When David and I were married a good family friend sang a song at our wedding by Steve Green, "Find Us Faithful". Our desire was that after many long and wonderful years of marriage that people would be able to look back and see our faithfulness to our vows but even moreso in our walk with the Lord. We wanted to leave a legacy of faithfulness behind us.This past week the SAM missionary family had thier annual conference here in Pucallpa. It was close to home and offered us a bit more sanity in the schedule so we were grateful for that. Throughout the week we heard reports about the different ministries that SAM is involved with. No, we are not just an aviation ministry. I was impressed with how much SAM is involved in and also by the needs these ministries have. But even more I was impressed by the faithfulness of the missionaries to sustain these ministries and how long many of these projects have been meeting the needs of the Ucayali region. They are leaving a legacy of faithfulness in this region.
Mission Santiago - this is a home and rehab program for drug addicts here in Pucallpa. This is a long standing ministry and has reached out to many many men. The men in the program help sustain the program by growing gardens, raising chickens and keeping up the property but it is necessary to have funds to meet the upkeep costs of the projects and to feed the men who come. If you are interested in learning more about this ministry I would be happy to put you in contact with the couple who has dedicated themselves to helping these men.
IBEPA - I can't tell you what that stands for in Spanish but it is a night Bible Institute for Pucallpa residents that hold jobs during the day but can still attend at night to receive Biblical training in various courses from preaching to evangelism and other practical studies. This ministry is always looking for teachers but right now they seem to in good standing for the next session. Encouragingly enough, they lost 5 teachers to other ministries outside of Pucallpa and while that put the school in a needy situation for a while, how incredible is it that these students are taking their learning outside of Pucallpa and to other regions to start or join other ministries. Let me tell you that in this culture, that is impressive.
The Ishanica Bible School - The Ishanica are a people group. This last year the Ishanica Bible school was not able to host classes because of lack of funds. It costs about $4000 to cover costs for a semester and the funds were not available. They also host a pastors conference which is very appreciated and desired by the pastors but again - funds are not there. It costs about $1000 to host this conference. Pray for these ministries that are vital and pray the Lord would provide funding to get this ministry going for a new year.
SAM Academy - This is our missionary school. I have a personal interest in this ministry and I can tell you right now that we need teachers. I have seen personally the Lord provide the exact teachers we need at the exact moment of need even since I have been here. And we know the Lord can provide. Most of the current staff will either be on furlough or moving into other ministry roles this next school year so please pray that new staff would be in place to meet the needs of ALL the kids next year. We will have kids in most grades between 1 and 12. The numbers of students isn't so much the challenge as it is teaching multiple grades between the current 3 teachers we have. Our school administrator also shared with us some projects that need to happen to update the school from renovating a bathroom to encouraging schools and churches in the US to host a book drive to update the school library. And of course, for the sake of the kids, I wish the school could be air conditioned because it sure can get hot in there. Can you imagine learning your ABC's and 123's when your melting!?
MXC - is a motorcross ministry. A team of riders and mechanics participate in the races on local and national levels with the hopes of building relationships with these men with the goal of presenting the gospel and leading them to Christ. This ministry is hosted under churches or other ministries that help with an evangelistic team during the races.
Mil Palmeras - is the church that was started by Julio Chaing from the motorcross ministry. Several missionaries including Julio are working with this church to lead them in a stronger active faith and to lead others to Christ.
Mil Palmeras - is the church that was started by Julio Chaing from the motorcross ministry. Several missionaries including Julio are working with this church to lead them in a stronger active faith and to lead others to Christ.
Crisis Pregancy Center - this is a new ministry! Offering hope and counselling to young unwed mothers in crisis pregnancies. The goal is to influence these women to choose life for their babies, to present the gospel and uultimately to reach these women and children for Christ. This ministry is also putting together a team to educate on sexual purity and teach abstinance in the local schools. It is very exciting to see this new ministry begin and please be in prayer for the funds to provide the services they desire. So far, several Crisis Pregnancy Centers in the US have offered clothes for distribution and teaching literature. Some Bibles have also been donated for distribution to the girls as they come for counselling. If you are interested in ways to help this ministry, again, I would be happy to put you in contact with the missionaries who are starting this project.
Of course there were other ministries shared too. There is an continuing education ministry in the hospital with nurses with the hopes of improving patient care and offering hope to the nurses and patients through Jesus Christ. The SAM Air ministry which we are involved in to provide a service of safe travel to and from remote allocations. There is a Shipibo ministry with the Shipibo Indians that live right next to us. In town there is an Indian center providing a safe place for traveling Indians to sleep and get a meal.
There is so much going on here and that is only within SAM. There are other missions doing a wonderful work too. I was so encouraged to hear of all that the Lord is doing. It makes me think "I could do that..." " I could help with that..." but at the same time I know that my ministry right now is taking care of my family and then my own Spanish study. Sometimes I feel like I'm not being used here, that it's all David, but I believe God called me and the kids here just as much as he called David. The other thing I realized is that as I talk with my co-workers --women that have been where I am now -- they struggled with learning spanish while raising a family and supporting the work on the field. Now their children are grown and out of the home and many are working in ministries of their own and I would say that is a really good reward for the job they were called to in raising their families. But now these women, these moms, have their own ministries too and are very involved. So I am encouraged to realize personally that there is a season to the different roles the Lord calls us to and to embrace what I have before me now with enthusiastic dependance on the Lord for all the grace and strength I need to do my job well. Let me be honest and say it's easier to write that than to live it. But I want to leave a faithful legacy. I want to leave people saying, "she was a picture of Jesus in how she lived her life." 
