Peruvian Way

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15

River Pastor’s Conference:
A team of three pastor’s from the states, one from Calvary Chapel Joshua Springs and the other two from Costa Mesa came and held a conference with about 20 river pastor’s.

The conference was 3 days of just none stop listening, learning and applying, it was so cool to see these guys who live out in the middle of nowhere, with very little or even no resources of material to study with, but the Bible. Within the three days the three pastor’s taught them IBS (Inductive Bible Study), showing them how to study the bible, applying it to there life’s and then how to teach it to there congregation; book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. Then they went taught through I & II Timothy, showing them as pastor’s to lead a church through the life of Timothy and Paul. And with encouragement to continue in what the Lord has for you, to be faithful in the ministry where the Lord has you. We also went through two small books, one written by Chuck Smith and the other from a man that was discipled by Chuck.

It was such a blessing to see the face’s of the pastor’s that we had invited, to see them light up and to see how much they were into all the studies that we had, notes after notes I could see them taking, and even three boys from my youth group came out and helped with the conference but as well was sitting in on the session’s and was very cool to see them so attentive to what was being said.

After the conference the pastor’s for filled spiritually and ready to go out and share with what the Lord had shown them, they were also blessed with materials, a study bible to take back, the two books that we had read, notes upon notes, and a Matthew Henry Commentary, and a certificate saying what they had completed this curse of studies. When they saw all these things given to them, the smile and looks on there faces were amazing. It was like a miracle had happened, it was the hand of God that all this came to pass and for them to go back full not empty handed!!!

YSOM (Youth Summer of Missions):
From the being of summer and on we have been so busy with team after team, which I am not complaining b/c I love it when they come, “FELLOWSHIP here we come,” is what I say. It is always a joy to have teams and for them to be apart of the work that the LORD is doing and for them to see it first hand.

With that, each year the english pastor in Lima, Rick Heilman leads a group of youth kids from all over the states for a 6 week program here in Peru. They go all over Peru to the different Calvary Chapel’s that the LORD has started and has them come along side each missionary/pastor that is there and puts the youth to work. Whether that be doing drama’s, kids programs, street evangelism, concerts, teaching, and etc… It really is a hard work but I know from the testimony’s of it that you go back not the same!!!

From what I have seen it is a time for them to get out of there comfort zone, there daily usual routine, and let the Lord stretch, and even stretching to the point of brokenness and with open eye’s to reality and to what the LORD can do if we are only willing to surrender all.

Last year we had the YSOM here in Iquitos and we had a huge purity conference with the youth, which was awesome. This year we actually had two teams come at the same time but working together, one was the YSOM and the other was a group of youth from Rick’s church. It was the Largest team we have had, if i remember right it was about 35 I think all together. And most of them all stayed at our house, it was wild, crazy but sweet.

With so short amount of time of knowing if the team was coming or not and us planning things, it was cool to see how we all just put our wants aside and watched the Lord work through us. From doing drama’s, evangelism on the boulevard, ministry with the street kids, kids ministry in Belen, ministry at the church (kids, adult and youth), and our river trip to Panguana.

With so many of them, Me and Albert thought to our selfs, “What are we going to do?” But with the work of the Lord and His faithfulness, everyone had a part in something and was used by the Lord in some way. With many members, yet one body we all had a part, and even to see that at times some didn’t think they were able to do something but with the help of the Lord it was done.

If we only put our trust in the Lord and allow Him to have His way then I believe that is when we will start to see how the Lord can use us in mighty ways that we would never of thought. It’s that of putting our faith in the Lord, trusting that He is going to pull through, even when we don’t understand it or see it. For we walk by FAITH and not by site!!!

River Trip 2:
On our second river trip we added one more person, a friend of mine (Mike Lidinsky) that was an intern for a year at the Bible College came out for almost two months to help along with the ministry, to his surprise we had just the trip for him to break him in, our second river trip.

We were on a 14 hour boat ride back out to Requena where we would start and go further up on the Ucayali river inviting pastor’s. We now went with just a little bit more experience from the last trip but didn’t know what to expect as before, totally just walking by faith and waiting on the Lord for open door’s. It was crazy b/c we thought we would be out on the river the next day when we arrived but to our surprise we didn’t leave Requena until after 3 days of staying there. We had visited more pastor’s there and even got to share at a church, but our main focus was out on the river.

