Planting a church in Bellavista Nanay got off to a very rocky start. In our first week starting this church plant we did some impact work playing with children and showing the Jesus Film. My partner Dalila and I were encouraged by the fact that at the Jesus Film showing we were able to take down names and addresses of about 15 people who seemed interested in having us visit them so that they could learn more about who God is and the plan He has for their lives. We began trying to find these houses and visit with these people but did not have very good results. After a couple of weeks of not having good luck, we wound up only making 2 new contacts, a young couple who lived in a lower part of Bellavista. We tried knocking on doors and evangelizing across the street from where we had our one house to visit. Again with more frustration and zero results. We enlisted the help of some of the brothers and sisters of one of the established churches to help us evangelize on the one main street in Bellavista. We had many doors closed in our face and negative reactions from those we tried to evangelize to. From the few names we did get, when we went back to visit with these people we got the same negative reactions and once again wound up with zero results.
And then a miracle happened.
Even though we were at the point of being extremely discouraged, we continued to pray over Bellavista and ask God’s direction for what our next step should be. We were even at the point of wondering if maybe we were not supposed to start a church in Bellavista Nanay. We still had our one couple, our only contacts, that lived down in a lower part of Bellavista, where for 3 months out of the year the Amazon river floods about 10 feet below the houses that are built on stilts. As what we felt like might be a last effort, we decided to show the Jesus Film in this area, even though the first time we didn’t have much luck with showing the movie.
We prayed over this night in faith that God would work through the Jesus Film to spread his love in Bellavista. Many people came to the movie and we were able to take down 15 new names and later actually find all 15 of these people! Little did we know at the time, but we showed the film right outside of the house that is now where we hold church services three times a week!
God’s faithfulness has been an amazing thing to see and experience in this part of Bellavista Nanay. We met Antonio, a man who was a Christian many years ago but fell away in 1991. He wanted to reconcile his life to Christ and he has been on fire for Christ and eager to help the church in Bellavista grow ever since. He opened up our house to hold church services on Friday nights. At our first service we had over 20 people attend, a number unheard of for a first service! Many of the people who came and have continued to come to services were not even people we had been visiting and discipling at the time. But they respected Antonio and came because he invited them.
At every service for the first few months we consistently had about 20 people attending. That number has now grown to 30. In fact the truth is, we barely fit into Antonio’s house anymore. Praise God! We began holding Sunday School for both children and adult’s on Sunday mornings. It has been such a joy to teach a group of about 20 kids who are so full of love and who are eager and willing to learn more about who God is. And to watch their parents who also have a hunger and thirst to build on their relationships with God.
Two months ago we decided to also begin holding a service for the youth on Thursday nights. At our first service we expected to maybe have 3-5 teenagers come. We ended up having 25 youth between the ages of 10 and 22! We’ve continued to be blown away by God’s work in Bellavista. Consistently we have had that same number of youth come to the services. Every week they invite their friends and we see new faces. About half of them are also now coming to our regular church services on Friday nights. In a culture where many youth by this age are out partying and drinking, often getting into more serious trouble such as stealing, these youth have found the right path. They respect each other, and are eager to learn as they ask deep questions about who God is.
We have complete faith that this church in Bellavista will continue to grow with God’s blessing. I can’t help feeling that the work here has just begun, even though we already have such a great and strong number of Christians. We have a leader named Miluska who is from Iquitos and worked with me for a couple of months after my partner Dalila had to go back home. She is currently studying to be a pastor and has agreed to continue working in Bellavista Nanay. I look forward to continuing to hear how this church and her members are growing. Praise God for his continuing faithfulness in Bellavista! My life has been changed as I was blessed to be a part of watching God change other people’s lives in Bellavista. It has been an amazing experience to get to watch Him work. One that I know I will never forget.
- Laura Benson, Dalila Bustamante Rimarachin, Miluska Muñoz Flores
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