As I type this Amy and I sit at the back of an airplane and I can hardly contain my desire to get up and preach to the captive audience around me. I know its weird…. It’s just that I’m feeling the fire in my bones at this moment….. We are seated with five other exhausted team members. Each one poured himself out in an effort to encourage and challenge the brothers and sisters that were able to come to our first SPARK event which took place at Mount Hermon Camp near Cupertino California. We decided to limit the group to just 40 participants with the hope that we could really engage with each one and have more of an impact on a personal level. It was sad to turn away late registrants but it ended up being a good decision as we were able to do many things that we couldn't have done with a bigger crowd.

There were times of prayer, praise, teaching, reflection, evangelism, and brainstorming about how we can do a better job at discipleship. It was incredible! The Lord did great things! Several assemblies were represented and they all had a genuine desire for unity and action. We had a great balance of different age groups who all made an effort to bridge generational barriers and learn from one another. Tools were given, passion was imparted and a vision was mapped out. God blessed our planning and our efforts! We are so thankful for everyone on the team at Emmaus International! Each one employed their gifts and abilities in a wonderful way. It was like a spiritual symphony with each instrument complementing the other as the Conductor skillfully guided them all to excellence.

Missions quote for the day by Dietrich Bonhoeffer: "Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ."

Micah for the Tuttles

As I type this I sit in an airplane flying at 30,000 feet somewhere over the western United States. Praying for revival in the land that I see below me! I just finished up an incredible weekend with some great brothers and sisters from several assemblies at a missions conference in San Jose California. It was extremely encouraging to see a passion for evangelism, discipleship and missions from a very diverse group of different ethnicities and ages! Throughout the course of the weekend I was able to preach several times and it seems that the Lord really used it. God has been doing something special in the Bay Area for a long time and it was a privilege to see it and to learn from the body of Christ that is shining brightly in that dark place!

The month of October was filled with many opportunities to proclaim God's word as we traveled to several different churches around the state of Iowa. Sunday's are especially long days for us as we usually load everyone into the van at about 6 a.m and drive a few hours to wherever I might be preaching. After great food and fellowship with wonderful brothers and sisters we drive back to Dubuque, arriving around 6 p.m, just in time for the evangelistic Spanish study that we started a few weeks ago. After a very exciting time studying the Bible with our Latino friends, we finally get to unwind and catch our breath at about 10:30 p.m. Please pray for endurance!


Another noteworthy thing from the month of October was Halloween night. I'm not a fan of Halloween. It's a celebration of evil spirits and it glorify's a culture of death.... but I have to admit: it's an evangelist's dream come true! We had all kinds of people come to our very doorstep practically begging for gospel tracts! Everyone was wearing outfits that basically screamed: "I'm insecure, please talk to me about Jesus". Zombies and ghosts and demons all came straight to us.... even the devil himself showed up! I gave out almost a thousands tracts in less than two hours.... no exaggeration! Evidently our neighborhood loves to "trick or treat"! It was a great way to meet our new neighbors and share Christ with them from the very beginning!


New neighbors..... we are actually the new ones on the block. The Lord has blessed us with a house in Dubuque! It's a real fixer but we hope to turn it into a good home-base for our family and ministry. Hopefully it will give us some stability as we have been totally nomadic for almost a year now. Please pray that the Lord would be glorified and that much spiritual fruit would be borne at 379 S Grandview Dubuque Iowa 52003.


We continue to transition into an itinerant ministry here in the USA and we thank everyone who has been praying for us and supporting us financially. We do need it! Please pray for us as we endeavor to stir up a new generation that would preach Christ and go forward in the areas of evangelism, discipleship, church planting and missions.

Missions quote of the day by Hudson Taylor: "Brother, if you would enter that Province, you must go forward on your knees."
(apply this to missions in the USA today)

Micah for the Tuttle's

When my kids are pumped up about something they sometimes say: "Whoa! That's totally LIT!" ... Apparently this means "Rad"... at least, that's how we would have said it in the 80's :) That term "LIT" is what our team at Emmaus International has decided to use as a name for our discipleship program. We are using it as an acronym that stands for "Life In Truth" and at the same time it brings with it the idea of something that's burning or on fire. We want our hearts to burn within us as we see Christ in the scriptures and live for Him. We want believers hearts to be set on fire with a passion to know Jesus more intimately and to preach His everlasting gospel.

