Thank you for praying! The Lord really blessed our bi-annual convention of river churches! Brothers and sisters came from almost all of the thirty villages that are on my preaching circuit. Brother Mariano and myself spent 5 days preaching until our throats were raw. When we weren't preaching every spare moment was used up (during meals, between meetings and late at night). Sometimes it was marriage counseling, sometimes it was trying to heal church divisions, sometimes it was distributing medicine and at other times it was dealing with false teachers. It was exhausting but at the same time it was exciting to see the Lord work in lives of many people.
Huge vampire bats owned the night sky, and razor-toothed piranhas swarmed the waters of Navarro's lake. "It's a jungle out there!" As I preached during one of the mid-day meetings I couldn't help but notice a commotion at the back of the congregation. I had to stop when people started to jump up out of their chairs yelling: "Afaninga! Afaninga!" After a brief tumult we had one dead snake and about 200 shaken up brothers :) That's one way to keep everyone awake! Never a dull moment in the jungle :)
The boat that the Lord has provided continues to be a huge blessing as we were able to transport many of the believers to and from their villages. I was able to taxi from pueblo to pueblo rather safely and I only hit rocks twice.... I'm still learning :) .... We praise God for His protection! The convention was a great time and I loved every minute of it but my favorite moment was arriving home to squeals and laughter and hugs and back-slaps from from my family. So good to be home with my wonderful wife and kids! Just in time for Christmas. Thank you for your prayers!
Missions quote of the day by David Brainerd: "I care not how or where I live, or what hardships I may go through, I care only that I should gain souls for Christ.”
Micah for the Tuttle's
Please pray for me as I head down river today with ten brothers from our church here in Tarapoto. For the next five days we will be having our bi-annual convention for the believers along the Huallaga basin. This event is taking place in a village called "Navarro" and I will be teaching for about 7 hours each day on: "Sin And It's Consequences". These conventions are the most important meetings of the year for the river churches and all those who are involved. Pray that Christ will be exalted!
Right now the river is high (dangerous) and I'll be driving the boat.
Edith G. Cherry said: "We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender! We go not forth alone against the foe; Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender, We rest on Thee, and in thy name we go"
Please pray!
-Micah for the Tuttle's
River ministry!
Here's a video report that I give from a makeshift raft as we float down a sting-ray infested stream here in the jungles of Peru.
Please pray that the Lord would be magnified and glorified in these villages as we continue to preach the gospel.
Baby coming up!
Thank you for your prayers concerning Amy's pregnancy. We are all VERY excited about this new addition to our family. Amy is doing well and we are looking forward to the due date which is around April 15. Please keep praying!
All alone!
For the first time in three months we are without visitors. Short-termer, Christine LoPicolo recently returned to Houston Texas. She was a huge help to Amy and the kids and a real blessing to our family. Everyone here was sad to see her go. To add to our "roller-coaster" of joy and sadness we had a wonderful few weeks with my mom and dad who also have now come and gone. It was sooo good to have them here with us in Tarapoto!
Missions quote for the day by William Carrey: "There are grave difficulties on every hand, and more are looming ahead - therefore we must go forward.”
Micah for the Tuttle's
2013 Tuttle Tribe Photo Shoot. Definitely a MUST see.
4 comments Posted by amy in peru at 11/21/2013
Yesterday Amy and I and the kids loaded up into the van and went to visit one of the assemblies in Yurimaguas. As we made the spectacular two hour drive through the jungle I reflected on how God has blessed our family! God has given me an amazing wife and five awesome kids. What a tremendous gift! At the end of this month Amy and I will celebrate 17 years of marriage! We can't believe it! How time flies! And what a huge responsibility to love and cherish each other! I realize that the most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. Please pray for me in this. If I can get this right everything else will fall into place. There are many things in our ministry that I could ask you to pray for. But the following pictures represent my six most urgent prayer requests! Please pray!
We just finished up a two week trip to the coast of Peru where we had a wonderful time attending a conference in Trujillo. Amy's mom and brother were visiting and helped to add some excitement to everything. It was a fun family event and we all enjoyed seeing some of the brethren on the other side of the country. In one of the Lima assemblies I preached through the book of Jonah, had an open air meeting in a park and preached in a few buses. It was a great opportunity to make Christ's name great to those who heard!
We turned the 16 hour drive home into a 3 day trip and visited some really spectacular places along the way. We saw some incredible waterfalls, fascinating ancient Inca ruins, and breathtaking landscapes in the Andes mountains.
Now we are back home in Tarapoto and settling back into ministry here. Thank you for your prayers and support! We really need it. There is so much to do and so little time. Please pray that we would be able to maintain a strong family and at the same time honor the Lord in our ministry.
