Pucallpa, Peru
Continued Blessings of Missions
Growing up in a Christian family, I was blessed by the fact that my grandfather had many missionary prayer cards hanging near the dining room table. At any given meal he would begin with not only thanks to the Lord for the food but prayer for most, if not all, of the missionaries pictured and the people to whom they ministered. My grandmother always cooked the food extra hot knowing it could be some time before we began to eat!
I was also blessed by the fact that both my parents were active in our local church and had a passion for missions as well. On several occasions, missionaries on furlough would visit our home for a meal or stay overnight. One regular guest was a good friend of my parents, Mary Mollhagen, who dedicated her career with the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) in Peru. Thus, from childhood, the blessings of missions in the “far away” land of Peru were etched into my young mind.
SIL began working in Peru in 1946 at the invitation of the Peruvian government and for over 60 years has been instrumental in assisting the Ministry of Education document almost 70 languages as well as developing literacy programs, training bilingual teachers, producing health education publications, leading community development, and of course, translating the Bible. During their tenure in Peru, SIL has been continually approved by the government and has received awards for their work including the Order of Merit for Distinguished Services. As a statement of the ongoing cooperation between SIL and the Peruvian government, SIL donated in 2004 one of their prominent but no longer used sites, the Yarinacocha Linguist Center to the government to be used for the National Intercultural University of the Amazon.
However, while the wonderful work of SIL has been significantly accomplished in Peru and specifically in the Yarinacocha region, there is yet much to do for the kingdom of God and in the lives of the Peruvian people in that area of the world. Knowing this, the Lord called Dr. Isaac Silva de Aguila and his wife, Monica, a nurse, to begin working in that region in 2005. In January of this year I was blessed once more when I had the opportunity to visit them, get acquainted with them, and review their work with Dr. Ryan Tolsma and Dan De Witt, who along with their wives, Miriam and Jan are serving as the Partnership Ministry Team (PMT).
The oldest son of a Baptist pastor, Dr. Silva de Aguila was born in a small village between the cities of Iquitos and Requema along a river that is part of the Amazon headwaters. Also blessed with a godly, influential grandfather, Isaac professed Christ as Savior as a young boy. At the age of nine his family moved to the city of Pucallpa in the Yarinacocha region due to his father’s work with Swiss missionaries. But after receiving his degrees as a physician and a surgeon, Dr. Silva de Aguila went back to work in the region of his birth where, unknown to him, the Lord had a special gift for him: his future wife, who was serving as a community health nurse in Lagunas.
After a few years of working together in the government health center in Lagunas, both Isaac and Monica felt called by God to return to Pucallpa to begin working among the poor and medically underserved people in the Yarinacocha region. Starting with a good knowledge of medicine, some good experience in community health and development, and motivated by the compassion of Christ, they began to investigate the medical and spiritual needs in over 20 villages around the lake on which the former SIL linguistic center is located. After careful and prayerful consideration, they decided to begin their work in two villages, “The 11th of August” and “The 7th of June,” named for the dates they were founded.
Isaac and Monica began in 2005 to meet with community leaders and train health promoters in both villages, and along with Pastor Isaac, a co-laborer in Christ, to provide opportunities for both adults and children to learn more about Jesus. However, though it was obvious that the 7th of June was far more advanced in community health and development, disunity among the Christians in the village is the greatest obstacle due to denominational demands from church leaders in Lima hundreds of miles away. Dr. Isaac, Monica and Pastor Isaac ask for prayer for unity among the Christians as a testimony to the love and power of God.
It is an understatement to say that I was overwhelmed by the conditions in the 11th of August. Though I have seen many impoverished communities around the world, I think the living and health conditions caused by the fact that this village is flooded for about six months each year ranks it as one of the most difficult places I have visited. Although it will require significant creative solutions for development in this community, I loved Isaac’s response when asked why they do not abandon the work there. He said, “How can we after we have shared the love of Christ with the people for the past year?”
Before we left in our boat, several children sent us off by quoting Bible verses. I was once again blessed by missions in Peru.
Phil David