Stepping back and stepping out in faith

Church planting in Peru

Stepping back and stepping out in faith

Would you take a 17-hour bus ride, a five-hour boat journey, and an hour-long hike through dense rainforest to talk to some pastors? For BMS World Mission worker Michele Mahon, all of that was worth it – especially when you’ve been asked to speak to them about proving the existence of God!

The Awajun people of north-central Peru have started to make use of kitchen gardens — BMS' partner in Peru have been working with the Awahun people for a number of years to help them improve their livelihoods.

In 2023, Michele, along with her husband Dave and their three children, moved to Trujillo on the coast of Peru, after serving with BMS in Iquitos for five years. Dave trains Peruvian pastors and Michele is a qualified youth pastor, but they also both teach at Trujillo Baptist Seminary. And in a mostly patriarchal culture, it’s significant to see Michele being given more opportunities to teach. “It’s been nice to be able to do more upfront ministry than when I was in Iquitos because the culture is more open in terms of how they treat women on the coast,” she says.

During their time at the seminary, God also gave Michele the opportunity to teach theology to the Awahun people in the Peruvian Amazon. The Awahun are an indigenous group of fishermen, farmers, hunters, and artisans who live near the border with Ecuador. They are a strong warrior tribe and are well known in Peruvian history for resisting the Incas and Spanish when they tried to conquer them. Sadly, the wounds left by years of colonial rule run deep, and the Awahun are still often marginalised within Peruvian society.

The Peruvian Baptist Convention invited Michele to serve alongside Raquel Leon, a Peruvian mission worker who spent years working with the Awahun. Raquel and her husband Angeles started a church 35 years ago dedicated to mission amongst the Awahun. Even though Raquel is now sadly widowed, she carries on serving the Awahun. She even sells delicious roast coffee and cocoa from Awahun farmers as part of her ministry!

When the ministry first began, the team from the seminary would bring food and second-hand clothes – without necessarily appreciating what the Awahun community need. But now, the ministry is unrecognisable. “It’s based on the needs of the community and on what they want us to teach,” says Michele. Rather than bringing stuff that they might not need, the ministry is solely based on teaching the Bible and helping equip the Awahun to provide for themselves. Now, the Awahun pastors are hungry for the Word of God, regardless of whether outsiders bring food or not. Whether it’s dealing with broken relationships or questions about the end times, the Awahun know that the Bible can give them guidance and wisdom.

Michele teaching Awahun pastors in Kuyumatak about proving God's existence. — Michele's hoping to have even more opportunities to teach with the Awahun in the future – and especially hopes to connect with the women of the community,

Despite the challenging journey, Michele, Raquel and a group of Peruvian mission workers were keen to make their way to the Awahun village of Kuyumatak. The heat and mosquitoes made it hard work – but they knew that God wanted them there. Some of the pastors had such a passion for the Word of God that they walked for four days through the rainforest just to hear Michele teach the Bible!

This time the pastors wanted the team from the seminary to teach them about proofs for God’s existence. Michele spoke about how creation reveals God’s glory, and about the knowledge of God in each of our hearts, even if sin sometimes makes us deny this truth. Living in the lush rainforest, with night skies covered in brilliant stars, the team was constantly reminded of our awesome Creator. And this inspiring teaching relationship is just the start of this abundant ministry.

“I would really like to get to know the women because the teaching is concentrated on the guys, who are pastors,” says Michele. “Most of the time Awahun women are involved in cooking and looking after the children.” Back in Iquitos, Michele could not do the youth ministry that she wanted to do, as she was only allowed to teach women and children. That’s why Michele admires the humble leadership of Raquel, who continues to preach the gospel without the status that comes from having a husband. She sees it as a privilege to serve alongside women like Raquel, as the Awahun hear the gospel and find abundant life in Christ.

Thank you for all your prayers and support for Dave and Michele during their time in Peru. They would love for you to keep praying for them and their children, Ruth, Jonathan, and Phoebe, as they settle into life in Trujillo. Please also pray that God will bless the Awahun with everything they need to live life in all its fullness. They are so grateful for your prayers, as it is only in God’s strength that Dave, Michele, and their Peruvian friends can share his love freely with those around them.