Missions quote for the day by Hudson Taylor: “God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him.”
Micah for the Tuttle's
Preaching, teaching, praying, boating and trekking were the main events for 15 bible students and I last week. On Sunday afternoon a few brothers and I took off in the Lord's boat (El Chasqui Del Rey) and picked up students from several different villages along the river. These students are all preachers, teachers, and evangelists in their respective pueblos and are very key men who want and need biblical training.
During the course of the week we visited six villages where we did everything possible to get the gospel out to the people. Every afternoon we did "hut to hut" evangelism while passing out tracts, praying for the people and sharing Christ with them. In the evenings we held evangelistic open air meetings and then counseled interested souls.
Every day began with Bible reading and prayer and then we spent 5 hours between breakfast and lunch going through a course on Ecclesiology (study of the church). We went through the whole book of Acts and several key passages in the pastoral epistles. This was an extremely valuable time and great opportunity to pour into these men that God is using for His glory along the Huallaga river. Please pray for them!
Missions quote for the day from William Booth:
“Not called!' did you say?
'Not heard the call,' I think you should say.
Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face — whose mercy you have professed to obey — and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world.”
Micah for the Tuttle's
In our last ministry update I mentioned that God has blessed us with a boat! We are sooooo thankful for the brothers at Heartcry Missionary Society who provided us with a generous gift to help purchase this tremendous ministry tool. It took about a month to build it and now it's finally ready for use.
We have decided to call the boat "el Chasqui del Rey". "Chasqui" is quetchua for "messenger" and "Rey" is spanish for "king". Therefore this boat is "The King's Messenger". We are very excited to use this boat for the glory of our King Jesus! Pray for us as we use the "Chasqui del Rey" to make God's name great in this part of the world.
Yesterday I hitched the boat up to our Isuzu Trooper and hauled it for four hours from Yurimaguas (where it was built) to Chazuta which is a strategic village along the Huallaga river and a sort of launching pad for missions in the area. I was a bit nervous towing something so big and long on our landslide-prone highways but in the end the trip was without difficulty. God is good!
When I arrived in Chazuta about fifty brothers were anxiously awaiting my arrival. They all sprang into action helping me to get the "Chasqui" down to the river and then helping to mount the 60 horsepower Yamaha outboard motor.
Seventeen brave souls jumped into the boat with me and risked their lives as I learned to work the outboard motor. Brother Roberto (who drives a boat for a living) taught me what to do and then we were off. I raced up and down the river...... without a single accident! :) On Sunday afternoon "the Chasqui del Rey" will be making its first ministry trip. I'll be taking 15 brothers on a week-long missions trip to six different villages. Please pray for this upcoming trip and thank God with us for this wonderful boat.
Micah for the Tuttle's
Missions quote for the day by Martin Luther: "I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess."
Greetings from the jungles of Peru!
Last week I spent a few days in a village called "Tununtunumba"..... Yep, that's how you spell it.... "Tununtunumba"..... Kind of fun to say isn't it :) Most of the inhabitants (more than 1,000 people) speak both Spanish and Quetchua. This village is not on my normal circuit and so this was my first time in Tunutunumba which is just one of the many villages along the Huallaga river. The brothers in this pueblo have been begging me to come and preach in their village for the last couple of years and it just hasn't worked out until now. There are so many villages and so much ministry to be done!!!!!
People need the Lord! Many people in this village are HIV positive, homosexuality is prevalent, witchcraft is being practiced on different levels, and Coca is being cultivated and harvested in secret. All day long I went from hut to hut sharing the gospel, giving council, praying for people, giving out medicine and New Testaments. In the evening many people gathered in the soccer field to listen as I preached the gospel with everything I had in me. It was a tremendous privilege to preach the love of God to these needy and lost souls. Please pray for Tununtunumba!
Praise the Lord! God has provided a boat for our river evangelism!... Well, almost... It is being built and it should be ready in about two weeks. Some brothers from "Heart-Cry Missionary Society" visited us a few months ago and wanted to help in the work by providing us with a boat. We are going to share this 25 passenger, aluminum, ministry tool with the brothers in Chazuta who are also faithfully preaching the gospel in several of the villages along the Huallaga. Please thank God with us for this tremendous blessing.
We have a new kid! No, not really, but we do have a short-termer staying with our family. Twenty-year-old Christine LoPiccolo from Houston Texas is staying with us for the next three months. She is a wonderful help to Amy in the homeschooling of our little kids and is willing to help with everything.... even digging a ditch.... :) she has brought us much encouragement and we are grateful that she is here!
Missions quote for the day: "To belong to Jesus is to embrace the nations with Him." — John Piper
Micah for the Tuttle's
I'm so sorry for not posting an update for a while now. We have been very busy and I just haven't separated the time to sit down and write about all the action. So here's a quick summary of our major events this last month.
After three weeks of home-school conferences in the States Amy arrived back home in Tarapoto. What a relief! We survived without her, but not without great difficulties. It's great have her back again. Now the kids are getting back into the regular school routine and no longer have to suffer in submission to "home-school dad style"
Just before Amy arrived we were blessed to have a wonderful team from the mountains of Cajamarca come and visit us for a few days. It's great for our kids to "rub shoulders" with these teams of fervent believers that come from many different places to visit us and help with the ministry here in the jungles of Peru. This team helped in construction and evangelism before going on to a national youth conference in the next city over.
I have been taking the opportunity to preach open air in many different places and in many different ways lately. In the park. In the main square. In the market. In the street. Last week one of the assemblies in Yurimaguas asked me to hold a tent meeting in the street in front of their chapel. It was a great time as the whole neighborhood gathered around to listen to the gospel. I preached until my voice was gone and even then the people didn't want to leave. Could have gone on for hours. Many people were convicted and reflecting on their spiritual condition before the Lord. Please pray that God would work in the hearts of many who are hearing the gospel!
In the midst of all the evangelism last month I was also able to squeeze in three conferences in three different cities. In Yurimaguas I spent a week teaching two courses. One on the book of Nehemiah and one on the Christian home. In Sisa I spent four days at a youth conference preaching on the theme "Don't waste your life". And in Chazuta I taught on leadership to 22 indigenous pastors.
The time in Chazuta was especially interesting as I shared with the key Christian leaders of different tribes in the Amazonian jungle. These brothers came from all over the place, some of them traveled for more than three weeks to get to the conference! All of them speak and read Spanish as a second language and it was very interesting to hear them all chattering away in their different tribal tongues. These natives literally took off their face paint and indigenous dress and put on normal clothes in order to come to the "big city" for this conference. Most of them are from tribes where there is very little Christian witness.
It was an amazing opportunity for me! I tried to take advantage of every moment to encourage each one of them. Twelve of these brothers had nothing more than a simple New Testament as their only study material. I was able to give each of them a John MaCarthur Study Bible, a Randy Alcorn booklet on heaven and a evangecube. I'll never forget the brother from the Jivaro head-shrinking tribe that thanked me profusely with tears in his eyes. Please pray that The Lord uses these men for His glory as they exalt Christ in their tribal contexts.
Missions quote of the day from Living Waters: "You want Beautiful Feet? .....skip the pedicure.... Share the Gospel!"
Micah for the Tuttles
Home-school dad-style continues! (I'm sorry, I'm really have fun with this :) Today after intensive Bible reading, mixing cement, lifting weights, and reading about the first century heretical gnostics we took a break to dig a ditch.
Josiah calls this home-school class: "ditchology". More than anything, this class is aimed at forming character, constitution and callouses. It's an entry level course that even the most struggling student can pass, but at the same time it can be a very difficult study for even the most advanced scholars.
Work quote for the day: “My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition. ” -Indira Gandhi (I don't know about this woman's theology..... but she has a good quote here)
-Micah for the Tuttle's
The last 10 days I've been trying to be both Dad and Mom for our five kids. Please pray for me. I've still got 10 more days of trying to play the mom part. You kinda recognize what a great job moms do when you have to do without them for a while :)
Amy is attending two different home-school conferences. One in Minnesota and one in New York. These conferences are very helpful and encouraging to her and she is excited to be able to attend them. Amy is an amazing mom and now I realize, more than ever, how challenging her job is. The kids all say that home-school "dad-style" just isn't the same.
The schedule I've given them since Amy left for the States has been:
Pray
Read Bible
Lift weights
Run several miles
Read Church History
Work (pouring cement)
Read Church History
Work (painting)
Pass out tracts
Work (sanding boards)
Read Bible
Work (pulling weeds)
Listen to online sermon
Do pastoral visits
Go to evening church meeting
Read Bible
Pray
Note: We tried fasting one day (not for spiritual reasons.... just so we could get more done:) .... but after 24 hours everyone was about to revolt so we had to quit that idea.... We really need Amy back!
Note #2: Mya is having trouble with the 35 lb dumb-bells (I told her she needs to toughen up a little more and "no pain no gain") ..... Please pray for us!
C.S Lewis said: "Homemaker is the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only -- to support the ultimate career!"
