Prayer and Support Needed...

Hey all! Well I have never made this type of blog entry…but I guess the old saying is true “never say never!” It is a real joy to be able to serve on the mission field here in Pucallpa, Peru. Knowing the Lord has ordained me to be here and be involved in the specific ministries I am involved in…is beyond what some might call a “blessing!”

The past year I have been able to work with the men in our church and see them grow mightily in the Lord. Most churches here in Peru have mostly women and a few men in the church, let alone men who are training to be leaders. This training for leadership is taking place at Mil Palmeras…and crazy as it may seem, the Lord is using me in this regard.

I spent 2009 working with men in our church directly in groups…via an Old Testament study I did with them. We covered Genesis through II Kings 11 and will pick back up soon with II Kings through Malachi. I also was involved in getting the social ministries/missions ball rolling for Mil Palmeras. It has been a great year!!

But…staying here involves support. The support channel is a long one and at times can be confusing and complicated. I purchased a truck in Dec of 2008 and the purchase of the truck was over looked in getting credited to my account with SAM. And now, the error has been caught and is now being credited (or debited – however you look at it). This comes at a time when I no longer have in my account enough to cover the cost of my truck…which means I am going in the “RED” by about $2,000.

The quick answer is really getting more monthly support. My monthly goal is $2,900 (with a %50 increase in health insurance starting in January of 2010.) More monthly support will help pull me out of the “red” and get me back to where I need to be.

The not so quick answer, is upon council and prayer…is to return to the US to raise more support. This involves leaving the ministry, house, truck, and forfeiting my resident visa (if over six months).

If you have read this far…God Bless you!! Haa haa – Pray for me and these next two or three trying months…a lot will be known soon…

If you are interested in supporting my ministry or know someone who is send checks to:

South America Mission, Inc.
1021 Maxwell Mill Road, Suite B
Fort Mill, SC 29708

(Make checks payable to South America Mission)

Thank you!...please keep praying!

Marshall

Christmas thoughts from Peru

Today is Christmas 2009 and outside it is 90 degrees! Now, I grew up in Michigan and Florida during my childhood. I remember my Christmas years in Michigan were snowy and cold. From snow forts, to sledding, to snow ball fights and even snowmobiles! Then we moved to Florida and things got a bit warmer, but yes, even in Florida it snowed in Dec of 1989 in North Port, Florida! Nothing really stuck to the ground, but I remember being outside and it flurrying...technically that is snow!!

I remember growing up and Christmas really being about me. My mom (not to her fault) would shower me with gifts...lots of gifts...and those have led to fond memories I carry with me today and even look forward to doing the same to my own children someday. I also liked the planning and shopping for friends and family and the anticipation of them opening up the gift(s) I had planned and even schemed to pull things off sometimes.

I remember Christmas dinners that my mom would work so hard at putting together after all the presents were opened...she would disappear into the kitchen for an all afternoon venture in prepping Christmas dinner...and 9 times out of 10 it was prime rib...you can't argue with that!!

Now today, spending my 3rd Christmas alone and my 2nd in Peru as a single person...it gives some good time for introspect. Last year, I will have to admit that waking up to an empty house (cuz the roomies had Christmas plans) was not a lot of fun. This year though, waking up today to an empty house...is not that bad. Those memories of the cold, snow, shopping, planning, presents, travels, and the joys of being around family for Christmas morning do not compare to the knowledge of WHY we are really celebrating this holiday. It is about the birth of Jesus. Christ did come in the form a babe to this earth as was set forth by God in a promise in Genesis 3:15 and for thousands of years God kept that promise and four hundred years after the last prophet spoke...Christ was born...God in the flesh. I am in awe as I think about this today...

How long will this Gospel message be so freely received in the world? Christmas is celebrated by people all over the world...yet some celebrate facing trouble and attacks. This week alone I read about trouble for Christians in Pakistan and Iraq...not to mention the tension in the US with regards to "religious" symbols during the holiday season. As a matter of fact...this morning CNN.com had a front page article that read "Was Jesus born into Wealth?"

