my bed in the Kuna Indian village, Icandi, in the jungle (Panama)


This was an amazing summer. Deanna and I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Peru, with our team of 23. We saw the Lord move in amazing ways, both in the people of Peru, and among our team.

The Lord was speaking to and working in the lives of our students. The enemy of course, was working overtime, as well.

I'm sure many of you followed the daily updates on awestar.org, and saw the pictures and stories. What a privilege to be a part of what He is doing in South America!

We worked in one village we had been in last year, and saw God continue to draw those people to Him. Huamachuco, in the Andes mountains, is a pueblo that is coming to Christ! The people are hungry for the Truth, and responding to it.

This was the place last year that so many received Christ and began asking when a church was going to begin. Our contact, Pastor Tito, has continued to work this area, and is trying hard to establish a church there. We visited a site he had wanted to rent for the new believers to meet in. It would have cost the US equivalent of $60 a month, and was ample space. They could not afford it, and it was snatched up by someone else (for a different purpose).

We spent a lot of time in this area, and saw many surrender their lives to Jesus. Our students began to pray in earnest for God to move and bring about a church. By the time we were leaving, he had raised up a couple who had a large home who offered it to be used as the meeting place! We praise God for this. This was no small event!

The enemy had worked hard at distracting, and even trying to scare our students, in this village, as he does not want God to have dominion here. Our students persevered, and the Lord increased the work there.

Some or our students even began to work a theoretical budget to see if they could afford to pay for the rent, should it become necessary.

Having worked in many other lands, I can honestly say that God is doing a unique and special work in Peru. It truly is a land "ripe for harvest," and the workers are too few. This translates to large numbers of people responding to the Gospel message... much larger than any other country I have worked. Even the South American countries that border it, see far fewer people respond.

Working in Panama at the end of the summer gave me a special glimpse into how unique the work in Peru is. While we saw many come to Christ in our brief time in Panama, the responsiveness to the Gospel message as a whole is far warmer in the northern regions of Peru. An example is how quickly the crowd will disperse once they realize what they are seeing (through the drama). The people of Peru stay around and wait to discuss it with team members (we see a similar responsiveness in Mexico). Fewer people remain, and more seem to be "hard-hearted" outside of Peru.

This doesn't mean there shouldn't be workers frequenting other regions, quite the contrary. I simply wanted to point out that God is doing amazing things in Peru, and those who serve there get to see it first hand.

I spoke in a church in Sand Springs, Oklahoma yesterday morning. They are sending a team to work in Peru, this October. The enthusiasm for their upcoming journey is significant! Deanna and I were amazed at how the Lord poured out His Spirit in among this people. We saw a huge response to what He was doing at the end of the service.

Being in the center of God's will is the most peaceful place on earth to be. One does grow tired, but His strength and peace are always sufficient!

brent