Working Water

In Peruvian slum, clean water opens hearts

Edith Caballa, the neighborhood president of the Rosario de Fatima slum in Lima, Peru, stands next to a water spigot used for washing outside the door of a resident's home. The conditions may still seem primitive for those families who have yet to install bathrooms and sinks, but access to clean running water just outside their door is a dramatic improvement over previous living conditions. The water project headed by International Mission Board missionaries, Quentin and Gina Roberts, has improved sanitation and living conditions for all of the residents and opened doors to share the Gospel. 

LIMA, Peru (BP) -- "Please, can you help us?"

The woman's plea was the first thing Quentin and Gina Roberts heard as they entered an inner-city slum in Lima, Peru.

What they found shocked them.

Lean-to shacks and cracked adobe homes lined a narrow, dirt path in the small community of Rosario de Fatima. There was no water system; the 350 residents used large buckets to collect their sewage. The buckets sat in the sun, covered with pieces of cardboard or empty egg cartons. Once they were full they were emptied into a large hole at the neighborhood's entrance.

Beside the hole was a large sink -- the only place in the community with running water -- where the residents washed their clothes.

Edith Caballa, the neighborhood president and lifelong resident there, said living without running water was nearly unbearable, especially in a community so small and crowded as Rosario de Fatima.

But today the community's unsanitary conditions are mostly a memory.

"We had no water system. We brought buckets with our waste and just poured it in the hole. Then we would wash out the buckets and use them to bring water back to our home for drinking and cooking," Caballa recounted. "That was every single day. And there were so many of us and so much waste, there were fights and people insulting each other. It was very hard."

The Robertses, as International Mission Board missionaries to inner-city Lima, have shared the Gospel and started Bible studies throughout the city. Connections they made in one of their Bible studies brought them to Rosario de Fatima where they hoped to begin another outreach. But they quickly realized the dire water situation provided an opportunity to be Jesus' heart, hands and voice to the community.

"I'd never seen anything quite like that," Gina Roberts said. "I've been places where they didn't have bathrooms, like in rural areas. But in the city there are no trees, no place to dig a hole, no rocks to hide behind. People living there had no sense of dignity.... [T]hings were just totally exposed to everybody. There was a lot of sickness because of it. Our hearts were totally broken by this place."

Thousands of Peruvians in downtown Lima live in quintas like Rosario de Fatima -- individual slums that range from small neighborhoods to large apartment buildings. Sometimes as many as 900 people live in a community without a single bathroom.

"They live very close together," Gina said, "and that breeds social problems as a result."

With financial help from Southern Baptists, the Robertses arranged for a water system to be installed throughout the community. The $15,000 project took nearly two years to complete. Every family was then responsible for installing a bathroom in their home. 

Today, about half of the houses have bathrooms. Some residents still use outdoor disposal systems but each family has a private area that can be cleaned using the water that is piped just outside every home.

During the water project, the Robertses started a Bible study in the community. About 20 people meet to learn God's Word every other Friday night. Although the Robertses still attend, Peruvian believers from the community now lead the study.

"It's sometimes hard," Quentin reflected, "but you have to find that balance between demonstrating God's love in people's physical needs and, then, meeting more than just those needs. Jesus fed the hungry, but there has to be a spiritual component."

Caballa said since the water system was installed, many community members are more open to hearing the Gospel from missionaries who cared enough to help. She attends the Bible study and encourages others to join.

"I was very far away from the Lord for a long time before the [missionaries] helped us," she said. "I didn't have the kind of Bible study that I have now. Little by little, I have been growing in the Word through these studies.

"The neighborhood is still a little bit rough around the edges," she added. "We have a lot of work to do. But now it has a great advantage because it has the water system. It was very tough for us. But now, thanks to the [Robertses], things have changed. We have the Bible study, and we have water.

"Thank God those days are over."

Check out more about mission work in the Americas at Americanpeoples.imb.org. 

