Report from Antonia Yalta July 2019

In the Ministry

January

It has been difficult to reach jungle communities due to the strong rain and floods. This month we have had a change of executive at the Segadores Missionary Association, after we had the elections. I prayed about not seeking re-election to the executive but a friend encouraged me to follow God’s will in this and I accepted my nomination, and was voted to be the treasurer. I know that He will give me the strength needed. I was involved in the planning of Segadores’ outreach work and the evaluation of where we should be concentrating. I have been working with the missionary kids at the same time, taking advantage that all of the kids are in Lima, from the various areas where their parents work as missionaries, to do stuff together with them and their parents.  

Vacations

When I had vacations my health prevented me from travelling to visit my sister and help look after my father. I was in too much back pain. I also had to have physio so I couldn’t travel. I also had minor surgery to remove a small tumor next to my left eye. 

Emma is a widow who adopted a child. Her granddaughter invited them to visit Lima because if they remained in their jungle community during the rainy season, they would have no food to eat. We took advantage of this visit, to take her to the optometrist to get lenses so now she is able to continue with her artisan works. Also her granddaughter took her to the hospital for a check-up, she has tuberculosis. She had to return to her jungle community in order to receive treatment.  

Work Among the Missionary Kids

I am very grateful to God for the opportunity to work with the missionary children, helping them with their various needs, health, school materials and recreational activities. They are progressing well with their school classes, their reading ability and they are achieving good marks at school. Many of them spend a lot of time with us in the native communities. I am grateful to God for each child.

Bible Teaching in the Jungle Communities

During the winter months Victor continued to go to Chontakiari in the jungle to continue the Bible teaching in the church, using the chronological method “Firm Foundations”. He did this while still maintaining his contact with the young people he is working with in Aoti. He taught from Creation to Christ. He is also using the “My New Commitment to God” discipleship material (Basic Principles of the Christian Life). When he taught on the topic of “True Repentance”, four young people gave their lives to Christ. The kids of 3-5 years of age are being taught by an Ashaninka (local) teacher, using the “Lamb” material. 

The children aged 6-10 are being taught by two people. One is a missionary lady and the other is her interpreter named Celia Chari. They teach the “Firm Foundations” material. I ran the nightly prayer meeting and I taught in the Sunday services. 

School Material for Four Communities

We delivered school materials to children who live in very isolated jungle communities. We thank the believers who gave so that the children were able to have school materials for their studies in 2019. However, a lot of the parents are not very responsible and some of the children had to go to school without work books and the teachers weren’t then able to do their job. We distributed the school materials according to the list that the teachers gave us. We were able to provide new clothes to the 3-5 year olds as they are the ones who are suffering the most because of a lack of clothing.  

The teachers were very grateful and said: “God has been good to us because many of the kids come to study, walking from very far away, and have no school material. Now we can get down to working properly!"

Flooding in Bajo Perene 

The flooding was terrible, it entered the school rooms at night with a great force. It entered the rooms then seemed to explode taking all of the kid’s school materials with it. It was dark that night and nothing could be saved, the water rose to the height of the throat of an adult! 

When the new school materials, sent by MJ, arrived at the community, we distributed them in a day while the parents got together. The children’s faces shone with happiness and the parents and teachers were very grateful for the generosity of MJ. This opened the door for us to be able to take religious classes in the primary school. The school principal doesn’t know God. 

Food Kitchen for the Children, a Ministry called “Seeds of Hope”

Your support permits us to serve and show love to the kids and old people. We have made the food kitchen larger to accommodate the older people. One day it made me really sad to discover an elderly woman during the worship service. She was lying down on a bench seat and she was very cold. We carried her to the dining for her to eat something. One morning I visited various old people in their homes and saw that they didn’t cook. They were very poor and without protein, they just couldn’t keep going so for this reason we increased the size of the dining room so we could feed them along with the children who come to learn about the Word of God on Sundays.  

Children Orphaned and Abandoned by their Parents

We give help to five children by helping with all the needed school supplies and giving them the food they need permanently every day.

We have also seen some orphaned girls who lost their father a week ago and lost their mother two years ago. They are homeless and we have given them their needed school supplies, one of the girls remembered the Word of God that she had learnt in Sunday school. She calls me at any hour and I help her with prayer and by sending her encouraging text messages. I remember that the scriptures say, “the Word of God that goes out will not return empty". 

My Personal Life

The trial I have at the moment is having to travel, each weekend, to Lima, because of my duties as Segadores treasurer. Each time I have to move my things from the jungle communities and give away any food stuffs that I may have. Not having a team that can remain in the jungle community is a bit of disadvantage.

As a missionary group, we have been able to get the study material “How to correct problems in life”. Brother Peter Hocking has been teaching us. 

I have fused vertebras in my spinal cord and also disc degeneration in the L4-5, S1 area that is very painful. As I travel back to Lima to carry out my tasks as treasurer, the trips are vey painful. I require physio. 

My Family Life

My father’s health has gotten worse with the stomach cancer, which is now third grade. He is taking medicines for his dementia and also for his prostate. My sister, Rosa, is currently looking after him. She herself is unwell with heart issues and is taking a strong medicine for that. In spite of that she is taking care of my father. I pray God’s will for my father and that He would be glorified in my father’s life. May God continue to provide good medicines for my father. I am constantly meditating on Psalms 121:1-3. 

Prayer Points

1) That God would give me wisdom and understanding in order to continue with discipling Victor and other leaders. 
2) Construction of the kitchen on the first floor of the Segadores house.  
3) Pray that God would send someone, or a married couple, to help us in the work in Bajo Perené. 
4) Pray for the Ophthamological campaign (because a lot of Asháninka believers can’t read the Bible)
5) That God would continue to provide for the medication for my father.

Comments

Thank you, Bright Hope World believers, for blessing the work of the Lord amongst the Peruvian children and us missionaries, because this permits us to advance the kingdom.