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Family photo of the Mahons with their three children — The whole Mahon family would really value your prayers as they continue to settle into life in Trujillo.

Words by Chris Manktelow

The accidental pastor

The accidental pastor:

One man’s incredible conversion story

Pastor Humberto’s conversion in the Peruvian Amazon is testament to God’s power to work miracles entirely independent of human intervention. Read on for the incredible story — one that teaches us that salvation comes from God alone… but that God is certainly not going to leave us on our own.

It’s a story that begins with two abandonments. One, Humberto’s slow realisation that he was considering leaving his wife just six years into their marriage – ending in her giving him an ultimatum: if he ever did go, he would never see their beloved son again. And the second, the shock of a clean break coming from left field, from a group of people who weren’t supposed to leave.

Some Christians had planted a church in Pastor Humberto’s village of Nanay, on a tributary of the Amazon river, only to announce they were making a trip further downstream. They needed a trustworthy man to look after the keys to the church while they were gone.

Their trip away ended up saving Humberto’s marriage.
He just didn’t expect that the missionaries would never come back.

Pastor Humberto holds up the keys he was handed to an empty church. He is wearing a blue t-shirt. Behind him is the green door of the church, and the blue and white painted wall. — Pastor Humberto holds the keys to the church that he never expected to run.

Humberto’s wife had been growing more and more interested in the message taught at the new church. Not willing to let go of the man she loved, she’d also begun to invite him along to meetings there with their son. While at first dismissive, Humberto soon realised that if he could prove himself as an indispensable help, could reliably open the church for morning prayer, light the candles as needed, and shut it up at night, then perhaps his wife would reconsider the ultimatum hanging over their relationship.

And when every other man in the village asked to look after the church keys claimed busyness – “my business won’t run itself”, “every day?”, “I’m needed at my farm on Sundays” – well, Humberto’s offer seemed really quite dedicated.

Two boats on a rainy river where BMS works in the Peruvian Amazon.

Pastor Humberto sits on his boat, where BMS World Mission works in the Peruvian Amazon.

But, while this story begins with two abandonments, it doesn’t end that way. The missionaries never came back – called back to their home country or preferring to begin again in a new village, Humberto never found out. But his change in character touched his wife. He heard God’s prompting to look at her again in a new light, as the wife of his youth, a woman whose inner beauty outshone all others. And his daily visits to church made peeling open the pages of a Bible, once the object of complete disinterest, an irresistible temptation. “Once I’d opened the Bible, I couldn’t close it,” says Humberto, remembering how he read all four gospels in one day. In the absence of the missionaries, a village whose hunger for God’s Word had been stirred needed a pastor. “You preach for us Humberto!” was the persistent plea.

Pastor Humberto has come a long way from his first sermon preached from the Sermon on the Mount. For a brand-new pastor and Christian, quoting the words of his new Lord seemed a good place to start. But Humberto knew that without teaching, he’d never learn to craft a sermon, confidently explain the gospel or understand large portions of Scripture. At his own admission, people from that stretch of the river haven’t received the same opportunities that others enjoy closer to the city. So, when Humberto received his first invitation to a teaching series at the BMS-supported Nauta Integral Mission Training Centre (NIMTC), there could be no-one more grateful, enthusiastic or encouraged. “There are pastors who didn’t finish primary school,” Humberto explains. “They can’t read, let alone read the Bible. Look at me – I was handed the keys to an empty church, and then – nothing. I had no preparation. That’s why Nauta’s training programme is so important.”

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God changed Pastor Humberto’s life in a miraculous way. And though he began his Christian life by discovering Jesus’ call on his own, God didn’t leave him alone. He brought BMS’ leadership ministries into his life and Pastor Humberto has never looked back.

Give today, and you’ll support people around the world in their walk with Christ, whether that’s inviting them to come to him for the first time, or coming alongside them when they think they’re completely alone.