Peruvians give their all to reach Amazon region for Christ

Peruvians give their all to reach Amazon region for Christ

IQUITOS, Peru (BP) -- Just three days after his wife died, 72-year-old Edison Romero climbed into a cramped wooden boat for a journey down the Amazon. He could have stayed home to mourn, but he took a 12-hour trip from his village to Iquitos, Peru, to attend missions training.

"I just couldn't miss it," Romero said.

The School of Cross-cultural Missions that Romero attends near the city of Iquitos is one of three training centers launched by Peru a las Naciones (Peru to the Nations), a Peruvian Baptist organization. 

Every two months, Romero and about 30 other participants and family members -- ranging from elderly adults to toddlers -- convene outside Bethany Evangelical Baptist Church in Iquitos. They pile into two crude metal buses with their luggage and a half-dozen live chickens for a jarring hour-long ride over a muddy road full of potholes.

When the road ends, the travelers -- loaded down with young children and luggage -- hike barefoot through a swampy mud pit. At the bank of the Nanay River, which flows into the Amazon, they cram into a narrow wooden boat. There's barely breathing room; the air is stifling. Then it's another 45-minute trip downriver to the jungle camp.

After they reach the shore by the camp, they haul their belongings down a dirt path to the wooden cabins -- covered with dried banana leaves and mosquito netting -- that will be home for three days. There's no electricity or hot water. And since there's no refrigeration, the live chickens will provide fresh food each day. The small children must occupy themselves without the help of modern conveniences, toys or physical comforts.

But no one complains.

CROSS-CULTURAL MISSIONS
Leaders of the group are Tommy and Beth Larner, International Mission Board missionaries from Texas. Tommy, who works with Peru a las Naciones, helped to start the training camp. He and Beth lead a team that teaches Bible storying, evangelism techniques, church-planting methods and other missions principles.

Training national believers in missions is crucial to reaching Peru with the Gospel, Tommy said.

"We can't [reach the world] by ourselves. There's just too much to be done," he said. "We could go to an unreached people group. But if I can send a bunch more Peruvians and invest my life in them, I can be more effective sending than I can going."

Cross-cultural missions often implies taking the Gospel to other countries. But the school near Iquitos teaches believers in the Amazon how to effectively share Christ in the many jungle villages throughout Peru.

"These [believers] live in cross-cultural missions," Tommy said. "Their passion is to go deeper and farther into the jungle where the Gospel has not been preached." Read More

Thanks for praying!

Thanks for praying! We are safely in the Amazon, and as you see, do have some limited access to internet. However it is veeery slow, so I can't post and update tons. Please continue to pray for health and safety while we are here. Tomorrow is our halfway mark, and then we have 2 weeks left before we are back in Lima. I'll try to write a little about what our daily life is like here in the jungle, but in the meantime, check out these articles about Caracas, Venezuela and please pray for that city and our friends that are working there.

Part 1: Caracas Slums
Part 2: Caracas Upperclass

Many airplanes and a vacuum miracle

How is it May already!? I guess the saying is true: time flies when you're...swamped with work and running in 12 directions at once. :-) But busy is good! Last month we traveled to both Panama City, Panama and Iquitos, Peru and had an excellent time on both coverages and were blessed immensely by the people we were with. If I were better at juggling life with keeping up with my blog, I would have told you all sorts of awesome stories of the people that we met and the crazy things we did and saw. But, we are about to travel yet again, so I will have to leave you with an IOU for travel stories. In fact, I'm about to travel a whole bunch in short succession, so I appreciate your prayers for stamina, health, and traveling mercies! 

Between today and mid-July I will only be in Lima about 17 full days. That means I have a great deal of projects and work to finish in a very small amount of time during periods of post- and pre-travel stress. But I really can't complain! This week we head to the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda for a coverage, and shortly after we return I'll be heading home to the good ol' U.S. of A. where I'll have the privilege of serving as Maid of Honor to my dear friend, Della, as she walks down the aisle and begins a new chapter in her life. Then a week after I return from the States, we head off to Suriname! Eeeee! Lots of excitement and craziness ahead! Please keep me in your prayers... especially for some extreme time management skillz. :-)

Take a minute and read this neat story about my friends, the Kunkels. They are precious people and I'm so excited for the feature story about their son, Steven, to be published. God has done awesome things in their lives and they give Him all the glory!

