Five Weeks Walking in Discipleship
¡Hola, mi amigos! ¿Como estas? Funny how when you are serving in another
country time flies by and before you know it… you´re two months in.
Iquitos is slowly becoming home. There are things to love, like the
politeness, humor and the passion Peruvians and most Latinos in general have
for Christ. Of coure, there are things you take for granted back home that
simply are not available here. Good internet is one. Comfortabilities such as
keeping cool, hot showers, not having bugs just about everywhere, ordering
plane tickets in 30 minutes instead of 6 hours, predicting of torrential
downpours and knowing whether or not your country is at war… challenges that
living on that edge of the frontier known as the Amazon jungle bring daily. (I´ve
been told by a few people that we have enterted into War with North Korea and
that they have bombed us. As of April 7th, that is not the case. It
brings a very slight understanding of how countries in Africa believe having
sex with a virgin will cure you of AIDs or how dictators that commit atrocities
get reelected. It´s all about controlling the information… even church has been
guilty of that.)
This IS the Amazon!
Flashback to the first week of March. The students had just arrived on
and started orientation on Monday. By Thursday, they were all questioning. ¨Why
does Thursday and Friday´s schedule say, ´To Be Determined´? ´¿Por que?´
En la mañana, we grouped them together on the main floor. (In the
morning) The instructions were brief. ´We are going somewhere overnight. You
will be allowed to bring the clothes on your back, a sleeping bag, water bottle
and whatever you can fit in this bag.´(Our leader held up a notebook sized
bag.) “You have five minutes. Think wisely.”
Out of respect for potential Google searches of interest in YWAM
Iquitos, I will not fully indulge in what took place afterword. (This is to
ensure the surprise factor.) I can say however that the goal was to put the
students to the test, right off the bat, in teams to see how they handled it.
We wanted to quickly break through the facades people carry with them and see
the real person behind the mask. We also wanted to encourage them to work as
One Body in Christ. It was a tough experience and I can assure you, they all
have stories they can tell their grandkids.
*If you want to know more, message me, skype me on a Sunday or ask me
for permission to view the private gallery on facebook. J
First Month of Lectures
After a few day off from the trip of a lifetime, the students were able
to start integrating into their schedule. While the language barrier has been
harder for some, each class is translated. We have teachers from all kinds of
different countries, just as we do students. The highlights thus far have
included a week on Inner Healing, taught by Markus Buser, a Swiss who now
resides in Columbia. The point of the week was to highlight people that have
negatively impacted our lives and what kind of spirit we might be carrying
because of it. For example, a boyfriend or girlfriend, a verbally abusive
parent, a difficult coach or even through belittling ourselves. The outcome can
often be a spirit that is not healthy. I’m sure you can identify in your life
or in another person when they have a competitive spirit and always have to do
everything right. Or the person who plays the victim roll. We all struggle in
these things to varying degrees, so the idea was not to point the finger, but
to overcome.
That week ended in two days of ministry time, where, in confidence the
guys confessed their hurts or disappointments in others, in God, in themselves…
most when through a time of prayer afterword where they expressed this to God,
forgave and asked for forgiveness, were encouraged and edified… It’s these
times, as anyone close to me knows, I love! A beautiful fruit we have seen from
this week is that it has already been incorporated into some testimonies the
students have shared recently in their Sermon/Teaching class.
Last week was focused on Spiritual Giftings, looking at the spiritual
gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:
27 Now you are the
body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed
in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers,
then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of
guidance, and of different kinds of tongues
The names of the gifts weren’t verbatim, but we were able to look back
at some of the surprises from the first week and see why when put into
different teams, the students reacted certain ways. With each strength comes a
set of weaknesses if the strengths are misused. We have a team who is full of apostles or what we call Leaders. They all have the urge to step
out and organize each situation, they look at the big picture, etc. When we put
them all together, it was at times very difficult for them to make decisions
because IF they weren’t used to listening to and submitting to others ideas.
The one person left in the group that was not this type was being told by each
leader what to do and getting mixed messages. Having multiple languages doesn’t
help any J
It’s also very encouraging and helps you understand WHERE people are
most effective in work environments and in ministry. My test showed my highest
scores were in Exhorter and Mercy giftings. This will also come as no surprise
to those who know me well. I am very focused on listening and helping people
through situations and love to encourage and build people up. The downside to
having it combined is that I have a hard time saying ‘no’and tend to be a
little too forgiving of people. It’s easy for me to be walked on by the
stronger personalities. Knowing strengths, weaknesses and misunderstandings of
each type is a great resource and I strongly suggest anyone in ministry take
the test.
