Peruvian Way

“Pray without ceasing” I Thessalonians 5:17

From being done here in Iquitos the Lord has been teaching me about the power of prayer and how important it is to be in constent prayer and fellowship with Him. I mean He is our Father right and we should talk to Him about everything but so many times i see we/I don´t. Why is that?

All to say, the Lord has put on my heart actually about a month ago to start a prayer group with the youth group here, and for so long I put it off. My flesh got in the way, i keep saying to myself, “I don´t have time for that, i am to busy already, i don´t need anything else on my plate” Well finally after two weeks of agruing with the Lord i finally stepped out in faith and trusted Him. Which two weeks ago we started it and about half the youth have showed up and what a sweet riching time with the Lord we have had. It has blessed me so much to see them have a hunger for the Lord and even ones that i know who are struggle with the Lord show up, God is good. If only we/I would obey Him all the time, what AMAZING things we would see, Lord help us!

After a month or so of praying with them i would like to start teaching drama´s with them and give them the oppertunity to share there faith with the people around there community and all over Iquitos. I mean that is what we are here for not for us but for Him. It´s cool beacause we have been going through Philippians and that is what the book is all about, glorify Christ, preaching the gospel even in tough times, counting everything a loss to know Him, always praying, and etc… A desire of mine is that we would be “Ambassadors for Christ”

As well we are praying for direction and guidance in what the Lord has for us and for the Lord to put a deep desire i our hearts to know Him and nothing else. So many of them have said that there walks with the Lord are kind of like a rollercoaster, they are doing good at times but then other times not, but i believe through the power of prayer that God has given us we are going to see life´s transformed, and there walk´s with the Lord to be solid. This is has been my prayer for the youth group here. And you could even say it all starts with me as being the leader, if the leader is not doing it then why would the followers do it. If Jesus did it then we should do it right, He is our Example This is something the Lord has really been working on my a lot, being that example; like Christ.

Also this week we are having a vigilia (all night prayer and worship) at the church. This will be on Saturday after youth group and will last until 5am Sunday morning. If you could pray for that, for the Lord to have his way that night and for us to seek and worship Him. I believe it is going to be a night to remember.

Thank you for your prayers!

Romans 12:1-2

Ps. Picture is of us showing the Passion of the Christ to the youth group.

Prayer request:

One of the girls in the youth group is in the hospital, we just found out that she has dengue, which they say there are two types and the one she has is fatal. If you could pray for Veronica for healing and comfort in this time and as well for the family. She has real bad fever attacks, her body was real swollen but has gone down, she has been bleeding from the teeth i think, her body is real red and iches a lot and some rashes. Thank you so much for your prayers!

Just last week we were able to show the Passion of the Christ in Panguana which was a great turn out. We were all blessed by it. Because we had so much equippment we rented a boat and stayed the night out there, but we usely just stay Thursday and head back that night. As always we had the kids program (songs, story from the bible, and coloring). Also that day was a holiday and the community knew that we were showing a movie so we had more come both kids and adults. But before the Passion of the Christ we showed a kids movie which they loved and even the parents did too. Watching a movie out there is something that they don´t get to do because they don´t have electricty, so being there was a super blessing for me and seeing them enjoy it.

We were able to watch the movie on the soccer field and by doing that more people came out then usual when we have our services once a week. As far as if anyone excepted the Lord i am not sure but i know there were people touched by it. The fruit of it i am sure we will see later on down the road, which brings me to the next thing. The town just donated a piece of land to us to build a church, crazy uh. So in the near future when the Lord supplys the materials to build, we will be out there for a few weeks i am sure building a church and a small house, cool uh. I am excited about that and being able to live out there with them for some time and expeirence how they live.

So if you could continue to pray for Panguana and what the Lord is doing there. Thanks and may the Lord bless you guys.

Panguana´s professional sunflower seed eater´s. This was the first time for them eating sunflower seeds. Yea i got them hooked on them, its like candy to them. It´s funny because after a while they wont take anymore beacuse there jaw is tired from trying to break the shell open, but a couple of hours later they are ready for more.

Psalms 105:1-4

“Oh give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore!

From now being in Iquitos for 3 months i am seeing the reality of what a true missionary is like. From the high times of growing so close to the Lord, to having a hunger for His word, wanting to spend all day in prayer with Him, and learning that there is always something He is showing me that I can grow in. And then there is the low times of what am i doing here, i am of no worth here i can´t even speak the language good, at times wanting to run to where i am comfortable, missing fellowship with friends and family, and seeing what a sinner I am. But in all this i am learning sooooooo much in how much i need Him and that i can´t do anything without Him. And He is the one that has placed me here and knowing that He is working in and through me as i serve here. May Jesus be glorified in all things for He is WORTHY of it!

