March, 2013 Update

 Dear Persevering Saints:

            How great is our God, rejoice with us in how awesome is our God!  What a month this has been.  We thank you for persevering in prayer with us for His Kingdom to expand here in Ecuador.   Many, many blessings to each of you.

            The photos attached tell a great deal about part of our testimony, but let me share what the Lord gave me this morning.  In the book of Nehemiah, recounts the story of the seemingly impossible task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.  Nehemiah went to organize and manage the work with the blessing and authority of the King.  The Jews who had returned to the city after captivity were up to the job BUT the surrounding outsiders were envious, racists and hateful.  They did not want God’s people to be anything but the poorest of the poor and defenseless.  Nehemiah had the task of martialing a small group of ex-captives into a working and fighting team in a matter of weeks.

            The enemy of our souls came at God’s valiant group with his favorite form of attack:  fear and ridicule.  Fear paralyzes faith and ridicule robs us of confidence.  We must choose to meditate and declare the great power of the Lord our God and give thanks that we can do all things through Christ our Savior.  Nehemiah encouraged his people with these words: “Do not be afraid of them (the enemy).  Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.”   Notice the first group he listed was our brethren:  the Body of Christ now and those who will come into the family.  It is important that we learn to think KINGDOM in the same way Jesus lived, died and rose again for all mankind.

            Instead of letting fear stop us, we must listen much more closely to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we must press harder into faith and obey much more rapidly and completely.  Instead of letting the mocking voice discourage us, we will praise with greater intensity and share our testimony with determination.  We practice the Romans 12:21 principle:  “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

            Rejoice with us for the Guabug school!  Through perseverance against discouragement and very real ridicule, the director and his staff pressed through with the required 400 page document (!!) and the school is now legal.  Praise God!  This is a major victory with a government that is openly hostile to private/Christian schools, but God has His people in places of authority to thwart the plans of the enemy.   The extra blessing is that we can use the same format of this document for all of our schools in Ecuador.

            We are blessed as well by this Guabug group in their enthusiasm to continue pressing through obstacles to keep the school solvent.  The policy of the Mission SEA LA LUZ is to support a new school for a maximum of four years, each year giving a little less to help them learn to support themselves.  Guabug is our first spin-off and therefore an experiment in which we are all learning.  Now that the major hurdle of accreditation has been achieved, the staff of three, plus Irene our own missionary to them, are focusing in on how to remain viable after outside support dries up.   They are learning to think outside the norm for most of the populace and not to expect hand-outs but to rely on God and work for what they need.   Remember, our schools are for the poorest populace we can find, therefore, funding from the parents is not an option.

            Another small but potent victory came last week in the form of a simple request by one of our 15 year-old students.  Angel came to me asking prayer for his ailing grandfather and said that he had shared the salvation message with the dying man, but Angel’s concern is the assurance that his grandfather is saved.  With joy, I gave this fledgling  “missionary” a copy of a prayer of repentance so he could read and explain it to his grandfather and lead him to receiving the salvation that Jesus offers.  The relief and smile this young man gave me was worth our many prayers for growth in the students.

Feb2013 The team

Visiting the jungle with our team

Feb2013 Erland loves kids Feb2013 Sharman waxing eloquent Feb2013 Luxury LinerFeb2013 Personal dugout canoe          What about the photos?!?  Ah, here is another victory in process.  We have received the official invitation to be the spiritual authority and school for a newly formed alliance of Amazon jungle tribes.  The two primary indigenous groups are the jungle Kichuwas and the northern Waorani (formerly known as the Aucas in the southern group).   These have resisted the entrance and influence of outsiders until recently.  The Kichuwas that you see in the photos have come out of the jungle in the last couple of years because they could not sustain their families any longer by hunting and fishing.  Their leaders are incredibly foresighted Christian men who are walking in godly wisdom for their people.  The primary mover-shaker is Rafael, who sees and understands the inevitable advancement of technology and greed of the government for the resources on tribal lands.  He does not want to have his people swallowed up and lost but to have them ride the wave to their benefit and keep the important aspects of their culture and identity.  Because they are a recognized by the government as an official indigenous group, they have the right (like the USA first peoples) to form many of their own laws and select what services they want and who they want.  They have chosen Maria’s high school and she told them they needed SEA LA LUZ as their primary school.   Last week, we visited their 3000 acre island to see through Jesus’ eyes what He would have us do.

            Although the actual drop-off point to reach this area is only 3 hours from Tambo, to get to the island is an adventure in itself.  Some of us went by canoe and others by raft.  The island is a recent acquisition by the alliance from the government with only a few newly constructed homes in the interior.  The families came from all over to see and hear the team (five of us) as we shared with the 30+ children and parents the vision the Lord is forming in our hearts.  Several times, Rafael asked for someone to come and be a pastor to them as they have no spiritual authority and the opposition against this new endeavor is fierce.  The enemy knows the potential of this kind of leadership.

Feb2013 Potential hydropower site            For Dave, the trip was tremendously fulfilling.  They took him to the beautiful waterfall where they would like a small hydroplant built which he is thrilled to do.  The Lord also stirred in his heart to be a father to this precious group and start a Bible study with them twice a month beginning soon.

I quizzed Rafael about the Waorani group and how they fit into this picture.  He explained that they have hidden themselves deep in the jungle and are unready to come out at the moment but will eventually be drawn into their Kingdom destiny.  The ramifications of this endeavor are mind-boggling to me. Tambo was a huge step as it was untouched by any other religious group, so we were the “first” spiritual authorities in the mountains.  As Tambo was moderately westernized the parents were able to make most of the jump from their culture to Kingdom thinking.  This jungle adventure goes to a whole new level:  first spiritual authorities AND the first outsiders (Ecuadorian or otherwise) to be invited in to begin the bridging of the Kingdom and outside technology/thought with a semi-primitive society.

            Dearest supporters,  here is an amazing call to some of you.  We need teachers who are on-fire for the Lord and willing to live in rustic conditions to touch an entire people group for God.  We need workers to help with the hydro-project.  The harvest is ready; pray to the Lord of the Harvest with us for laborers to come.  We walk by faith and confidence in Him who has given us the victory. How we need your prayers, your expertise and your encouragement.  I believe this is the opening of a much greater door than we realize.

            Together for the Kingdom,

Dave, Sharman, Erland and Kjersti Injerd

Mision SEA LA LUZ

Praises

-Guabug is accredited (dancing and much celebration may be added).

-Our Tambo people are lights in the world.

-Tremendous opportunity with the jungle tribes.

-Erland and Kjersti who work with and support the mission.

-Tambo house rain-water supply system full and fully functional.

-Health and safety.

Requests

-Protection for the hearts of our teenagers in Tambo.

-Godly wisdom in advancing His Kingdom.

-Laborers to the harvest.

-Contacts for Dave and his new hydroplant project.

-Resources to meet growing demands.

-Health and safety.