The Black River

We've written about the Río Negro in our newsletters. It's a mysterious place that's really what the idea of a jungle river conjures up in your imagination. To make the setting even more exotic is the presence of much gold in the river and the frequency of ancient pottery and stone implements that can be seen in many places. There are some mining operations up the river from our ministry area, and many of the local Ashéninka people pan gold from the river at the rate of up to 2 grams per day. That will fetch about $40 from local buyers.

Dena just returned from a trip into the Apurucayali River area where we have a rustic jungle house on the riverbank. She was able to make plans with pastor Justiniano from Belén to accompany me (Marty) to the Río Negro later this month. We have recently turned our sights toward this river and its communities where there are a number of believers who have no spiritual guidance. There is no church and no prepared leader. We are planning to return there with more frequency, having the conviction that this is an area that needs our attention and sensing the Lord's leading.

The Río Negro is not the easiest place to go. One has to catch a crowded truck over the bumpy Marginal Highway of the Jungle (Carretera Marginal de la Selva) to the tiny riverside town of Yuyapichis. This town is very small and the people a bit distrusting of "gringos" who "must" have some ulterior motive for showing up in such an unlikely place. I usually secure lodging in a rustic hotel that has unfinished wooden walls, lots of cobwebs, and some lonely cockroaches. There isn't anything better in Yuyapichis! When the rattle of the road has settled down in my head and my nerves are up to it I wander across the pueblo to a small FM radio station that is set up in the living room of a private family (very friendly people). Here I pay about $1.50 for them to put an announcement on their radio broadcast which informs the named Christian friends of my arrival and requests that they come down from their community to pick me up in Yuyapichis. This works most of the time, but once last fall my partner and I sat for two days waiting only to conclude that no one was listening or no one could come. We left and invested our time elsewhere.

The river itself is very low, runs fast, and has lots of dangerous rocks. Nevertheless like all the jungle rivers it's a very beautiful place. On a jungle river whatever stress you brought from the city trickles out like water from a faucet and you are left with the purity of nature and the tranquility it brings. So there's something to be said for traveling in this manner: it takes the city and the world out of you and leaves you "cleaner" for the spiritually focused work you've come here to do.

Please pray for this return to the Río Negro and the Ashéninka communities of Pueblo Libre and Tahuantinsuyo. Pray for sensitivity to needs, spiritual conditions, and that our small team will be able to connect hearts with the Christians in those places. Pray also the the Lord will do a great work in drawing people to salvation and in building His local church among them.

The key person with which we have been working in the community of Pueblo Libre is Santiago. He is the brother of Ema Rojas whose husband Alejandro has had an important role in the success of the work in the Apurucayali River. Santiago is a sincere and dedicated man of middle age. Like many committed Christians in such places he often finds himself all alone, even among those who have once proclaimed their personal faith in Christ Jesus. They tried to walk with God for a time but the pull of their friends and the pressure to conform to the ways of the local people won them over again. Santiago has resisted the pressures and along with his wife are many times criticized and laughed at for their faith. When our team has been in Pueblo Libre Santiago has dedicated lots of time and energy to fishing or hunting, trying to provide some meat for his guests: this done with love and true Christian character.

There was once a "church" in Pueblo Libre--years ago. A "pastor" was appointed to lead the congregation, but he eventually fell by the wayside like so many "Christians". He's still there, but can't seem to decide whether he will stand with Jesus or the world. Many of those who were baptized in the past are not to be found among the faithful, but at the fiestas in drunkenness. They make their home brew of boiled and fermented yuca root. We often weep for the eyes of the people to be opened to see how hollow this lifestyle of drunkenness is. But even if that lifestyle is not enjoyed it still has an amazing pull upon everyone. It begins in youth and continues until death. If a person doesn't conform he is ostracized and severely criticized. It's hard for believers to be believers. We long for them to see that if they can tough it out, the Lord will vindicate them; will bring them their reward in due time. This is not just Pueblo Libre, but everywhere among the indigenous peoples of Peru. Pray along these lines with us that God will liberate many from Satan's ancient grip through alcohol.

Photos: the Pachitea River from Yuyapichis; believers gather at Tahuantinsuyo; main street in Yuyapichis and my lodging there; Santiago; overlooking the Río Negro at Tahuantinsuyo