Saturday (Feijo) and Sunday (Tarauaca) Activities
We did the paint talk Friday night for a large group of students/adults and had five persons trust Christ and conversations with several more. These folks were given Bibles, told to begin reading in John, and to return on Saturday night for followup. We retired to our hotel and two rooms, Joe and Theresa in one, and the rest of the guys having a “Walton” evening.
Saturday morning was used to prayer walk more of Feijo. Bruce, Ashbel, and Wilson had the opportunity to share with a grandmother and two grandsons, one of which had been one of the first people we talked to when we entered Feijo on Friday. Both of these boys made decisions to trust Jesus. Also as Ashbel shared the gospel, Wilson was using scripture to share with the grandmother about how to raise her grandsons. This was just one of many instances where Wilson displayed a missionary heart. One other thing before moving on. Last year the team stopped in Feijo to pray for God’s work and our role the next year [2007]…we had stopped in front of the home of the grandmother.
Before their departure that morning, Theresa, Joe, and Aaron spent time with the wife/owner of our hotel to learn more of the area, of her faith, and build a relationship. Later while prayer walking, they started a conversation with a group of young girls and learned of a cult religion they were involved in which had a church in their neighborhood. This church was the only one in the immediate area and may be the reason for the lack of evangelical churches in this part of town. This was not the first time the Vegetal religion was encountered in Feijo and it warrants further research to understand its teachings.
Late afternoon, we checked out of our motel and made our way back to town to find the pastor of 1st Ingreja Batista and to meet the youth that made a profession of faith during the paint talk Friday night. We found pastor Francisma???? busy at the church and with plans for an evening service. We spent a few minutes telling him of our activities in Feijo and arranged a meeting for Monday at the home of Pastor Edinaldo. We then went to the park to wait. It wasn’t long before Bruce had engaged a group of youth and was sharing about Jesus. After listening to the gospel, all decided to wait before making a decision to accept Jesus. Regrettably, none of the youth from Friday night came back also. Our last task before departing Feijo was to find Pastor Gutierrez and provide him with some pre-addressed envelopes, stationery, and postage to facilitate communication with him. We located him at his Bible Baptist church, left the material, and began our trip home with Ashbel in the back of the truck and Wilson shouting “onsa [panther]” out the window…the bond between these two continues to build. We arrived at the ferry and joined a large transport truck and a pickup full of people. Turns out the pickup/driver was the same one we unsuccessfully tried to get out of a mud hole last year. Additionally, our basic ferry ride became a challenge because we were too heavy due to the transport truck and so got stuck on the river bottom. After numerous maneuvers with the ferry, the transport truck, and other boats coming to our rescue, we were able to get across and unloaded without further incident.
Sunday morning we arrived at the church early to lead the children’s program. Bruce and Ashbel took the younger ones and shared a Bible story. Theresa, Joe, and Aaron used the Evangacube to share the story of Jesus with the older ones and had two boys pray to trust Jesus. We also brought all of the children together, shared about the “salvation bracelets”. These were made by EBC students for various missions and were a big hit among the children. The bracelets were presented as a means of considering their own journey with God and as a tool to share what God had done in their life with others.
We spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon participating in the church cookout. It was a rich time interacting and watching their church family. We participated in one game which required you to list your name, another person’s name, and then a set of instructions to be accomplished by the other person…all in fun of course. After going through many requests and much laughter, they chose to reverse the game and apply the instructions to the requester and they pulled all of our names out of the hat to get things started. Bruce had to call for the ferry master (still asleep at 430 am) – Balsero!!!…in the same bass voice as Edinaldo. Theresa had to recite the alphabet in English, and Joe had to imitate the sounds of a boat motor…that was a big hit! After lunch they had a scavenger hunt and Bruce was elected captain of one of the teams with Aaron translating the clues and Bruce for the most part clueless…but they won and were rewarded a box of chocolates at the evening service (you never know what your gonna get)! Edinaldo’s church know very well how to worship, pray, and fellowship. They are eager to learn more about missions (evangelism) and ministry. What a treasure God has planted in the heart of His work in the interior. Pray for Edinaldo, his development of small group leaders, his encouragement of the other pastors in the area, and finally his development of other pastors for new churches in the interior. Pray for him and his family. He is a key person in the kingdom work in the interior—HE NEEDS OUR PRAYERS.
We returned to the hotel during the afternoon; a few hours later news of Joe’s Dad’s hospitalization and health situation reached us. After prayer, talking, and phone calls, it was decided we would return to the US early and depart Tarauaca early the next morning. We returned to church Sunday night for Aaron to do paint talk (present the gospel) and say goodbye to our friends. It was an anointed service as the church worshiped, prayed for the team and Joe’s Dad, and also said goodbye to Aaron as their IMB missionary…very special for all of us!