-Micah for the Tuttles
Last week was a real marathon for me. I had the privilege of preaching twelve times in eight days to large crowds in Trujillo. Aside from the preaching I also taught a 10 hour course on pneumatology in the Bible Institute. As I came to the weeks finish line my throat ached, my head hurt and my body was tired but at the same time my heart was glad to be used up for God. Now I'm back with my precious family in Tarapoto and am recuperating before the next marathon starts :)
The Lord seemed to use the ministry of His word and many people were convicted of "sin righteousness and the judgment to come". I can't explain exactly what God did, I really don't know, only God knows what goes on in the heart of man. There were many who made professions of faith and many who were reflecting seriously on their spiritual state before our great and holy God. Please pray that God would continue to work in those that heard and that He would be magnified.
Missions quote for the day from John Westley:
"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can as long as you ever can."
Micah for the Tuttle's
"If everyone on this planet was like you Christians this world would be a much better place." Those were the words of one of our church neighbors as he observed the missions team that visited us last week. He had seen the love of Christ demonstrated in the medical clinic, illustrated in the children's bible meetings, worked out in the construction project and preached in the open air. What a testimony! We thank God that Christ's name was exalted as this work was accomplished.
Sixteen believers from First Colony Bible Chapel in Houston Texas came to visit us for eight days. The team was made up of four doctors, four construction workers, four preachers and four Vacation Bible School teachers. I keep wanting to call them the "Dream Team" because of how helpful they were. They were not only a tremendous blessing to our family, but also to the believers and unbelievers here in this part of the Peruvian jungle.
Many of the believers in our assembly here teamed up with the Americans and helped to make this project happen. The construction guys built a deck and also financed a concrete floor. The medical doctors attended to about 700 people while giving away, literally, tens of thousands of dollars worth of medicine and eye glasses. The Vacation Bible School teachers taught the word to about 350 kids. While all this was going on the preachers passed out tracts and preached the gospel in the church building, in the open air and from door to door. I can't begin to describe how big this was..... An absolutely incredible time of ministry!
The first few days were spent ministering to the people in our city (Tarapoto) and the last few days were spent in Huimbayoc (a village down river). We didn't sleep very much and there was hardly time to eat but that didn't stop us from having a great time together. It was a whirlwind week of work, play, ministry and encouragement. We thank God for the opportunity that He has given us to serve Him here in the jungles of Peru and for the great servants He sends to encourage and help us!
Missions quote for the day: "Any church that is not seriously involved in helping fulfill the Great Commission has forfeited its biblical right to exist." — Oswald J. Smith
-Micah for the Tuttle's
Yesterday, being Father's Day, was a great opportunity to thank God for the neat kids that He has given to Amy and I. Our five kids are a tremendous blessing! I'm not sure if it's wrong to feel this way but I can't help thinking that we have the ultimate family. Praise God for his blessings!
"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them" (Psalm 127:3-4)
Cullen is 14 years old. He is a natural leader, good with people, athletic, shaves, plays the guitar, good at math, likes to visit the villages, very involved in the youth group, a great personality and growing in the Lord. God placed him perfectly as second-born in our family. Very manly.
Bria is 10 years old. She is a precious princess girl, very pretty, very resilient, willing to take risks in the jungle, likes to help in ministry, reads her Bible all the time, loves to be with friends, brings joy to everyone around her, not allowed to talk to boys until she turns 40.
Josiah is 8 years old. He is the kindest young man you will ever meet, very good at soccer, tough on the trail, quiet, fun, joyful, can catch almost any small animal with his bare hands, very smart, serious about reading his bible, memorized Romans 12:1-10 without being told to. Very manly.
Mya is 5 years old. She is a precious princess, very pretty, we call her "sunshine", likes to drink coconut water, likes attention, learning how to read, natural born ability to color-coordinate, willing to face the jungle if her dad is with her, prays, wants and try's to trust in the Lord. Not allowed to talk to boys until she is 40 years old.
Family quote of the day: “What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”
-Mother Teresa
We were blessed last week by a "surprise visit" from Paul Washer. He and three other wonderful brothers stayed in our house for a few days and encouraged us greatly. Very humble, very genuine, very loving, very real. We were able to get a group of preachers together and have a mini "pastors conference". It was an excellent time with great teaching from God's word. At the end of the study brother Washer gave out MacCarthur study bibles to each preacher. This was a tremendous blessing for many of the brothers who didn't have any study materials. God is good!
