Many of you have been asking about my health....  I am now fully recovered and able to, once again, wrestle with the alligators (OK, only the baby ones like you see in the picture below).  Thank you for your prayers.  The Lord has answered them!  Our whole family is doing well and we are grateful for God's many blessings.        

Chris Mattix, a missionary friend from Bolivia, is visiting us this month.  He has been preaching and teaching in most of our church meetings and is a real encouragement to the believers here.  The brothers and sisters have been coming eagerly to the studies to learn more about #1 church history and #2 Islam (two of Chris' favorite subjects).  I think everyone here wants to convince him that he should stay in Tarapoto :) 


Last week Chris and I took a trip down-river to a village called Callanayacu.  The name is Quetchua and means "salt water".   This area is known for it's huge salt mines from which the villagers harvest thousands of tons of the white preservative every year.  Aside from the salt veins, the scenery surrounding this pueblo is spectacular.  It is nestled in the beautiful mountains of the high jungle close to several streams that come cascading down the nearby slopes and into the Huallaga river. 


The believers were very hospitable and they gave us their best accommodations and food....  a hard dirt floor and plantains is about as good as it gets in Callanayacu :)  We had meetings during the day with the church and open air meetings at night with the whole village.  It was a great time of ministry and Chris was a big encouragement to the believers.  It was his first time "deep in the jungle" and although he appreciated the experience, I think he was glad to make it back to civilization without getting sick :)               


One afternoon a brother took us into the forest to see some waterfalls.  It was about an hour long trek in which we crossed several streams and traversed some incredible landscape.  Praise God for his creation!  The area was like the garden of Eden as we came to a beautiful pristine pool fed by a crashing stream of crystal clear water.  After a wonderful swim we were told that the pool contains huge boas and alligators (I should have figured that something was up when none of the locals wanted to jump in with us).....  In reality, I don't think it was that dangerous and we survived without incident.            


The assembly in Callanayacu started about three years ago when a few men from there happened to be in a different village where I was preaching.  After hearing and believing the gospel they eagerly took the message back home and ever since then the Lord has been working in peoples lives.  Slowly but surely the church is growing and there are now 14 adult believers in this village of about 250 inhabitants.  Every time I visit Callanayacu there are new believers wanting to be baptized and this was, once again, the case.  Please pray for the newest convert, Demetrio, and that he would go on for the Lord and be a useful instrument in His hand.  

Missions quote of the week:  “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God"  - William Carey



Micah for the Tuttle's