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October Prayer Needs/News
False Teaching Kills
I mean, they may put it nicer than that—as in, "Don’t you do anything to help victims of child abuse?” Or “Don’t you ever plant churches in remote villages?” But what they mean is “Why do you just teach church people the Bible? Why don’t you do anything useful?”
So now I tell them the story of Sister Primitiva. She suffered greatly and died because of false teaching.
She and her husband were members of the church in Talavera. We had seen them at church, but didn’t know them.
Then one day the man came to our house. He was what the Peruvians call a “humble” man. He wore a pair of unhemmed dress pants and the rubber tire sandals that are called yanquis. He had urgent questions and also wanted us to pray for healing for his wife.
His urgent questions were a list of Bible verses. He had been taught, (like many others) him that these verses meant that it was a sin for a Christian to go to the doctor. And he had been taught that you should just trust God for healing, because sickness is always caused by sin.
Mike went over each verse, explaining what was happening in the context. (Remember, a text without a context is a pretext!) The man was more and more glad to see that sickness isn’t
just a result of unconfessed sin. And that the Bible doesn’t forbid medicine.
just a result of unconfessed sin. And that the Bible doesn’t forbid medicine.
Soon we left to go pray for his wife, Primitiva. The house was fairly close by. A half hour's walk led to a cluster of adobe houses that had grown one room at a time. These maze-like houses had dirt floors. Clotheslines hung across some of the rooms. There were few tables and chairs, and chickens ran in and out.
All the neighbors greeted us with kisses. The man was eager to tell them what he had found out—sickness just happens, and God loves you anyway. It is OK to go to the doctor. It is OK to take medicine.
Primitiva was sitting outside on a step in back of her house. Her whole body was clenched tight because of the pain in her stomach. My heart fell when I saw her.
“How long has she been like this?”
“Six months, maybe.”
Good free medical care had been available all this time from the German mission hospital. If she had gone to the doctor, something could have been done. But she had spent months in needless agony.
Because of false teaching.
Her husband touched her on the shoulder to get her attention and told her the good news. "Sin brings spiritual death, not physical sickness. It's OK to go to the doctor." But I knew in my heart that it was too late for her. She would be having her healing in heaven.
Because of false teaching.
We prayed for her, but when my turn came to pray, all I could pray for was for a relief of pain and the promise of heaven.
They went to the German hospital. She had stomach cancer, and it was far too late to do anything for her.
She died a month later.
Because of false teaching.
So that’s why we “just teach church people the Bible”.
Videos Page Added!
“We got him!” | Christian History Magazine
“We got him!” | Christian History Magazine
Here is a link to story of one of our own personal missionary heroes, a man who served in the Andes of Peru, and whose legacy lives on even today.
Here is a link to story of one of our own personal missionary heroes, a man who served in the Andes of Peru, and whose legacy lives on even today.
Christmas Project
In the Apurimac area the poorest children are not reached at Christmas by any ministry. There has been a longstanding problem in the area that diverts Christmas gifts to other locations.
Because of this Missionary Becky Gomez Riggs (our daughter) and longtime ministry helper Yesenia Rivera are organizing a program to go directly to these children with gifts from the US and from Lima.
If you want to support their ministry you need to contact us directly. In addition, it is listed on our Fall Ministry Needs page. Here is a presentation that explains the program:
Because of this Missionary Becky Gomez Riggs (our daughter) and longtime ministry helper Yesenia Rivera are organizing a program to go directly to these children with gifts from the US and from Lima.
If you want to support their ministry you need to contact us directly. In addition, it is listed on our Fall Ministry Needs page. Here is a presentation that explains the program:
Don't miss out!
You get on your computer and go on Facebook. Let's see, Mike Riggs... Aha! There's his post.
"So glad to be back in Peru!"
Too late! But he was in the US all year. You thought there was plenty of time.
Don't let this happen to you. If you are planning to have us speak at your church, you need to contact us and set up a date for us to speak to your church or group.
