People here in Apurimac had plenty of opportunities for conferences here during the last few weeks. We brought the Thompson Bible conference here to Andahuaylas and got Bibles in the hands of 63 leaders here in the local city area.
Also during the same week we were visited by Pastors Chad Barrett and Bard Letsinger. Chad, who presents seminars on evangelism, wound up leading 200+ people to the Lord, training over 400 en presenting the gospel. They came to learn how to present the gospel, and found out that they didn't know what it was! This isn't surprising, due to the confusion and lack of education in the churches here.
Bard presented seminars on marriage and dating--something we are asked to do about once a week and just haven't been able to, so God sent us help! Many lives were impacted, and one result was that a young couple in Nueva Esperanza have decided to tie the knot after living together for three years. Both are new Christians.
It was a great few weeks, and we really enjoyed seeing others get to enjoy the ministry here!
Mike & Tammy Riggs - Missionaries in Peru - Join the team going into the world and making disciples!
A great illustration from our "conferencistas"
We spent the last week hosting conferences by two visiting pastors from Texas, Bard Letsinger and Chad Barrett. Since I was translating for Bard, I have told this illustration once or twice a day all week, and I still think that it is great!
Bard starts out the conference showing the people a little stuffed lion named Leo that his 6yo daughter sent with him to keep him company. He and his daughter play a game with this lion--she hides him and says she can't go to bed unless the Leo is found. Then Bard finds the lion and puts him on his head and says "I don't know where he is. You'll just have to go to bed without him." Then she sees him and they laugh and she gets tucked into bed with Leo, because he is a cute cuddly little stuffed animal.
But what is a real lion like? It's a ferocious beast with sharp teeth and claws. It would rip you to pieces. You would never tuck it into bed with your 6yo daughter.
1 Peter 5:8 says that the devil is like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. But when Satan tempts us to sin, he doesn't present himself as a ferocious beast. Instead he presents himself and the temptation as harmless and enjoyable--something to embrace that will make you feel better. But the reality is that sin is the lion that will devour you spiritually, and ruin your life.
The verse starts out with the answer--be sober and alert. Be on the lookout for the real lion disguised as a cuddly toy. Don't be fooled! Verse 9 says resist and stand firm in the faith. Trust God's word to show you what's right and wrong.
Bard starts out the conference showing the people a little stuffed lion named Leo that his 6yo daughter sent with him to keep him company. He and his daughter play a game with this lion--she hides him and says she can't go to bed unless the Leo is found. Then Bard finds the lion and puts him on his head and says "I don't know where he is. You'll just have to go to bed without him." Then she sees him and they laugh and she gets tucked into bed with Leo, because he is a cute cuddly little stuffed animal.
But what is a real lion like? It's a ferocious beast with sharp teeth and claws. It would rip you to pieces. You would never tuck it into bed with your 6yo daughter.
1 Peter 5:8 says that the devil is like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. But when Satan tempts us to sin, he doesn't present himself as a ferocious beast. Instead he presents himself and the temptation as harmless and enjoyable--something to embrace that will make you feel better. But the reality is that sin is the lion that will devour you spiritually, and ruin your life.
The verse starts out with the answer--be sober and alert. Be on the lookout for the real lion disguised as a cuddly toy. Don't be fooled! Verse 9 says resist and stand firm in the faith. Trust God's word to show you what's right and wrong.
Cultural Conflict
"One final question. Will Brother C. give half of his support to Pastor B. because he doesn't have any support?" This question was fired off angrily by the treasurer of the group.
"I couldn't begin to say. I can't speak for him, " Mike answered.
"Yes you can. You are his chief and you can force him to do so. It's only right."
At moments like this you suddenly realize that there is wide chasm in understanding. Two groups have completely different sets of ground rules, and communication as you know it is not going to happen.
The scene was a surprise meeting called between the board of Kausay and us to discuss 7 questions. Most of them had to do with Mike's assistant.
After Mike's heart attack, Believer's Bridge (the new name of our mission board, in case you missed that.) picked up a national missionary to be his assistant. When they had been in Peru the year before, they had met Cayo Cardenas and had been asked by Kausay to consider supporting him. They had prayerfully considered this and decided to put him on as a missionary of Believers Bridge. He has been a great help in getting things coordinated for Thompson Bible Conferences and translating materials into Quechua for the Institutes in the country. He is a hard worker, has a seminary degree, is a good teacher, and speaks Quechua.