My Students
We have exactly 20 students from 8 nations including the US, Peru,
Columbia, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK, Canada and Romania. In this first
month I have gotten to get to know quite a few of them. My focus is on the gringo hombres. (aka the white boys
haha) Newell is a young man of 19 years from Maryland. Jon, 18, is from
Michigan and David, 24, is from the UK. (Reading to be exact.) They all are
very different, yet all have a great heart to serve the Lord.
This school is made up of a lost of passionate musicians. When one
lecturer asked what our dreams were, three
themes arose:
1) Music
2) Children
3) The Nations
As we move forward in the school, through prayer, worship, intercession,
lectures, drama practice, serving in work in the kitchen, maintainence, etc. we
will begin to prepare ourselves for our two months of travel to various places
in Peru and Bolivia. So far on the docket are: Cusco, the jungles of Puerto Maldanalo, Lima, Tingo Maria, La Paz (in
Bolivia) and Ica.
We got to perform our first set of dramas and testimonies this last week
at two different churches here in Iquitos. In the United States, I think dramas
aren’t taken as seriously as they are here. In public, we have been witness to
a few dramas from other missionary groups, and the Peruvian people are very
respectful. They clap and almost every person stays to listen to what you have
to say, no matter the generation or stereotype. Please keep us in your prayers
as we are working very hard to leave in June and July.
Real quickly, I would like to touch on a few other highlights.
Prostitution & Children’s Ministry
On Good Friday, our staff team had the opportunity to go out to the
Plaza here to do ministry similar to that of which I was doing in the red light
districts of Thailand. Quite a few emotions were welling up…nostalgia, sadness,
fear, excitement…
When we got there, we came to realize that most of the women and men
were inside due to the holiday. However, we interceded for the area and I washed
the feet of one of the staff. We will be going back out again and this week, I
am hoping to show some of my videos from Thailand as well as the documentary Nefarious.
On the other hand, the children’s ministry here is quite amazing! I will
have the honor of working with them from August to December. I did, however,
not realize how close to my heart the issues are here. There is a lot of child
sexual abuse and trafficking. The ministry has been active for seven years and
has flourished. Many of the kids are now grown up, some of who were practically
adopted by the Pastor and his wife. The grown ups are now serving as teachers
and helpers in the ministry. The kids go home and tell their families, their
families are transformed by the love of Christ and house churches begin. Yesterday
was my first official morning with them as my work group in the school was
selected to work with them. They bring over 100 kids here, many of whom are in
poverty, and we get to sing, dance, teach, color, eat and play with them all
morning.
There will be much more fruit from this ministry and I will definitely
be writing more about it in the future!
Español
My Spanish has improved. Two months in with immersion and 2 hours of
classes a week has gotten me to a point where I no longer feel isolated. I can
understand simple phrases such as ‘I need, I am, I have, you want, you are
going’ etc. I hope to be quite fluent by August, although I have realized kids
are not afraid to correct you and love to teach you simple words!
Alabanza
Just as in my last trip, I have had the honor of singing on the worship
team. We are building up two teams for the missions work we are going to be
doing and it’s stretching not only my vocals, but breaking down language
barriers! I love Latin worship, it’s so refreshing and fun! Just wait… there
may be a sequel to Duets for Peru…
DUETS FROM PERU haha!
Prayer Requests
- My
flesh... it cries out for the
comforts of home, the time of rest (which isn’t bad) and the comfort of family
and friends and culture...
- An
Even Greater Sense of Purpose
- My
Spanish - this last week, we
did an exercise where we had to ask the English students questions in Spanish
and they had to ask us their questions in English. As I said, I am to a point
where I feel I can ask basic question in broken spanish and actually talk to
the spanish students one-on-one. My frustration/culture shock is wavering and
slowly dying, but I have quite a ways to go! haha.
- Our schedule. We need wisdom and guidance.
- My
finances. I came here
partially raised, in faith on the testimony of the vision God has given me. The
Lord was faithful through Thailand and even now, so I am praying for wisdom in
stewardship and trust in sustinance. I trust He will continue. If you feel
lead, there is a link at the top to various options. My email is: stbtome@msn.com.
THANK YOU for the taking the time out. Thank you
for the prayers, the support and all. I miss you all and hope that God’s
blessings are continuing to rain down upon you! Keep pushing toward Him and toward
the things He has placed a passion for in your heart.
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