Humberto has been so encouraged by the investment shown to him by BMS supporters, but in equal measure, he’s encouraged the team out in Peru. Having quickly caught the vision for the programme, Humberto and his son have both gone through the Nauta training course. Humberto has also been invited back to encourage other pastors, sharing how the centre allowed him to develop the vision God gave him for ministry and business in his local community. Beginning with very little, Humberto was inspired by the very practical training given to pastors about how they could provide for themselves, their families and communities by running sustainable businesses. His fish farm, established after the training, provides financial blessing amongst the spiritual joys this incredible man has known since coming to Christ. And because everyone loves a love story – yes, Humberto and his wife’s marriage has flourished, united by the love of Jesus. Together, their love, enthusiasm and encouragement pour outwards, blessing those around them.

A wooden hut next to a manmade lake in the Peruvian Amazon. — Pastor Humberto's fish farm is flourishing in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon.

Pastor Humberto stands on a bridge at his property in the Peruvian Amazon. — “Here, when it rains, we have water. When the sun rises, we have light. We get by, but we have nothing here. Nothing.”

It’s hard to underestimate just what a difference BMS mission workers Laura-Lee Lovering, Dave and Michele Mahon and the rest of the team at NIMTC have made in Humberto’s life. But all of that love and support came through and from you.

Thank you for supporting BMS’ leadership ministries. And thank you for showing Christians like Humberto that God never leaves them on their own.

The Nauta Integral Mission Training Centre (NIMTC) is run by BMS World Mission workers from the UK and from Peru and is the fulfilment of a dream of many river pastors to receive theological training and Christian support. It’s hope in the jungle. Pastors like Humberto are not only trained in theology, they’re also equipped to help with the health and development of their own very rural villages, which are only accessible by boat.

Alongside in-depth Bible study and prayer, they learn about agroforestry and how to care for the environment; they learn about budgeting; and they learn basic health and hygiene skills — how to prevent illnesses and how to treat them.

Words: Hannah Watson
Editor of Engage, the BMS World Mission magazine

The frontline is everywhere

The frontline is everywhere:

nine encounters with the realities of mission

Our mission workers are doing inspiring things in incredible countries around the world. And their blogs definitely show that! We’ve picked nine that we’d love for you to read today.

Liking this 9

1. When a rock the size of a sofa tumbles towards you

Ever hit a pothole or been held up by roadworks? It won’t seem so annoying after you’ve read what BMS World Mission teacher trainer Annie Brown went through in Nepal. Thick mud, monsoon-flooded roads and steep hillsides were challenging enough. But then came the landslide.

Read Annie's blog

2. The French church that needs your prayers

BMS mission worker Christine Kling gives a sermon in France — Christine Kling is taking on scepticism and a secular nation as she shares the truth of God’s love.

Church planting in secular France is very hard, and often lonely. But BMS pastor Christine Kling is giving all she’s got to try and help people get to know Christ, and God is with her. Please read Christine’s latest blog in which she shares some of the amazing opportunities she has to share the gospel, and please keep her church in your prayers.

Read Christine's blog

3. How a sewing machine can spark dancing and hope for a better life

Sara’s husband is unemployed, just as her four adult sons are. Many others in her neighbourhood in Maputo, Mozambique, struggle to find work too. Your support for BMS worker Susanna Barrell means something is being done to help not only Sara, but others who want to learn a new skill to bring in money.

Read Susanna's blog

4. The day dozens of soldiers showed up at a hospital in the desert

BMS pharmacist Claire Bedford at Guinebor II Hospital as soldiers walked the grounds — The day when soldiers turned up at Guinebor II Hospital to do some gardening, captured by BMS pharmacist Claire Bedford.

It was turning out to be a relaxing Saturday for BMS pharmacist Claire Bedford at Guinebor II Hospital in Chad. She’d chilled out with a friend over lunch, watched a film and arrived home before dark. And then her phone rang. Claire’s weekend of peace and rest was no more… the military were on their way for an important visit. It was a memorable affair. We’ll let Claire complete the story.

Read Claire's blog

5. Bringing a whole lot of joy to some amazing mothers

Songs, games, gifts, and a lot of smiling. What a great celebration of mothers this was in the village of Wang Daeng, northern Thailand. BMS workers Helen and Wit Boondeekhun will explain the rest.

Read Helen and Wit's blog

6. Home assignment in numbers: ten facts from the Judkins family

Did BMS church planters Claire-Lise and David Judkins visit your church over the summer? Aren’t they great?! Even if you didn’t get to hear about their work in France, we think this set of important, interesting, and slightly quirky facts will give you a taste of their time visiting churches in the UK was for them and their four children. Check it out!

Read the Judkins' blog

8. A sermon in the jungle, an exhilarating boat ride… and dolphins

As family trips go, the one taken by the Mahon family into the Peruvian jungle is certainly unforgettable. Find out what Baptist ministers Dave and Michele, and their three children Jonathan, Ruth and Phoebe, experienced when they left the city behind them and went up the mighty Nanay River, heading for the village of Santa Rita.

Read the Mahons' blog

9. ‘These poor people work literally until they drop’

Two female tea pickers in Bangladesh — It is a very hard life being a tea-picker in Bangladesh.

Your tea of choice may well have been produced ethically. But it’s not the case for all the tea on the market, as BMS workers Louise and Phil Proctor document in their powerful blog post about the backbreaking work many tea-pickers in Bangladesh endure.

Read the Proctors' blog

Thank you for your incredible support for our mission workers. Of course, there are so many other blogs that we could have included above. We do our very best to feature as many as we can on our Facebook page, where you can also keep-up-to date with the latest BMS news, stories and prayer requests.

Please check the page out today and share this story as another way to show your support for the Christians you’re partnering with around the world. They inspire us every day, as do you.

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Pray for Peru: our workers need your prayers today

Pray for Peru:

our workers need your prayers today

Praying for this 46

The land of Machu Picchu, rainforests and stunning mountains is loved by God and served by faithful Christians. All of BMS World Mission’s workers in the beautiful and diverse country of Peru will value your prayers this week.

Local Peruvian BMS workers America and Jorge are running social and recreational projects, as well as discipleship programmes for children and families in the town of Chincha.

• Pray that America and Jorge receive fresh energy when they are feeling tired.

• Pray they are encouraged in their work, and pray for the children they are serving. Pray they experience joy and form strong friendships.

Denise and Melany run an after-school club at the BMS-founded El Puente Baptist Church in Cusco. We rejoice that a church founded by BMS is now being led by Peruvian Christians and we give thanks for the privilege of partnering with them.

• Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in Denise and Melany’s lives and ministry. Pray they would feel guided in making decisions, and every day they would sense the joy that knowing Christ brings.

• Pray for Pastor Amilcar at the church. Pray for continued wisdom in his work, and that he would feel God’s strength in his meetings and conversations.

Children wave at an after-school club in Peru — Children at the after-school club at the El Puente Baptist Church.

Daniel and Regiane Clark are based in Lima, working at the Baptist Seminary. They also support children and adults in deprived areas, helping to organise medical check-ups with a team of volunteers that includes a doctor, nurse, dentist and a psychologist.

• Pray for Daniel’s teaching at the Seminary to be blessed and for Regiane to sense God’s presence in her administrative work and with student placements.

• Pray for the medical work they support. Pray that God would provide the resources needed to help people who are sick.

Pastor Luis is serving at the BMS-supported Nauta Integral Mission Training Centre, where Christian leaders from river communities in the Amazon region are taught theology and biblical literacy, as well as practical skills in caring for their land.

• Pray that Pastor Luis senses your encouragement today. Pray that he feels a fresh sense of conviction in his teaching, and that doors are opened for him to show the love of Christ.

• Pray that supported partner workers Judith and Pedro feel lifted up today, with fresh enthusiasm and energy, and discernment in their work.

• Pray for all the students who have attended the training programme. Pray they would lead their communities wisely, reflecting God’s love for them.

Pastor Luis Alvarado Dolly looks at a camera — Pastor Luis is strengthening pastors in rural Peruvian communities.

Baptist ministers Dave and Michele Mahon and their three children are based in the city of Iquitos, in northern Peru. They work with nine churches in their region and support the running of the Nauta Integral Mission Training Centre.