What could be the problem?
The problem is that Kausay is a mixture of cultures, American, Spanish Peruvian, German, and Quechua Peruvian. And in the eyes of the Quechua Peruvians it was all wrong. It was wrong to pick one person out of the group--the whole group should have been supported. Since the time of the Inca Empire (and maybe before) their rule has been "share and share alike." Today that concept rules only in the native communities, the group that we are working with in the countryside here. In that society the individual has very little rights or importance--what is important is the community.
To make things more difficult, they didn't say this when the missionary was announced as hired. Instead they suggested a higher salary than they believed he should have, figuring that they would compel him to give up the rest, as is customary in the communities. They do not view this as dishonest.
As God would have it, Believers Bridge has not raised that much support for him, so he is receiving a few hundred dollars a month at the present. Still, this contingent thinks that he should give up half his salary. And if the situation were reversed, they would think that the other man should give up half of his.
Even though the "share and share alike" group is the minority, they are very vocal. This problem isn't going away. And clearly this is an attack of Satan just when everything is getting ready to really happen. We ourselves have been thrown into the "different and bad" phase of culture shock at the moment--and right when we don't need this distraction!
Please pray for a peaceful solution, or at least just peace, forgiveness, and a workaround for the problem. We know God has all power to stomp out the fires of cultural conflict. Pray for everyone to focus on the real work of ministry.
"I couldn't begin to say. I can't speak for him, " Mike answered.
"Yes you can. You are his chief and you can force him to do so. It's only right."
At moments like this you suddenly realize that there is wide chasm in understanding. Two groups have completely different sets of ground rules, and communication as you know it is not going to happen.
The scene was a surprise meeting called between the board of Kausay and us to discuss 7 questions. Most of them had to do with Mike's assistant.
After Mike's heart attack, Believer's Bridge (the new name of our mission board, in case you missed that.) picked up a national missionary to be his assistant. When they had been in Peru the year before, they had met Cayo Cardenas and had been asked by Kausay to consider supporting him. They had prayerfully considered this and decided to put him on as a missionary of Believers Bridge. He has been a great help in getting things coordinated for Thompson Bible Conferences and translating materials into Quechua for the Institutes in the country. He is a hard worker, has a seminary degree, is a good teacher, and speaks Quechua.
What could be the problem?
The problem is that Kausay is a mixture of cultures, American, Spanish Peruvian, German, and Quechua Peruvian. And in the eyes of the Quechua Peruvians it was all wrong. It was wrong to pick one person out of the group--the whole group should have been supported. Since the time of the Inca Empire (and maybe before) their rule has been "share and share alike." Today that concept rules only in the native communities, the group that we are working with in the countryside here. In that society the individual has very little rights or importance--what is important is the community.
To make things more difficult, they didn't say this when the missionary was announced as hired. Instead they suggested a higher salary than they believed he should have, figuring that they would compel him to give up the rest, as is customary in the communities. They do not view this as dishonest.
As God would have it, Believers Bridge has not raised that much support for him, so he is receiving a few hundred dollars a month at the present. Still, this contingent thinks that he should give up half his salary. And if the situation were reversed, they would think that the other man should give up half of his.
Even though the "share and share alike" group is the minority, they are very vocal. This problem isn't going away. And clearly this is an attack of Satan just when everything is getting ready to really happen. We ourselves have been thrown into the "different and bad" phase of culture shock at the moment--and right when we don't need this distraction!
Please pray for a peaceful solution, or at least just peace, forgiveness, and a workaround for the problem. We know God has all power to stomp out the fires of cultural conflict. Pray for everyone to focus on the real work of ministry.
Anniversay, and a COLD baptism
Things have been so busy here that it is hard to know where to start.
I just spoke the last 3 nights at the 59th anniversary of the Central Church in Andahuaylas. Here church anniversaries are big deals and last night we had to borrow pews. It was exciting and a blessing - I was given the topics of Baptism, Devotional time and The Lord's Supper.