A fire starts with a small spark which then ignites combustible material into a little flame and then that flame spreads and becomes a hot blaze. In the same way a spiritual awakening starts when the Holy Spirit puts a small spark into the hearts of His people, that spark then turns into a burning flame which can ignite others who can then trigger a blazing revival.

This L.I.T discipleship program that we are starting will be composed of 3 parts which we are calling Spark, Ignite, and Blaze. We are planning weekend "Spark" conferences for the west coast, east coast and midwest regions. Those spark conferences will point to a short week of "Ignite" meetings in Dubuque Iowa which will encourage young people to come to our "Blaze" summer discipleship program that will consist of three months of intense study, prayer, worship, and ministry that culminates in a missions trip to the jungles of Peru.

At the end of our summer "Blaze" program we hope to have an end-cap event called "Torch" where we want to emphasize the importance of passing that fire, that "torch" on to others. So everyone who participated in any of those events throughout the year (Spark, Ignite, and Blaze) will be invited to come and seek the Lord together and to think about ways to more effectively pass the mantel, set a younger generation on fire and fulfill the great commission.



Missions quote for the day written in the 1700's by Lawrence Tribble: "One man wakes, awakens another, Second one wakes his next door brother. Three awake can rouse a town and turn the whole place upside down. Many awake will cause such a fuss it will awake all of us. One man wakes with dawn in his eyes, Surely then it multiplies."

Micah for the Tuttle's

The adrenaline was flowing and my heart was pounding as I crept closer and closer to a herd of elk that was led by a huge 6x6 bull. I had never been this close to a bull that big!! I had been bugling back and forth with him for about an hour. It got to the point where he was absolutely screaming at me. They were coming down one side of the canyon as I came down the other. Every time I moved I made sure that there was sufficient cover and that none of the elk could possibly see me. I worked hard to get close. When I got within 50 yards (bow-shot range) I could see that they were going to file up a game trail just ahead of me. I thought I would maneuver one last time to get into a better position for the shot.... I decided to go for it.... but as soon as I moved, the lead cow spotted me. Huge eyes! Ears turned back! She snorted and let out a loud warning call and then the whole herd crashed out the other way. The bull threw his antlers back and charged after the herd. When they got about 500 yards away he looked back toward me and let out several long and mocking bugles. Then they were gone..... It felt symbolic. Peru is gone. The dreams and aspirations are gone. I got so close! I worked so hard.... I'm kicking myself... I know, I know, I just have to let it go.

While on that four day elk hunting trip in the wilderness of eastern Oregon I was able to get alone with God, throw rocks at heaven and cry out to Him.... This change hurts! The loss is gut-wrenching! .... I finally gave in.... I didn't get an elk but I got something much better... a renewed vision. It's been a difficult yet exciting month. There have been a lot of mixed feelings. On one hand I've felt like we've lost huge parts of our life (our older sons to college and Peru to the USA). On the other hand we've gained so much (a great team in Dubuque Iowa and amazing ministry opportunities). My heart has been torn with the idea of breaking away from the work in the jungles of Peru..... But, it's exciting to look to the future and see what God has for us in North America.

If you were supporting us because you wanted to support the work that was done in Peru you should stop now. Please support Jesse and Janel Mattix who are doing a great job in Tarapoto. We will still be full time missionaries and if you feel so led you can still support us through CMML, but we will now be based in the USA. Our mission field will primarily be North America but will also include visits to Peru and other countries as the Lord opens doors. We are trusting the Lord for His provision as we continue to preach the gospel in a full time capacity. Our home base will be Dubuque Iowa so that we can work alongside (not for) Emmaus International in hopes of starting a discipleship program there. Our prayer is that we can have a part in setting hearts on fire for God and that young people would be inspired to go forward with evangelism, discipleship, church planting and missions. We have been doing a lot of planning toward this end and our calendar is starting to come together. Basically, I will be doing a lot of itinerant preaching as we work together with our team toward developing a discipleship summer-school. Hopefully we can be a part of starting a contagious movement that spreads like wildfire as it invests in a younger generation.

