“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬

   Hey family, we are on month 7 here in Iquitos, Peru. It has been full of ebbs and flows. We have some great news to share and are excited for these next couple months as we anticipate the Lord really challenging us. Nothing of any lasting value comes without a cost and we expect there will be some sacrifices as we head down the river. We are so thankful for the people and churches we were able to fellowship with during our time in Iquitos.

     The first bit of good news is that we have received our “Carne de Extrangeria,” which loosely translates “flesh of the foreigner.” Not sure if that is on any menu here in the jungle, but what it means for us is that we are legal temporary residents and can proceed to receive full residency over the next couple years. It has been quite a process but it is done. 

     Now that we have our residency in order, we can head down river to our Swiss Family Robinson home in San Jose de Cochiquinas. As I have written before, we have an awesome jungle home awaiting us. It is a beautiful home built by 414 Missions, and you can check them out on Youtube.  We have already moved our belongings down to Cochiquinas and we will be heading out on the 17th of September. We have a home, a church building, and a piece of land we will use for chickens, a garden, and whatever else we can grow.  

Our plan to start a Discipleship Ministry is going to be put on hold for a year. We were planning to start March 2025, but realized that might be a little ambitious or crazy (however you want to nuance it).

We realized that there is a lot of work to do getting to know the community of 3,000 people, building relationships with the town leaders, setting up infrastructure so we can house and feed people. We will not be able to get that done by March, particularly because it will rain everyday from December to February. March 2026 will be the goal for the Discipleship Ministry to begin.  

Prayer Requests:

• The water level is really low here in the Amazon; please pray for rain so the “Peke Pekes” can navigate the river and barges can bring much needed supplies.

• Purchasing a piece of property next to the church to build dorms for students.

• Connections for ministries who set up filtered water systems; the drinking water situation is bad.

• Solar power for the church

Blessings family, may the Lord continue to guide you on the path to His eternal Presence.

Love,

Ryan and Karen Gause