But let me tell you, waiting in a town that really had nothing exciting to it but the river, was quite the experience and Mike could tell I was ready to leave; ready to get out on the river and start the adventure. I am an outdoor person, so for me to just sit and wait in a hotel for three days was a little challenging. But I made it through and with good ole Mike teasing me about it, how I just waned to get out but couldn’t, it was like hurry up and wait. But don’t worry I got him back plenty of times when we stayed a couple of days out in the middle of nowhere and for him that was stretching b/c it was his first time in the jungle but for me and Albert we were used to it.

So after waiting to see what the Lord had us do we decided to go another day up river on a big boat to a town called Juancita and then from there cross over the Ucayali river to a little village called Berlin, out in the boondocks as us Texans would say. There Albert knew of a pastor and had not visited him for several years so we thought we would go and tell him about the conference we were having and encourage him and the church.

When arriving it was a big surprise for him to see us, him and his family welcomed us in there little hut house and that is where we stayed the night with our mats and mosquito nets. For our meals we had soup, and soup and more soup, that seemed to be the meal for the week I guess. Our time was three days, fellowshipping with the pastor and his family, some of the community, teaching at there church, playing and having a kids program for the kids. Learning truly how it is to live with nothing in the middle of nowhere, as I was there and observing how they live, it blew my mind in the faithfulness of the Lord and how they live off the land to survive; from eating to building there houses. As well me and Mike got to go fishing with some of the boys, and we caught……, well you could say bait.

The traditional friendly welcome to the jungle is of course the mosquito’s, here they were more fierce and bug spray, yeah forget about that, it seemed with some of them it didn’t even faze them. Mike had a great time with learning how to live with bugs everywhere and spiders the size of almost your hand crawling and starring you down as you get ready for bed and even so curious that one decided to crawl into is bag.

We also had the chance for us to take a little canoe to a village that was 1 1/2 hours away with paddle’s but with a motor 15-20 minutes maybe if that. It was so funny seeing three Americans rowing a canoe up a river that was pretty big and with not much experience, we were going from one side to the other but praise the Lord no one was watching. And yes we did make it to the community but that was with getting stuck once in the mud and it coming up to my thigh.

After our 3 days we decided to head back, we got on a boat at 4am from Juancita that would take as all the way back to Iquitos, (36 hour boat ride). It was a lot of sleeping in our hammocks, reading, listening to music and walking around in circle’s, I mean what else can you do.

Our plan was to visit village to village but God had other plans, but along the way back Albert was able to hand out flyer’s for the conference at every stop as they picked up more passenger’s. Not fully understanding why it went the way it did but I know it was blessing for us and the Pastor in Berlin as we were there to come along side him and encourage him in the faith. Even if we only invited one pastor it was worth it. I am reminded of the story where, “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?” Not to say this pastor was straying, but I could tell that he needed encouragement and the Lord knew that, He knows us, He knows our needs, our weaknesses, and our strengths, His timing is always perfect.

For me these two trip’s were amazing and will never forget them, I will always treasure them and know that it was all the Lord!!! Even if at times it was hard I can still praise Him and know that He was in control the whole time.

“My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD, and all flesh shall bless His holy name forever and ever.” Psalms 145:21

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:19-20

River Trip 1:
The adventure begins, the first 3 weeks in June Albert and I heading out on the river inviting river Pastor’s to our conference that we were having in July.

Our first trip was 8 days, we started with an 1 1/2 taxi ride to a city called Nauta, which just an hour in a boat from this city is were the Amazon river begins. But we headed the opposite direction, on the Maranon river. Not knowing what to expect, or come across or even see, we just walked by faith and waited to see what doors the Lord would open for us. We didn’t have a boat to travel on the river or really didn’t know any of the villages that had churches, so the first night we stayed in town and went inviting Pastor’s and asking them if they knew of anyone that would let us borrow a boat to travel up the river on, and if they knew which villages had churches at.

All by the grace of God and His faithfulness, He provided a boat the next day for us. B/c traveling up river it took all day to get to the point were we wanted to start and then from there go down river inviting the Pastors, village by village. When arriving at our point with it already being dark with the stars so bright and beautiful, we decided to call it a night at a village that looked safe enough for us to stay the night in our boat. With our hammocks and mosquito nets set up we sleep the night away, not the best sleep or most comfortable but it was good.