God ‘heals’ vacuum

ASUNCION, Paraguay – While at a pastors’ retreat with her husband, Iracema Kunkel called home to check on her son. What he said didn’t make her happy.

Kunkel’s son Steven, who is autistic, told her he forgot to plug the 110-volt vacuum cleaner into the step-down transformer while doing his chores. The new vacuum – a gift from a family friend – now was burned beyond use. And there were no replacement parts available for it in Paraguay, where the Kunkels serve as International Mission Board missionaries.

“But Mom,” Steven insisted, “I prayed kneeling down by the vacuum cleaner. God can heal it!”

“God does not heal vacuum cleaners!” Kunkel responded, frustrated.

When the Kunkels returned home, they plugged the vacuum into the transformer and turned it on. They got nothing but a strong burning smell.

The next morning during her devotional time, Kunkel read this verse: “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’” (Matthew 9:13, NIV).

She was reminded of all her own faults and realized she needed to forgive her son for his mistake.

Later, before calling an electrician, the Kunkels decided to try the vacuum cleaner one more time. To their surprise, it worked!

“At that moment, all the pieces came together,” Kunkel said. “God desires mercy, not sacrifice. And He cares and hears our prayers about everything, even damaged vacuum cleaners!”




You can read more stories here from the American Peoples Affinity.

In many communities across South America, International Mission Board missionaries and their local Baptist partners prayerwalk as a way to open doors for sharing the Gospel. Here, Venezuelan Baptists and IMB missionaries prayerwalk together through a neighborhood in Caracas, Venezuela. 

Prayerwalking opens doors in Brazil

by Emily Pearson on March 20, 2012

FORTALEZA, Brazil – During their daily walks, Rob and Phyllis Hefner – now in their 50s – have been mugged, physically assaulted and narrowly escaped an attempted kidnapping. Once, during a robbery a woman held a knitting needle to Phyllis’ throat.

Still, experts say walking is one of the best ways to stay healthy.

The Hefners – who serve as International Mission Board missionaries in Fortaleza, Brazil – walk 20 miles a day. Monday through Thursday they begin walking after breakfast and end about 2 p.m. On Friday, they walk until 7 p.m. When they don’t have other commitments, they walk all day Saturday, too. As they walk, they pray for their city of 3 million people.

For the missionaries, it is literally the first step towards reaching people for Christ.

This routine began shortly after the Charlotte, N.C., natives moved to Fortaleza in 1991. During their walks they began seeking God’s direction for their ministry. But even before that – back when they were appointed as IMB missionaries in 1985 – they prayed regularly as they walked for exercise.

“We didn’t call it [prayerwalking] back then,” Phyllis remembers, “but as we were called to missions, we began walking and praying for God’s leadership. After that, we just kept walking farther and farther – and just kept praying.”

In Fortaleza, the 20-mile journey sometimes begins with a strategy, sometimes simply depends on God’s direction and always includes four specific prayer points. First, they pray that God will show them the area He wants them to focus on. Secondly, they ask Him to tear down the walls of lostness in the hearts of the people. They then pray to establish relationships to prepare the way for the Gospel. And finally they ask God to connect them with those who need to hear about Him.

The journey is not without its perils, and often the Hefners’ walks lead them into areas of the city where even the police hesitate to visit. Phyllis says she used to pray for protection but now asks for boldness when they enter places where it is likely they will be targeted.

“If we become afraid to prayerwalk and get out in these areas,” says Phyllis, “then there would be so many miraculous things that would not happen.

“You get to meet the people. You get to see the needs. You physically get to see what you’re praying for.

“If I’m in my house,” she continues, “God hears my prayers, and I think I know what I’m praying for … but if I’m in the house, I would never get to meet the people that I meet.”

