I don’t even know how to begin processing the last two
weeks. So much happened, so much
occurred, God’s hand moved in such an incredible way… that I don’t think I have
the ability to craft it into words. He
was so subtle in some ways that you had to strain your eyes to see it, yet so
blunt in others that it took all you had to keep from being knocked out. But I think that I’ll spare all of what I
might consider these ‘profound’ thoughts for later posts. 
Though we’re no longer there, the Nauta ministry was one of
the most memorable for me thus far.
Strangely enough, I think that it’s because I enjoyed it the most. We arrived at this little town on the edge of
the Amazon River at sunset one evening.
As we made ourselves comfortable on our new home for the next two weeks
(a barge on the river), I couldn’t help but be taken aback by the beauty that
God was brushing the sky with. Now that
I’m looking back on it, I can see that it was merely foreshadowment of our time
in Nauta.
It truly was a quaint little town. No one got all up in my face but no one was
passive about my presence at the same time.
Perfect. I’m still not entirely
sure what it was that people did for a living, but I have a feeling that the transport
of ‘goods’ is a profitable business for some.
I know they have a sawmill in Nauta because it was right where our barge
was docked… and the dude started cutting wood about 5:30 in the morning. But it’s okay, it’s not like he woke us up…
the little motor boats going up and down the river all night long already had.
I’m not complaining… really.
We partnered with a church called Iglesia de Mies. I think it means “Church of the Harvest” or
something awesome like that. They
specifically desired for us to work with the little kids and the youth, which
translates to VBS and youth group; however, I think the term “VBS” has had too
many negative connotations attached to it in the past, so we appropriately renamed
VBS to “Fiesta con Dios”. It ended up
being a raving hit with the 150 some kids every day. Youth group was pretty awesome too. I started to actually like hanging out with the
guys… then we left. It was kind of
unfair.
The young people of Nauta struggle some with ‘darkness’. Ouiji is a ‘hit’ for some reason, but then
the kids start making pacts with the devil, selling their souls, making
covenants, becoming possessed, etc. It’s
caused quite a ruckus and quite the problem in Nauta. Over 60% of girls are caught up in the
festival de darkness… and I won’t even mention the suicides that happen. But it’s amazing to see the community rally
around this issue because everyone wants there to be a solution. I just think it’s cool that when the kids
find themselves caught up in it that they run to the church for help. I guess Jesus does have a good reputation in
some parts of the world, eh?
My favorite part of the Nauta ministry was one of the nights
that I went to church and partway through decided to bail. I know that sounds wrong, but that’s what
happened. I walked outside and some of
the other girls were out there because, well, there just wasn’t room in the
church anyway. We all walked down to the
park and I ended up hanging out with several Peruvian teen guys and Patrice
(who is not a Peruvian teen guy). I was
so caught up in the wonder of the evening, in the way that the stars took away
my breath, that I failed to notice I had no idea what these guys were saying to
me. We all just sat there for about an
hour, just laid back under the canopy of the heavens. These boys taught Patrice and I how to eat
this crazy fruit, which we humbly found out takes some type of Peruvian skill
to do… I just couldn’t get the hang of it.
But sitting there with those boys I realized something…
That was ministry.
It’s funny because I had been struggling all week at that
point because I just wasn’t connecting at all with any of those ministries we
were a part of. I couldn’t seem to
figure out that one way to bridge the language gap with faith. I think I was confused about what God was
calling out of me or something. I begged
Him to show me a way at how to just “be” with these people, to just “be” with
them in a way that transcends the need for language. He answered that prayer that very
evening. Praise the Lord!
But it occurred to me that ministry isn’t always about what
we do. Sometimes it’s about what we are
for others. I didn’t shove the gospel
down those dudes’ throats that night. I
didn’t share Scripture with them. I did
ask them if they knew Jesus, which they did.
I was just myself with them that night.
I was just some crazy white American missionary who proudly owned the
fact that he had no idea how to eat their fruit.
It really was funny.
And I suppose that was the Nauta ministry in a
nutshell. It was sad leaving there the
other day. I realized how much I grew
into liking that place and I have a feeling that leaving here in Iquitos is
going to be about the same way. I love Pastor
Jorge, the missionary that we’ve partnered with down here. I love our new translator friends. I love the dog, Chico, even though Chico
barks and it’s annoying sometimes. I
even love the appeal that Iquitos lacks, despite the fact that it’s a tourist
attraction. I’ll miss it all.
… but there’s still more blogs coming…
