Chaos in Pucallpa
Some people seem pretty comfortable with chaos.
Standing in the middle of the dusty street, I was reminded once again that I am not naturally one of those people.
Our sound technician, Pierre, and I were frantically bunching and rolling microphone cords and stuffing them into a large hard-sided suitcase which we were using to transport our small portable sound-system.
At this point, we weren’t even trying to wipe off the cords, despite the fact that they had been laying on a road surface which was made entirely of dirt and compacted trash.
We were simply trying to stuff them into the suitcase, which was resting on an unfinished wooden card-table that we were currently borrowing from a nearby stilt-house. We were also borrowing their electricity - someone had loaned us a questionable looking 50 foot power cord which was now snaking its way to us from the corner of an open window.
Thirty minutes ago, we had arrived by bus in the middle of an impoverished charcoal-producing village in Pucallpa, Peru. A handful of village children had looked on with mild curiosity as we stepped out of the vehicle.
Twenty minutes ago, we had been told to set up our portable sound system in the current spot.
Ten minutes ago, one of our microphone stands had been knocked over by an honest-to-goodness, dog-fight between three shockingly vicious (and shockingly malnourished) local dogs.
Two minutes ago, we had been told that we needed to move our setup to the other side of the street and find another stilt-house from which to borrow electricity - and quickly. Which is why we were currently tossing tangled cords into a hard-sided suitcase on a splintery wooden table.
You really can’t make this stuff up.
“Can you help us with this?”
We enlisted the help of our friend Mike, and together we dutifully lugged the table to the opposite side of the street and began the frustrating task of untangling the filthy cords that we had just tangled.
The good news was that somewhere in the chaos, a crowd had begun to gather.
I suspect that most of them had been drawn by the party atmosphere which was starting to build - local volunteers had begun erecting small tents and blowing up colorful balloons - but part of me wonders whether a few of the locals had just come out to watch the confused foreigners haul stuff from one side of the street to the other.
We may never know for sure.
But a real crowd had definitely begun to form.
And in a few minutes, we were able to begin the show.
It’s a bit hard to describe to someone who has never experienced it, but basically, when we perform in streets and schools, we pretty much try to do whatever it takes (within reason) to draw a crowd:
A group of local dancers performed. A talented group of Peruvian BMX pros did insane stunts on the street. We engaged the crowd with music (including pieced-together choruses in shaky Spanish) and invited everyone to our weekend festival. Our friend Mike gave a clever object lesson featuring a talented young soccer player. Our inordinately strong friend Rick performed feats of strength.
And then, when the crowd was at its fullest, our friend Bob Lenz stepped up to share the simple message of Jesus:
How we were created for relationship with God.
How all of us have separated ourselves from God by our sinful actions.
How Jesus loved us so much that He paid the price for our sins with His own life.
And how Jesus now freely offers forgiveness and reconnection with God to whomever chooses to accept Him.
We shared the message, we offered an opportunity to respond, and there, in the middle of the dirty street that we had just lugged our table across, nearly a hundred people responded to the love of Jesus.
In the Peruvian dusk, as the sun set behind stunted jungle trees and dilapidated shanty roofs, mothers and dust-smeared children raised their hands.
Weathered workmen in stained white tank tops and sincere young men said “yes” to Jesus.
And in the darkening neighborhood, lives were changed forever.
And this is why we do what we do.
THIS WEEK, we’ll be ministering throughout the city of Pucallpa, Peru, culminating in a large, two night festival on Saturday and Sunday - please pray for God to bring thousands of people into a beautiful relationship with Jesus!
Our mandate is to reach AS MANY AS POSSIBLE with the message of Jesus – every time you pray for this ministry, support the mission financially, or share the music and the message, you help us reach thousands with the love of Jesus, and we can’t thank you enough for your partnership. Over the next few months, we’re scheduled to minister at large outreaches across the USA, and in MOLDOVA, THAILAND, and LAOS.
If you’re interested in being part of our team, here are THREE easy ways you can help:
1) PRAY: We have countless stories of being strengthened to fulfill our mission overseas as a direct result of the faithful prayer of friends like you.
2) SUPPORT: Every gift helps us reach the nations with the love and message of Jesus!
3) SHARE: Music is our tool to reach the world with this message. LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE on social media if you like it – it helps more than you know!
If you haven’t heard our latest CD, THROUGH IT, please check it out! You can listen or watch here:
