Construction Project

This week we’ve been working hard on remodeling our Bible chapel here in Tarapoto. A team lead by brother Steven Harrel from North Carolina has come to help us with the project and they’ve been a HUGE blessing! We are putting in 6 big columns and beams so that we can build a second story for extra classroom space. It’s been a hot sweaty and back-breaking job…. but everyone is surviving! 

Three river trips and fifteen villages so far…. 

We’ve had kids meetings, open air meetings, church meetings, school meetings….. Maggots falling from the roof on Thom’s head as he taught. Fire ants in Cullens boots as he lead open air worship.  Drunks mocking from afar as I preached….. Epic hikes, pouring rain, flooded rivers, steamy hot-springs, majestic waterfalls, towering mountains, lush rainforests….. Lots of mud, lots of mosquitoes, lots of heat, lots of sweat, lots of rice, lots of fish. Lots of help from the Lord!

An evangelistic encounter to remember

Every time I get into a  taxi I try to share the gospel with the driver…. He’s a captive audience…. And you’re paying him… So he has to listen 🙂

Today when we jumped into a taxi I started with some normal small talk about the weather and then I asked the driver one of my favorite lead-in questions: “What church do you go to?”

As soon as I mentioned ‘church’ he shut down… didn’t really want to talk…. He tried really hard to avoid the subject…. But I gently kept pressing him. 

Finally he replied: “I have no desire to go to church” 

I said: “Oh, You don’t go to church? Why not?”

He said: “I used to go but I saw way too many hypocrites so I quit going… now I’m an agnostic.” 

I cringed and said: “Man, I’m sorry about all the hypocrisy you’ve seen… You know, I’m actually here to encourage you to not go to church… in fact, I’d say that hypocritical Christians basically prove that God doesn’t exist…. forget agnosticism, you should be a full blown atheist.” 

At this point our taxi driver totally changed and really started to open up… but in a way I hadn’t anticipated… He said: “Well, I wouldn’t go that far… I mean not all Christians are hypocrites. I’ve met some really amazing ones too.” 

I replied: “Well, a few bad apples are enough to make the whole batch rotten… I still don’t think you should go to church and please don’t read the Bible… that book is absolutely full of stories about hypocrites!”

Now our driver was really skeptical of my advice and said: “I haven’t had too much interest in the Bible but now you’re actually making me want to read it, I don’t think it can be all that bad.” ….

He then proceeded to try to convince me that church IS a good place and we all should attend somewhere… 

Then he launched into a story about how he had been deathly ill as a kid and how Jesus had healed him….. but over the years he had drifted away and has now arrived at this point of agnosticism. 

I responded: “Wow, you were actually healed by Jesus and now, because of a few hypocrites at church you don’t even recognize Gods existence?” 

At this point he kinda looked embarrassed…. 

I said: “Have you ever been to a gym and seen a few people there that looked fat and outa shape?”

He said: “Yes” 

I replied: “What do those fatsos think they’re doing in that gym… what a bunch of hypocrites!”  

He said: “Well, they’re trying to….” He paused and then as if a lightbulb went on…. He said: “Oh, I get it”… 

I quickly showed him Romans 5:8 and then we finished up the ride with a great conversation about how Jesus died and rose again for hypocrites like all of us. 

Please pray for Julio!

Missions quote of the day by Leonard Ravenhill: “There are two kinds of people in the world—only two kinds. Not black or white, rich or poor, but those either dead in sin or dead to sin.”

Micah for the Tuttles 

 YURIMAGUAS

For the last few days we’ve been in the town of Yurimaguas where I’m presently teaching Evangelism and Eschatology at a training program for young people. The students have been “all in” and it’s been really fun to invest in them. Aside from the six hours of classroom time each day we’ve been doing some evangelism in the afternoons, soccer in the evenings and group prayer in the early mornings. Please pray for as we continue our rigorous schedule through the rest of this week. 