So far our schedule looks like this:

October: Preaching in Des moines, Ankeny and Guttenburg Iowa.
November: Teaching at two conferences in the San Fransisco bay area.
December: Peru trip, preaching at the convention of river churches!!!!
January: Peru trip continued, teaching at a capacitation course in Trujillo
February: Peru trip continued, teaching at a capacitation course in Yurimaguas
March: Teaching at a "Spark" conference in NJ and then another conference in KC.
April: Preaching at a conference in Dubuque Iowa
May: Teaching in Bogota Colombia
June: 12 week discipleship summer-course begins!
July: Course continues as I escape for a week of ministry at a south Florida camp
August: The last six weeks of the course will involve an intense missions trip to Peru
September: Preaching at Camp Hope in Dahlonega Georgia
October: Teaching at a CMML conference in Augusta Georgia.

That's the basic idea for the next 13 months. Some things could change and there are a lot of other details that will fill out the calendar but that's the rough idea. Please pray! If God isn't at the center of all this our efforts will be in vain. We are really praying that God would spark revival as He works in the hearts of His people across the country. In Luke 24, Jesus shared with the disciples on the road to Emmaus the things concerning Himself. The disciples eyes were opened and their hearts burned with passion for their Savior. This is our hope for all who study with us! We want to see eyes opened and hearts on fire in churches everywhere. With that in view we have planned a few events that we are calling "Spark Conferences". The first one will be on November 17-19 in the San Fransisco Bay area where we hope to have inspiring times of prayer, worship and bible teaching. Please watch the following video and pray for this event.




Missions quote for the day by Martin Luther: "I'll preach Christ as if he was crucified yesterday, risen today and coming again tomorrow"

Micah for the Tuttle's

I preface everything that I'm about to write with these words: "We are called to a person and not to a place." That person is our Lord Jesus Christ. The place may change but our God doesn't!

Several months ago I was preaching in an assembly and after the message a brother I didn't know came to me and said: "I feel like the Lord wants me to say to you that you should consider staying in North America for a few years to encourage the assemblies and try to stir up the younger generation to serve the Lord.".... When I heard this I thought to myself: "that's ridiculous, I'm going back to Peru." The next Sunday I preached again in another assembly and when I finished the message another brother came up and said the exact same thing. I thought: "Wow, that's what the guy said last week.... How strange"... The third Sunday it happened again! This brother repeated verbatim what the other two had said! On the fourth Sunday, when I finished up preaching, I was on the look-out for whoever it might be with this same message and sure enough an un-known brother approached me and said: "I feel like the Lord wants me to say to you that you should consider staying in North America for a few years to encourage the assemblies and try to stir up the younger generation to serve the Lord." ..... I just sat down and wanted to cry.... "All I want do is to go back to Peru, Lord!"

As we have traveled around North America we have seen a major need to reach a younger generation that is quickly disappearing from churches everywhere. There is also a major need to motivate and inspire churches in the areas of evangelism and missions. In the last few months the Lord has really opened up doors for us to do those things. God's leading has become even more evident as Emmaus Correspondence School has asked us if we would partner with them in trying to equip the next generation for evangelism and missions! We have a lot of brainstorming to do and we aren't sure what all the details will look like, but we are excited about the many possibilities. The primary vision is to train and equip young people for service by offering in-depth Bible study and training with application to daily life. There would also be practical opportunities to do evangelism and participate in extended missions trips. We have talked with our elders about all this and we feel the confirmation from them and from the Lord to go ahead with these ideas for the future. In the last two months things have really become more concrete and we feel like its time to start talking about this."

It has been exciting to see what the Lord has done over the last seventeen years in Peru. We have been able to share the gospel with thousands of people and help start a few churches and Bible institutes. The assembly in Tarapoto is growing and doing well with Peruvian leadership. The Bible institute in town (IBEM Selva) is doing well and under the leadership of Jesse and Janel Mattix. The village churches along the Huallaga river are thriving under their own leadership. The goal of missions is to make Christ's name great as you do evangelism, discipleship and church planting .... and then you hand the work off to the nationals and start all over somewhere else. We have arrived at that "start all over somewhere else" part.