So it was exciting that Saturday saw us out at a river just a couple of miles from a glacier (Talk about cold water! Winter is on it's way here 2 miles up as well) 11 were baptized, it was so much fun to be out in the beautiful countryside, the smell of Eucalyptus and Camphor everywhere, eating boiled potatoes and chicken, singing hymns (in 4 languages) to a big old harp, seeing the people in the colorful dress. There must have been 300 or 400 folks there. Our camera batteries died, phooey! so we only have a couple of pictures.
Then Saturday night, we had communion. Here we have a big problem. Some teachers came through several years ago and they didn't know the Quechua. So, they taught on communion VERY strongly on not eating and drinking unworthily. The result is that in the average church around here only about 10% take communion.
But the Spirit moved last night and even with members from various churches there (another Andahuaylas tradition) and even with the Elder's deciding to fill up ALL the communion cups (we use several small loaves of bread) - the was only 1 cup not taken.
And no one took it casually! There were tears, people praying on their knees and going to others asking pardon - definitely not normal Quechua behavior.
I will be posting a couple of times in the next week as we prepare for 22 conferences in the next 6 weeks and as the Bible Institute fully cranks up.
God bless,
Mike
I just spoke the last 3 nights at the 59th anniversary of the Central Church in Andahuaylas. Here church anniversaries are big deals and last night we had to borrow pews. It was exciting and a blessing - I was given the topics of Baptism, Devotional time and The Lord's Supper.
So it was exciting that Saturday saw us out at a river just a couple of miles from a glacier (Talk about cold water! Winter is on it's way here 2 miles up as well) 11 were baptized, it was so much fun to be out in the beautiful countryside, the smell of Eucalyptus and Camphor everywhere, eating boiled potatoes and chicken, singing hymns (in 4 languages) to a big old harp, seeing the people in the colorful dress. There must have been 300 or 400 folks there. Our camera batteries died, phooey! so we only have a couple of pictures.
Then Saturday night, we had communion. Here we have a big problem. Some teachers came through several years ago and they didn't know the Quechua. So, they taught on communion VERY strongly on not eating and drinking unworthily. The result is that in the average church around here only about 10% take communion.
But the Spirit moved last night and even with members from various churches there (another Andahuaylas tradition) and even with the Elder's deciding to fill up ALL the communion cups (we use several small loaves of bread) - the was only 1 cup not taken.
And no one took it casually! There were tears, people praying on their knees and going to others asking pardon - definitely not normal Quechua behavior.
I will be posting a couple of times in the next week as we prepare for 22 conferences in the next 6 weeks and as the Bible Institute fully cranks up.
God bless,
Mike
Books for pastors
Mike blogging...yesterday I met with the leadership of the largest Christian bookstore/distributor (libreria Inca) in Peru. We had a great meeting and they are going to work with us to provide a small (7 volume) library for all of our Thompson seminar graduates and for our Bible Institute students at a nominal cost!
We're grandparents!
And Miguel and Becky are parents. Little Abigail Grace made her appearance at about 12:30 this afternoon. Miguel was so excited that he ran into the waiting room just shouting "Ya!" (Already.)
Abby weighed in at 7 lb. 14 oz. and measured 20 1/4" according to our metric conversion. She has a lot of dark wavy hair.
We'll post some pix tomorrow.
Abby weighed in at 7 lb. 14 oz. and measured 20 1/4" according to our metric conversion. She has a lot of dark wavy hair.
We'll post some pix tomorrow.
Mike is out, and Becky is going in
MIKE
got out of the hospital Saturday. (Just a recap--he had four stents put in and the doctor says his heart should be good for another 20 years). The final final bill was $30,000. His leg is still very sore and weak from where they put the heart catheter in (the tube was in place for four days.) Other than that he is fine and just goes back for a check Thursday.
BECKY
went Saturday to her doctor and her tests showed that she had preeclampsia. The doctor said with that and the other two problems they would have to go ahead and do a C-section. Becky was a little disappointed, since they were praying for guidance on what to decide, they figured that was the answer. She is checking into the clinic tonight. Little Abigail Grace should enter the world tomorrow afternoon.
