Updates
March madness.
It’s a challenging thing, trying to do our job during rainy season in the jungle. Every break in the rain is a mad scramble to get something done. So much is dependent on the weather, and the weather has been insane! This is the wettest, rainiest, rainy season that we’ve had in years, but thankfully, the flooding has not been nearly as bad as in past years.
Between the daily storms and rain showers, Vann has built and outfitted the poolside bathrooms with a storage closet in the middle. The bathrooms are a huge blessing to have for people coming to the pool to feel more comfortable, and to keep all of the wet bodies outside!
We’ve been super blessed to have Mike Huls back here for a visit! He is always such a willing and able help around here, and brings a fresh vision and energy to this work that we are so very grateful for. We are thrilled to get to watch the great big things that God is doing in his life, and look forward to his future partnership on this mission base!
Please pray for the Dumitru family as they are out in the tribe this month. They also have a young couple with them visiting their beloved tribe for the first time! We helped them get out and on their way, and also helped with supply buying and shipping some urgent, missing machine parts out to them within their first week out.
Tribal missionary support can look different on any given day – one day it’s researching new solar power tech, or even flying out to the tribe for hands-on projects, and sometimes it’s breaking down, rebuilding and truing-in a pellet gun for hunting small game. Every day brings it’s own puzzles to be solved, and people to serve.
The latest youth group here was a super special one with another baptism in our pool! A precious young lady from our mission academy made the life changing decision to follow Jesus, and wanted to make a public profession of her faith by being baptized by her father. We were so privileged to be able to witness and host such a beautiful time in her life!
Vann had a birthday at the beginning of this month! This man. He works hard, and plays hard and does everything to the very best of his abilities – which are amazing. What a blessing to get to celebrate him! The next weekend we were privileged to host the fortieth birthday party of one of our dearest friends. It was the nicest dinner party I’ve ever put on, and so very worth all of the effort to get to shower her with some extra love after she’s just come through one of the hardest years of her life. She is a beautiful example of a Godly woman!
This whole month has been one long string of sickness in our house, passing a flu virus that lasts a week or more from person to person. So far Vann and Clara have not gotten it, and I hope that it ends here with me. Please forgive any disjointedness in this update, as I am currently on day four of my turn with the fevers. It could be so much worse with all of the dengue going around. The Lord is merciful, and gracious, and we are very grateful that this is just the flu.
Please pray for Milka, our house helper. She has had major surgery this week, and it is our prayer that the Lord will give her healing and renewed strength after going through this trial.
Please pray also for Estefita, my friend with the brain tumor, whose 10-year-old son has leukemia. She has been sent to Lima for emergency surgery, and her son has begun to run fevers again. He is unable to receive chemotherapy or treatment of any kind due to sever allergic reaction to all medication. He is still alive due to blood transfusions and God’s mercy. Please pray for their spiritual salvation, for their physical health, and financial need.
Thank you to each of you who pray, give, call or write to help keep us going, enabling and encouraging us in the work. We just simply could not do this without you. May the Lord bless you and keep you until we meet again!
“As the knowledge of God becomes more wonderful, greater service to our fellow men becomes for us imperative.” – A.W. Tozer