined together in prayer and support to bring the Kingdom of God to a land that was once held by the enemy. Dear, precious brothers and sisters in Christ thank you so much for working with me to bring the light of the Gospel to a people who have not heard before. God bless each of you for all that you have done to bring this about.

Lovingly and Gratefully,

Sharon Malcolm

Shawi Conference Level Two: Authority of the Believer

Pastor Roque (Rocky) preaching on the authority of the believer

            I am thrilled to be able to share with you that our second conference for the Shawi Indians held on March 2-4 which went very well.  We had several more people attend this conference because we invited whole families this time to be trained in the Word of God.  In the three days that we met together we had teachings for the preschool, school-age, youth and adults during the day and a church service at night for everyone.  This proved to be very effective because it allowed mothers to a part of the teaching since they did not have to care for their preschool children and it provided for the children and youth to receive teaching on the Word of God at their level.

Sharon and Maria teaching school-age children how and why to worship

All children and some of the youth watching a video on the birth of Christ

            During our adult sessions we explained who Satan is, where he came from and why there are evil spirits in the world today.  Since the Shawi people are very aware of the spirit world we stressed that evil spirits are created beings that chose to follow Lucifer in rebelling against God and were therefore expelled from His presence forever.  It was important to stress that they are not more powerful than God or even equal to His power but rather are merely created beings that as Christians we now have authority over.  In light of this they no longer have to be afraid of spirits of the deceased trying to enter them or their children or spirits of animals wreaking havoc on their families by the belief that these spirits can enter them or their families causing physical maladies.

Maria and her brother Camilo leading and teaching the people on how to worship

            We also had sessions on how to pray and the importance of praise especially as a weapon of warfare.  Although we emphasize and practice these themes as much as possible on our river trips to the villages it was worth going over again and dedicating whole sessions to them in the conference.  The result of these repeated teachings and practices was amazing because this time when I asked for a volunteer to lead us in prayer, three women, one from each of the villages that attended, came up almost immediately to do so!  This has never happened before!  Shawi Indians do not deliberately draw attention to themselves and the intimidation of not being confident in how to pray has always resulted in a lack of response every other time I have ever asked them do this.  Now however, through the knowledge of the Word and the working of the Holy Spirit within them three women (I only asked for one) marched right up front to take their stand in faith to pray as we joined them.

            The next morning I asked again for someone to come up and lead us in prayer for a specific need and this time, without any coaxing, three teenage boys came up and led us in prayer!  This was huge because it showed that the Holy Spirit was working on the youth as well as the adults to the point where these boys had enough confidence and faith to be in front of all their peers to lead us in prayer.

            Since we started doing these conferences people have taken giant leaps forward in their commitment to Christ and have shown great desire to learn more about the things of God.  I want you to know that this has come about because of our combined effort to pray, break ground and establish the Kingdom of God in these villages.  Strongholds are being destroyed through the knowledge and application of Word on a regular basis.  Therefore my brothers and sisters, I want to encourage you to continue in warfare prayer and intercession for these communities because the Lord is doing mighty things through all of us.  God bless you over and over again for all that you have done for us and the villages in helping the Word of God go forth to change lives forever.

Reaching the Lost Together,

Sharon Malcolm

update and prayer letter

Dear Faithful Prayer Warriors,

I am so happy to report that the last trip to the Shishinahua River to visit our three villages of Santa Clara, Santa Rosa and Yarina was a huge success!  We had more people attend Bible studies and evening services than before, glory to God!  In fact in Santa Rosa the people were actually waiting for us to start!  Our meetings went very well as we had Pastor Roque (Rocky) translated into Shawi what I shared and then preach himself from the Word sharing his own personal experiences in growing as a Christian. 