Thanks for your prayers!
Tammy
got out of the hospital Saturday. (Just a recap--he had four stents put in and the doctor says his heart should be good for another 20 years). The final final bill was $30,000. His leg is still very sore and weak from where they put the heart catheter in (the tube was in place for four days.) Other than that he is fine and just goes back for a check Thursday.
BECKY
went Saturday to her doctor and her tests showed that she had preeclampsia. The doctor said with that and the other two problems they would have to go ahead and do a C-section. Becky was a little disappointed, since they were praying for guidance on what to decide, they figured that was the answer. She is checking into the clinic tonight. Little Abigail Grace should enter the world tomorrow afternoon.
Thanks for your prayers!
Tammy
Mike heart update
Mike had the heart catheterization today, and they put in 4 stents. The price will be a bit over $20,000, which we have 6 months to pay.
In the US they usually do the angiogram (other $5000) at the same time, but they can't really do that here, since they are usually expecting cash. This has confused everyone, including us, as we didn't understand how much more the angioplasty (unblocking the blocked arteries and placing the stents) would cost and thought at first that it would all be covered by around $5000.
The clinic is excellent and up to standards anywhere. Although the price seems really high to us, looking at this webpage http://ping.fm/g5nnl I realize that it is just an expensive operation.
Mike already looks more lively, even though he is in intensive care for two days.
Please keep praying for his recovery and God's provision!
Love,
Tammy
In the US they usually do the angiogram (other $5000) at the same time, but they can't really do that here, since they are usually expecting cash. This has confused everyone, including us, as we didn't understand how much more the angioplasty (unblocking the blocked arteries and placing the stents) would cost and thought at first that it would all be covered by around $5000.
The clinic is excellent and up to standards anywhere. Although the price seems really high to us, looking at this webpage http://ping.fm/g5nnl I realize that it is just an expensive operation.
Mike already looks more lively, even though he is in intensive care for two days.
Please keep praying for his recovery and God's provision!
Love,
Tammy
Prayer and praise update 2/7
Praise for.....
A good and uneventful trip to Lima.
God providing affordable lodgings in Lima even after difficulties developed with our first arrangement.
Mike got good results on his stress echocardiogram here, even though the test showed heart damage.
Mike following Doctor's orders even though he wants to "doooo something!"
Communications with the clinic getting straightened out.
Prayer requests:
Mike still lacks about $3700 for his procedure--please pray for God's provision for this and the added expenses of staying here.
Becky (our daughter here in Lima) is going to have an ultrasound to see if it is necessary for her to have a C-section, as was her earlier diagnosis.
Please pray for the work that is being done in Andahuaylas to get Bible Institute students and classes going in April.
Pray for an end to internet difficulties, I have written several posts over the past weeks that just disappeared!
A good and uneventful trip to Lima.
God providing affordable lodgings in Lima even after difficulties developed with our first arrangement.
Mike got good results on his stress echocardiogram here, even though the test showed heart damage.
Mike following Doctor's orders even though he wants to "doooo something!"
Communications with the clinic getting straightened out.
Prayer requests:
Mike still lacks about $3700 for his procedure--please pray for God's provision for this and the added expenses of staying here.
Becky (our daughter here in Lima) is going to have an ultrasound to see if it is necessary for her to have a C-section, as was her earlier diagnosis.
Please pray for the work that is being done in Andahuaylas to get Bible Institute students and classes going in April.
Pray for an end to internet difficulties, I have written several posts over the past weeks that just disappeared!
Mike out of hospital, still in Cuzco
Mike is out of the hospital and still in Cuzco. He has to take a stress test in 3 days to see if he is able to travel to Lima.
When we went to pay his bill we got a great surprise! The doctors had requested a further discount on the bill, bringing it DOWN to around $2000. Isn't God wonderful?
We are still waiting to see about the angioplasty price. The doctors are looking for a lower cost for us.
Thanks again for your prayers!
When we went to pay his bill we got a great surprise! The doctors had requested a further discount on the bill, bringing it DOWN to around $2000. Isn't God wonderful?
We are still waiting to see about the angioplasty price. The doctors are looking for a lower cost for us.
Thanks again for your prayers!
