Small Seeds that Grew Big

Amazonian Wednesdays 🌴

I wrote this one in July 2002, when our School was just beginning.I smile, reading my prediction at the end. It has generously come to pass. Thank You, Daddy God!

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I glance up briefly beyond the faces of my students and subconsciously take a mental drink of the greenery that surrounds us. We are sitting in a small structure with a palm-leaf roof and no walls, looking out over beautiful jungle scenery. The students sit on boards stretched across logs as they take notes on the lecture.

They slap at mosquitoes and the wind blows over my current page of notes so I have to turn the page back. My lecture podium is a two-inch thick cross section of a large tree propped up by a large wooden root. A mangy dog meanders nearby and sometimes has to be chased out of the classroom.

Welcome to our Missions School! Although it is rustic, I have to admit that I cherish the time I get to spend there teaching. The school is an hour drive out of town into the jungle, and Israel and I make the trek out twice a month to spend four days total monthly teaching our ten students. We take turns with seven other teachers who go out on various days to teach their subjects. We spend the night there, setting up a little tent on the boards of another open-air building, so we can teach again the following day.

Half of our first class of ten students come from the city of Iquitos. The other half come from different parts of the vast Amazon jungle. All of them are receiving training to go into full time ministry. Those that have come from towns and villages of the jungle dream of going back home and bringing the gospel to their fellow jungle dwellers who currently are far from Jesus.

They are learning everything from children’s ministry to Christian maturity to strategies for financing the work of the Lord. Extremely hungry for learning, they take in everything we teach them with ravenous appetites. This makes for a delightful experience for us teachers—no begging or cajoling to get them to concentrate or do their homework.

The Bible teaches us not to despise the day of small beginnings. I can tell you with all my heart that we are experiencing much joy as we take these first steps. We believe with all our hearts that God will bring rapid growth to our school. And over the years, many beautiful feet will be sent out to bring the gospel to those thousands of Amazon villages that still need it!

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The above newsletter also included this praise report: “God is blessing the one hour radio program He provided for free, broadcasted weeknights on the most popular secular station in Iquitos. We preach the gospel and many non-Christians call in requesting music that glorifies Him. Ratings are growing and the program can be heard in public buses and jails.”

And this prayer request: “Pray for one of my discipleship girls named Aurora. The doctor has told her she is in the beginning stages of leukemia.”

I am thrilled to report that the prayers that went up in response to that one were powerful. Twenty-one years later, Aurora is still going strong!