"I love Peru, I miss Peru... It hurts to type this... I feel like my heart is being torn out... but, we have decided to transition into a different focus of ministry. We will continue to be missionaries supported through CMML but based in the USA while making frequent trips to Peru. Once all the details have been worked out my role will include itinerant preaching, teaching, evangelism and leading young people on extended missions trips to Peru that would enable students to see the work there in Tarapoto and along the river where the Lord has done great things. On these trips the students would be studying the bible and reading missionary biography's as they rub shoulders with missionaries and believers in a jungle context. Hopefully this would be an eye-opening and life-changing experience as they come away with something to inspire them with a vision of how God could use them in the future. Please be praying about all this! My heart aches to be in Peru but it's burning to be at the center of Gods will. It is a huge transition and very difficult for me but the Lord is doing it, so we go forward with much anticipation and excitement!

Missions quote #1: “Gods call on your life will often disrupt your plans and take you to places you might not want to go” -Unknown

Missions quote #2: "Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God" -William Carrey


Micah for the Tuttle's

As we flew over Fort McMurray Alberta in a tiny six-seater airplane I asked our pilot (Zack) if we had any parachutes on board. When he answered: "No" I asked what we should do if one of our wings fell off. He smiled, shook his head and replied: "the law of gravity is totally unforgiving." Later, when we had safely landed, Zack and I had a great conversation about spiritual things and I found that he was really searching. As we spoke together I reminded him that if he didn't have a parachute and he had to jump out of that airplane "the law of gravity would have been totally unforgiving with him." In the same way if we haven't put on our spiritual parachute the law of God will be totally unforgiving with us when we make the jump from life to death.... which we all have to do some day..... "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27). The big jump is coming! Jesus is the only parachute that will save you from the unforgiving law of God that you and I have broken! "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 13:14)..... Zack said: "Wow, that makes it pretty clear... Never thought about it like that before."

Since my last post we have traveled from Portland to Seattle to Spokane to Calgary to Fort McMurray and it has been exciting to pass out tracts and share the gospel with many people in many contexts. I've had some great conversations with many people of many races and many religions. Among the many races have been Arabs, Africans, Europeans, Orientals and Latins. The mission field has come to North America! Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Atheists are everywhere and they all need Christ. What an opportunity! I've spoken with people in the park, at the gas station, on the golf course, in campgrounds, at restaurants, in airplanes and on the street. It's not too difficult when you are armed with tracts and looking to give them out wherever your day might take you. The end of the ages has come upon us... We ought to feel a sense of urgency in reaching the world with the gospel. It's good fishing out there!


Everywhere we go we have had a wonderful time with the body of Christ who has encouraged us greatly. We are thankful for the amazing brothers and sisters that have taken us in and loved us and treated us like family. As we visit with different assemblies in different places I continue to preach about three times a week. There is nothing better than opening God's word with fellow believers and encouraging one another in our walk with the Lord.


Tomorrow we will be leaving Northern Alberta and heading south toward Dubuque Iowa where we will be installing Javen and Cullen at Emmaus Bible College. After getting our boys set up, Amy and I will be involved in some important meetings about future ministry opportunities. After we wrap those meetings up I plan to do another post at the end of this month about how the Lord is leading us. We would greatly appreciate your prayers!


Missions Quote for the day by John Piper: “There are a thousand needs in the world, and none of them compares to the global need for the gospel.”