The Hefners use prayerwalking as an opportunity to stop and talk to people on the street –from beggars to shopkeepers to restaurant workers. They don’t give out money. Phyllis carries a bag of protein bars to hand out to the hungry during their walks. It allows her to befriend people who approach her. She then asks how she might pray for them and follows up with them on her next visit.

Prayerwalking takes up a good chunk of their day, but it isn’t all the Hefners do.

Rob works as a church planter and serves as a professor of church planting at a local seminary. He also teaches prayerwalking as a mission strategy. So far 85 student teams have begun ministries in the areas where the Hefners have walked. The ministries range from church planting, to working with the homeless and providing crutches to people with missing legs.

In the future, the couple plans on extending their ministry by driving to different starting points and taking new routes.

“Please pray for direction, health, protection and boldness as we continue to discover new prayer routes,” Phyllis says. “Please pray that we might be light and salt to those with whom we come into contact, so that they might come to know Jesus as their personal Savior.”

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Read more stories from the Americas here!

‘What our children needed’

CARACAS, Venezuela – Mike Bennett sat calmly in the parents’ assembly, facing a battle he knew he might not win.

Bennett, an International Mission Board missionary in Caracas, had been hosting talks in local high schools on values. Each talk included a Gospel presentation, and the mother sitting across from him wasn’t happy about it.

“My family is very devoted to the Virgin [Mary],” she said. “I know that you people are evangelicals, and you’re coming to this school to try and convert my kid. I’m pretty suspicious about you.”

“I understand what you’re saying,” Bennett responded. “All I’m asking you to do is give me one shot, and you can come and listen. If you think that it’s inappropriate or we’ve done something to damage your child, I won’t ask to come back again.”

The mother agreed.

The following week, a visiting volunteer working with Bennett gave a talk on self-esteem for the students. The discussion focused on one’s identity in Christ, and the speaker clearly laid out the plan of salvation. Afterward, Bennett braced himself for the mother’s anger.

He was surprised when she hugged him instead.

“I can’t thank you enough,” she said. “This is one of the best things I’ve ever heard, and that’s exactly what our children needed to hear. You’re welcome here any time you want to come.”

PHOTO: “Venezuelan students walk to class in Caracas.” 

Check out more stories about Latin America here.

Praying for Politicians in Argentina

Praying for politicians

by Maria Elena Baseler on January 30, 2012

Miguel Angel Parisi takes seriously the biblical mandate to pray for authorities                           (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Parisi, an Argentine Baptist, works in logistics at the Argentine National Congress building in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In that role, he has contact with Argentina’s 72 senators and their staffs as well as the country’s vice president. Parisi also has access to senate offices and the senate chamber, where the senate’s official business is conducted.

When the senate isn’t in session, Parisi sometimes enters the empty senate chamber and sits down to pray at each senator’s desk. He prays specifically for that senator’s needs and his or her future decisions.

“The most important thing a Christian can do is pray,” says Parisi. “By being here in this building, we [who are Christians] can actually put our hands on the walls and pray [for what goes on inside] this building.”

Besides praying for politicians, Parisi participates in a weekly Bible study for senate employees, held in a lounge that opens into the senate chamber. The study is led by Luciano Bongarra, president of “Parlamento y Fe” (“Parliament and Faith”), an evangelical ministry to politicians in Latin America. Manuel Sosa, a soon-to-retire missionary with the International Mission Board, has helped Bongarra teach the study and minister to senators and their staffs.

This ministry “is very important because it makes an impact on the senators and other politicians who come by here all the time,” says Parisi. “We are ‘inside the kitchen’ of the whole political process here.”

For more stories check out http://americanpeoples.imb.org/.

Reaching Haitian Immigrants

by Emily Pearson on December 30, 2011

PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic — Inside a tin shack, the 13-year-old Haitian mother fell to her knees in the dirt and surrendered her life to Christ.