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/12/25/RichJesus/index.html

If you read the article is a presentation of the "Prosperity Gospel vs. The Traditional Gospel" Why in the world address that now, on Christmas morning. I feel the world is getting less and less tolerant of Christians and feel in my gut that hard times are coming for believers.

Christmas is not about cold weather, it is not about shopping and unwrapping gifts and everything materialistic we, as fallen people, have turned it into. But in reality, Christmas is about honoring a date on our calendar where God after thousands of years kept a promise he made in Genesis 3:15

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." (ESV)

And Isaiah 9:6-7 says:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Don't get me wrong...cold weather, shopping, and unwrapping gifts this morning would have been splended! BUT...there is something bigger to this day. We celebrate and rejoice that God kept his promise and Jesus was born...our savior.

Marshall

Huanuco Round # 2

Hi all....We have just returned from our second trip to Huanuco, Peru where were assisting a small church with various projects and such. Our church - Mil Palmeras - was just there about a month ago as a 20 member team from Oct 29-Nov 1st. The projects we set out to do did not get finished. We had a small accident while in Huanuco during this trip. We had a 9 yr old boy run out in the street and got hit by a motorcycle (not going to fast - luckily). He had to be taken to the hospital for bumps and bruises, but turned out to be ok. Well, because this happened...we all decided to leave at the same time and get back to Pucallpa - hence leaving some projects unfinished. One of these projects was putting up a fence to separate the church (area) from the pool (as this location is to be a small YMCA type set up.

Soooo, Alwin and I last monday (Nov 16) headed back to Huanuco - across what is now an almost beautiful road as they are paving it completely for the first time ever - to complete our fence project. We put in three very long days - 12-14 hrs a day drilling, cutting, nailing and oh by the way.....slapping these white flies that are called "mata blanca" or "white death." Luckily we had some repellent but at times it did not help. We were able to finish and head home last friday...two very tired guys!

Our church is looking to invest in this small church in Huanuco, Peru.....where idol worship is very evident. Please pray for the salvation of those in Huanuco.

Above: The fence in progress

Above: Alwin, who traveled with me to Huanuco and the mastermind of the fence

Above: Left to right...Pastor Esaud of Huanuco, Alwin, and Doomer from Huanuco

Above: Ya know....there is nothing like nailing cheap nails into really really really hard wood

Above: The final product. The goal was to keep the little kids away from the pool because the church meets basically "poolside."


Please pray for Huanuco!

Marshall

First Mission Trip for Mil Palmeras - Oct 2009

Last week 10/29/2009 - 21 people departed from Pucallpa, Peru for the 8hr journey to the city of Huanuco, Peru. Pucallpa is in the jungle and is hot and everything is green with lots of trees. Huanuco on the other hand is at 6,100 ft in elevation and kinda in the mountains, is cool, and most things are brown with very few trees.

The road to Huanuco is only paved in parts and right now they are working on paving the entire road (for the first time ever). The journey takes about 6 to 8 hrs. We came in three trucks and the rest of the team went by bus.


Picture above: The road to Huanuco in the high jungle between Aguytia and Tingo Maria

The reason we went to Huanuco:
My pastor said something a while back...he said, "There is a problem with the Gospel in Peru...you see it came, but it never has left." Sooo, we are in the process of beginning to take the Gospel to other parts of Peru as well as in the future planning an international mission trip.

In Huanuco:
We helped a small church with evangelism (a drama we did in a school and in a public market), small projects (painted walls and built platforms for the praise band and pastor), and teaching as Julio and myself both spoke.


Above: Paco carrying a bucket of paint aside a well scrapped wall ready for painting in the church.


Above: Alwin is the master carpenter. Here is in the process of creating three stages/platforms for the church to use. He and I will also be returning to Huanuco November 9th to finish some work there.


Above: Fabiola is scraping paint off glass on the door.


Above: Pastor Julio( in gray) and pastor Esaud of Huanuco (in red) are talking about side as the team is working on the outside all of the church.


Below is the drama our team did - it was to the song "Everything" by Lifehouse. If you have not seen the skit - there is a link on youtube where a church team in the US has done it really well go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVJqRLU3J0I&feature=related


Above: Man is between God and the the world and the world pulls hard.