Micah for the Tuttle's

Amy and Ellia and I just finished up a wonderful seven day trip to the Dominican Republic! We had the privilege of participating in two different conferences where brothers and sisters from assemblies all over the Spanish speaking world came together for a tremendous time of mutual encouragement in the Lord. It was a great week of worship and prayer and bible teaching and networking and strategizing. The language and the palm trees and the tropical climate all made it seem a bit like the jungles of Peru but the comparisons stopped there as we were pretty much spoiled in every way. Each day we enjoyed incredible accommodations, air conditioning, beautiful beaches, blue Caribbean water and lots of good food...... different.... but Peru is still better :)

In the last few months the Lord has opened up many doors for us to encourage and inspire and motivate His people in the areas of evangelism and missions. In many places we have been able to rub shoulders with "on fire" Christians who have encouraged us more than we have encouraged them. We are so grateful for all the brothers and sisters that have opened up their homes and shown us incredible hospitality. Everywhere that we have gone it has been a real privilege to preach in churches and in houses and at youth events and conferences along the way. At times our schedule has been feverish..... but that makes things all the more exciting.... Two weeks ago, Amy and I were asked to share at the southwest Indian brethren conference in Dallas where I ended up preaching 7 times in one day! It actually felt kind of like our river church conventions where I used to preach and teach basically from sun up to sun down. God seems to be doing something special in a lot of places and we pray that He would raise up a new generation to plow forward with the gospel.


Since our last update we have driven through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon. We have put 17,000 miles on our van so far and we've had zero problems. The van and trailer have performed amazingly for which we are very thankful! The few times when we weren't staying with fellow Christians we enjoyed camping in campgrounds along the way. One of our highlights last month was going through Yellowstone national park. On our very first day we saw a grizzly bear, a black bear, a wolf, a coyote, a few big-horn sheep, lots of bison, and elk and deer. All of this has given us a tremendous family time as we try to take advantage of our last few months together before Javen and Cullen begin life on their own at college.


Throughout our travels I have tried to share the gospel with as many people as possible. In the streets, in campgrounds, at gas stations, in restaurants, at barbur shops, on beaches and at tourist attractions. I have given out lots of tracts and had numerous one on one conversations with people in 28 different states. In all this gospel work one thing has really stood out to me: People are the same everywhere! Whether we were in NY City or in Wyoming in or the Dominican Republic or in Canada people are in great need of our great Savior. "Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil" but when you share Christ with them in a loving and respectful way they will usually listen.


Missions quote of the day by Francis Chan: "Simon says: 'Pat your head' and we pat our heads... Jesus says: 'Go make disciples' and we memorize that verse"

Micah for the Tuttle's

A few weeks ago we were walking through the Arlington National Cemetery in D.C. looking at the tens of thousands of graves and Ellia (our 3 year old) asks: "Dad, these dead people go Heaven or Hell? ........ Sobering question.......

Everywhere we go I think about that sobering question.... Like the prophet Jeremiah I feel like God's word is in my heart like a burning fire. It's shut up in my bones, I'm weary of holding it back and I just can't." There have been tremendous opportunities to preach the gospel and to encourage the Lords people across the USA in the last few months. Thank you to those of you that have been praying for us. The Lord seems to be working in a lot of ways! Our schedule has been really crazy and I have been preaching several times a week but some of the most special times of ministry have been on the street sharing the gospel with individuals in random places.

The following written record took place earlier this week as I looked to share Christ with a few strangers near San Antonio:

As our kids were swimming and playing with friends in the San Marcos river I decided that I would fit in a little evangelism. I struck up a conversation with an older couple that was sitting in the shade near our spot on the shore. Their names were “Richard” and “Tilly”. They said that they were originally from Mexico but have lived in the States for more than 40 years.

