Brent's travels

While waiting for family housing in Pichanaki, Brent has been going each weekend with his buddy, Fritz, to try to get the ball rolling with our church plant.  Here are some of his experiences in the past two months.

Each Fri. night, he has gotten on a double decker bus and has hoped to be seated where he actually fits, legs and all.  The bus travels overnight (10-11 hrs.), so the idea is to sleep.  Sleep is impossible when: the A/C is off and all the windows are shut, the person next to you is snoring or leaning on you, a baby is crying most of the night, the bus driver is driving fast and you wonder if he's awake, the mountain roads mess with your stomach, you have nightmares of the bus flying off a cliff (this happens), you are stuck for hours at an altitude of 16,000 feet while snow and ice pummel the bus.....to name some.  Then the trip is repeated on Sunday night back to Lima.

Brent and Fritz have gone each week and one of the first things they do is sweep and mop the church floor, as it has rained during the week and is still wet and sometimes, covered in mud.  They have visited some friends they have met, they invite people to come study the Bible, they talk to anyone who will listen.  They have handed out dozens of tracts, have witnessed to various people and have studied the Bible with a couple of families.

A few weeks ago, they asked at the only state hospital in Pichanaki if they could visit the patients during visiting hours.  The nurses seemed eager for them to come and they call Brent "Father", even though in his jeans and tennis shoes, looks nothing like a Catholic priest.  During these times, they have met several families that have pulled on their heartstrings - The young parents with the burned toddler, who couldn't afford medicine for him.  The college age boy who was in a horrific motorcycle accident and desperately needed to be taken to Lima by ambulance.  His family was trying to come up with the money.  The deaf boy and his mom.  The baby with pneumonia, whose parents were living in the hospital room, barely able to feed themselves.

We hope to continue to visit the hospital together and in this way, be an encouragement to the broken and also share the Gospel with anyone who has ears to hear.

God has also brought some street savvy little boys into Brent and Fritz's path and they are trying to figure out how to help them, when what they need most is God's love and a stable home life.

The opportunities are endless and we are excited to see what God has for us.   I am thankful for Brent and his willingness to go without his family and his desire to reach hearts for Christ.  We know that we will never reach all 50,000 people who live in Pichanaki, besides the many Asheninka tribes that live around Pichanaki, but we hope to reach some, with God's help.

Miriam