I am learning what it means to be a missionary in a place where i am not familiar with as apposed to home. There is not a day that goes by where i don´t learn something and see how much i need Jesus. To tell the truth at times it is hard and i just want to give up but the Lord with His Spirit and the faithfulness of His love is and will always be there to help. So not sure why i shared all this but just wanted to share from the heart.

But what i really wanted to share or ask is if you all could pray for us this week, we are going to Panguana as normal on Thursday and this time we are staying the night, because we are showing one of the Jesus movies. So i was wanting to see if you could all pray for a safe trip and a work in the hearts of the people there. We have shown one other movie i think last year so this will be the second one. As well it is a 30 minute walk from the river to the community and we have a lot of equipment to caring so pray for the strength to get it all there. As well a side not, just a few weeks ago they gave of some land to us to build a church there. Praise the Lord for that!

PS. The picture is of Panguana

Thank you all for your continual prayers and support. They mean so much to me.

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man. The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” I Corinthians 2:9

To whom it may concern:

We heard creation groaning last week in the 8.0
earthquake that hit the coast of central Peru.
Tragically, hundreds lost their lives, thousands are
wounded, and thousands more are homeless.  The Lord
has presented us with a wonderful opportunity to serve
Him at such a time as this.

  Nearly each day since the August 15th quake, we have
sent busloads of volunteers to help in the work of
evangelism and the relief effort.  We have been
concentrating in two hard hit areas: Cañete, where
pastor Jaime Inga oversees a Calvary Chapel outreach,
and Pisco, further south.  Both regions are
spiritually dark areas.

  God has been faithfully providing for us to minister
to the physical needs of many victims.  We have
delivered much needed tents, food, water, blankets,
clothing and medicines.  We have also been able to
meet spiritual needs through works of compassion,
music, mimes, puppets, and the free distribution of
Bibles.  Dozens from the church and Bible College have
worked extremely long days, and have shared many
touching reports.

  Our hearts have been warmed by the phone calls and
letters of concern many have expressed, and also from
those wanting to help.  Several church teams have
already come to work with us, and several more have
expressed interest in helping in the weeks and months
ahead to help the people rebuild their lives.  Leo
Maestre, my assistant pastor, is helping to organize
the relief effort, and he can be reached at the
following special email:
ccbc_peru_earthquakerelief@yahoo.com.

  Thank you for your prayers at this time.  We are
extremely busy with our new semester beginning
tomorrow, and a packed house of students, interns,
staff and missionaries.  We need God's wisdom, and
super-human strength that the Spirit promises!  It is
reassuring to know you are interceding for us before
the Throne of Grace.

  Meet You There!

  John Bonner

Ps. This is an update from the director at the Bible College.
Just to let everyone know I am not in lima but in Iquitos.
There might have been a mix up with the updates i have been sending.

Love to all,
Jeremy

“Porque para mi el vivir es Cristo y el morir es ganancia.” Filipenses 1:21

During the time I have been out here in Iquitos I have been going through the book of Philippians with the youth group. And the one thing I have learned from teaching this book or chapter one you could say is in 1:21. My life is Christ and every thing that I do is to glorify Christ. It has been so cool to see the life of Paul while in prison and his attitude in every situation he was in. I pray that I am more like Paul and the attitude he had in every thing.

In this update I wanted to  share with you the different outreaches and ministry’s we do here in Iquitos, so here we go.

Calvary Chapel El Terminal

We have a Sunday morning kids program, where about 40-50 kids show up, and then an adult service after that. As well on Wednesday we have a mid week service where Albert teaches (missionary here) and Pastor Jose teaches Sunday (Peruvian Pastor).

Youth Group

The picture you see is with the youth group, some of the church, YSOM, and the kids in the church. But what I want to share is about the youth group, it has been a blessing for me to be able to teach them and go through the book of Philippians. We have youth group  on Saturday at 7:30pm, and there is about 20-25 that come. Also one of the things that I am having them to is take a test at the end of th study to see what they are learning, and I am giving them memory verses each time we have a study, so that they are not just learning but meditating on the word as well. One thing I am learning from this is how important it is to set an example, just as we see Paul doing. To conduct myself in a manner worthy of the gospel as Paul says in verse 27.
Panguana (River Ministry- 3 hour boat ride)

