Sometimes we go to remote locations to serve our Lord.

On this trip, our Lord sent us to minister to some small villages near Tarapoto, Peru. Tarapoto is a town of about 10,000 in a valley between two mountain ranges on the back side of the Andes in the Amazon region. At first, the roads out of Lima through 8,000 foot high mountains were pretty good.

As we got closer to our destination, the roads became narrow, one lane and unpaved.

Then there were no roads. Our Missions Pastor Guillermo Lopez had to ride a horse for about ten miles or so. Bareback.

Then there were no trails. They had to hack their way through the jungle the last several miles. Only the natives could find their way through the brush. Pastor Guillermo has just arrived at his destination in this picture. His feet are killing him. His arms and legs are sore from slogging through the undergrowth. Something else is sore from riding the horse. Pastor Lopez said he learned the meaning of “Biblical suffering” on this trip.

For years, Tarapoto has been in the center of the cocaine trade in Peru. Much of the area has been controlled by drug cartels. Because of the poverty, it has also been ripe for revolution. In the past, the Shining Path Marxist Guerillas had control of these regions. To protect their land, propert and families, farmers formed armed groups called “Ronderos.” When he arrived at the first village, Pastor Lopez was met by the armed citizen posse shown here. They told our pastor that strangers were not welcome in their community and he would have to return the same way he came. The local pastors vouched for him. Then Pastor Guillermo explained that given the state of his saddle sores, he would rather be shot. The vigilantes agreed to let him pass. Pastor Guillermo used the opportunity to talk to these men about our Lord for about 15-20 minutes. They were invited to attend the worship services. Several came – and brought their families.

This is one of the nicest places in town. It has no electricity or running water. It was where our pastor stayed for much of his trip.

This is one of the host families who took care of our pastor. The women rose every morning at 5:00 to make the fire, haul water, and fix breakfast. The woman on the left is married to one of the local pastors.

Our pastor is about to share a meal with another host family. The usual fare consisted of fried bananas, beans and chilies. Another local pastor and his wife are standing to the left of our Pastor Lopez.

This is the bed where Pastor Guillermo slept. He had the luxury of mosquito netting and he got to sleep off the floor – unlike many of the villagers.

This girl is coming to church. She is packing her lunch on her back. Her mother sent her to the service with her family’s offering. In a manner similar to the miracle of the loaves and fishes, the chicken fed the entire congregation that afternoon.

We always minister to the children. Here you see our pastor teaching the village children about Jesus and His love.

The two girls in green are part of a praise team that led the music portion of our services. They are well known throughout the area. According to our pastor, they were quite good.

The girls in this picture were singing in Quechua, the local language. Our pastor didn't understand a word. These ladies were also excellent.

Getting down to business, our pastor preached the Word of God. The public address system shown in the lower right of the photo was powered by a car battery.

Every one of the people you see in this photograph are accepting Christ for the first time. Over 80 people came forward at this one service. Another 300 or so people in the back rededicated their lives to their Savior.

Here you see our pastor leading still more people in prayer as they accept Jesus as their Lord and savior.

And here you see new Christians being welcomed into our fellowship.

All of the people in the picture are praying to receive our Lord – or are rededicating their lives to Christ. Everywhere we went, just about everybody who attended our worship services came forward.