Update from Antonia July 2023

I am grateful to God for His continuing care and for your prayers because the Lord’s work continues to grow.

Recent Events

Activities

While being in the community I heard that some church members have commented that when pastor Victor goes from the Chontakiari community on Sundays, there is no one there to teach them.

In reality, what happens is that there are people who take responsibility of the church when the pastor isn’t there, but they are also involved in other activities and if they don’t help, they receive fines.  After seeing the situation, I offered to help and told pastor Victor that I could stay in Aoti to help with the church on Sundays. I started to make visits to the houses and the church members started to attend the church again.

On Fridays we continue with our bible studies. We have started with studying the Old Testament.  We started with the creation of man; one of the church members said, “I understand that we don’t come from monkeys, God created us!”. The Lord is speaking through His Word.

The leaders who have been trained are now going to other communities to share the gospel. 

Collecting Funds for the Missions

Two missionaries went to preach to two native communities, but they didn’t receive financial support from the local church, so we decided to do an activity selling fried fish for breakfast. The church members and I could help by assisting with the preparation of the breakfasts. We give thanks to God that we were able to do it early in the mornings. In this way our Lord has provided to help the missionaries.

"The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.  For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain."  1 Timothy 5: 17-18 

Training of the Teachers

The Segadores missionaries who live in Atalaya (in the area of Ucayali) decided to provide training for the Sunday school teachers. There were five people at the event: the pastor, the president of the church, the worship leader with his wife, and me.

Also, four people from the neighbouring villages and various congregations of the city of Atalaya came. God was able to show me the needs of the church members to know the living God and the truth, they are asking for more training.

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth".  1 Tim 2:15

Good News

Another item of good news is that God has allowed us to support orphan children in three communities with school supplies. The teacher in the community of Pomporito shared with us that some children didn’t have shoes and needed coats for the very cold days. Prior to this, Victor had told them that if God provided, we would be able to take them but for now Segadores doesn’t have the funds to be able to do this.

Besides this, God has provided a new boat. During the last few days, a boat belonging to Tito Pacho (one of the workers with the Shipibo tribe) broke down. We know that this is a tool we use to take the gospel to the churches located near the rivers, so we shared the need and church members were very generous and contributed to buying a new boat. The name of the boat is ‘carrying hope’.

It is with much joy that we share with you that our brother, Victor Soto, is discipling his father with God’s Word. We can see that the Holy Spirit is working in his life and confronting him through Victor’s words. He is a medicine man and thanks to God he has understood that if he continues with these practices and doesn’t have faith in God as his Saviour, he will continue his life being condemned to eternal hell.

Plans for the Future

The other day I entered into the kitchen (which uses firewood) to help the Sunday school teacher prepare the breakfast for the children that attended. However, I could only help for a short time and then it was very difficult for me to continue cooking as the heat inside the kitchen was very intense. The walls of this space are made of zinc and after lighting the fire in the kitchen they overheat. Having the fire on one side and the heat of the walls on the other makes the job of cooking very intense. Due to this we have seen the necessity of building a new kitchen, where the preparation of the food for the Sunday school children will be much better for the people helping in the work.

Current Issues and Challenges

Also, I want to share with you about some of the difficulties during this time. I went alone to the community and four days after arriving there was a short circuit in my laptop, and I didn’t have electricity for a week.  

Prayer and Praise Points

1) That God will move in the hearts of missionary couples to unite in the evangelisation of the Ashaninka tribe. There are actually three churches that require someone to disciple the believers.
2) That God will help me to start home groups in houses.
3) That God will provide for the construction of the kitchen and dining room for the children who attend Sunday school.
4) That God will guide the authorities in the Aoti community to renew the agreement with Segadores mission.
5) That God fill me with the Holy Spirit to speak boldly and work in the hearts of the people who hear the gospel.
6) That God protect my physical health and renew my strength as I wait on Him.

Comments

Many other things have happened, but God’s care continued, and I am very grateful. I know that His presence goes with me, and His love is revealed through the church members and friends. An example is Sandra, who looks after me and many times invites me to meals.  The Lord is good in a great way.