we have not been left as orphans. peru #4.

when i flip back through my journals from this past week, i can say with full confidence it has been the toughest, but yet most rewarding week thus far. i will do my best at keeping this one short, but i cannot make any promises as of yet.

so this being my third week into this adventure, i definitely feel like i have grown more accustomed to the culture here in iquitos. things such as… riding on the back of a motocyle while going 80 kmh during pouring down rain, peoples attempts at ripping me off simply because i am a gringo, the fact that everyone here in iquitos laughs when i introduce myself (i just found out that bubba in spanish means spit…real cool.), and continuous conversations with some of the most compassionate and loving people on the face of the planet. it is going to be very hard to tell you just a few of the amazing experiences i had this past week. but, here it goes…

last thursday, i found myself at pretty much the lowest and highest points of my trip. i did not have much to do in the morning and so i spent most of it reading and doing some prep work for preaching on saturday. up until this point in my trip, i had spent a lot of my days wondering if i was doing enough or even if the Lord had been doing anything through me. i was entertaining lies. the enemy had continued to create thoughts and lies of insecurity in my mind. everyday i had been directing my mind and heart to scripture to ground my self in truth and had desperately been seeking the Holy Spirit for comfort. thursday morning, these thoughts continued to surface and i had had enough. i sat down and journaled out all of the lies that the enemy had been propelling my thoughts to and i affirmed the actual truth with scripture and the experiences God had given me thus far. can i just say it was the most free i had felt since i arrived in peru. i was reminded of a quote that a pastor at my church said one sunday, he said, (i wish during my engagement experience with my wife, i would have spent more time just enjoying the process, rather than just worrying the whole time if i was doing everything right.) no, do not worry, i am not engaged. but in a sense, this quote directly spoke to me simply because i had been worrying so much if i was actually doing enough, rather than just simply enjoying the process of transformation God was doing in my heart and in those around me. after asking the Lord to reveal how that truth could be applicably be lived out it was one of the most humbling yet, comforting truths i have learned since being here. it was then that i really began to understand that this trip is not about me. it was then that i began to really come to grips with the concpet that life truly is not about me, but the glory of God. and i was then reminded of romans 12 where paul writes, (let love be geniune. abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good. love one another with brotherly affection. outdo one another in showing honor. do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer). it was one of those aha moments. where something you know in your head, becomes a reality in your heart. my role in coming here was simply to serve this community for the sake of the Gospel. and i have been doing that day in and day out. and i realized it was also okay for me to look at my experience and rejoice in what God was doing in my heart! i know that sounds silly, but it was such a freeing realization. i realized with my heart that it is true, like what john piper has said, (God truly is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him.)

i want to encourage you in this moment, to sit back and do the same in your own life. i pray that you would not let your life be defined by what you are doing and the hustle and bustle you fill your days with, but by the relationship you have with the Lord. that is our purpose and everything else around us that we engage with flows from that. and i pray that you would enjoy the status of a son or daughter of God, and not come to him like a hired servant.

after experiencing this realization, i wish i could say that everyday has been perfect since, but that would be a lie. i am glad they have not been perfect actually, because i am finding out truly what it means that Gods strength is made perfect in my weakness just as paul says in 2 corinthians. i tell you that after having this experience, my heart has been at peace because of the truth God has overwhelmed me with. He continues to provide strength that i do not have in and of myself. i have had some of the most rich and worship filled moments in the word over the past 5 days.

other moments that have moved me to worship.

1. on thursday afternoon i got to sit down with the leadership of the young adult group at the church and begin a study on discipleship. my translator failed in showing up for the study, however, it was amazing to see how God is truly able to speak through language barriers as i sat there and told them where to turn in their bibles and made what ever comments i conjur up in spanish and when they did not understand my words, i began to act it out. (you are all going to want me on your charades team when i get back, because i must say, i have gotten pretty freaking good at it). it was amazing to see this group of young leaders really begin to grasp the concept of biblical discipleship. please pray for them as they continue to grow in maturity and that their hearts would truly recognize the greatest need this world is discipleship.