The people were very attentive and are really becoming much more aware of their commitment to Christ.  This was evidenced by the response I got when I asked them, “How many here can say that you are a son or daughter of God?” In the past they could not answer this because of lack of confidence and/or understanding of what that meant.  Now however, several people raised their hands with confident assurance that they knew they were children of God!  This is an incredible leap forward in their relationship with the Lord and nothing short of the Holy Spirit working in their lives!  What is so glorious is that we all had a part in bringing this about through our combined intercession and commitment to the work of the Lord.

We will be continuing with discipleship classes through a three-day conference like we had in early November.  The dates will be 1, 2, 3 of March (a change from the original dates of 7, 8, 9) and our theme will be the Authority of the Believer.  Pastor Roque and Pastor Rufino who shared at the last conference will be joining us again for this one.  I have invited the families of the villages to come to the conference this time and not just the parents so that everyone will be taught the Word of God and grow in their relationship with Him.  Would you pray earnestly for this conference as there are many logistical issues that must be met in order for the conference to take place.  Our prayer points are as follows:

1)   Safety as Maria’s brothers travel to the villages to pick up the families and bring them back to their homes (it’s a 9-12 hour boat ride each way).

2)   That they arrive in Yurimaguas on time and the dirt road that we will travel on to the farm where the conference will take place will not be rained out.

3)   That every heart and mind will be open to the all that the Lord wants to teach and reveal to them so that they understand that they have authority in Christ over life’s situations.

4)   Pray for the four children’s ministry workers that the Lord will give them wisdom in teaching the Shawi children the Word of God with clarity so that they too can begin a life with Christ.

5)   Wisdom, discern and confidence for the speakers of the conference so that they will communicate each point of the teaching well so that both the men and the women will understand what is theirs in Christ.

Thank you so much for standing with me in prayer and intercession for this conference and for all that the Lord will do in these precious people.  God bless you mightily as we join together to see the Kingdom of God established in these hearts and lives.

With Much Appreciation,

Sharon Malcolm

2014 prayer/newsletter

Dear Prayer Warriors,

After about six weeks in the States to visit supporting churches and individual supporters I am back at home in semi-sunny but really warm Peru!  I was only too glad to leave the sub-zero temperatures and the piles and piles of snow that I was helping my sister shovel while staying at her house to visit my mom in the nursing home in New Jersey.

I wanted to share with you that we will be going on the river again to visit our three villages of Santa Clara, Santa Rosa and Yarina to see how they’ve been since we saw them last in December.  Our goal is to train and encourage them to carry on what they’ve learned from us on their own when we’re not there and praise God it’s coming step by step.

On this trip we will have two Shawi pastors traveling with us to minister:  Pastor Roque (Rocky), who ministered at the conference in November, and Maria’s brother Antonio who pastors the church where she attends.  Our focus this time will be to  present the dates of the next 3-day conference, which will be March 7, 8, 9 and will focus on the authority of the believer.   We will also be addressing some of the superstitions of the villagers that have kept them bound in fear and intimidation all of their lives.  By understanding where these beliefs come from and what is now available to them in Christ they can begin to experience freedom like they have never known and live as the overcomer that they are.

Would you stand with us in intercessory prayer for this very pivotal time of teaching so that the strongholds of generations will be broken through the knowledge of the Truth?  Our heart is to reveal and teach the villagers the power and authority of the Word of God and who they are in Christ so that they can take back all that the enemy has stolen from them.

Our dates of travel will be Friday, February 14 to Friday, February 21.  Below are our prayer points and as the Lord shows you anything else please include that as well.

1)   Safety on the river as we travel.

2)   The villages will be open and receptive to the messages that they hear and that everyone will attend the meetings.

3)   That everything that they learned and experienced at the November conference is still working in their hearts so that they can advance quickly in their walk of faith.

4)   As a result of the teachings there will be significant life-style changes so that the life of Christ is clearly evident.

5)   Anything else that the Lord puts on your heart.

I am also attaching the latest newsletter to update you on the river trip right before coming to the States in December.  I trust that you will read this and be blessed as you see what the Lord is doing through all of us.  God bless you in every way and thank you so much for your love, prayers and participation in this work.

