December Jungle Schedule

We are going back into the jungle in a few days.  Scott Dollar and his friend Josh from the States as well as myself and my friend Jair will be teaching and preaching on this trip.  We will be teaching at the two villages of Chembo and Nazaret.  They are inviting around ten other villages to come to the teachings. We are also bringing Panatón and hot chocolate (A Peruvian Christmas tradition) as well as some toys for the village kids.  We will be at the church in Jauja on the way home and will visit the orphans.  Here is the schedule if you would please intercede for us in prayer.

 

December 2013 Jungle Schedule

Thursday November 28
Scott Dollar and John fly to Lima

Friday November 29
Scott and John travel from Lima to Satipo
The Body of Christ 1– Scott Dollar
Worship Service – 1 John 5:1 – Christians are Born of God - Scott Dollar

Saturday November 30
The Body of Christ 2 – Scott Dollar
The Body of Christ 3 – Scott Dollar
Worship Service - 1 John 2:29 – Christians Follow God – Scott Dollar
Scott Doherty and Jair travel by bus from Lima to Satipo.

Sunday December 1
Scott Doherty and Jair arrive to Satipo in the morning.
Worship Service - 1 John 3:9 Christians are Changed
The Body of Christ 4 – Scott Dollar
Worship Service - 1 John 3:18-18 Love Characterizes Christians

Monday December 2
Travel to the village Chembo

Tuesday December 3
Story Telling- Jaier
Story Telling- Scott Doherty
Story Telling- Joshua Hunt
Made is God’s Image- Scott Dollar
Sin- Scott Dollar
Grace- Scott Dollar
Story Telling Sermon- Zechariah 3- Scott Dollar

Wednesday December 4
Story Telling- Scott Doherty
Story Telling- Jaier
Story Telling- Joshua Hunt
Being a Disciple- Scott Dollar
Prayer- Scott Dollar
Worship- Scott Dollar
Story Telling Sermon- Prodigal Son

Thursday December 5
Hike/Canoe to the village Nazaret
Scott Dollar teaching in evening.

Friday December 6
Story Telling – Scott Doherty 3 lessons
Story Telling – Joshua 2 lessons
Scott Dollar teaching in evening.

Saturday December 7
Story Telling – Joshua  3 lessons
Story Telling – Scott Doherty 2 lessons
Scott Dollar teaching in evening.

Sunday December 8
Hike/Canoe to Mayapo

Monday December 9
Boat/Truck to Satipo

Tuesday December 10
Travel to Jauja

Wednesday December 11
Travel to Lima and Cusco

God's Provision

 

This video is an amazing testimony about God's provision in the lives of His servants, simply by prayer alone, without telling anyone of needs.  Do you believe God is sovereign?  How do you live your life in light of this truth?  You can trust God.  You don't have to run to men nor depend on them.  Go to God alone and he will hold you up.

 

"All comes from the Lord, without my every either directly or indirectly asking any one but the living God; yes, I would rather go through the greatest difficulties, hardships, and self-denial, than ask any one but the living God; yes, I would rather give up the work entirely, than ask either directly or indirectly any human being for anything, in order that the testimony be not hindered, that to trust in the living God is enough. Be therefore encouraged, dear reader, to do this yourself, regarding everything. If it would be for your real good and the glory of God, that you should have any want supplied, whatever that want may be, you may trust in God for the supply, no, you ought to trust in Him for it; and you will not be confounded. Therefore, with confidence make your requests known to the Lord; be assured that He is able and willing to help you."

 

"My dear Christian reader, will you not try this way? Will you not know for yourself . . . the preciousness and the happiness of this way of casting all your cares and burdens and necessities upon God? This way is as open to you as to me. . . . Every one is invited and commanded to trust in the Lord, to trust in Him with all his heart, and to cast his burden upon Him, and to call upon Him in the day of trouble. Will you not do this, my dear brethren in Christ? I long that you may do so. I desire that you may taste the sweetness of that state of heart, in which, while surrounded by difficulties and necessities, you can yet be at peace, because you know that the living God, your Father in heaven, cares for you."
 

