“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1,1:14)…
Jesus is God’s Word to a lost and dying world that He loves us enough to come as a baby and live and die and then arise from the dead! Hallelujah! He is truly the Reason for the Season!
One day this month on our way to town we picked up a couple of our Shipibo brothers who were walking on the dirt road. These two men are part of their tribes’ church leadership. As we drove along we began asking and talking about everyone’s health as is customary, and when they learned about Vanns’ suffering with a kidney stone they asked him to pull over to the side of the road to pray. This prayer was a mixture of Spanish and Shipibo sing-songy with one praying over the other. It was precious and powerful. They committed to keep praying for him until the stone passed. It was an especially wonderful and humbling experience that some of the men that we have been working with and praying for, ministered to and prayed for us! Later that very same day just as we got home from our trip into town, a group of three dear missionary brothers came over to pray over Vann as well. So amazing to have two groups of Godly men pray over Vann asking for healing in one day! God has answered all of our prayers and allowed his 6mm kidney stone to pass after struggling with it for over 40 days. It was a monster, but God’s grace is sufficient, and he is doing well after some days of recovery.
We celebrated Christmas Eve this year with some dear Peruvian friends of ours in town. I am so grateful that our children are given the opportunity to experience and enjoy this culture! A Peruvian Christmas celebration consists of families gathering for a feast at midnight and everyone shooting off fireworks in the street or off the tops of the their houses. It is a beautiful and loud event, although a bit dangerous as the fireworks fly into neighboring buildings and through passing motorcars. This is Peru.
The children are enjoying their school break, but it’s hard to tell who’s enjoying it more – them or me. I love having my babies home. We are having a wonderful time playing together and working hard. There are always projects to get done on the base, and these kids are hard workers!
Corynn just turned 13 yesterday. We have a teenager in the house!!! She just happens to be the coolest 13 year old, and a delight to have around. She has a precious willingness to serve those around her, and is growing into a beautiful young woman inside and out!
Ethan is at the moment hiking through the jungle on the back of the base with his dad helping a fellow missionary find the perfect training camp spot for jungle missionaries-in-training. He is also using his Christmas break to teach himself to play the guitar. He’s a pretty cool 11 year old with a very tender heart towards God and others!
Our super cool 9 year old Clara just lost another tooth this week and just can’t wait to grow up! She is a deep thinker with lots of questions and is learning to love Jesus more every day. We are so very blessed to have her bright personality in our family!
Please pray for us as we parent these precious little lives, that we would not only teach them to walk with God, but that we would show them by our example what it looks like to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.
This year has been super full of people here at Petra. Thinking back over the events of 2015 so many different faces come to mind. We have had several groups of visitors from the States – family, friends and church groups to work and minister and sightsee. Countless groups of people that have come to the Petra Pool – missionaries, nationals and indigenous friends have come for retreats, parties, holidays and meetings. The sheer amount of people that come here for refreshment, or help, or just to visit is amazing. This mission base is growing into a very busy center of ministry and we are super excited to see what God is going to do in the coming year!
Speaking of the coming year, we will be coming Stateside for a two and a half month furlough this summer. We found a great deal on tickets – Delta direct flight to Atlanta for $600 apiece. It’s an awesome deal, but we don’t have the funds. We are asking for help and trusting that God will provide! We would love to start scheduling the trip and plan where we’re going to be and when so that we can maximize our time with you all. It will be so great to visit with friends and family and churches that we haven’t seen for three years!
Thank you so much for your love and support and prayers.
A Happy New Year to you, with much love from the Brocks in Peru!