Last Wednesday was the first meeting of the ladies discipleship group, which went well enough (praise God), but the way I saw God most that day had little to do with the evening group. We were to meet that evening at Bella’s house, a 14 yr old girl who is the only believer in her family. I was rushing back to Nauta that day from celebrating the birthday of a good friend in Iquitos, much later than I wanted to be. When I got in the car going to Nauta, the girl in the front seat asked if I were a Christian, and it turned out that she was Bella’s sister, Melissa. To make a long story much shorter, we found out on that ride that her brother had been in an accident on the same highway earlier that day. She was understandably distraught at the news (we stopped to see the scene), and I was able to pray with her in the car, then when we arrived in Nauta, to bring the pastors to pray with her family. We helped send her back to Iquitos where her brother was in the hospital. Later that night when we were meeting at Bella’s house, we received news that her brother was fine – just some stitches on his head, and a few scrapes, but ok. Praise God for making me late, and do pray that God will use the love that she saw in the body of Christ to draw her and her family to Himself.
One of my constant prayers here is for unity in the body of believers in Nauta, especially among the pastors and various churches here. I know it will take a supernatural move of God for this to happen (think of the churches in your area!), but I also know that nothing is impossible for our God. This last Spring there was a split in the church with which we’ve worked in Nauta. Since then, there has been no communication between the new pastor of the old church, one of the families who stayed with that church and the former pastor who now has a new church. This last week I went to visit that family whose daughter, Mallumy, was very active in the youth group. It was a great visit, and she and her sister came the next day to see me. We spent good time together talking and praying, then on the way home I got to meet their new pastor, as well as the pastor of another church in Nauta. The next night Mallumy and her sister stopped in the church to say “hi” for the first time to their old friends. Also, that same evening, a member of the youth from another church in town stopped in and invited me to come to their church some Saturday for a youth service. I would love to see the three churches’ youths get together for a time of worship, prayer and fellowship with one another for the mutual building up of the body – and may the Lord’s prayer for unity in His body (John 17) start to be realized!
Another way I have been privileged to see God work this week was in answer to prayers of our team which was there in July. I went out one afternoon to visit some people that we had met this Summer – one older lady named Tina who had been sick with fever, stomach and joint pains for a month when we met her (malaria, she thought?), and a young girl named Kaisi who had anemia and asthmatic signs. We had prayed for both of them, and trusted God to answer. When I found Tina, she was sitting in her house looking very happy and well. Since we had prayed for her the pain and fever were all gone, she said. Now if I can only find a pair of glasses for her, so she can get around better… 🙂 Next I stopped at Kaisi’s house and Silda her sister was there with her very happy baby Billy. Kaisi was playing outiside and helping her father clean up the sod in their yard. “All better!” said Silda – and you could tell there was a healthy, happy six-year-old working hard with her Dad :). How good is our God!
Thursday morning I started the investigative Bible study on I John, and there were three people there – none of whom go to church at the present. It went well enough too, and my friend Carlos offered his home for the weeks to come. We’ll be meeting there again this Thursday – do keep this group in your prayers, I know God can and will do big things, but at the same time, I don’t feel either trained or wise in leading this group.
To be very sincere, in all areas of the ministry in Nauta, I feel wholly inadequate. In the discipleship group there are many very young Christians who need a lot of attention, and one-on-one would be best. There are hundreds of children in Nauta who are hungry for love and attention and desire to hear about God. There are people asking for English lessons almost every day. There are many young men and women who want to go into minisry but lack discipleship, training and structure. There is a need for marriage counseling in the churches, pastoral training and encouragement, training in music and worship, … and thousands here in this small town who don’t know the transforming love and grace of God in Christ. There are over ten evangelical churches in Nauta with many resources between them if they pooled them, but not much of a desire yet to work together. I often feel overwhelmed and just plain inadequate. Please pray with me that God would send co-laborers: humble and godly men and women with specific talents and abilities in the body, capable of ministering as well as teaching and training others.
Be blessed sister. I am praying for unity. Remember what you are doing is making a difference. You don’t need to do it all, just do all God is calling you to. He is your strength. Te quiero muchisisisimo!!