More Mission Stories From Leticia

Prophesy Classes

Having grown up in an Adventist home, I have always been familiar with the interpretation of prophesy.  It has made wonder what it would be like for someone to hear about prophesy for the first time.  I was about to have an experience to find out.

Some of our friends in the community have asked us about Revelation and the end of the world, so we saw the need to start a prophecy class.  To start with, we made some drawings to use as props.  This brought back memories of our younger years and we also discovered some hidden talents.

We were a little nervous to start the classes since we know that this was a new subject for our community friends, but with God’s help things went smoothly.  Our theme song, “We have this hope”, became engrained in the minds of our visitors.  During the classes, which ran for various evenings, we could see amazement in the eyes and faces of some of the visitors as they discovered that the interpretation of prophetic symbols is not something difficult.

When we got to Daniel 7 and 8, we discovered the power symbolized by the little horn and how it has changed God’s law.  At the end of the class, one of our friends, Cataco, raised his hand and said: “So all the other churches have it wrong because they worship on Sunday and not on Saturday as they Bible says to do.  Now I understand why.”  Other questions arose on how the day of worship was changed from Sabbath to Sunday, so for the next class we spoke on that subject.

It brings us great joy and courage to see our friends learn more about the Bible every day.  It reminds us of what the apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians: “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.  So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.  1 Cor 3:6,7

 

 

Aquatic Transportation Service

One of the ways in which one can win the trust of the community people is through service. Careful observation in order to determine the needs of people, especially to find out what medical services they are lacking, is necessary to effectively do this. One of the reasons for which we purchased a small boat with a powerful engine, was to be able to transport patients to the hospital in Leticia in case of a medical emergency.

Sometimes, we transport patients during the day.  One time we transported a man that was assaulted and badly injured by his brothers.  Another day it was a little girl that had had malaria for more than 20 days.  Often though emergencies happen at night.  Like the time we transported a man who had been suffering from severe fever and diarrhea for 3 days and was starting to have very strong muscle cramps.  Transporting this man to Leticia has served as an entering wedge that has allowed us to start sharing the gospel with his whole family.

Navigating the Amazon, the largest river in the world, is dangerous and much more so at night.  So we pray every time before setting off and place our trust in Him who never fails, as we try to get our patients to Leticia as soon as possible.

God has provided for his work to move forward.  The boat needs some work done to it order to serve better, and we pray that God will provide the necessary means to continue doing his work.

Roger Ortiz Parra

If you are interested in contributing to the needs our boat is facing, or with the floating house/boat maintenance facility. Please contact GMI.