NEW: the calendar posted at the right shows what dates are currently open,
New Presentation Introducing Our Ministry and Peru
We designed this presentation for camp ministry, but it's also a good intro to the ministry and Peru for anybody. It could be used in a missions moment as well, or possibly in Sunday School. You can get it to play with speaker notes by clicking on the gear and selecting that. If you want to use this and need any help please email us at missionarymike@gmail.com .
We also have presentations on the geography, transportation, and foods of Peru. Let us know if you would like to use or see those!
We also have presentations on the geography, transportation, and foods of Peru. Let us know if you would like to use or see those!
Now you can help Miguel Gomez spread the gospel in Lima
MIGUEL GOMEZ is helping to plant a church in the Jose Galvez area of
Lima and will be starting a children's ministry in an impoverished area
in late May or early June. He needs more support for these ministries.
Also several supporters seem to have gotten lost in the transition, so
if you have been supporting Miguel (or want to start) please let us know and send your support to World Outreach.Please pray for these new ministries and for his financial needs.
How to help. . .Cayo Cardenas run the seminary
Please pray for wisdom with all of his responsibilities.
To support click here or mail to World Outreach Ministries.
Alert for supporters of Cayo, Miguel, and Walter
We've noticed that there has been a drop-off in support for Peruvian missionaries
Cayo, Miguel, and Walter. Several people have asked where to send their support now. The answer is to send it just like our support (designate Riggs, Mike & Tammy #400), but email us one time to let us know that you are sending it for Cayo, Miguel, or Walter.
Cayo, Miguel, and Walter. Several people have asked where to send their support now. The answer is to send it just like our support (designate Riggs, Mike & Tammy #400), but email us one time to let us know that you are sending it for Cayo, Miguel, or Walter.
Don't send it to Believers Bridge, which is currently only handling donations for their Brazil missionaries. Send it to World Outreach Ministries, P. O. Box B, Marietta GA 30061 or donate online. Either way, designate it Mike & Tammy Riggs, #400. Just make sure that you notify us that your support or a portion of your support is for them.
7 Surprising Reasons to Pay Peruvian Teachers
We get some questions about this.
Why can't the teacher just volunteer?
Why not just use gringo missionaries?
Some Peruvians even say that the teachers are "bloodsuckers."
We decided to go over our reasons. We found that Some of them may surprise you.
1. Empowering Peruvians to teach is what our ministry is all about.
This actually was a surprise to us. When we started thinking about it, we realized this:
Our teachers are not just a step on the way to getting Peruvians who are reliable men competent to teach others.
They ARE reliable Peruvians competent to teach others.
They are the example, the first wave.
What we are doing is empowering them to use their gifts and schooling so that others look at them and say, "That's how I wanna be."
They send the message to the notoriously low self-esteemed Peruvians that YES YOU CAN DO THIS in a way that we never can.
Peruvians have a legendary and stubborn low self-esteem. Journalist Abelardo Sanchez Leon puts it like this:
It’s commonplace to say that Peruvians lack self-esteem. In my time, they called this feeling an inferiority complex. It seems to have recently turned into a stubborn mark of our identity. (1)
They don't believe that Peruvians have what it takes to succeed at anything. Most of them start seminary with the dismal expectation that they are too stupid to finish the program, let alone teach.
Peruvians look at us teaching and say, "Sure, a gringo can do that." But when they see Zosimo or Walter teaching, they say, "Yeah, I can do that too, and maybe even better."
As one put it, "Cayo can be the academic director now, but when we have our degrees he'll have some competition."
So an essential part of our ministry is encouraging these men to use their gifts and training.
2. They have to live in the city.
Many times people take away from our presentations in churches the idea that $80 is the average income in the Apurimac area of Peru without understanding that this is not a living wage even in Peru.
The people with this income usually are living exclusively by what they can grow and trade; even weaving their own cloth. They get along as long as they don't need to buy anything from the outside world.
Our teachers have got to live in the city. If they lived in the country they would not be able to prepare classes and would not be accessible for planning and teaching opportunities.