Above: Satan is behind all that is evil


Above: God is bigger than the evil one and rescues his children.

In Huanuco there are many many idols that are worshiped and the people are in SUCH darkness. While we were there over the Halloween weekend - there was a festival to "Senor de los Burgos. The idol looked a lot like Jesus, and even though it appeared they were worshiping Jesus...they were not.

Below is a pic of "el senor de los burgos"

For our group - this was an amazing first trip. Everything that could happen both good and bad did. And God worked it all out for good (Gen 50:20). We saw people working together, work getting done, encourgement being given, love being shared, frustration, bad attitudes, thefts (our new sign was stolen and recovered), and the son of our carpenter who was on the trip was hit by a motorcycle and taken to the hospital - he is ok. (Two other events happened in Pucallpa around the same time this accident happened - one of the men on our team - his son fell off the roof and hurt himself and another one of our pastors who was in Pucallpa was crossing the street with his three children (his wife was with us in Huanaco) and the three were nearly hit by a moto-taxi here in Pucallpa. Then, then night...we had a man to man talk...and things were getting heated...and at the end...we all met in the middle and praised God for what he was doing by bringing the Gospel to Huanuco and the enemy ("senor de los burgos") did not like that very much!

It was a great trip...a wonderful experience for our guys! Alwin (the father of the boy who was hit) and I are returning this coming Monday, Nov 9th to complete the work we were not able to finish.

Below: A group picture in front of the newly painted wall outside the church/house of Pastor Esaud (the sign was stolen later that day).

Below: Our group at a resturant south of Huanuco before returning to Pucallpa that evening.

We also look to send one pastor for a week every month to encourage this church and what it is trying to do in Huanuco, Peru.

Thank you for praying,

Marshall

Time to catch up!

Hey all! I have been encouraged to hear that there actually people reading my blog! Good stuff! Well since my last post in August I have been quite the busy person! In September I spent a good portion of the month following up on my word at the local orphanage here in town. We were asked if we would be able to help repair a wall in their cafeteria. We were able to use the money I have been getting from the soda fund I have at church. We followed up on our word...It took us about two and a half weeks to complete our project. I found out recently that we were on TV here in Pucallpa. They said that, "this was the first time a project was completed, and not even the regional or local government has ever finished a project! I was quite blow away!!! Here are some pics from our work:Above: Jackson and Javier

Above: The new wall frame in place. Paco standing in the blue shirt.

Above: Putting finishing touches on the wall - screens and siding straps.

Then in October I was able to go to the states for a small vacation. While I was there I went to a U2 concert with three former missionary kids who are now in the US going to college.

Above: Kara, myself, Whitney, and Hannah at Tampa Stadium for U2

Above: The U2 concert

I was also able to speak to a group of GA's from Crawfordville Baptist Church - just south of Tallahassee, Florida. These girls have written me, sent me gifts and cards, as well continually taking up a missions offering for me! It was a great visit!

Above: Me speaking in Tallahasse to GA group from Crawfordville Baptist Church

I was also able to catch up with my David and Jan Patteson, my church, and good friends while back in Gainesville!

Above: River Cross group

Above: Myself and a friend from college, Jenn. Gators won!!!

Above: Myself in Tampa airport with my mom and her husband Chris.

Now, as I write this I should be packing for our mission trip we are doing tomorrow. My pastor here in Pucallpa said, "there is a problem with the Gospel in Peru...It came, but it has never left!" Well, we are about to embark on our first mission trip as a church to Huanuco, Peru for five days! I will post pics when I get back!!

Pray for us!

Marshall

"New House"

Here are some pics from my new house that we moved into about two weeks ago!


Here is a shot of the house:



Here is shot of the living room:

Here is a shot of my bed - I had to raise it up to make space for storing stuff:

Entertainment and clothes....

"New" Bike!

Hey all...a common past time among missionaries here is to ride across the country on dirt bikes - and to have a decent dirt bike costs a little bit of money! BUT, the other day I was greatly blessed with an opportunity to purchase a used Honda 350 from a friend here who is a pilot and now I am the owner of a motorcycle!! - Another reason for you to PRAY!!! haa haa

Opportunity for Prayer...

