The lancha finally left for Intuto, where we spent the next
8 days waiting for another one that would take us further up-river. By the time the boat finally arrived, we were about stir-crazy. We had been travelling 25 days, waiting to share the stories that were burning in our hearts with people who had never heard. We had decided to go to Paiche Playa, because all of our sources said that there had never been anyone there to share the good news. After so much waiting and praying, the last day of the trip seemed
surreal. Would the apu (chief, more or less) reject us? Would we find a "man of peace" to share his home with us? Would we see a whole community come to Christ with joyful celebration like what we had heard about in other places?
All of these questions raced through our minds as we stepped off the boat. Some friendly people from the lancha offered to help us carry our bags, but we politely turned them down. A man
from the community approached us. "This is it," I thought. "This is the moment we've been waiting for and training for for so long." Before either of us could say anything, however, one of the men from the boat quickly explained for us that we were missionaries and were going to stay there for a month. My eyes, I am sure, turned into saucers. I just knew that this man's bluntness would get us rejected. One of us quickly explained that we would like to speak with the apu to ask permission.
"The apu went out to tend his crops," the man told us, "but you can stay in Giovani's house until he comes back." He showed us the way and introduced us to Giovani, who had recently cut himself in the foot with a machete and couldn't go out to his crops. We settled down in a corner to wait as the pressure slowly lifted off of us for the time being. We tried to occupy ourselves for the rest of the afternoon while watching Giovani whittle some paddles out of boards that he had laying around.
Carlos (who met us at the boat) and Giovani
As the sun was setting, the people began returning from their fields, so we set off to find the apu. He greeted us in the darkness as we climbed the steps to his house. We sat down and explained why we had come and how long we planned to stay.
"That's great," he said. "We've been waiting for someone to come and preach to us. All of the other preachers always just pass by on their way up river."
I couldn't believe my ears! They had been waiting for someone to come and preach to them! It seemed like a dream come true. The next morning they had a community meeting, and at the end we explained to everyone why we were there. They decided to have meetings 4 times a week to learn stories, starting the next day. They also decided that we should continue staying at Giovani's house and have the meetings there.
About thirty people showed up for the first two stories. After that, interest began to fade. One week, no one showed up. Then, we had a handful renew interest, and went the last two weeks without telling a single story. We left Paiche Playa December 1 a bit frustrated that we could not tell all of the stories we wanted to, but nonetheless hopeful for our next trip. We found what appears to be good soil. Blessed be the Lord of the harvest!
--At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ… that I may make it clearColossians 4:3-4
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