And life in the city carries higher costs. An average income in Peru in the city is $379. Average rent is $300 for an apartment with two bedrooms, so you can see why many families are squeezing into one room apartments. (2)
Food costs money, unlike in the country. This is a fact many country people don't understand. We have lived in Andahuaylas during some major paros, or paralizations, where a mob shuts down all of the businesses until their demands for fairer prices or a change in the laws is met.
The country people never understand why the city people, mainly mom-and-pop business owners who are living day to day, don't support the paro, even when they agree with its demands. They don't understand that the city people can't eat if they don't have money.
Teachers need money to meet these higher costs.
3. They are putting in more time than you think.
Our seminary classes are typically block classes that run a month at a time for five hours on Saturdays.
That is to say that if a teacher was teaching say, New Testament Survey, he would teach every Saturday for five hours.
If his preparation and grading only take him two hours for every hour of class (an extremely conservative estimate) he is spending 15 hours a week to teach one class.
If he teaches two classes,that's a minimum of 30 hours a week, making it hard for him to work another full-time job. This would create a significant financial hardship if he received no pay from the seminary.
4. They could be making more money.
These are men with degrees. They are qualified to teach classes in secular universities, where they would be paid more than the $100 per class that we're paying at the seminary.
A grade school or high school teacher in a state school receives $500 per month. (3) These men are qualified to teach in those positions.
Those that are pastors are usually farming on weekends to eke out their low salaries. Teaching makes that impossible.
Those that own businesses are losing business or having to take on help. One of our teachers, Zosimo, has an oil change business. Saturdays are his biggest day, but he has decided to keep teaching because he feels God is calling him to teach.
Teaching at the seminary is no gravy train. These men are doing it for the love of God and his church.
5. American teachers really cost more.
At first it doesn't seem that way, because an American missionary doesn't usually cost the seminary a dime.
But when you consider that many missions require $10K support per month for a family of four and compare that to the $400 we'd pay for four classes, the real cost of using American missionaries becomes apparent.
It also cost in terms of Peruvian ownership. The missionaries of the 1950s established great works in the area, but during the time of terrorism there were not sufficient Peruvian leaders to carry these works forward. They were too used to missionaries doing it all.
And there is the cost in morale. It has the opposite effect from reason #1. It shows that you may study away, but you'll never know as much as those gringos. Just the opposite of what we're trying to say.
6. Our students need good teachers.
Our students come from an inadequate educational background. They haven't been to Sunday school. They don't know who Julius Caesar was or when he lived. They need good teachers who can bring them up the level they need to be.
In the four years that the seminary has been functioning, only one entering student was able to name all of the books of the Bible, and that one was a graduate of Mobile Bible Institutes.
The Peruvian Law of Religious Equality stipulates that for a pastor to have the same rights as a Catholic priest he has to have an equivalent amount of education.
These students don't need adult Sunday school. They need innovative educational approaches that will bring them up to Bible college level.
7. If the teacher isn't paid, his family suffers.
You live and learn. We used to have volunteer teachers. They were willing to teach and lose the income.
But with the low incomes they were already receiving the loss caused the family to suffer. The kids outgrew their shoes and couldn't get new ones. Someone got sick and couldn't go to the Doctor.
Even now, one of our teachers is facing the possible loss of his home if he teaches instead of taking another job.
What can you do?
We're looking for individuals or small groups that could commit to giving $100 per month for teacher support.
Just think, for $100 a month you can inspire and educate church leaders in Peru by giving them an inspired, educated teacher.
The easiest way to do this is to click on the donation button on this page. Send us an email letting us know your donation is for teacher support.
Or send your donation to :
World Outreach Ministries
P. O. Box B
Marietta, Georgia 30061. Be sure to mark it #400 MIKE & TAMMY RIGGS- TEACHERS
Sources:
(1) Sanchez Leon, Abelardo. "Paolo Guerrero and Peruvian Self-Esteem." Peru this Week. 13 June 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
(2) np. "Cost of Living in Peru." Numbeo.com. Apr. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
(3) Rodriguez, Sabrina. "Sabes como es trabajar de profesor en el Peru?" Publimetro.pe. 3 July 2014. Web. 25 apr. 2015.
Couples Ministry - A need that hasn't gone away
I posted this story several years ago.I'm reposting because the need hasn't gone away, and we've recently talked to several people interested in this.
