Nick Diaz

I just wanted to ask all of you to be praying for Nick Diaz, a Peruvian who completed this last training; throughout the 3 months he demonstrated a godly, obedient character and a strong call to missions.
Three years ago, before he was a believer, Nick was charged with a crime (of which we don’t know many details) and sent to jail for two years. At the end of that time he was absolved of all charges and released. But then at the end of training the charges were brought back up and he had to go to Lima to face the exact same charges he had already been released from. We have been staying in touch with him through his fiancée Karen here in Pucallpa and everything seemed to be going well, the prosecution did not have anything concrete to bring against him, his defense went well, etc. So it was a HUGE shock a few days ago when he was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison. His fiancée Karen is absolutely devastated. Nick has 10 days to appeal the sentence, but even that process will most likely take 2 years again.
First of all, we want to praise the Lord for Nick’s strong faith and that he has taken this huge testing in his life and is using it to glorify God. Pray that he will be able to remain strong in his faith and the God will continue to be glorified in this situation.
Pray that if it is the Lord’s will, Nick will miraculously be released.
Pray also for Karen and her son Yeshua. She is a young believer and this is a very heavy testing of her faith.
Praise the Lord that through our office lawyer she was able to recommend a good Christian lawyer who is taking Nick’s case, he went down that same day to talk to Nick and prayed with him. Nick says that he is doing well, he is in good spirits, he has the basic things he needs which is a big praise since a lot of times prisoners have to pay other prisoners for basic things like a bed etc. Also, Nick has shared about 3 stories in the last few days and has found some other believers in jail as well. Please just keep Nick lifted up to the Father and pray. We`ll update whenever we hear something new.

A Time to Give Thanks to God

This time of the year it common to give thanks for things that have happened. One of the first things to give thanks for is the safe return of Amanda, Linzi, and Nadia from their trip of three months. During their time there, they were able to translate a story set. Pray that when Linzi and Nadia return in January the Lord will give them the correct words to share these stories to encourage and disciple the church. Many of the Yaminahua believers are very immature; pray that the story set will help them to become more mature in their faith. Please begin to lift up the next training of 7 women in Februaury; Amanda Brock, Megan Brewster, Amanda Dimperio, and volunteer Mary Lee will be leading it. Pray that the details of the training and practicum time will come together in God’s perfect timing. Pray for the SCs of the women´s team Christy, Leah, and Kelli as they are studying language in-depth for the next few months.
Another important thing we can praise God for is the birth of Bolivia SCs Trent and Kay´s baby boy yesterday! A new addition to the family is always exciting event. Please lift them up during the next few weeks as they become accustomed to having a new life in their family. The most recent training session finished a couple of weeks ago, and the Bolivia team is happy to have 2 new team members come. Christian is from Costa Rica, and Roberto is from Argentina. Roberto has gone back home to raise funds for his 2 years with us. Christian already has his funding in place, and will begin learning Quechua this week. Please lift both of them up in their different circumstances. This next one is actually a praise. It’s a blessing to be able to ask you to pray for the continued work in Qhochumi. A few weeks ago, they did not know if they would be able to stay. But God has provided the family of Santu Felipe, and they seem eager to learn Scripture. Pray for Graham and Efrain as they headed back out a couple of weeks ago. They will be in Qhochumi until December 20th.
Thank you for your prayers for Xtremers José and Enoc who have been on a three month trip with the Asheninka. We are so excited by what the Lord is doing in that group! The Lord used strong persecution from some community members to strengthen the Xtremers’ witness among those who had been listening to the stories José and Enoc have been sharing. One Sunday there were 4 baptisms in this community! Pray now that the Lord will strengthen these new believers and give our team wisdom in discipling them. There is a need now for a couple or women’s team to go work with the new believers, but so far José and Enoc have not felt the community would receive any North Americans. However, because of the doors that have been opened they think that now it would be a possibility for the Brewster family to come out in January for a few weeks. Pray that our path will be made very clear. Thank you for your prayers for Levi as he returned to Ecuador to request more funding to return to work among the Tigre Quichua. Praise the Lord that his church will support him for another year; pray for him and his IMB partner Jonathan Jackson as they will be going out in a trip in January. Lift up also José who has been working among the Asheninka as he will be returning to Ecuador over Christmas, and Enoc who will be returning to the Chayahuita as well to meet with their churches. Pray that it will be a time of encouragement and of casting a strong missionary vision.

a violin and a story

Recently the Yaminahua group of Peru negotiated a fairly favorable contract with a logging company in which they sold significant portions of lumber around the area where they live. But what they did not anticipate was that the logging activity would scare away the game they hunt, and mess up their yucca fields as well. So now even though they have money to spend, their way of living is threatened. The girls’ team working there reports back that yucca and game are scarce. In addition, there have been reports of moral failure issues among believers in the Yaminahua church. In spite of this, praise the Lord that Amanda Brock, Nadia Jones and Linzi Williams are six weeks into their 3 month stay and have a language helper to assist them in translating and sharing stories about women in the Bible. Pray that the Lord will use his Word to strengthen the Yaminahua church and to give them a missionary vision for nearby communities without churches. http://www.theXtremeTeam.org

Tense political situation. Anti-american sentiment. Road blockades. Tires burning. Violence that has left dozens dead and more wounded. This has been the situation in Bolivia for the last month. Although things are calm in the area where our team is working, the situation is making it difficult for our xtremers to get out to the communities, and they are having a lot of trouble getting their paperwork to go through. Pray that our team members would be granted visas soon to remain in country. Finally, lift up SCs Trent and Kay Jones as they move to Cochabamba to begin Quechua language study and wait the birth of their first baby in early December. http://www.theXtremeTeam.org