With Much Gratitude,

Sharon

PERUSING PERU Newsletter December, 2013

Amazing cloud formation in the village of San Eugenio declaring the majesty of God!

           

            The follow up trips to the Shishinahua and Yanuyacu Rivers to check on the stoves that were done by U.S. teams this past summer proved to be very encouraging.  As we went house to house we found that the women were only using the chimney stoves that we built for them instead of the hazardous open fires they had been using.  This is especially good news since the toxic smoke they had been inhaling by cooking this way over time can cause severe upper respiratory problems.   The men and the women were very pleased with this new addition to their homes and were very grateful for it.  Below are three families representing the three villages that received chimney stoves.

    

                     Yarina                                               Santa Clara                                 San Eugenio

Our Young Christians Are Starting to Walk

            What was most encouraging on this trip however was the strong desire among the people for more of God.  Since the conference in early November the people of our three villages, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa and Yarina, have shown such resolve to know God more and follow Him more closely.  One expression of this was their willingness to lead a group through Scripture reading.  This is a very simple exercise where the leader would read a few verses and then ask the group what was just read.  By doing this it requires everyone to listen carefully and process what they’ve heard in order to repeat it back to the leader.  Through this everyone, including the leader, learns the Word of God.  We started this with the women earlier this year and after several days of working with them they were able to recount the birth of Christ according to according to Matthew 1:18-21 on their own.  The fact that some of the men want to take the initiative and lead a group is monumental because they had never wanted to do this before.  When they were asked in the past to do this for their village they agreed but then would not follow through with it.  Now they are excited to do it and this wonderful change came since they attended the conference. 

  

Santa Rosa:  Elies (blue shorts in picture on the left) is reading the scripture while the men listened and then translate into Shawi for the women (pictured on the right during a break).

Santa Clara:  Tito (seated with guitar on his lap) had been reading scripture to the people and asking what they just heard.

            The genuine hunger that so many of the people in these villages have for more of God was triggered by a revelation from the Holy Spirit that God is real and what He says is true.  When they realized how their lives were separated from Christ and how they are now with Christ it thrust them into a deeper, more commited relationship to the Lord.  I saw this first start to happen during the conference as they heard from different people but especially from the two Shawi pastors I had asked to come as guest speakers.  These are men who lived and thought just like the villagers did but are now totally transformed.  The cultural standards of the Shawi communtiy are no longer the measuring line for these pastors of what is or is not acceptable.  Now it is the Lord Jesus Christ through His Word that defines right and wrong for them.  As the villagers heard this and saw the life style changes these men had made it absolutely rocked their world and they wanted in on it. 

            One of things that was addressed was the custom of the Shawi community to drink a fermented drink called Masato.  This is a very strong part of their culture and is offered as a social gesture to anyone who visits their house.  However, it is most commonly used to get drunk especially during celebrations like the community anniversary, intervillage soccer games or just the weekend. 

            During one of his talks Pastor Roque was saying very matter-of-factly how he saw that drinking Masato was very wrong and simply did not do it.  The reality is that it is very destructive because it encourages men to shed family responsibilities and drink as a passtime.  Gloriously as a result of this at least one man verbally stated that he did not want to drink Masato anymore!  Others may have been moved the same way as well but he actually stated it.  Glory to God!  The fallow ground is being broken up and the soil is being plowed to receive a good seed that will produce a multitud of blessings.

            These are very exciting breakthroughs that we can truly thank and rejoice in the Lord for.  The most magnificant part is that we all have a part of what God is doing in the lives of these percious people.  This is the Body of Christ working with the Head to bring a lost world into the Kingdom of God.  Let us continue to pray and lift up these fragile believers so that they will quickly grow strong enough to stand on their own.  God bless each of you for joining in this work through your interest, prayers, encouragement and financial giving each one doing their part to complete the work.