I asked: “Do you come from a catholic background?”
Richard: “Yes we do …. but I have little devil horns hiding under my hair.”
Me: “If you were to die today and you were to go up to heavens gate and God was to ask “why should I let you into my heaven?” what would you say?”
Tilly: “Oh, I’d say that I’ve never done anything too bad. I’ve been a good person.”
Me: “Have you ever told a lie? Ever stolen anything? Ever gotten drunk? Ever fornicated?”
Richard: “Well yes, I’ve committed all of the above and actually, Tilly and I are living in fornication right now…… but compared to other people we are squeaky clean.”
Me: “The problem is that on judgment day you aren’t going to be compared to other people. You are going to be compared to the high requirements of God’s law. It says in 1 Cor 6:9 that “no fornicators, thieves or drunks will inherit the kingdom of God.” What are you going to do when it comes time to give an account before a holy God?”
Tilly: “Just a few weeks ago I went to confession for the first time in 30 years and the priest asked why I was there. I said that I just wanted to confess a few things because I’m not perfect. The priest asked if I’d murdered someone. I said “No” and then he said that If I didn’t murder anyone I was fine and I didn’t need to confess the “small stuff.”
Me: Look at James 2:10. “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
Tilly: Wow, that’s a lot different than what the priest told me.
Me: Yes, actually we all are guilty of rebellion against the Creator of the universe and we deserve an eternal sentence to hell.
Richard: "What can we do?"
Me: God in His great love for us has provided a way! In Colossians 2:14 it says: “God has forgiven us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us, He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” ..... You've got a choice to make! In John 3:36 it says: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for Gods wrath remains on them.”...... Repent and come to Christ while there's still time.
Richard: What? .... Nobody has ever told us this before!
Me: They’re not my words, it’s the Bible.
Tilly: Who are you......?
Me: Just one of God's servants sent to share in this divine appointment that He has set with you.


Missions quote for the day by David Platt: "Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell."

Since our last update we have travelled through North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and now Texas. Our schedule for the next month and a half looks like this:
May 10-18 Houston with First Colony Bible Chapel
May 21 Greenfield Bible Chapel in Iowa
May 22-26 Sioux Falls
June 4 Eastgate Bible Chapel Portland Oregon
June 5-9 Greenwood Hills Camp (Missionary Orientation Program) in Harrisburg PA
June 9-12 Indian brethren conference in Dallas Texas
June 13-16 Lincoln City beach with the extended Tuttle family
June 17-26 Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) Latin America Conference
July ..... Portland Oregon

Micah for the Tuttle's

Over the last month and a half we have traveled through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Ontario, New York, Delaware, Maryland, D.C, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. We have stayed with some wonderful brothers and sisters and we have seen some amazing places! It has been a huge privilege to preach God's word and share the gospel all along the way! Our schedule has been crazy as I have preached an average of about 5 times a week. There have been missions conferences, youth conferences, evangelistic meetings, church meetings, home meetings and.... lots of other meetings :) We thank the Lord for the open doors to preach His word, encourage His people, inspire missions and do evangelism everywhere we go. It is exciting to see God working in different places and in different ways.

Our travels
As I mentioned in our last update the Lord has greatly blessed us with a 12 passenger van and a travel trailer that sleeps our whole family. The TT has been very helpful, and so far, hauling it has gone smoothly. Sometimes we feel kind of like a traveling circus but we have had a tremendous time together as a family and it's been a great way to do homeschool and ministry together. In a few places our kids have had opportunities to teach in Sunday-schools and share about their experiences growing up on the mission field. We are thankful for how the Lord is working in each of our kids and using them in different ways. Our family is far from perfect but we want to try to, in some way, give an example of what it looks like to serve the Lord together.

The work in Tarapoto
Our Bible Institute back in Peru seems to be going well under the guidance of Jesse and Janel Mattix. We are so thankful for the good work that they are doing! For the past two weeks the students have been studying a course on "The defense of the book of Genesis". Prior to that they went out on a ministry trip to Yurimaguas to do evangelism and children's work in some of the surrounding villages. We were also encouraged to hear that our assembly in Tarapoto baptized a few new believers last month. We praise the Lord that He is continuing to do great things. It is exciting to hear of the work there in the jungle but at the same time it makes me miss it all the more. I feel like my heart is being torn out and I wish I could be there helping in whatever ways I can.... but we know that the Lord has us here in the USA for a time.

Peru Flooding
Many people have asked us about the flooding in Peru. In the jungle everyone is prepared for rain and this year isn't any different than others for the jungle people. The problems have mostly been confined to the coast where it almost never rains. They aren't at all prepared for this sort of thing and they were hit hard by the "el niño" rains and landslides which have killed about 100 people. Many people are missing, about 15,000 homes have collapsed, another 15,000 homes are not able to be lived in, about 200,000 homes have been damaged in some way, about 14,000 kilometers of roads have been destroyed, another 14,000 kilometers of roads have been damaged, around 230 bridges have been destroyed, while 400 more bridges have been damaged. Many places still need drinking water, food and tents. Where there is great disaster there is great opportunity. Many brothers and sisters who live on the coast are helping the needy and showing the love of Christ in the midst of very hard times. Please pray for the coast of Peru.

