River Trip

I just arrived home from a day on the river. It was awesome, so I thought I'd share some highlights. This morning we got on board a boat and headed out to visit two river villages. We went to both of the villlages with the purpose of seeing if there are any Believers living there and to offer encouragement to those who are Believers.
In the first village we met a young man who was a Christian but did not own his own Bible. We gave him a New Testament and were able to talk with him during our entire time at this village. It's hard to imagine not owning your own Bible in the U.S. - most Christians probably own more than one, but in other areas of the world, this isn't the case.  Anyway, every time I see something like this, it reminds me just how precious the Word of God is and how we should be daily living by His Word alone.
In the second village we visited, there was a man right outside the village harvesting some rice crop. He explained the process to us and let us sift through the shaft and the real kernels. It reminded all of us how Jesus talks about separating the kernel from the shaft; it was neat to see. Once we arrived in the village, some children immediately came up to us and we were able to give them some Gospel books and chalk. We spent more time at this village and got to play volleyball with some of the children for awhile.

This probably will actually be my last update before arriving in the states early next week. I just had to share how God is working - even in little village towns out in the middle of Peru's jungle. The host family I'm staying with wants to restart a river ministry among the villages to encourage Believers and strengthen churches. I am glad that I was able to go along on this primary trip. Be praying that God will continue to open opportunities along the river and that Christians there will continue to grow. There is a lot of discouragement among Christians in this area because they feel left all alone and have no one to encourage them.Thank you for your prayers regarding this.
I can't wait to share with you some more of my experiences in person soon! We serve an awesome Father!
Shirley Anne