Hey all - I want to share with you what the Lord has lead me to do and how he is making it happen. Most of you know that I am the missions pastor of Mil Palmeras here in Pucallpa, Peru. But over the last year the Lord has put on my heart the growth and discipleship of the men in our church... and as of last week my job was changed/add to be the mens pastor for our church. That means I am responsible for the spiritual growth and discipleship for the men in the church...a hefty responsibility.

Please pray for me...I find it funny that God has put in this position as a single - and most men are married with kids to be the one in their lives as a model and leader. Pray that I would be a Christ-like example and that the men will learn all the God has for them to learn...to go out and be fishers of men themselves.

The pic below is from a recent outing lima where we ate at chilis...next to me is Pastor Julio and around the table are some of the guys....

Time for an update...

Wow, sorry all...who have been reading my blog...I didn't realize that it had been over two months since my last post! I'll try to make it up in the next coming days. Many of you know that I went to Arequipa (a city in southern Peru) for part of June and almost all of July for language study. It was a great time of seeing the staff there again and also time to relax a bit as the past year was full speed ahead.

My time in the classroom was good - though I was introduced to a grammar structure that we do not have in English called subjunctive. The problem is I have spoken Spanish for four years or at least attempted to and have not thought in this tense....it is somewhere between present and future. Anyhow...I have my work cut out for me as I try to unlearn what I have learned/used and apply the subjunctive to my sentences. My teachers were great - below is a pic of them. Karen was my grammar teacher and Edgar was my conversation teacher.


The city of Arequipa is surrounded by three volcanoes. Chichani (dormant), Misti (active), Pichu Pichu (extinct - blew it self up!). If you are in Arequipa and looking East....Chichani is first, then Misti and then Pichu Pichu is in the southern part of the city. Misti is about 19,500ft and by the looks of the base of Pichu Pichu - they say that it would have been the tallest mountain/volcano in the world at about 30,000 ft.


Below is the volcano Chichani on the NE side of Arequipa...

Below is the volcano Misiti which is about 15 miles due east of Arequipa at 19,100 ft...

And this is Pichu Pichu, Southeast of Arequipa, which at one time probably stood close to 30,000 ft...


Marshall

Shooting for October!

Hey kids! Good news! Today was the day U2 tickets were purchased!!! I'm a huge fan and looking forward to the show in October in Tampa!!

I got section 216 for the show...hope its a good one!!!

I'll be back in Florida for two weeks in October - and also hoping to catch a Gator game!!

God's mercy...made personal...

Hey all...if any of you out there are keeping track of my blog...you might fall over at this is the second entry in three days! Crazy I know! I wanted to share about a recent "attempted trip" myself and two others took and how it turned out.

Being the missions pastor here at Mil Palmeras, it was time for our church to being to reach out. I recently have had the privileged of meeting a pastor from Huanuco, Peru who invited us to come. Well we made plans to travel the 8 hour trip in my truck June 5-8th. I had heard about a strike on the road...about three hours away...but thought that it would be no big deal.

Here in Peru, the people really do not have a voice...nor does the government really pay any attention to the people...especially, as you get farther and farther away from Lima. The people who grow the "coca" leaf are called "cocaleros" (coca-ler-os). And the cocaleros were upselt that the government has been selling off their land to foreign timber investors. Sooo....because their voices are not heard...they riot and block the only road connecting Pucallpa to Lima (which also includes Huanuco. These are called "parros or huelgas" and sometimes they can turn violent.

We decided to go...and found the blockade...and got into some trouble (nothing serious) but being in any area of unrest is not a good feeling. We were able to make it where the trucks were stopped, but later in the day, the road behind us was shut down. What I mean by "shut down" is... if you use any sorts of transportation during a "strike" of any sorts...you will be confronted/attacked - because if you use any sorts of transportion during the strike...you are saying you do not agree with why the people are striking. So, IF they can shut down the public access or public transportation...then maybe their voice will be heard and Lima might pay attention to the issue at hand. Honestly, we live in a soft anarchy...everyday. The law really isn't law here...really, anything can happen at any time...its kind of crazy. Though, that said, things are generally peaceful.