George Müller

 

 

The Reality of Witchcraft in Peru

"My uncle was killed by witchcraft."  This was the surprising statement made by my friend Rony as we studied the Bible.  Rony had questions about Halloween which lead to the subject of witchcraft.  Peru is filled with witches and witchcraft and there are whole towns of witches where people will go to employ their services.

 

Today, occultists from Africa, Europe and the United States attend witchcraft gatherings in Peru because they consider the country a central power center for New Age energy.  Witchcraft is growing in Peru today, and human sacrifice still occurs.  Witches come here because there was so much blood sacrifice during the Inca times.” Often in jungle areas, people sell their children to be sacrificed in rituals. 

 

There are witchcraft markets in and outside of Cusco, selling potions and spells.  Brujos, male witches, can be found anywhere in Peru, but Huacho, Piura, Puno, Chiclayo, Ica, the jungle, and outside of Cusco are highly populated. You can buy a potion or charm for almost anything, from curing stomach problems to getting wealth. Dried llama fetuses are bought to bring good luck to homes and businesses and are often walled into the corners of buildings. A drink of liquidized frog is bought to improve the memory, and dried armadillo is bought to keep thieves away.  You can even pay a sorcerer to cast a spell on someone.

As I spoke with Rony about what the Bible says about witchcraft, he seemed shocked as he read the pages of Scripture concerning this subject.  He asked about psychics, witches, fortune tellers, Ouija boards, demon possession, and the occult.  Rony, who grew up Catholic, has seen all these things, in fact, as a Catholic, he grew up in it.  He and everyone that he knows has used witches to find things that they lost, to bring fortune, or to gain protection.  Whether poor or rich, uneducated or educated, young or old, almost everyone has used witchcraft at some point. 

A few years back in Cusco, by our house, someone climbed to the top of a tower with a giant statue of a condor on top of it and sacrificed a baby and threw him down to the ground.  This was done in an occultic ritual.  August is a huge month for witches in Peru and only a few years ago, witches went into the ancient Inca temple of the moon and slaughtered another baby as a sacrifice.  Animals are sacrificed and offered on a regular basis.  Rony told me about another man that was decapitated in a ritual in Urubamba not too long ago. 

Rony told me his uncle was killed by witchcraft because one of his enemies got a hold of some of his clothes and hair, made a voodoo doll, performed a ritual, and cursed him.  The day that the ritual was performed, his uncle got very sick, the doctors could not find out what was wrong with him, he suffered for a few months and then died.  Rony told me about a famous witch in Puno, a town immersed in witchcraft, who the drug traffickers always hire.  They take truck loads of drugs from Bolivia into Cusco. This famously powerful witch supposedly makes every truck load get through without problems. 

The reality is that witchcraft and the occult is greatly manifested in Peru.  Rony, like myself, wondered why Christians celebrate Halloween and dress their kids up as witches and demons.  This is a very good question.  What kind of testimony does a Christian give to unbelievers that know the reality of witchcraft?  What fellowship has light with darkness? 

We Bought Land Outside of Cusco

 

The land we were hoping to by a few months ago fell through.  We really believe that this was the providence of God because of the many concerns we had with the road, water and other things.  God is so good.  We looked at a few other pieces of land that did not work out.  Finally, last week we found a beautiful piece of land.  The land is all farmland in the country and enormous snow-capped peaks are the view out our back door, after we build our house.

The lady that we are buying the land from is a Christian and told us that if we build houses on this property, she would give us another piece of property for free to build a church on!  Wow!  With the price of land in Cusco, this is almost unbelievable.  She also said she would sell our Peruvian pastor, Wehrner, a piece of property in this area to build a house, for very cheap.  Praise God. 

 

I will be transferring money and doing all the paper work this week.  We are very excited to get started.  The picture and the video below will give you an idea of the land but they certainly do not do it justice.