Reaping the Harvest Together,

Sharon Malcolm

PERUSING PERU Newsletter November 2013

Biblical Foundations Training Level One

Pastor Roque (Rocky) preaching at the training conference

We had our very first Bible training conference this past weekend (November 1 – 3) with a total of 19 participants representing the three villages of Santa Clara, Santa Rosa and Yarina.  It was an incredible time of teaching, demonstrating and practicing the Biblical principles necessary for strong, hearty growth in the Lord.  I want to thank all of you that stood in the gap for this event so, so very much.  Without your faithful intercession this could never have gone so well.

Our meetings were strategically planned to concentrate on the men, women and youth during our time together by breaking them up into groups and holding their specific training classes in different buildings on the farm.  This proved to be quite effective since each group had very different comprehension levels and this allowed us to address them appropriately.

         

         Pastor Roque teaching men              Sharon w/translator teaching women      Pastor Rufino teaching youth

            I had arranged for two Shawi Indian pastors to come and minister as well, Pastor Roque (pronounced Rocky) and Pastor Rufino, and they were absolutely amazing!  Although total opposite of each other in expression they delivered their sermons during the evening services and the training classes during the day in such a way that the people were hanging on their every word. 

            Pastor Roque is a very charismatic, dynamic speaker and incredibly free in his worship to dance and enjoy the presence of the Lord.  As he did, this broke through a never-before-challenged cultural response from the Shawi Indians that came to the training.  The look on their faces as Pastor Roque danced, jumped and shouted uninhibited to the Lord to give Him true worship was alone worth all the planning and set up for this conference.  The Lord used him to literally change the atmosphere of the entire conference through the freedom that he was expressing in his genuine worship to the Lord.  It was so out of character for a Shawi Indian to behave this way that it shocked the onlookers (even Pastor Rufino!) to the point that all they could do was stare.

            Pastor Rufino, on the other hand, is very conservative in his expression of worship and public speaking although very confident in who his God is and what his relationship to Him means.  This comes out very clearly in his mature, balanced teaching of the Word and because of this, I observed, it established a foundation of trust in the Lord that the people did not have before.

Three Shawi women came with their native hand woven skirts, headdress and string of seeds (percussion instrument) to help lead in worship.  The man in the background is also wearing typical native dress for men.

            We held five sessions a day with a church service at night teaching on how to listen/study the Bible, what is worship and praise and how to do it, what is prayer and how to do it, repentance, and several other subjects as well.  As much as possible with each lesson we had included a time where the participants were actually doing what was being taught.

            An example of this is in the photo below.  Tito from Santa Clara, standing in the background on the platform, is reading a few scriptures from the Bible and then asking the people what was just read.  Camilo, in the while shirt in the foreground one of our Christian workers, read the same scripture in his Shawi Bible so that the women could understand what was read.  While this is a very simple method of studying the Bible it forces the listeners to pay close attention to the details of what is being read in order to be able to repeat it back.  In doing this they will be able to retain what they hear longer allowing the Holy Spirit to work in their souls through the power of the Word of God.  As they get more accustomed to doing this we can move on to something more complex.

Tito and Camilo doing the Scripture reading exercise

            The conference ended with everyone being thoroughly blessed, equipped and challenged to move higher in the Lord.  I told them that we will be continuing this once a quarter to complete a total of four levels over the next year and they were very happy to participate.  The goal of these training sessions is to firmly establish them in the Word of God and in their relationship with Him so that it is clearly expressed in their daily life.  As they grow in the Lord their life’s responses will be very different than before.  Instead of going to a witchdoctor for physical healing or to resolve a conflict with a neighbor they will seek the Lord and realize their authority as a child of God to resolve these issues.

            I am so overwhelmed at what the Lord did this weekend and can’t thank all of you enough that prayed for this training.  I pray that you will be just as blessed, rewarded and encouraged at your part in this as I am in mine in seeing our brothers and sisters leap forward in their relationship with the Lord.  God bless you hugely in all that you do!

Participants with their certificates of completion and the trainers