Jackson and Walter in the back of my truck at the stoppage.

Our Friday ended with a mob of 20 or so punks (15-30 yr olds) looking for a vehicle to use to help patrol the areaabout 3pm. I explained to them that I would like to return to Pucallpa with my two friends. That wasn't the direction they wanted to go, but decided on going the other direction as to patrol the road (because again, if you use transpo during a strike...you will be confronted). So, we had a "criminal" escort for about 20 km and then they got out and we were home free. Leaving behind us... close to 100 tractor trailers and buses full of people. I was told the strike lifted today (Sunday June 7th) - and it had stated last Tues June 2nd.

Jackson, Walter, and myself with lunch - sodas with 1 can of tuna and thing of crackers.

If you have every prayed for me (and the missionaries here) thank you. If you haven't...would you please start. Several people today at church came up and told me today that they had prayed for our trip...a lot. I believe God, sent the mob of people...to escort us out of there. He knows His children and where they are...every moment.

Would you please pray for the salvation of the lost in Peru as well as for those who are serving the Lord here....

We are planning on re-doing the trip to Huanuco the last weekend in June.

Marshall

He Gives and He Takes Away....

Again, I do have to apologize for those of you keeping track of my blog and it seems like I am not writing! Part to blame was the lack of high speed internet and the other part belongs to my unwillingness to wait for dial up to load everything. BUT now, we have high speed internet via a tower and the world of communication seems to be opening up!! Finally!!

This is almost two months late - but I would like to share with you all something that happened here in the mission community back in late April. It was a Saturday afternoon and our Board members for South America Mission had just arrived - I had just finished picking them up and dropping them off at their hotel and had come home to cook lunch. The phone rang and my roommate had answered it...(its always interesting when you are listing in on an incoming call...and you know the news is not good)...then my roommate said "he's dead?" My heart sank...obvioiuslly it was someone we knew...but who? It was another missionary here in Pucallpa - Tommy Head.

He was a part of the ministry team here in Pucallpa called "Motociclistas por Cristo." He was practicing at a track here in town with another missionary from SAM. He landed from a jump wrong and broke his neck and died on the scene.

Little do you know your impact on people's lives while you are living - it is only when you pass and your void is left in people's lives that your impact is revealed. The death of Tommy Head hit us all pretty hard as he has just preached the Easter service here at Mil Palmeras and his last words were "You better be right with God and know Christ, because you do not know how many days you have left." Little did he know that 13 days later...he would be in the presence of the Lord.

Tommy's ministry was with Living Water. It is an organization dedicated to the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as well as providing clean drinking water through the establishment of wells. One story I have heard about Tommy in his ministry was he had gone into a village here to speak to the chief and get permission to drill them a well. The chief and others talked it over and decided not to have this stranger come in their village (Tommy was 6'2" with long hair and about 280 lbs). He ended up returning to that village some time later and re-asked to drill the well and this time they said yes. As he and the chief were talking the chief told him a story. He said, "Remember when you were here last time and we said no we didn't want the well?" Well after you had left one of the guys in the group turned to me and said, "That is the ugliest woman I have ever seen in my life!" (Because Tommy had long hair!) I will always remember this story!

Tommy Head is no longer drilling wells - but in the presence of Jesus himself...the one whom he drilled the wells for.

See you soon Tommy....

The Call of Duty....

Hey there....well, I had a curve ball tossed at me last week. As most of you know I am the missions pastor of the church here, as well as a youth pastor to the mk's, as well as a PE and high school bible teacher. But, what you may not know is that another one of my responsibilities for the mission is being a security officer. That entails lots, but when something goes wrong we (there are two of us) need to respond and be there.

Last weekend we had a family - studying language in Arequipa get their house robbed while they were out discussing the "stresses" in their lives. We decided as a mission to send someone to Arequipa to assist them in their time of need....and, that person would be me! Sooo...I have been in Arequipa (southern Peru) since Wed assisting the Listro family as they need. It has been a good time of encouraging them and giving council.


