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August 2002 Gutierrez - Our Work Through Nathaniel's Eyes This is our Nathaniel's letter after he has been with us this summer as a MTW short term worker up here in the mountains. You can see our work through his eyes now.
August 5, 2002
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give
yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor
in the Lord is not in vain.
How awesome it is to do the Lord's work and trust that all we do in His name is not in vain. I Corinthians 15:58 has been an encouragement for me here in the work in the mountains. In a town called Marcas, which is a few mountains away, a group of five young men and many children recently accepted Christ through Jessica, one of the members of our mentoring group. The town they were located in is very hostile to the gospel. In fact, Christians and any who would seek to accept Christ have been threatened with being stoned or burned alive. Naturally, or should I say unnaturally, we had a strong unanimous desire to visit those five young men, and all of those little children who had tugged on Jessica's shirt as they begged, "Tell me more about Jesus." We visited and encouraged these new Christians and gave them warm clothes to battle the rigid cold above the timberline. Though this town is dangerous, the Lord protected us. However, I must admit I was a bit unsettled by a large group of men dressed in civilian clothes who stood on both sides of the one-way road entering Marcas. The majority of the men had automatic weapons, and one of them was even wearing a black ski mask. Knowing that terrorism is still somewhat active, we knew that this was no laughing matter. We were motioned to stop the bus, and one of the men jumped aboard saying, (to our relief) that he was a police controlling drug trafficking. Though there is persecution throughout the area, the mentoring group here consists of close to 25 devoted young people, who are willing to live and die for Christ. Recently we have been traveling to towns all over the mountains surrounding Huanta. As different members give reports of their trips, I have noticed a passion in their eyes and a desire in their hearts to serve Christ without reserve or regret. My hope was to come and help encourage these young people and help them grow in their faith, but I realize that it is I who am benefiting from them and their faith. Most days of each week my dad mentors us so that we might have the mind of Christ, and then on any free days, we try to visit the contacts we have made throughout the area. I have had the opportunity to visit a contact with my younger brother Caleb, my friend Ruben, and my cousin Danilo. We traveled for about an hour in a rickety old station wagon of the '70s to a small Quechua-speaking town called Quinua. There we visited Victor Soza and his family in order to encourage him and to share the gospel with others in his community. While we stayed with him, he asked us to talk to some of his family members down the road. He took us to their house, and there were three young men and women. After an introduction, Caleb asked, "Do you believe in Jesus?" This question was answered by a doubtful, "yes." We then proceeded to tell them that even the demons believe and tremble in fear. Toward the end of our presentation of the gospel, the three understood that it was necessary for them to ask Jesus to come into their hearts, and with our help they all did. Another day we had finished our Bible study and were playing soccer when a little girl named Stefany called for me. Unwillingly I left the exciting game and went to see why this little girl was calling me. I had never seen her before, and she wanted me to do her a favor. She wanted me to be her godfather in her soon- to- be Roman Catholic baptism! I didn't want to crush her nine-year-old heart with a sharp "no," so I told her to come to my house that evening and we would talk about it. That evening she came with her sister. By that time my dad was already in on the situation and he volunteered to help me to talk to them. We asked Stefany if she knew what baptism meant and why she wanted to be baptized. She told us that the priests and many others said that baptism was the only way to be rid of the original sin. We asked her if she knew the story of the thief on the cross. She did. We asked her where Jesus says that the thief would be that very day? She said, "In paradise." So his sins were forgiven? "Yes." But did he have time to get down off the cross to get baptized? "No." So does baptism save you? "No." At the end of our thorough conversation, both sisters wanted to accept Jesus in their hearts. I lead little Stefany to the Lord in a prayer of surrender, and my father did the same with her older sister Jackie. From that day forward, Stefany has not stopped coming to our house to visit us, and has become good friends with the orphan girls. You can really see Stefany burning for Christ. For example, the other day as Mary Thompson (a great girl and a MTW summer intern here in Huanta) and I walked home, Stefany came running behind us. She said that she was going to Lima that night for a few weeks. Standing right behind her was her tiny seven-year-old sister Chaska, her friend Wendy, and her adopted sister Maria. Stefany had been reading the Bible with them, and telling them about Christ and now they too wanted to accept Him. Mary and I took them to the schoolroom, and as we presented the gospel to them, Stefany would interrupt us, and add things that she felt were necessary for them to understand as well. Mary and I looked at each other in amazement as we watched this little girl speak her faith to the other three. Before Stefany left, I dedicated a Bible to her and asked her to read the gospels, starting with Mark so that she could know more about Christ and what he had done for us. She quickly accepted the challenge and I know that she is reading the gospels with her little sister Chaska (in Lima) who cannot yet read on her own. Please pray for her, as she boldly and freely shares her new faith in Christ. She is "precious" as Mary has said, and loves the Lord very much. Two weeks remain for me here in this beautiful city of Huanta, full of so many beautiful people, and that brings me much sorrow. There is so much that the Lord is doing through us here in this land that it seems foolish to leave it. The "fields here are really ripe with harvest," and they are begging to be reaped. We are lifting Jesus' name, and people are flocking to His light like moths. Day and night people knock on our door here at the house, looking for a guide to lead them to Christ. If I were to tell you about all of those people, it would be way too overwhelming for this letter, but know this, the Lord has placed sickles in our hands, and we are using them for His glory! Thank you so, so much for your prayers, which aid us every day in this constant spiritual battle. You have no idea how much we need and appreciate them. Serving Christ above and below the Andean timberline, Nathaniel Gutierrez P.S.- Please know that I am very thankful for Nathaniel's help in the work. His gifts in music as well as his commitment to the Lord have been helpful and I will sorely miss him. Those of you who support us, please seriously consider sending any surplus that you may have to Nathaniel's support account (#012762) with the MTW Internship Dept. in order to erase the red ink in his support quota. There is something unprecedented happening here in the mountains, and it has to be your prayers. I'm leading people to the Lord just about every day. Please keep on praying, and remember my Nathaniel as he goes back to college. I want him back as often as he can to help me. He is a true partner and friend in the work of the kingdom.
Representing you in the mountains, - Wednesday, August 7, 2002
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