Right after brother Washer and his team left we had a huge influx of brothers and sisters come through Tarapoto and on their way to Yurimaguas for our national conference of elders and church leaders. It was fun to have so many people in and out of our house and the conference was a real blessing to all. Church leaders came from all over Peru in order to study together, pray together and be encouraged together. We thank God for what He is doing in the assemblies across the country.
Of course I had to get some of the brothers together and go do some open air evangelism. Why have a conference where we talk about evangelism....... without actually doing it? On the first day of the conference several of us went out to the market place to preach. It's always exciting to get up on a chair in a public place and proclaim heavens greatest message to a lost world! There were a lot of listeners interested in hearing the gospel. I was able to give out many tracts and N.T's and at the same time talked with many individuals about their soul. Pray that God would use the message that many heard that day.
"The reason some folks don't believe in missions is that the brand of religion they have isn't worth propagating." — unknown
-Micah for the Tuttle's
Someone has said: "No happier, no nobler work exists on earth, in which the energies of youth and the best and brightest years of life may be occupied for God, than in going forth with the gospel message, heavens last and costliest gift to men, seeking to win them to the Savior, to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God."
Last week we had a team of four wonderful brothers from Great Britain come and help Javen, Cullen and I do a trip deep into the jungle. The Lord was with us as we traveled by Motokar, canoe, and then on foot to get to the most remote villages on my circuit. We thank the Lord that we all made it back in one piece. There were some upset stomachs, bloodied and blistered feet and a lot of sweat but that's all to be expected on these extremely exciting trips :)
We were able to visit 4 villages in 5 days. We preached our hearts out each day, begging people to be reconciled to God. Each night we held evangelistic meetings and the gospel rang out in the village streets. The British team preached, I translated and the Holy Spirit convicted. Our goal was to exalt Christ's name whether sinners repent or not. Our prayer is that He was glorified.
Hut to hut evangelism is very effective in these villages as people almost always welcome you into their home and willingly listen to the scriptures. During the daylight hours we were able to visit many, many homes. We shared from God's word, prayed for people, gave out much needed medicines and left everyone with tracts.
You might say that we are living in the greatest period of history. The end of the ages has come upon you! Don't just sit there!
Missionary quote of the day: "Only one life to live, soon twill pass, only what's done for Christ will last." -author ????-
Micah for the Tuttle's
Sorry the video wasn't working. We got it fixed. Please give it another try.
Video edited by Javen Tuttle
Our God is great! We've been praying that the Lord would provide, not only for Papa playa, but also for five other villages that have been severely affected by the flooding along the Huallaga river. On May 2nd our CMML deposit came and we were overjoyed to see that the Lord moved many people to give about $5,000 that was specifically designated for flood relief! We were able to add even more to this designated money because of other gifts that weren't designated but were in excess of our personal needs!
Missionary quote of the day: "God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply" -Hudson Taylor
-Micah for the Tuttle's
Three weeks ago we were able to buy and pack up two tons of food and take it to the church in Papa Playa. As many of you know, the people in this village have suffered the loss of all their crops due to excessive flooding. The brothers and sisters in Papa Playa were overjoyed to see us arrive with the much needed food. Many people had tears of gratitude in their eyes as they received their ration.
Mya had a great time playing with some of the village kids as she led them in setting out the piles of food for each family in the church. The Lord provided for us to be able to give 50 families enough food for about two months. Each ration had 10 kilos of beans, 20 kilos of noodles, 1 gallon of cooking oil and a box of sweet bread. God in his great love and provision even sent, an out of season, huge run of fish up the Huallaga river. What a great God we have! He provided fish at the "wrong time" of the year to go along with this truck-load of carbohydrates!
Even the food vendors, where we bought the noodles and beans, wanted to help. They had heard in the local news of the difficult situation in Papa Playa and wanted to contribute by selling the food to us at cost. We are so thankful for how the Lord has worked and provided in different ways. This has been a great testimony to the whole village and a real need is being met. What a great God we serve!
Mya had the full river-trip experience as she got to go in a canoe, visit a chocolate plantation, sleep in a tent, use a smelly out-house, drink chicha, sit through a few of her dads long sermons.... and to top it all off.... she even saw a black boa. What fun! Now she's begging to go again :)
The brothers in Papa Playa will still need provisions for the next few months until their newly planted crops can start producing again. Lord willing, we plan to take another load of food next Monday (April 29th). Many of the believers here in Tarapoto are contributing as well as a few brothers from Lima and Trujillo. Within the next couple of days we will get a deposit from CMML and then be able to use the gifts sent this month for flood relief. The church in Papa Playa wanted me to say that they are extremely grateful for your help and the love that you've shown to them. Thank you!
-Micah for the Tuttle's