This is one of my favorite ministry’s b/c i get to get outside of Iquitos and enjoy the beautiful creation that the Lord created. But not only that, I get to be apart of the work He is doing here with the kids and the adults. Every Thursday at 9am we leave on a double decker boat and head down the river  w/ our hammocks in hand for 3 hours, landing at Panguana where we have a kids program and adult service at night. Then later that night around 11 or 12 we head back to Iquitos. One of the most favorite things of mine there is the kids, every time I go they are always waiting for me and yelling my name, “Jeremias”. It brings so much joy when I see that, and through that the Lord showed me that it is the same for Him. When we wait on Him, when we call on Him, when we run to Him with open arms, when we look to Him for everything, and just have simple child like faith and love, it bring JOY to Him.
Shoe Shine Boys

This is where a lot of ministry is everyday when we leave our hostal, with these boys and others as well. They work through out the day shining shoes, selling sovereign’s and hanging out with tourist people. Something the Lord has put on my heart with them is to disciple some of these boys. Ones that i have been hanging out with most right now is Pepe and Julio, great guys and can totally see the Lord use them as they mature and know more about the Lord. As well there are so many more from what you see in the picture. Something that is in the process is the ministry house which is for them, where we will have bible studies, different activities, and more through out the week. But mainly to share the gospel of Christ with them.

One other thing, just last week we had the YSOM (Youth Summer of Missions) come and they were such a blessing to use here. As well we did a youth conference which was awesome. Check out my recent photos for that.

Prayer Request:

1. Calvary Chapel El Terminal- To grow deeper w/ the Lord

2. Building for Ministry House

3. A house to live in

4. Panguana (River Trip)- A church and house there

5. Street kids- Point them to Christ, and what living for Christ is all about

My prayers and blessings go out to all of you for all that you have done for me here.

Dios te bendiga,

Jeremy

So far so good, just wanted to let everyone know that things are going good here. I am loving the life in the jungle, from hot, humid, rainy, cloudy, green, lots of bugs, but most of all the ministry here.

Things have been good here, we have been looking at houses to rent, and hopeful soon we will find one so that living expenses will be cheaper. As well i am teaching the youth group, and just this past Saturday i started that. We will be going over the book of Philippians. Also at night we have been hanging out with the street kids, which has been cool. Such a great opportunity to ministry and share the love of Christ with them. And just hang out and have fun.

The church is doing good here, Pastor Jose has been doing a great job of feeding the sheep, and raising them up for ministry. I am excited to be working with him and Albert in the ministry here. And as well my friend from Lima, Tato which will be helping out here for one month. This has been good for me because i have been practicing my Spanish with him a lot and he has been learning English as well. Something we have been doing every night is reading a chapter in the bible for me to practice Spanish and for Tato english.

As the days go and i reflect and see what the Lord is doing and where i am at i am amazed and blessed to be here.

Some things to be praying for:

1. A house to rent

2. Youth group/the church

3. My Spanish

Thank you all for you prayers and support. As well i will be sending a more detailed update later. But i just wanted to let everyone know that things are going good.

Dios te bendiga,

Jeremias

So here i go moving to the Jungle, i will be leaving Saturday at 3:20pm with Albert, the other missionary who i will be partnering up with and later a Peruvian friend of mine will be coming for a month. The picture you see is a river ministry trip that we will be going to every week, it is about 3 hrs. away from Iquitos, the city name Panguana.

If you could pray b/c as soon as we get to Iquitos we will be heading to the church for youth group which i will be teaching and taking over from here on out. Yea crazy uh, who would of very thought i would be doing that, teaching youth’s and even more then that in another country who doesn’t even speak my language. Only God would do something like that, (Isa. 55:8-9) but i am super excited to see what He does through me. If your wondering how i am going to teach them Albert will translate for me until i get good enough to do it on my own, which i am praying for by the end of the year, or even better the gift of tongues would be cool.

As time goes on i will be sending other updates on how things are going. Right now i am not sure how often i will be checking my emails, but once we get a house and internet there i will let you know and send updates hopefully more often.

On another note if you are ever interested in visiting or doing mission trips here let me know and we can work out something. I would love to see everyone.

All to say thank you for your prayers and the support that you have given me through my time here in Lima and now in Iquitos. The Lord has done great things here and now as the journey of faith continues He will do even greater things. Why is that? B/c our God is BIG!