The Tigre Quichua people are slaves to alcoholism and witchcraft, and interest in hearing the Word of God has been very low. But the Lord provided a man of peace for our missionaries Jeff Hill and Levi, who told them where the next “minga,” or community work day, would take place. They say every Quichua man needs three things: a woman, masato (home-brewed alcohol), and a radio. “Take your violin,” the man of peace told Jeff. When Jeff took out his violin and played at the minga, everyone gave him their full attention and afterwards Jeff and Levi were able to share a story to which everyone listened. Pray that the Lord will continue to provide bridges for our Peru team among the Tigre Quichua and Asheninka Pajonal so that they can be transformed by a relationship with the one true God. http://www.theXtremeTeam.org

September prayer

Please pray for our team in Bolivia. Currently, Jeff and Javier are out on a trip. They crossed the river expecting to find an area in need of the word of God and were surprised to find the place swarming with missionaries. They are currently evaluating the situation to see if what the missionaries that are already there are teaching, is truth. Please pray for their discernment as they evaluate the needs of these people. When they return from this trip they will be discussing their observations and findings with Trent and Kay in order to better determine what the ministry needs are. The other Bolivia team members, Graham and Efraim are continuing in their language study in Quechua in order to be better prepared when they go out. They will be heading out soon.

In Peru on the guys team, training is still underway and Jeff, Enoch, Jose, and Levi have been helping out. Quinten, a former Xtreme team member, will be visiting to help with training while Joe and Megan are away. After their time out at training, Jose and Enoch will be heading out to work with the Asheninka, where Jose has already been involved. Please pray for these guys as they continue trying to find a man of peace and to find people interested in hearing the word of God. Jeff will go with Levi as he returns to the Tigre Quichua. Please pray for these guys as they face the barrier of this misconception that they are "face-peelers". Pray that the truth of why they are there will be brought to light for the people of this river. Pray also that more and more will come to Christ through their ministry there. We Praise the Lord again that they were able to see a man baptized the last time they were there.

On the girls team, Amanda, Nadia, and Linzi headed off to continue the work with the Yaminahua on the 27th of August. Please pray for them as they continue to work to try and learn the language and the culture better. Pray for discernmnt as they begin to determine a plan of the best way to try and reach these people. They recieved word before they went out for this trip, that there was a presence of moral failure among many of the people. Katie has taken on a new position doing administartive work in Pucallpa for the team for the time being. Please keep her in your prayers as she begins this new role.

Joe and Megan are currently in Venezuela holding a training. They will be there from August 24th until September 22nd. Please pray for the Lord´s guidance for them in this task. Pray for Trent and Kay and their work in Bolivia. Pray also as they are having trouble getting their residency. Please also continue to pray for Jeremy and Susan and their work as they are in the states enjoying their first year with their new baby. Lift up Christy as she is in language school in Arequipa for a few more months and praise the Lord for the good progress she has made!

Linzi and Katie have been working for the past month in an area that is only accessible by plane. They were scheduled to fly out last Thursday, but unfortunately plans did not work out the way we had hoped. The girls are fine, but now we have not been able to schedule another flight. Please pray that the Lord would provide a flight this week so that the girls can get back to Lima for some important paperwork. Ask that God would give them patience as they wait for a flight and also more opportunities to minister while they are waiting.

Pray, pray, pray... and praise!

Please pray for Bolivia Xtremers Javier and Jeff who will have gone out at the beginning of August and will be trying to cross a large river to get to a group of communities. Please pray that they would find a way to cross and be able to learn the Quechua language. Also, for Graham and Efraín as they continue to learn the Quechua language and prepare to go out as well. In Peru, please lift up the Asheninka Pajonal where Jeff and José are working; they have been in the community for two trips now and although they have built good relationships in several of the communities, they do not have a man of peace nor has anyone shown interest in the Word of Life being offered. Pray that God will give Jeff and José patience and wisdom, and that he will soften the hearts of the Asheninka. Levi and Adam had a good trip with the Tigre Quichua; praise the Lord that another man was baptized. However, our missionaries have had a lot of trouble with lies being told about them along the river and fear people have over the “pela-caras”—literally, face-peelers…it’s the equivalent of an urban legend but a very real obstacle in our work. Pray that God will send Levi a missionary partner and that the two will be a light shining in the spiritual darkness there.

Praise the Lord for a good first trip for Amanda and Nadia among the Yaminahua! The church there is growing well but one of the leaders said, “Women just aren’t mentioned in the Bible.” They have not heard stories of the women God used in the Bible. Pray for Amanda and Nadia to continue advancing in the language as they will be sharing a short track focused on women in the Bible to teach the church as well as encourage and disciple the 5 strong women believers in the church. Katie and Linzi finished a good trip among the Culina in August—pray for wisdom for our team as we seek the best spot for Katie and Linzi to continue their work, and that the Lord will also show us the places He has prepared for the other women on the team. Continue to also lift up the 2^nd team training this year and pray for the trainees—Doug and Jonathan (US), Cristian (Costa Rica), Roberto (Argentina), Nick (Pucallpa, Peru), and Usias (Shipibo group, Peru). Praise the Lord for the way they are working hard and absorbing everything.