Thanks to all of you who have been praying for Jose and me. By the time we finally had an opportunity to speak with the leader of Cascada, it was not worth the time to move. We found ways to do every thing we needed to from the abandoned house in Diamante Azul. After the first week or so, the Lord provided at least one meal a day everyday, which I am convinced is due in large part to your prayers. This trip is truly a testimony of God's provision and the power of prayer!
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When we arrived we did not know anybody in this area, which is known for not welcoming outsiders. Few people would even greet us as we passed by, and some even went out of their way to make us feel unwelcome. After three weeks, however, we had made many friends and nearly everybody would not greet us with a smile. We also learned many words and phrases in Asheninca, and the people in Cascada and Diamante Azul are mostly Asheninca by blood. In spite of all this, we also realized that this is not the area we want to reach. After decades of influence from the Spanish-speaking culture of Peru, most have adopted their language and have regular contact with believers.
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We heard from Joe that we needed to leave early because of a mudslide that shut down one of the main roads. Since we did not have an invitation to come back, we began to wonder what we would do for our return trip to the Unine. The day before we left, God answered our concerns. The leader of one of the communities upriver, Corientoni, which has a reputation for being hostile after rejecting the Adventist and Catholic missionaries at arrow point, passed through Diamante Azul while we were visiting with Luis Cushi Mariano, our "man of peace." Luis introduced us in Asheninca and explained that we would like to work and stay in Corientoni on our next trip. He agreed and invited us to come! Praise the Lord!
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Without a doubt the Lord guided us every step of the way while I had no clue how we would succeed.
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Prayer Requests:
- The people of Corientoni would honor their invitation to us.
- The Lord would provide us a man of peace in Corientoni.
- Very few people in Corientoni speak Spanish, making communication difficult. Pray that God would teach our tongues to speak Asheninca (I know, this is the third time I have requested this for a new indigenous language).
- Jose loves to talk and has never been in an environment in which he cannot communicate. Pray that the Lord would give him peace and comfort during this trip.
- Pray that we would proclaim the Word boldly!
Praises:
- We have an invitation to a community that is difficult to reach!
- The Lord provided everything we needed on our last trip.
- We had an amazing week of testimonies and fellowship with all of the members of the xtreme team at our general meeting in Arequipa.
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