Prayer Request:

1). Safe trip

2). Youth group

3). Calvary Chapel El Terminal (Iquito, Peru)

4). Ministry house

5). Find a house to rent and all the expenses

6). Ministry all together in Iquitos

“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, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen!” Ephesians 3:20-21

Jeremy

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:7-8

“Count all things loss,” what does this mean? As I sit and look back at my life from the day I received Christ until know I have seen a life of counting things loss, but for who, well for Jesus Christ. I am not here to boast in myself and say, “hey guys look at me.” No, but as all Christians we should be living a life like this verse says, and I am still learning this verse and applying it to my life, in trying to give everything to Him. So where am I going with this, well I have just made the decision to move to Iquitos and help with the ministry there, and this verse is hitting home with me now.

I plan on leaving at the end of May or the beginning of June, with Albert, I, and maybe one other Peruvian. We will first go to Pucallpa (another jungle city) to visit Luis who was the kid who was wanting to get off drugs and wanted to go to an orphanage, well we found one in Pucallpa. So we are going to take a bus from Lima to there and visit him to see how he is doing. Then take a boat (4 to 5 day boat trip) to Iquitos. Yea, Wow is what I am saying too, I never thought I would actually be doing something like this, but what an experience it will be. I picture four days on a boat spending time with Jesus journaling and enjoying the scenery and hopefully sharing the gospel to others on the boat. I mean what else can you do.

So as the semester is only 3 weeks away from ending and my chapter of Bible College experience I guess you could say is ending and a new chapter beginning. If you could pray for me and all that the Lord has for me, that I would do. And step out in faith and trust Him. A book that I am reading right now is Absolute Surrender, by Andrew Murray. And it talks about a surrendered life to the Lord, giving everything to Him, and this is what I want, this is what i need so that I can be used by Him as I see in the Bible with other men of great character.

Jeremy

My mission trip to the jungle’s of Iquitos, Peru. Well i don’t even no where to start, but to say that the Lord did an amazing work there in the church, with the hundreds of kids we played with and shared the gospel to, the community’s around Iquitos, and even with the team it self. Our main focus and most of our time was with the church that actually just had its one year anniversary while we are there. It was cool to see the growth, i remember when i went there in 2004 and just a small little group of people and then coming back a few years later and seeing what the Lord has done in those few years was amazing.

During our time there we were able to teach a wednesday night service, youth group, jr. high, and a thursday night service down the river from Iquitos, a womens ministry and as well kids ministry through out the week. We also had the opportunity to do drama’s and puppets on the boulevard right by the river. There we got to see the Lord work through us individually as we talked with people one on one. The one cool thing that i have seen in Peru is that they all have an open heart to hear the gospel, hardly ever do you get someone who just blows you off and goes there way. But we do see a lack of believing, believing in the TRUE SAVIOR who set us free, they hear but do not do.

We also go to go to an orphanage about 2 hours down the river to drop off one of the kids on the streets that was struggling with drugs and wanted to get off of them, so we were able to get him into this orphanage but to our surprise he was to old to stay, but the trip was not a waste b/c we got to share the love of Jesus to the kids. It was also a christian orphange so that was cool to see.

Well i better wrap it up here or i could go on. As most people would say when coming back the one thing that they learn is that, we see how much we could live without and still be fine. And the one thing that i am learning is a continual dying to self, seeing how MUCH of a sinner i am and HOW MUCH I NEED JESUS, and praise the Lord that i do have HIM.

So to leave with this, that you would pray for me as i am praying about returning to Iquitos to serve there in the near future. Some things to pray for there as well: A ministry house, a bible college, and a new development maybe an orphanage, and for the church as the teach the word of God.

Jeremy

Hey Everyone,

Just before my mission trip i just wanted to give you an update on the new things the Lord is doing here in Peru. As you know i am leaving for Iquitos this Saturday with a team of 10. We will be there from March 31st-April 1st. If you could please pray for us as we are there. I will let you all know how it goes when returning and pictures as well.

John 15:1-12, this past week i did a teaching on this passage for Chapel it was such a blessing to study and see the Lord show me the importance of abiding in Him. Also i was able to look up info. on how a vinedresser grafts a branch into the vine, and it was very cool to see how it applied to this passage so much in how God is our Vinedresser and Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches and all the little details in how to have a successful graft. We have such an AWESOME God and loves us so much.

So the Lord is teaching me to abide in Him and that is a everyday thing, and not just when we feel like it. I gave the example of love, love is not just a feeling or emotions, but it is a choice. We have a choice to abide in Christ or not. It is up to us what are we going to do? Apart from Him we can do nothing that has lasting or eternal value.

Well i could go on but i will stop there and let you search the rest out and allow the Lord to speak to you. One more thing, if you could pray for a church building for the english and, spanish service, and a building for the children’s ministry. Thanks so much for all your prayers and support for me as i have been here in Peru.

Dios te Bendiga,

Jeremy