One of the needs here is a ministry here to couples. (So anyone who is looking for a ministry to couples...here's a call....)
This past weekend shows the urgency of the need.
On Friday night Sister Tila from the church came to visit us. She is a lovely older lady who has a ministry of visiting the sick and praying for them. She is illiterate and takes a box of Bible promises to share. The person draws a promise from the box and reads it aloud. This is how she shares Scripture with them. She came to visit us to ask us to set up a time of counseling with a troubled couple.
She also shared some of her testimony. She and her husband had a bad, but typical marriage for this culture. They were in a remote village working their fields and tending their cattle, and she decided that she could not stand the physical abuse any longer. (Domestic violence is so common in the mountains that in Lima if you hit a coke machine or something out of frustration it is called "mountain love.") While she was looking for an opportunity to run away with their daughter, an evangelical christian came to the village. One day she was with her husband and they saw the evangelical christian family together. They were seated on a bench. The woman was asleep, holding the baby and leaning on her husband. It was a sweet family picture.
Tila said to her husband, "Look at this, everyone in this family trusts each other. The woman is leaning on her husband because she trusts him to care for her. I wish you were like this evangelical. Instead you beat me so much that I am ready to leave you! Why can´t we be like this family?"
Sometime later she had her opportunity. She put on all the clothes that she could, took the daughter, and started to make her escape. She came down a narrow path and there was her husband. There was no way around him without falling off the mountain.
"Where are you going?" he shouted, while still at a distance.
"I am leaving you. I am going to work like a man and care for my daughter. I don't want to be beaten anymore. "
"Don't leave me!" He took up two sticks from the ground and made a cross. "I swear to you by this cross that I will be an evangelical from now on!" So she accepted his promise and they looked for an evangelical church to find out how.
The next day we already had an appointment to do premarital counseling with a couple. (At the moment we are the only ones doing this. (We will be conducting a workshop for pastors sometime on this subject.) In the morning the girl called to ask if we could make time for a troubled couple right after their appointment.
It turned out to be the same couple that Sister Tila was asking about. They are not believers, and although they have been married three years, they work in different towns and are only together on the weekends. (A common situation for teachers here, as the department of education assigns them to whatever district out in the country and they consider themselves fortunate just to have a job.) It is a situation that begs for trouble and the woman was desperate for help. She is sure that her spouse is unfaithful .
We are doing all we can, but we have only a little time that we can dedicate to this ministry. Please join us in praying that God will raise up couples for this much-needed ministry, Americans and/or Peruvians.
US
TRIP SCHEDULE: We can visit you!
When we are not scheduled in another location, we will be at home in
DeRidder, Louisiana.
Dates
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Area
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Churches Scheduled
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March
1-8
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Central
& South Alabama
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March
1 - Heritage Baptist, March 8 - Salem Presbyterian
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March
11-15
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Creston
, Iowa
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Crest
Baptist
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March
16-19
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Omaha,
Nebraska
|
|
March
21-22
|
Henderson,
Louisiana
|
Henderson
Bible Church
|
April 10-12
|
Baytown,
Texas
|
Baytown
Community Church
|
April
19
|
Elk
Ridge Baptist
|
|
April
26
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Beaumont,
Texas
|
Beaumont
Bible Church
|
May
14-21
|
Trip
to Peru for Seminary Graduation
|
|
May
24
|
Kinder,
Louisiana
|
Kinder
Bible Church
|
June
8-14
|
Samson,
Alabama
|
Camp
Victory
|
June
22-28
|
Reeves,
Louisiana
|
Camp
Pearl, Reeves Bible Church
|
July
12
|
Leesville,
Louisiana
|
Grace
Bible Church
|
July
26
|
Moss
Bluff, Louisiana
|
Moss
Bluff Bible Church
|
July
26 - August 3
|
Peru
regional IEP Youth Conference and lead Mission Trip from Lima to the Andes.
|
|
August
4-31
|
Reserved
for family events & vacation
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We will be here through February
of 2016, so there is still time to schedule a visit.
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