2. i had the opportunity to preach saturday night to the young people and sunday morning at a sister church close to the one i am working at. the sister church is one that i went to visit last year along with my group and it was a great experience to see some familiar faces. sunday morning i quickly attached myself to raul, a man in his late 60s with a smile that could possibly make anyone in a room fill up with joy. he said he remembered the group from tennesse from last year and that it was good to see me again. i told him i was there by myself this time, and he quickly told me i was not. i was perplexed for a moment and he reminded me, Jesus es siempre con tu (Jesus is always with you). i already knew it was going to be a good morning, but this took it to a new level. i sat back and assured him how comforting it is to know that we have not been left as orphans, but that Christ through his spirit is always with us. raul proceeded in leading worship to myself and about 25 others in this church with about half of a roof covering us. i attempted to try and help raul keep tempo by clapping along with him, but i could do no good as he jumped around with joy, contiunosly changing tempos and singing, or attempting to at least, as maybe 50% or so of the notes were somewhat correct. i must say, it was one of the coolest worship experiences i have ever had. i  then got up to preach, knowing that the Spirit was there, and that it was all in the Lords hands. the Lord had laid the passage of the prodigal son on my heart continuously since i got here. being that this community is heavily influence by catholicism and works bases salvation. a lot of christians in the community still struggle with this having to work for the lords blessing mindset. however, it was incredible to point them to the truth that we have been adopted into Gods family and that we have been justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in christ alone. that we have the status of sons, but the mindsets of hired servants. God did some cool things in that service as i could defintely feel the weight being lifted off some of the peoples shoulders. what a cool opportunity. so stoked about that time. as soon as i finished that service i hopped on the back of my friend joses motobike and we took off for the church i normally work at, where i play guitar on sundays. i was stoked to get to the other church simply because this morning we were having baptisms! 13 young people got baptized. freaking awesome. one of which was my friend gret, who i told you about in my prior email. it has been amazing watching how the Lord has grown our friendship over the past couple of weeks.

3. yesterday, i went to the (beach) here with the pastor, his wife, roberto, his wife, some of their friends and then my friends gret and keyser. it was an incredible chance to just play and have fun with my peruvian family. and let me say, they have literally become family. i have already started calling them mama and papa. as i sat by the water conversing with roberto about his story and how he keeps up with so much work (he pastors a church, works a full time job, and is working at the church i am working at most days of the week). i am learning a lot about biblical manhood as i oberseve Christ likeness displayed in this mans every action. while sitting there, a man selling popsciles hands me one, and says that your friend has paid for it. i look back and see nancy waving at me with a giant smile on her face. the popscicles here are literally one of my favorite things in the world and the pastors wife, nancy, had paid for one and sent the man over to me to give to me. this simple act of kindness and caretaking can somewhat sum up my experience thus far. i was almost drawn to tears and i just sat there and thanked the Lord for the amazing family he had provided me with during this experience. roberto, his wife sonja, the pastor esteban and his wife nancy have taken such good care of me. i have seen Christ exemplified in their lives on a consistent basis and my attempts to describe my interactions would not be sufficiently adequate with words. we have laughed a ton, shared our stories, and i have learned a lot from these people.

these are just a few of the experiences in the past week that have transformed my heart. i am so thankful for this opportunity to be here and am full of confidence that the Lord is at work in and through me. i am thankful for the points of brokeness because they have made me trust in the Lord only that much more. I know that i will not see the fruit of me being here for 2 months in the lives of the people here, but i know God is producing fruit in my own life as he teaches me about patience, dependence, trust, and humilty. praise Him for the relationships he has formulated and been at work at in only way He could do. i am eager and excited about trusting Him and seeing Him move throughout the rest of this journey. also, i had no idea i would be preaching a lot while being here, but starting on saturday the 7th, my schedule looks like this…saturday night preaching to the young adult group at teh church, sunday morning preaching to another sister church in iquitos, monday i leave to go spend 2 days with the yagua tribe which is about an hour boat ride into the jungle where i will be preaching once (the yaguas are the tribe we got to work with last year, so i am real excited about this opportunity), i preach wednesday night at the church i work at, then saturday to the young adults again, and then sunday the 15th i preach at all 3 services at the church i am working at. so it is definitely a lot. i am excited about depending upon the Spirit and stewarding the word of God. please pray for strength, clarity in my messages, and that God would be glorified through the teaching of his word. then on the 16th i leave for lima to meet up with mario to begin my 2 week travel period with him where i will be assisting him and learning from him as we visit multiple churches in south peru. mario is the president of the christian missionary alliance in peru, so it is such a cool opportunity to serve the Lord through serving him and learning a lot about his life and the CMA as a whole.

i am surprised if you are still with me. regardless, thanks for your prayers, encouragement, and your journey with me! i love you all. also, please keep my health in prayer as i have come down with a cold today. thanks again for everything friends and family.

in christ and for his glory,
bubba

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