Then our adventure started as we heading down river and inviting as many pastors as possible, By the end of the trip we had invited about 30 pastors maybe, even had a service at a town that didn’t even have a church but the whole town came out and listened to the word of God and then the following day we had a kids program for them before we headed out. It was such a blessing to see the hunger of the Word of God!!!

The whole time I keep thinking to myself, I can’t believe I am doing this, who would of ever thought I would be doing something like this, but only by God am I able to. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Through rainy cold days (“cold”, Yes, who would of thought in the jungle, COLD, yeah it was pretty cold), mosquitoes eating you alive, right when 6pm came around, sleeping and traveling on a boat all day, missing normal food not like canned tuna every day, sleeping but not great, missing your bed, a nice shower, not speaking of jungle bath in the river that is already dirty. But that compared to what we all experienced was nothing; doing the every thing the Lord has called us to do, watching pastors light up as they see two Americans, well one at least the other American/Peruvian (Albert) but to see the excitement, joy, and the warmth they had in welcoming us as we invited them, and learning not not to walk by faith but drink by faith as well, we were offered drinks at some of the houses as we visited them and we didn’t want to offend them so…..yeah chug, chug. And with the beauty of God’s creation, the landscape, the stars, animals and etc… it was amazing. And to know there were things He did that we don’t even know about or even saw, but He was, is, and is still working!!!

After visiting around 20 villages and 4 different rivers we ended up in a city called Requena off the Ucayali river and stayed a couple of days inviting pastors and waiting for our boat to take us back to Iquitos (Our boat- a big passenger boat that can be up to six floors) Requina-Iquitos 14 hours.

At the end of the trip I felt like I had experienced, and learned so much from the Lord. It’s funny how you think you can be so far away from things and think you can escape the things of the world, trials temptations, worry, and etc… but what I learned is “NOPE”, they will always be there, but what will I do with those things as they come my way? I have got to stand on the Word of God and know that what I go through is all for that of growing closer to the Lord.

“But we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulations produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope….”

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Ephesians 3:20

I remember the first time the Lord gave me this verse, it was when I was praying about coming down to Peru and studying at the Bible College. All sounded good but with so many details i was short in; Passport, money, plan ticket, my acceptance letter from the college, and etc… But it was when i was praying for all these things that the Lord gave me this verse Ephesians 3:20, and as i took this verse i stepped out in faith and trusted the Lord that He would fulfill His promise to me and He did.

And now I am reminded of this verse again from the Lord as I continue to see His faithfulness in my life. Just this month the Lord gave me the opportunity to go to Lima and visit friends and to be able to take a short break from the ministry, but my main visit was to pick up my team from my home church. My pastor and 3 others came down to see the ministry and see all what I have been involved in these past 3 1/2 yrs (Pastor Bill, Scott, Patricia, and Madison).

With so little time we were able to pack in so many things, First day was a visit at the Bible College where I studied when I was a student and did a year internship and a tour around down town Lima.

Then early in the morning the next day we headed for Iquitos with a busy schedule of visiting Belen (floating city, poorest area here), teaching at church Wednesday night, leaving for Panguana the next day and staying the night there, doing a kids program and a night service with the adults. Returning the next day and having youth group/youth party at our house, and then the last day visiting our zoo (Quistachocha), a place to relax and hang out.

For me it has been a blessing to have my church here as they have supported me all these years, with so much through; the prayers, the love, and of that sending me out into the mission field, and with so many others as you yourself. But for them to see the work first hand was awesome and not only a blessing for them but for me to, having them here and being apart of the work that the Lord is doing.

It was cool to see them get a little taste of Jungle life, bugs everywhere, mosquito’s wanting that fresh sweet American blood, bats flying around, swimming in a river which you have no idea whats in it, swimming with a bunch of naked jungle kids having the time of there life as they jump on you and use you as a jungle gym, from eatting weird fruit that looks like boogers, and of course that of getting out of your comfort zone and just having to trust the Lord.

But all to say is this, Ephesians 3:20; as the Lord gave me this verse 3 1/2 yrs ago and again when my team came He reminded me of it again, “I Am still not done blessing you Jeremy.”
To my church coming out here after praying so long for it all to happen, to the fellowship we had, the fellowship they had with some of the street boys, and all the things the LORD put on there hearts to help out in the ministry here. Words can’t describe what a blessing it was, with all to say, “to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”