In response to God’s call to minister in word and deed and to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth, we are heeding this call to make disciples of all nations by becoming missionaries to Pucallpa, Peru.

Pucallpa is a town of 300,000 residents in the northeastern rainforest area of Peru. It is the largest port city on this tributary of the Amazon River. In the past several years, residents from the jungle communities have migrated toward Pucallpa to find jobs. Unfortunately, there are not enough jobs for the people and residents are forced into poverty. In addition to the widespread unemployment, many preventable diseases are prevalent due to the lack of vaccines and financial resources leading to a physical disability rate of approximately 25%.

We are excited to finally be in Peru after a long support raising process and training. We are living in Lima until after Christmas when we will move over to the Eastern jungle area of Peru. Now that we’ve made it this far, we have some general questions about our effectiveness and exactly how we are going to make disciples in this community. Certainly, we believe God is faithful and He will provide for us and allow us to minister in His Spirit.

This past month, we visited Pucallpa to look at our future home, visit our worksites and meet our supervisors. We’ll be working with the Food for the Hungry Peruvian staff (about 20) in seeking to serve the communities and churches around the city. We are overwhelmed at the hospitality of our co-workers and supervisors and realize they have been waiting on us for over a year. Food for the Hungry has been working in Pucallpa for nearly 15 years to disciple the people of this jungle community to lead them in lives glorifying to God.

The worldview and spiritual beliefs of the people in the Amazon jungle are very animistic, believing in a god for everything. Spirit worship is very common and most all the tribes in the jungle still have a witch doctor. Upon returning from our trip to Pucallpa this month, we noticed a group of about ten French people in the airport. When we asked what they did on their trip up the river they mentioned they visited a Shaman (witch doctor). This type of tourism from Europe and North America is not uncommon as they seek healings and look to these “spiritual advisors” for answers. The jungle people too, are very open to the teachings and practices of these “advisors”. We know advisors offering something other than the Living God are not new as we can see a long history of this throughout the bible and in our human history, but we do know this has set itself squarely against the power of Jesus as the Lord and Savior. Please continue to pray for us as we offer the true answer to the spiritual thirst of these Peruvians and fulfill the calling of the Church.

The central mission of the church that Jesus gave us is the Great Commission. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” As we study this commission to the body of Christ, we are challenged at the totality of the command. “Making disciples” is far more complicated than making converts or inviting people to church attendance. It is a worldview changing, 180 degree turn in a life’s direction that lasts forever. Furthermore, it is a rejection of the cultural norms and acceptance of the truth of the worldview of the Kingdom of God. To be a disciple of Christ is to be devoted to the validity of God’s word on all topics, physical or spiritual. It is just as important for a disciple to live according to God’s plan and His design in the way He has created the physical reality as well as the spiritual reality. Whether the topic is personal salvation or personal possessions (Jesus’ second most popular topic), blessing follows acceptance and obedience to God’s reality. Please pray that we can be prepared to use God’s Word to shape the minds and hearts of those with whom we are working.