Saturday morning was used to prayer walk more of Feijo. Bruce, Ashbel, and Wilson had the opportunity to share with a grandmother and two grandsons, one of which had been one of the first people we talked to when we entered Feijo on Friday. Both of these boys made decisions to trust Jesus. Also as Ashbel shared the gospel, Wilson was using scripture to share with the grandmother about how to raise her grandsons. This was just one of many instances where Wilson displayed a missionary heart. One other thing before moving on. Last year the team stopped in Feijo to pray for God’s work and our role the next year [2007]…we had stopped in front of the home of the grandmother.
Before their departure that morning, Theresa, Joe, and Aaron spent time with the wife/owner of our hotel to learn more of the area, of her faith, and build a relationship. Later while prayer walking, they started a conversation with a group of young girls and learned of a cult religion they were involved in which had a church in their neighborhood. This church was the only one in the immediate area and may be the reason for the lack of evangelical churches in this part of town. This was not the first time the Vegetal religion was encountered in Feijo and it warrants further research to understand its teachings.
Late afternoon, we checked out of our motel and made our way back to town to find the pastor of 1st Ingreja Batista and to meet the youth that made a profession of faith during the paint talk Friday night. We found pastor Francisma???? busy at the church and with plans for an evening service. We spent a few minutes telling him of our activities in Feijo and arranged a meeting for Monday at the home of Pastor Edinaldo. We then went to the park to wait. It wasn’t long before Bruce had engaged a group of youth and was sharing about Jesus. After listening to the gospel, all decided to wait before making a decision to accept Jesus. Regrettably, none of the youth from Friday night came back also. Our last task before departing Feijo was to find Pastor Gutierrez and provide him with some pre-addressed envelopes, stationery, and postage to facilitate communication with him. We located him at his Bible Baptist church, left the material, and began our trip home with Ashbel in the back of the truck and Wilson shouting “onsa [panther]” out the window…the bond between these two continues to build. We arrived at the ferry and joined a large transport truck and a pickup full of people. Turns out the pickup/driver was the same one we unsuccessfully tried to get out of a mud hole last year. Additionally, our basic ferry ride became a challenge because we were too heavy due to the transport truck and so got stuck on the river bottom. After numerous maneuvers with the ferry, the transport truck, and other boats coming to our rescue, we were able to get across and unloaded without further incident.
Sunday morning we arrived at the church early to lead the children’s program. Bruce and Ashbel took the younger ones and shared a Bible story. Theresa, Joe, and Aaron used the Evangacube to share the story of Jesus with the older ones and had two boys pray to trust Jesus. We also brought all of the children together, shared about the “salvation bracelets”. These were made by EBC students for various missions and were a big hit among the children. The bracelets were presented as a means of considering their own journey with God and as a tool to share what God had done in their life with others.
We spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon participating in the church cookout. It was a rich time interacting and watching their church family. We participated in one game which required you to list your name, another person’s name, and then a set of instructions to be accomplished by the other person…all in fun of course. After going through many requests and much laughter, they chose to reverse the game and apply the instructions to the requester and they pulled all of our names out of the hat to get things started. Bruce had to call for the ferry master (still asleep at 430 am) – Balsero!!!…in the same bass voice as Edinaldo. Theresa had to recite the alphabet in English, and Joe had to imitate the sounds of a boat motor…that was a big hit! After lunch they had a scavenger hunt and Bruce was elected captain of one of the teams with Aaron translating the clues and Bruce for the most part clueless…but they won and were rewarded a box of chocolates at the evening service (you never know what your gonna get)! Edinaldo’s church know very well how to worship, pray, and fellowship. They are eager to learn more about missions (evangelism) and ministry. What a treasure God has planted in the heart of His work in the interior. Pray for Edinaldo, his development of small group leaders, his encouragement of the other pastors in the area, and finally his development of other pastors for new churches in the interior. Pray for him and his family. He is a key person in the kingdom work in the interior—HE NEEDS OUR PRAYERS.
We returned to the hotel during the afternoon; a few hours later news of Joe’s Dad’s hospitalization and health situation reached us. After prayer, talking, and phone calls, it was decided we would return to the US early and depart Tarauaca early the next morning. We returned to church Sunday night for Aaron to do paint talk (present the gospel) and say goodbye to our friends. It was an anointed service as the church worshiped, prayed for the team and Joe’s Dad, and also said goodbye to Aaron as their IMB missionary…very special for all of us!
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