TARAPOTO

The present training program comes just a few days after having a fantastic mini-capacitation course for the river church leaders at our house in Tarapoto. Whily Cacho came in from Cajamarca and did the heavy lifting with most of the teaching load as he really challenged the students to carry out their leadership roles in a biblical and Christ centered way. There is a massive need for men that can serve and preach and teach and shepherd the flock in their local assemblies.  Both last week and this week you could see the interest on the faces of the students. There’s nothing better than teaching men who really have a hunger for the Word! 

TRUJILLO

A few weeks ago we did an exciting mini-missions trip to the coast where we began our ministry in Peru 25 years ago. Amy and I and the girls and our three Iowan disciples boarded a bus and traveled a total of 22 hours from the steamy hot jungles, over the Andes mountains and across the desert to the city of Trujillo. We had an awesome time attending a workers and elders conference there and it was fun to see precious brothers and sisters that we hadn’t seen for many years. 

EVANGELISTIC ENCOUNTER

Near the end of our time in Trujillo we made a visit to the main square.  Upon arrival a man came up to me and said: “Hey gringo, I haven’t seen you for about ten years…. You gonna preach?”  I immediately recognized him… he was my main heckler and mocker when I used to preach here every Saturday.

I replied: “Hey! It’s my favorite mocker! I’ve thought about you and prayed for you many times over the years….. You a Christian yet?” 

He said: “No, no, you Christians are all a bunch of hypocrites”

I said: “Man, I was really hoping that you were a free man by now…. As to hypocrites… Yes, at times we’re all pretty hypocritical…. It’s a good thing we look to Jesus as the author and perfecter of our faith and not to the church or a pastor or any other person.”

He said: “You gonna preach?”

I said: “No, not today I’m just gonna go share the love of Jesus with that homeless guy over there.” 

As I walked toward the homeless guy my heckler friend mumbled: “Free? what’s that supposed to mean anyway?”

QUOTE FOR THE DAY: “I desire no other service but the service of God, laboring for souls on earth and doing His will in heaven. I wish for no other heaven on earth than preaching the precious gospel of Christ to immortal souls. There is nothing else in this world for which I would wish to live except that God might appoint me some work.”  -Henry Martyn 

Micah for the Tuttle’s 

Upon arrival in Tarapoto Mya and I headed straight to the convención of river churches where I had the responsibility of preaching for 5 hrs a day for 5 days…. I preached my heart out and ended up exhausted but joyful, Tired but thrilled, Drained but full. This event is really the most important event of the year as far as pouring into the river churches goes. There were 500 brothers and sisters that showed up and the Lord did great things. 

After the convention Amy and Ellia arrived in Tarapoto and they brought three young men with them… Jacob Bloomquist, Chase Gartin and Peter Costello. We are very excited to have these three guys with us in discipleship until May.  We have a lot ahead us as we attempt great things for our great God. We’ve planned four river trips, one coastal trip and one mountain trip… in all that will be 30 mini missions trips to 30 different villages here in Peru. Without doubt there will be much adventure along the way! 

We hope to spend a lot of time in prayer, bible study and physical exercise during these next few months…. Our book list will include Spiritual Disciplines by Donald Whitney, The Holy War by John Bunyan, Shadow of the Almighty by Elizabeth Elliot and the entire New Testament by God. Please pray for us! 

Missions quote of the day by Leonard Ravenhill: “Oh that believers would become eternity-conscious! If we could live every moment of every day under the eye of God, if we did every act in the light of the judgment seat, if we sold every article in the light of the judgment seat, if we prayed every prayer in the light of the judgment seat, if we tithed all our possessions in the light of the judgment seat, if we preachers prepared every sermon with one eye on damned humanity and the other on the judgment seat—then we would have a Holy Ghost revival that would shake this earth and that, in no time at all, would liberate millions of precious souls.”

Micah for the Tuttle’s

Missions quote for the day by Leonard Ravenhill: “The gospel is not an old, old story freshly told. It is a fire in the Spirit, fed by the flame of Immortal Love and woe to us, if, through our negligence to stir up the gift of God which is within us, that fire burns low.”

Micah for the Tuttle’s