Missions quote of the day by K.P Yohannan: "Believers who have the gospel keep mumbling it over and over to themselves. Meanwhile, millions who have never heard it once fall into the flames of eternal hell without ever hearing the salvation story."

Micah for the Tuttle's

26 Below Youth Conference
After preaching last Saturday night I was totally exhausted, so I tried to escape back to our cabin to get some sleep. As I left the lodge and began to go through the dark and frozen woods I came upon a young man who was kneeling in the snow and fervently crying out to God in prayer..... I stopped dead in my tracks and thought: "How can you sleep at a time like this?".... I turned around, left the young man alone with God, and joined one of the many small prayer groups that had started in different places around the lodge. The Lord seemed to really work in the lives of many young people last weekend as I preached on the theme: "Don't waste your life". The leaders and organizers and music team were all useful instruments in our great God's hands. He is doing something special in many places and it is exciting to be a part of it. Last week I was able to preach nine times in six days. The bulk of that was done in the aforementioned youth conference at "Hidden Acres" Bible camp in Dayton Iowa. Despite difficult driving conditions more than 200 campers showed up for the CMML sponsored event. Believers came from all over the place such as: Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas and even Texas! We thank God for this powerful time and that He was glorified. Please pray that the Lord would continue to work in the lives of those who went to this event.

Blizzard
Driving up to the camp we had an exciting and adventurous blizzard experience! We left Dubuque Iowa at 9:30 pm right after speaking at Student Missionary Fellowship and we headed toward Dayton. What should have been a three hour drive turned into nearly six. In the middle of our journey the storm hit us with nickel sized hail that made me wonder if it was going to break through the windshield! After about 2" of hail built up on the highway, the rocks finally turned into flakes. Intense lightening lit our way through several white-out moments..... it was awesome!!! Nothing at all like jungle travel :) We were driving in a tiny rear wheel drive rental car. It was probably the worst car possible for snow travel and we had no chains! We were spinning and sliding quite a bit with very little visibility as I had to hold the pedal to the metal in many places just to just keep from getting stuck. We arrived near 3 a.m. and it was a real miracle that we somehow didn't get stranded out there. We thank the Lord for helping us to get through the storm safely.

30 days of evangelism
I have had an amazing start to my "30 days of evangelism" commitment. My favorite story so far happened on day two and goes like this..... Brother Diego and I went to the bus station where we went bonkers giving out tracts and speaking to everything that moved with reckless abandon. We were constantly teaming up and handing off and then spreading out. At one point I gave a tract to a young man named Jose, who said he was waiting for a bus to go and visit his two children who live with his ex. I talked with him about God's law, our sinfulness, God’s righteousness and the judgment to come. He listened intently..... After about 10 minutes he burst into tears and began to sob uncontrollably. I asked him what he was going through and if I could help in some way. Through sobs and many tears he said: “No, it’s that I just decided yesterday that I’m turning my back on God…. I decided that I’m going to be an atheist….. and now you’ve come to tell me about God’s love for me and warn me of the coming judgment…. I don’t think that this conversation was by chance." ..... I shared from Isaiah 55 “Seek the Lord while he may be found…” His bus came and as he got on I was able to take him by the shoulders and say: “I’ll never see you again.... God made this conversation happen. It was a divine appointment…. Don’t take it lightly…. Run to Christ, He's your only hope… Read the bible… Read that tract I gave you…. look for a church that teaches the Bible…. Look for some solid Christians.” .... He got on the bus, clutching his tract and literally sobbing as we parted ways. Please Pray for Jose.

Bible Institute
This Monday (March 6th) a new school year of IBEM SELVA institute classes will begin in our house in Tarapoto. The Bible institute that we started last year is continuing under the leadership and guidance of Jesse and Janel Mattix. The team working alongside them will involve Dahly Alday (Peruvian), Sarah Leavitt (American) and Aaron Campbell (American). Please pray for them and the new group of students that will be engaging in intense study and ministry for the next seven months. They will kick things off with a two week course on Old Testament Survey..... Oh, how I wish I was there!!! The following is a picture from last year at about this time on the first day of IBEM SELVA.