Answering God's call to his service...is not always smooth sailing...things happen. Thefts here in Peru are numerous...and unless you are always on your guard you will get robbed or your house will get broken into. Sooo...when it does happen it shakes you. Being here with this family has been a blessing - to be able to assist them, talk with them, and encourage them with advice and knowledge of the city. They are a family of 7 (yep, that means 5 kids) learning language and heading to Pucallpa when finished.

For me - I return to Pucallpa tomorrow and pick up where I left off...teaching at the missionary kid school and beginning our first missions project for the church this coming weekend (one week from today!) Below is a picture ofSAM's common building that the church uses. Sooo...I am guiding the church to chip and scrape the old paint off and repaint the SAM building that the church uses weekly - the entire month of April!



We are looking to have high speed internet no later than the end of May on SAM Center....this will greatly help me in communicating with everyone!!!

Much love to you all....thank you for reading....

Marshall

Wow....its been 3 months!

That is a big woops on my part! Thank you so much for still checking my blog and being patient with me! The life of dial up...really stinks...I guess it might be different if I had never known about high speed...but man what a time consumer! I do not even check my email much nor do i like to respond...just because it takes SO MUCH time to download and upload things.

The last three months has been really good!

I have being teaching the Old Testament in Sam Academy and have covered from Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Jonah, Micah, Amos, and Hosea....with Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Obediah, Habakkuk, Zachariah, Zephaniah, and Malachi still to cover in two months of school!

In Mil Palmeras, I have finished up teaching 8 weeks of missions classes on Thursday nights and now we are making the transition into doing some work projects and should be taking off the beginning of April.

I have also begun discipling men at Mil Palmeras and look forward to the Lord bringing more men into the picture and watching them grow in the Lord.

I now, have just finshed two weeks of a somewhat break - SAM had its yearly conference in Pucallpa last week and that was a wonderful break from the norm. We had all SAM missionaries here to meet and refresh. Then this past week...I had a friend, Kimberly Roddy come down from the US and was able to show her around Pucallpa some as well as Lima. I showed her the rivers around Pucallpa, up in a cessna plane ride (I was not flying), ride on a scooter (she got stitches), two trips to the beach in Lima...it was a full trip!


Now, as I (who am in Lima now) is set to go back to Pucallpa and get ready for the final two months of school as well as the organization of projects for the church. Along with wanting to build a sand volleyball court for us to play on (need donations), Six mango trees to trim up near the main road, swim lessons to teach, youth group to do, fields to mow, and last but not least...get ready for my church to come down in three weeks...finally!!!

I´ll try to be better at writing!!!

Marshall

A New House and a Familiar Place...

Hey all - just wanted to drop everyone a line and touch base. Right after Christmas I moved from where I was living to a house on SAM Center. The house I am in is the house of my pastor Julio Chiang who is in the states visiting churches and raising support for Mil Palmeras and his ministry (he is also with SAM).

Sooo...upon moving in we (I live with two other single guys) discovered the house was kinda in bad shape. Sooo...the projects we are getting done are - repairing the main bath/shower (hole in the base of the tube), gutting the kitchen sink and cabinets and having them entirley replaced. Then...I have begun cutting/trimming the trees around the house. The house (as you can see from the photo) is surrounded by mango trees that hang low to the ground - it does not allow the the ground and such to dry after rain - hence mildew and mold is a huge problem. I will be taking on this project this coming week. Pastor Julio also has a dog named Brisa that I am taking care of as well!

These next two months are probably going to be the busiest I most likely have ever been. I am teaching Old Testament and PE at the missionary kid school. I am also subbing for high school Civics class for another teacher who is currently in Lima awaiting on the delievery of her grandchild. I am also doing two months of classes everything Thursday nights on missions. I am also preaching this Sunday and the following Sunday. Whew!....

That is a quick update on me! I hope all of you are doing well.

Marshall

Going backwards in time!

Hi all! I am currently using a friends computer who has high speed internet! I have recently moved and the house I am now living in has good ol dial up!! Yep! Sooo...I tried to set it up and move back to dial up...and discovered that my computer does not have a modem. AND also my computer is seeming to have more and more wrong with it everyday!

Sooo...if i seem distant...I'm not...just kinda out of the loop!

I will do my best to keep regular posts on the blog...it just might take some extra effort and patience!

Marshall