Prayer need update Sunday, 1/17
Mike continues to improve and is off IV. This means that the next big hurdle is actually money. He should be discharged tomorrow and I will need to be there with $3000 cash in hand. This really needs prayer!
The next question is the treatment in Lima. They are sending him for angioplasty and the price they have quoted (not officially yet) is $10,000. This is another big prayer request. Also if anyone knows about this please contact me, as there is no cardiologist here to give a second opinion.
An up to date financial needs page is on our website and I will be updating it daily. http://ping.fm/9lRTT
Serving our great God,
Tammy
The next question is the treatment in Lima. They are sending him for angioplasty and the price they have quoted (not officially yet) is $10,000. This is another big prayer request. Also if anyone knows about this please contact me, as there is no cardiologist here to give a second opinion.
An up to date financial needs page is on our website and I will be updating it daily. http://ping.fm/9lRTT
Serving our great God,
Tammy
Oops! and update
First, there was a typo yesterday--Mike's cardiac enzyme level was 200, not 400!
Mike continues to improve. His glucose is high, so they are upping one of the meds he usually takes, not going to insulin.
Another answer to prayer--the hospital is billing us as though we were insured there and the total bill there will be around $3000 if Mike gets out Monday as planned.
Please pray for God's continued provision, as the next step is to go to Lima and a clinic there.
Many thanks for all your prayers!
Mike continues to improve. His glucose is high, so they are upping one of the meds he usually takes, not going to insulin.
Another answer to prayer--the hospital is billing us as though we were insured there and the total bill there will be around $3000 if Mike gets out Monday as planned.
Please pray for God's continued provision, as the next step is to go to Lima and a clinic there.
Many thanks for all your prayers!
Mike in hospital (detailed version)
This is not new news for a lot of you, but Mike is in the hospital in Cuzco after having several light heart attacks while vacationing there.
There was some difficulty getting it diagnosed, as his EKG was normal and he did not present all the symptoms of a heart attack. He in fact went to one clinic on Tuesday that sent him home with cough medicine.
However, about 7 pm he developed intense pain and a phone consultation on Wednesday (after several fruitless attempts to find a cardiologist--this is vacation time of year) with a missionary doctor at Curahuasi led us to a cardiologist who put him in the hospital for tests on Wednesday. The cardiac enzymes were in total 400 (normal is 35 to 150) indicating a heart attack--evidently several, starting probably Monday.
However, thanks to all your prayers and the good care he is getting he is improving rapidly and enzymes are now down to 40. He will be taken off medication tomorrow and will continue in the hospital a few more days. After this he will have to go to Lima for further treatment.
Please be in prayer for his continued recovery and for financial provision. We will have to pay our part of the bill when he comes out of the hospital, and we aren't covered at this hospital. Also the doctor has already told us that the procedure in Lima is a little expensive.
If you feel led to give a gift, please mark it Medical Help and send it to Believers´ Bridge, 4871 Hwy 29, Chelsea, AL 35043.
Thanks again for all of your prayers!
Tammy
There was some difficulty getting it diagnosed, as his EKG was normal and he did not present all the symptoms of a heart attack. He in fact went to one clinic on Tuesday that sent him home with cough medicine.
However, about 7 pm he developed intense pain and a phone consultation on Wednesday (after several fruitless attempts to find a cardiologist--this is vacation time of year) with a missionary doctor at Curahuasi led us to a cardiologist who put him in the hospital for tests on Wednesday. The cardiac enzymes were in total 400 (normal is 35 to 150) indicating a heart attack--evidently several, starting probably Monday.
However, thanks to all your prayers and the good care he is getting he is improving rapidly and enzymes are now down to 40. He will be taken off medication tomorrow and will continue in the hospital a few more days. After this he will have to go to Lima for further treatment.
Please be in prayer for his continued recovery and for financial provision. We will have to pay our part of the bill when he comes out of the hospital, and we aren't covered at this hospital. Also the doctor has already told us that the procedure in Lima is a little expensive.
If you feel led to give a gift, please mark it Medical Help and send it to Believers´ Bridge, 4871 Hwy 29, Chelsea, AL 35043.
Thanks again for all of your prayers!
Tammy
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