Our Heavenly Father is on the move in our hearts and in our lives. It is so amazing to see the hand of the Lord at work when He wants to get things done. Philippians 4:6 comes to mind. Prayer, supplication, thanksgiving, and asking, according to His will. We serve a miraculous God.
As you may know we have been in Iquitos, Peru for a little over a month and a half. Our heart has been to get on the river and train pastors in remote places on the Amazon. What we have found is the great need and desire the river pastors have for biblical training. The question is, Lord, how do we do this? No boat, no base of operations, no knowledge of the river, no connections. The Lord delivers!
We were invited on a trip to a place called Cushillo Cocha. We were traveling with 414 Missions which is led by Jim and Chrystal Boothe. They have the same heart and vision as we do for river pastors and we went to Cushillo Cocha to help train about 12 pastors and 13 leaders from various river communities. It was an incredible trip and our hearts were knit together to labor in this ministry.
As our trip was coming to a close, Jim asked us if we would be interested in running a base of operations for pastoral training out of a small river community 4 hours upriver called, Cochiquinas. This was an area we had been praying about since Ryan and a group of guys took a trip to the Amazon last June/July. Jim had already taken us to Cochiquinas on the way up to Cushillo Cocha and kind of planted the seed in our mind of doing ministry from this location. So, by the end of the trip, when he offered it, we were confident this was the Lord’s plan, so we agreed.
One of the amazing aspects of this whole project is that Jim and Chrystal spent the last year building a beautiful jungle home, with solar, water filtration, and a garden. They tore down a bar and built a training center/church with a kitchen and bathrooms. They drilled a well on another piece of property and they have a piece of property for agriculture (some of the property donated to them by the leaders of the community). Jim told us, it is yours to use, we have freedom to use it all for ministry. We were blown away. We had been praying for all these things and it was an impossibility, from the perspective of our feeble human minds. Our plan is to move to Cochiquinas in July. What is impossible for Yahweh, the Lord of all creation? Now that this reality has set in, Lord what would you have us to do?
Our priority will be to the local pastors, training and equipping them. There are at least 20 communities within an hour and a half boat ride from Coachiquinas, better than L.A traffic. We don’t have a boat and that is a major form of transportation. Jim told me that he has a 30 foot outboard that he will co-op with us, so we are going to be talking about what that looks like financially, but that will be such a blessing! There is also a 40hp small aluminum boat for ministry in Cochiquinas that we will be able to use as well. Truly, God has gone before us.
This is where the plot thickens. After this crazy trip, we went back to the river the following week to a community called Oran. Pastor Victor and I went to meet and teach 7 pastors and leaders from local communities. It was a blessed time. God began to stir my heart to question these pastors about who they are discipling to take their place if the Lord called them home (half the pastors were 55 or older). They all said they have no one. I asked them, if we had a base where they could send us some of their young men for discipleship, would they be interested? By the end of our time there we already had them signing up for something we were not prepared for. We prayed for a couple weeks.
I called Jim of 414 missions, and asked him what he thought about the idea. He got excited and said that we can use the training center to house and train them. Our prayer right now is using the training center for a Bible college to train future pastors and home Bible study leaders through an 8-month program. The river communities do not have the finances to send their students, so we will have to provide financially for their transportation and basic living necessities. We are planning to start next March with 5-10 students. So grateful for what the Lord does through His will, through His saints!
During our remaining time in Iquitos we have been able to share at several local churches, train pastors once a week from the local river communities and churches, share the Word on a local Christian radio station and we are praying about a young adult study on Mondays. Please also keep in prayer the people who we share the gospel with, that they would trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Well if you stayed to the end, you are a trooper. Please keep us in prayer.
Con mucho amor,
Ryan and Karen
Local cuisine, wildlife, and airport in Caballo Cocha
Prayer Requests:
- People and churches to partner with us financially and physically
- Pastors and teachers who would like to come and teach block classes
- Someone who would like to teach English, they all want to learn
- Patience and perseverance, this is going to be an investment of time and resources