It was a beautiful sight to missionary Carlos Llambes and visiting volunteers from several Haitian Southern Baptist churches in the Miami area. The team had traveled to the Dominican city of Puerto Plata to help evangelize this neighborhood and start a church among Haitian immigrants there. The volunteers simply walked door to door, telling people about Jesus. It was in one of these homes that a volunteer shared the Gospel with the young mother.

“The girl was in tears and [had the volunteer] hold the baby while she knelt on the ground to pray to repent, “ said Llambes, an International Mission Board missionary in the Dominican Republic.

This new believer is one of about 2 million Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic. Many of them live in extremely poor, isolated areas.

Pray for this young mother as she grows in Christ. Pray also for the pastor of a local church-start who returns frequently to follow up with her and other area residents.

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PHOTO: “A young haitian mother cradles her child.”

Photo Credit: Rebecca Springer

Seizing the Moment

Check out this sweet story from Caracas. 

I love the reminder that our faithfulness in small actions can have an eternal impact!

Seizing The Moment

by Emily Pearson on December 13, 2011

What began as a simple gesture became the moment that changed one man’s eternity.

José is the maintenance man at the apartment building where International Mission Board missionaries Mike and Jan Bennett live in Caracas, Venezuela. Mike had talked with him a few times about spiritual things, but José had never made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

But God was working in José’s life. One day José repaired the water tank at the home of IMB missionary Susanne Arnold. While he was there, Susanne gave him a Bible. Soon after, José’s father became ill, and José left for several weeks to care for him.

When José returned, Mike offered him a ride to a different missionary’s home to repair another water tank.

“He [José] told me about receiving the Bible,” said Mike. “He said that while he was sitting at his father’s side, he had a lot of time to read it. He said that the book of Romans says we are all sinners. As he read that, he realized he was a sinner and had not been following God’s path, and he needed to get his life in order.”

Mike explained the plan of salvation to José, who accepted Christ there in the car.

“All this because Susanne took the initiative to give him a Bible, and God did the rest through His Spirit,” Mike said.

–

PHOTO: IMB missionary, Susanne Arnold, looks for any opportunity to share the Gospel with the people of Caracas, whether that be giving a repairman a Bible, working with students, or teaching free English classes in the community. (Photo by Rebecca Springer.)

You can check out more interesting stories from Latin America at this site.

Catching the Vision

Check out the following article about some of what God is doing in Peru. It's impossible to talk to the Peruvians who are seeking to go, and the missionaries that are facilitating the process, and not get excited! They are all incredibly passionate about taking the Gospel to all peoples. It's awesome! 

Please be praying for the recent graduates of the mission training school as they seek God's direction, and for the Larners and many others who are working to mobilize Peruvians to the ends of the earth.

PERU: Catching the missionary vision

by Emily Pearson on November 21, 2011

LIMA, Peru – More and more, Peruvian believers are catching the missionary vision.

And as more Peruvian Christians answer God’s call to missions, Tommy and Beth Larner are helping prepare them for what they’ll face on the field.

The Larners, International Mission Board missionaries in Peru, work with a Peruvian organization called Perú a Las Naciones (Peru to the Nations), which prepares national believers to serve on the international mission field. Recently, the first graduates completed the organization’s seminary-style training program.

“We’re very much a part of it, but it’s clearly Peruvian,” said Tommy. “It’s not an IMB mission project. And that’s exciting, that it’s coming up out of the Peruvian believers, and we just have the joy of being a part of it.”

While completing the training program doesn’t automatically put Peruvian missionaries on the overseas field, it does bring them one big step closer. Some of the program’s graduates are still praying for God’s direction, but others already feel called to a specific country.

The Larners believe that getting the organization’s first trained missionaries on the field will inspire others to follow.

“Pray that Peruvian believers will see themselves in Christ as ones that God can effectively use to reach the nations,” said Tommy. “And [pray] also for them to see themselves as equal partners to reach out to the nations, that this is a global family working together.”

For more stories and information from the Americas check out:
http://americanpeoples.imb.org/