RIVER TRIP

I couldn't stop my thoughts the night before last, and a host of family and friends passed through my mind and I lifted them (you) up to God. I felt very sad as I realized how many opportunities I have squandered throughout my life, opportunities to take more of an interest in the welfare of those around me. I thought of Psalms 139 where David says "how precious also are your thoughts toward me, O God, how great is the sum of them, if I could count them they would be more in number than the sand...". Suddenly the Holy Spirit electrified me with a connection to John 13:34 "A new commandment I give onto you, that you love one another AS I HAVE LOVED YOU." And I realized how FAR I have to go to love others as Christ loves me! How many of my measly thoughts of others consist merely in what I need from them, or worse yet, of judgments and criticisms? Where are the precious thoughts of unselfish love? Should not I discipline my mind to dwell on others and their needs, and to scheme up ways to bless them? Sadly, my thoughts are too often too narrow, too little, too wrapped up in my own agenda, my own needs, my own problems. There is no light in that. "What gets the mind gets us, and what gets us will be manifested in word and action." God rewire my mind. Take out all the short circuits and tighten all the false contacts and make my life to shine for you! (Matthew 5:16).

            We are working hard to get ready for our mission trips during the mid-year vacation (July 2-17). This year we have two groups going to different locations. One group is going with Cornelio and Susie to Semaipata near Santa Cruz to help at an orphanage and also distribute bibles and do some service projects in the surrounding community. My group is going north to the rivers of the interior. Our destination is the village of Santa Rosa on the Manurimi River, a tributary of the Madre de Dios. The primary goal is to help a small company of believers there erect a church building. We will also distribute bibles and literature and hold evening meetings. In those remote regions the locals are always excited to meet new people and they love anything on the screen: pictures, videos, even sermons. We are going to try to make the most of that.

We found out about the project through Enrique Zabala who worked with us here at the school for a number of years, and just recently moved into the interior to work in the Brazil nut industry. His family lives in Pekin, a small town downriver from Santa Rosa. The lumber for the church construction is being cut in the jungle as we speak. Emilio Canamari, one of the believers at Santa Rosa decided to dedicate all his time to hand milling the timber for the church with his chain saw after studying the recent Sabbath School lesson on the book of Zacharias, where the prophet rebuked the people for spending all their time and work on themselves while leaving the temple desolate. Not only that, but this same brother made a promise to the Lord some time ago that he would not repair his house until he has built a church for the new group of believers. The first time that Enrique met Emilio, Emilio told him:

“Hermano, I don’t want you to think that I’m lazy, and that’s why my house is in this condition.” Enrique was astonished to see that half of Emilio’s house was squashed underneath a large Brazil-nut tree! Turns out Emilio had been trying to feel the tree because it was rotting and posed a threat to his house. Unfortunately it didn’t fall exactly where he was planning! So Enrique encouraged the group there to help Emilio fulfill his promise quickly so he can fix his house! When Enrique found out our primary plans for a return trip to Las Amalias (the indigenous village on  the river Horton where we built a church in 2010) had fallen through, he got really excited and shared this story with us, suggesting it as a worthy project to undertake.

            About two weeks ago Enrique shared another exciting piece of news with us. The last time he went to worship with the group in Santa Rosa, there was a new face in the group. When Enrique asked the elderly gentleman how he had come to join the group he grinned and told how he had become very sick, and how Emilio and the group of believers had helped him get to Riberalta where he could get medical attention and had promised to pray for his recovery. He saw his subsequent restoration as a direct answer to prayer and had joined the group of believers to find out more about the God of these people who had taken the time to care. The Lord is clearly at work in a mighty way!

This month has flown by and we only have five more days to get ready for the trip. We will travel half a day by truck to El Sena, and from there the road is all water all the way to Santa Rosa. It should take us about 20 hours. The word is that Enrique has equipped his boats with lights and keeps chugging along all night. The good news is that this river doesn’t have so much flotsam as the river Orton, so Lord willing we won’t be colliding with any logs or other major debris.

Due to the remote location, we need to take cement, nails, and tin for the church roof, as such materials are rarely available out there, and if you can find them they are sold at exorbitant prices.

Please pray for us! And if you want to do more, some of the students who want to go are not sure if they will be able to go because of lack of funds. We have done a motorcycle wash in Guayaramerin, made and sold bread, and also visited the local churches to talk about our trip, but the funds we’ve raised so far have been just enough to buy the food for the trip. The transportation cost is about $26 per person, and there are about 10 students in the group. The roofing materials for the church will probably cost around $400. Bibles have already been donated and will be arriving soon on the mission plane along with some of our provisions that I ordered from Santa Cruz where they are available at much more economical prices. (Just in case you’re wondering how it could possibly be cheaper to fly the food in, the flight is already scheduled because we have a short-term missionary volunteer coming from Trinidad and Tobago to join our group, and she will pay for the flight as it is also almost the same price she would pay to fly here commercial.)

Oh, and I can’t stop writing before I share with you the story of Antonio Mamani. Antonio is in his upper sixties, and he has made up half of our faithful membership from the nearby village of Yata ever since he was baptized three years ago. Nearly every Sabbath he arrives for church on his bicycle. He first began to come to the school here when one of the founders employed him to help clear the land. He told me how every day before work, the missionaries would gather the workers for a small worship service and prayer. The bible-based teaching, impressed him deeply, and he began to share what he was learning with others.

Recently Antonio came to me asking for missionary training, and he told me a couple of stories of how he had been able to share his faith.

“Almost like I were a real missionary !” he grinned.

“What do you mean, almost? You ARE a missionary!” I told him. I told him that of course I am happy to study with him, but sometimes I think Antonio is more of a missionary than I am, and I could learn a thing or two from him. He cares for the sick and takes the stranger into his house. I have seen him give away his own hymnal to someone because they liked to hear him sing one of the songs in it. About a month ago when we went to visit him he enthusiastically led us to visit the house of a new neighbor.

“This man is kind of gruff” he laughed, “But when I started sharing about God with him he started to soften up. I want you to sing and study with him!”

It turned out the neighbor is Don Fermin, an elderly grandpa and backslidden Adventist. We had a very profitable and Spirit-led conversation getting to know each other and the afternoon passed quickly.

Every time Antonio makes a trip to the interior he takes literature and wherever they give him the welcome he speaks from the word of God. Antonio is not a preacher type, but he remembers what he has learned, and he is not afraid to share it. On many Sabbath afternoons he rides his bicycle to another village about 8 kilometers away to sing songs and tell bible stories to the young people. He told me that one time the Catholic priest in Yata was trying to convince him that Sunday is the seventh day of the week.

“That can’t be” said Antonio, “or the Lord Jesus would have risen on Monday!” He proceeded to show the priest the gospel account of how Christ rested in the tomb on the seventh-day Sabbath, (and his disciples rested in accordance with the commandment, Luke 23:56). He followed up by showing the priest the dictionary definition of Sabbath and Sunday, and that was the end of the argument.

One time a man stopped Antonio on the road and wanted to sell him a pistol. “You go everywhere on that bicycle, you need to carry a weapon to protect you.”

“I have a good weapon already” replied Antonio. “The very best.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I’ll show it to you” and Antonio pulled out his bible. “This is the only weapon I need!” The gun-dealer remained speechless for a moment, than packed up his wares and went on his way!

We invited Antonio to join us on the mission trip this year and he is really excited! Pray for him as well as the rest of us, and that we will all be faithful witnesses for Jesus.