Being in the jungles of the amazon of Peru, I had the preconceived notion that there were no Christians in these towns. My understanding was wrong, and not only have I met a few Christians in these towns we visited, but one of them encouraged me like no other. His name is Wilson.
When I first met Wilson, we noticed how quirky and exuberant he is! Wilson is also a gentle soul. He doesn’t talk much unless you talk to him. But when you do ask him questions, he can fully answer them and doesn’t mind diving deep into conversation. When he is asked to do something, or when he goes to do something, he gives it his all. Even when he goes to wash dishes, I could see the effort he puts into it. It seems like this was very much part of his personality. He has a huge love for God or his passion towards Jesus!
When Wilson prays, he shines so brightly. I haven’t seen a man pray with such genuine and strong emotions. You can feel it from his very being. Although I don’t understand a lot of the words he says since he only speaks Spanish, his posture and how he carries his voice shows he has a love for God like no other.
This was then confirmed when he shared his testimony and sermon with us. Wilson was the kind of man that encouraged us to have daily devotional with the team early in the morning. He lead most of them and always had a ‘sermon’ to preach to us. The time he shared his testimony, which was about obedience, I was completely blown away and put to shame.
He told us about this one time when he wanted to seek God’s voice. So he set out to fast. He travelled into Lima and pledged to have nothing to drink or eat until God spoke to him. After 2 days of no food and no drinking, he still hadn’t heard a word from God. But he didn’t give up, he continued day by day by day. On the 4th day, he still hadnt heard anything, so he pledged that he would give up sleep until God spoke to him. He decided in that moment it was better for him to die and know that he was obedient to God than to live and give up. Wow. In this moment, I put myself in his shoes and asked myself if I had that same love for God and the same obedience that he demonstrated.
That next morning of no sleep lead to an Angel visiting him. This angel told Him who he would meet and how he would have vivid imagery of him handing out food and water to the tribes of his area (he is a native Ashaninka). This visit from the Angel led him to meet the missionaries, Karen and David, in which brought him to the town of Cubantia who we were partnered up with.
He encouraged us to read the bible daily, to meditate on Gods word, just like he does. He has such a love for Gods word that he wakes up at 4am and reads for 2 hours. His story of obedience really encouraged me to strive harder. To dig deeper. And to love God with more of my heart as God calls us to.
Jesus answered, “ The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’.
Mark 12 : 29
I am certain, because of his posture towards God, that he will be greatly blessed. He already is greatly blessed. Seeing that smile and the joy he carries is not of this world. No difficulty in life could knock him down. A promise that God has given us that I truly believe in as well.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose”
Romans 8: 28