• Dave, Michele and their children Jonathan, Ruth and Phoebe, arrived in Iquitos last month. Pray that they settle in well.

• Pray that Dave and Michele find local people to come alongside them in their work, and that Dave builds strong relationships with pastors.

Show this video in your church to inspire prayer for the Mahon family

Laura-Lee Lovering is helping to develop the Nauta Integral Mission Training Centre. As an environmental scientist, she’s teaching community leaders sustainable ways to care for their land.

• Pray for Laura-Lee to find extra strength this week as pastors from river communities are trained at the centre. Please pray that more pastors attend the training, and that they arrive safely.

• Pray for the pastors training at the centre. Pray they would be inspired by what Laura and her colleagues teach them, and that they would encourage others to come forward and learn.

Life on the Amazon: a behind the scenes tour of Laura-Lee Lovering's workplace

Lori and Neil Brighton are BMS volunteers serving at the Nauta Integral Mission Training Centre. Lori is helping with the centre’s finances, and Neil is helping to redevelop the training course for pastors.

• Pray for their Spanish language development so they can become more effective in their roles.

• Pray the Holy Spirit would guide them in their work, and they would sense the support of people around the world praying for them.

Thank you so much for praying with our mission workers today, and for your continued support of them.

For daily prayer updates, please follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Looking back:

1. Big thinking for little minds

Millions of children in Nepal are getting the opportunity of a better education, thanks to your support for BMS worker Annie Brown.

With her teacher training programme being adopted by the Nepali Government, every teacher of students aged between five and 13 in all government schools will have the chance to receive Annie’s training. They’ll be better-equipped to teach, and Nepal’s children will face brighter futures!

Read the full story here

2. Pray for our new mission workers

James and Ruth Neve, who are preparing to move to India to work with us.

Tucked away in our centre in Birmingham, new BMS mission workers are busy preparing for overseas service. For them, it’s daunting, but also exciting, as they get ready to serve God abroad in different ways. From a family heading to Nepal to help with disaster relief, to a couple heading to Albania to teach children of mission workers, there are plenty of things we can be praying for.

Loads of you loved catching up with our new mission workers’ prayer requests, making this our second most popular story last year.

Pray for them today by clicking the link below.

Read their prayer requests here

3. 5 ways you're fighting violence against women

For thousands of vulnerable women and girls around the world, gender based violence is a daily part of life. But, thanks to your support, BMS is taking a stand against it. From helping girls know their rights, to freeing women from prostitution, you’re helping to empower women and prevent trafficking, sexual abuse and domestic violence. Find out more by reading the story.

Learn how you're empowering women around the world

4. Baptised in a barrel in Phnom Penh

Students are meeting Jesus in Cambodia! We loved witnessing the amazing moment when Srei got baptised in a barrel and by our stats it looked like you did too. Read about how she and Chan came to find God at a BMS-supported Christian hostel in Phnom Penh, and how, thanks to your support, more and more people are finding Jesus.

5. Feeding of the 400

You’re helping to build Christian community in France – where young Christians often feel isolated and lonely.

Connexion 2017, an event put on by BMS worker Sue Wilson and her team, helped young French Christians realise they’re not alone. Watch the video above to find out about what it meant to the people who were there, and click the link below to read how you’re helping bring young French Christians together.

Read how you're helping young French Christians find community

Thank you for supporting us in 2017. Your gifts have helped people find God, and have transformed countless lives. With your continued support, we can’t wait to start doing even more in 2018!

Other great stories made possible by you

Five stores aren’t enough to sum-up how much you did last year. So here are a few extra ones we’d love you to read too.

Meet the inspiring Mozambican Christians you’re supporting: they’re bringing justice to abused women and teaching communities their rights.
From witch doctor to church planter: the story of a witch doctor who found God, and then started planting churches.
Baptist church brings light in Uganda: one simple action is raising money, helping people’s lungs and introducing people to Jesus.
Refugees are like you and me: BMS worker Ann MacFarlane has seen God at work in the lives of refugees in Italy.
This is what a life transformed looks like: meet Joshua. You helped give him a reason to smile.

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Tag: daveandmichelemahon