Missions quote for the day by C.H Spurgeon: "Jesus DIED for sinners, cannot we LIVE for them?"

Micah for the Tuttle's

Life has changed greatly for us in the last month and a half. Some of the most notable differences are the temperatures, the smells, the food, the language, the technology, the people, the highways (it is laughable to compare the NJ garden state parkway with the dirt road that goes to our house in Tarapoto).... Needless to say, we have experienced a bit of "reverse culture shock". What hasn't changed are the many opportunities to preach God's word and encourage His people. The Lord has opened many doors for us to visit different assemblies and emphasize what every Christian's missions should be: Make Christ's name great wherever you are. So far our schedule has been pretty full as I have been preaching several times each week. There have been youth conferences and missions conferences; there have been evangelistic meetings and church meetings; there have been times of wonderful fellowship and times of deep conversation. We thank God for every one of these precious moments!

Thirty days of evangelism
One thing I have missed from our ministry in Peru is some personal evangelism on the street. I decided last week that I am going to get back on track and commit to "thirty days of evangelism". The goal is to share the gospel with at least one person every day for thirty days. It can be with the guy at the gas station or at the cash register or in the park or on the side-walk.... But the key is; you have to have at least one clear gospel conversation with an unbeliever each day. When you make a conscious effort to do this it really makes life exciting! Please pray for me as I look to share the love of Christ with people I meet as we travel this month to different places (Des Moines IA, Miami FL, NYC).


Family
Everyone in our family has thoroughly enjoyed meeting new people and seeing new places but in the midst of all the pandemonium Amy is working hard to keep our kids on track with homeschool. Javen and Cullen are preparing to take their SAT's on March 11th. Bria and Josiah are advancing in the areas of math and history. Mya is reading and writing better everyday and Ellia is learning to sleep without a pacifier. Our family life has been greatly aided by Christian Missions in Many Lands and their guest house where we have been able to stay since Christmas. It has given us stability as we adjust to a different kind of crazy routine here in the USA.


Missing Peru
We are very much enjoying ourselves here on the east-coast but at the same time we miss Peru a lot! We often times sit down as a family and we remember our church and our Bible institute and the villages and our friends and the culture and the food and we wish that we could be in two places at once. The following video is one that I put together in an attempt to give a challenge and an encouragement towards missions. It gives you a quick look at our life and ministry in Peru during the last few years. We have shown it in several churches and with this posting I am now retiring it to Youtube.



Updated schedule
We have an exciting schedule ahead of us that is very full until September when we plan to head back to Peru. The Lord has blessed us in an amazing way with a 12 passenger van and a travel-trailer that will help us immensely as we drive some 30,000 miles over the next few months! We are so grateful for His provision! Here is what our foreseeable itinerary looks like:

"26 below" youth conference in Dayton Iowa (February 24-26)
South Florida missions conference in Miami FL (March 3-9)
Missions conference in Rochester NY (March 24-26)
Missions conference in Baltimore MD (April 7-9)
Youth and family conference in Ferrum VA on April 15-16
Hispanic missions meetings in Roxboro NC (April 18-20)
Regional youth rally in Raleigh NC (April 21-23)
Missions conference in Murfreesboro TN (April 28-30)
Houston Texas (May 2-19)
Iowa (May 21-25)
Portland Oregon (May 30-June 4)
Missionary Orientation Program in Harrisburg PA (June 5-8)
Indian conference in Dallas TX (June 9-11)
Portland Oregon (June 12-16)
Hispanic brethren conference in Santo Domingo, DR (June 17-26)
Portland Oregon (June 27-July 31)
Calgary Alberta (August 6)
Fort McMurray Alberta (August 8-14)
Leave Javen and Cullen at Emmaus in Dubuque Iowa (August 18-31)
Tarapoto Peru (September)

Missions quote of the day by Ann Judson: "A little while, we are in eternity; before we find ourselves there, let us do much for Christ."

Micah for the Tuttle's