2016 English | Page 10

bro Children of Jesus New Frontiers: Iquitos & Cajamarca The floating city of Iquitos is located in the jungle with no access by roads. Boats and airplanes are the only ways in and out. The church is built to float when the river rises during rainy season and children can only get to church by canoe. Iquitos: Cajamarca: Linked to the outside world by air and river, Iquitos is the vibrant, unique, complex and diverse cultural hub located in the Peruvian Amazon. It is the largest city that cannot be reached by road. Tourism had such a large effect on Iquitos that the main center has formed European-style architecture, cuisine, art, culture, and world-views. Mud huts mingle with luxurious tiled mansions, tiny dugout canoes ply the water alongside colossal cruise ships. It is truly a city where contemporary ideals coincide with traditional culture. Cajamarca stands as the most important town in the northern highlands of Peru. Cajamarca is a dainty but strong-willed colonial metropolis, cradled in a valley and stonewalled by huge mountain ranges in every direction. Fertile farmlands carpet the entire valley and the streets belong as much to the traditional farmers bundled in brightly colored scarves as the young city youth who are dressed in modern attire. Things move slowly here. As the once-profitable gold mining scaled back production and its successor in limbo, Cajamarca is slowing down and once again turning to the traditional pursuits of making yogurt and cheese, while investing in the tourism industry. By the grace of our God, the staff at the Peru office had the opportunity to visit nine churches in the Iquitos region that are seeking the support from HHK WMC to start a [Children of Jesus] ministry. While our staff was there, they were being told that these churches had never been visited by outside mission agencies yet. Wow! What an awesome opportunity! Our God who loves the children, wanted us, HHK WMC to release the mercy and the love of God to flow into these children’s lives just as the Amazon River continues to flow. Amen! We will obey! Our hearts were filled with excitement as we reached the consensus of following the Lord’s call of providing the feeding program, school uniforms, and school supplies for these children. How about we dream together, how about wonderful their lives will become in next three years with the Lord? 10 HHK World Mission Center The visit to Cajamarca church and her pastor, Rafael Guevara Vasquez was a very heart touching moment. The pastor’s home? It sits upon the second story of the church. The first floor is equipped with quaint rooms where children sit snug alongside one another as they learn about the Bible and hear the message. After Sunday school, the children funnel into the main sanctuary where they hear the message from both a 11 years old boy and a 12 years old girl. That’s correct... They have the youth lead many of the children services. The children are taught at a young age to not just know the Gospel but have the courage to go out and evangelize to their friends and families. The 2016 Short term mission team will visit the city of Iquitos and do a vacation Bible school program. The missionaries are eager to meet all the children there. Please join us in prayers for the children of Cajamarca and Iquitos and the missionaries to experience God through this visit. www.coj.org 11