March 2016 Newsletter

Serving in the jungles of Peru   No Images? Click here

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"Because we are missionaries, they only stole half of our stuff!" One certainly hears interesting things on the mission field, like the quote above.  Just yesterday (March 14) I flew three missionaries to a small village on the Pisqui river.  The weather was gorgeous, and the tailwind shaved 10 minutes off from the 40 minutes it normally took to reach the village by air. After unloading the cargo and spending some time talking with the villagers, I made the short trip back to our home base in Cashibo Cocha.    At first glance there really isn’t much to the story other than a normal every day flight, but a bit more background and details will help explain why there really is “never a dull day.”  You see, just the week prior to this flight, these three missionaries attempted to make the trip by river to the same location.  They were geared up for the three (plus) days that it would take by river and were only six hours into the journey when they encountered river pirates and were robbed at gunpoint.  Flanked by boats on either side of their boat, the river pirates proceeded to steal all of their belongings and would have left them completely stranded, but the missionaries were able to explain who they were and why they were traveling.  The men robbing them were convicted by the thought of robbing missionaries…and gave “half” of their belongings back including leaving enough fuel for them to return to Pucallpa.  The three missionaries returned to Pucallpa intent on making the trip and contacted SAMAIR to arrange a flight.  Pucallpa is currently experiencing wide-spread demonstrations, strikes, and general unrest as the people protest the increased costs of living.  For the past week, school for our kids (and everyone in Pucallpa) has been canceled because it is too dangerous to travel on the roads during these strikes.  Since Cashibo (our airbase) is out of town, and the missionaries could not travel to our location, a pickup location was agreed upon close to where they lived.  Using the float plane, we were able to “extract” the team and finally get them to the village. Arriving the village of La Cumbre  As I type, the demonstrations and strikes are continuing “indefinitely” and we adapt to ministering in various levels of stability.   The airplane continues to break through the barriers (geographical and political) that would otherwise hinder ministry, and our family (along with SAMAIR and the other missionaries serving here in Peru) rely on the prayers of God's people...THANK YOU!  Please be in prayer for the people and leaders of Pucallpa that they can find a solution to the tensions causing the unrest.

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Much thanks to give Our family has much to be thankful for as we reflect upon the amazing works that God is doing through the many churches, ministries, and people that have decided to see what happens when we filter the needs of others through the commands of Jesus.  Thank you to each one who partners together with our family, through prayer and financial support, to enable the work taking place!   Our Sincerest Love and Appreciation,

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To Give Online If you would like to make an online tax deductible contribution, or sign up as a monthly team member,  click here.  choose "select a Proclaim Missionary" and you will see the Armstrongs.   To Give by Mail If you would like to download a support form and mail to Proclaim Aviation Ministries (instructions are on the form), Click here to download the form.

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Divine Appointments

In December, I had an overnight trip to a small village named Santa Margarita, deep in the jungles.  I was carrying 3 missionaries that were repairing a hand pump for a water well in this small village.  

We were able to get the well pump repaired and restore clean water to this small community of 100 people.  Later that afternoon we heard that there was a very ill patient at a nearby community, so we headed out in a dugout boat to see if we could help.  When we arrived at the community (named Progresso), the patient had already headed off by boat for help.  We began talking with the people in the community and found out that there was only one believer out of the 70-80 people that lived in that village.

We prayed and encouraged him to remain strong in his faith and to share boldly with his community.  We also prayed for all of the families in the community.  Here is a picture of Sebastian

That night we returned to Santa Margarita (which has no Church) and Discipled the few believers during the night.  All in all, it was a good day of seeing physical healing brought to a community (through fresh water) and spiritual life being rekindled and awakened.  Thank you for being a part of reaching out and sharing with us…we can not do this without the help of those in the US, who are willing to support the ministry.  

It's A Jungle Out There!

Serving in the jungles of Peru   No Images? Click here

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It's a jungle out there! One of my recent flights was to drop off a short-term mission team into a community named Breu. From Breu, they traveled by river and hiked another 20+ hours to a village named SAWAWO! The group's perseverance in traveling to SAWAWO led to 47 people accepting Christ! The church (from the US) that sent this team is looking at setting up an airstrip and adopting that village…exciting!  Pray for these new believers, that God will protect them and grow their faith.  Click the video below to see a short documentary that the team made detailing their adventure.

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..."from every nation, tribe, people, and language."  The Centro de Capacitación Bíblica (CCB) works with indigenous groups to equip them to evangelize in areas that are better served by national missionaries.  Just this month our family attended the graduation ceremony for nineteen students that completed three years of intense Bible training (nine couples and one single). Gioconda interpreted for the head of United Servants Abroad (who gave the charge), and the following day SAMAIR began transporting these couples back to their communities.  I had the privilege of flying several couples to a small village called “Fatima” on the Rio Tapiche, where members of this group are looking to plant 25 churches amongst the Capanahua Indians…in a section where no churches exist!  Pray that God will protect, embolden, and ultimately use these national missionaries to bring the Gospel of Christ to those that have not had a chance to hear!

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In an effort to assure the spiritual health of our teenage children in the mission community, a group of us have recently started a Youth Group for High School aged Third Culture Kids (TCK).  In our small mission community there are eleven kids that are able to participate, and so far everyone of them is attending regularly.  As you might imagine, Satan knows that the easiest way to bring a family off the mission field is through family issues.  Please pray that we are able to effectively share the love of Christ with our children as well as to those that we serve in the jungles of Peru.  Above: The current High School class at SAM Academy (81.81% of the Youth Group) pictured during the homecoming celebration.  Much thanks to give Our family has much to be thankful for as we reflect upon the amazing works that God is doing through the many churches, ministries, and people that have decided to see what happens when we filter the needs of others through the commands of Jesus.  Thank you to each one who partners together with our family, through prayer and financial support, to enable the work taking place!   Our Sincerest Love and Appreciation,

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To Give Online If you would like to make an online tax deductible contribution, or sign up as a monthly team member,  click here.  choose "select a Proclaim Missionary" and you will see the Armstrongs.   To Give by Mail If you would like to download a support form and mail to Proclaim Aviation Ministries (instructions are on the form), Click here to download the form.

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Like Tweet Share Forward John & Gioconda Armstrong Proclaim Aviation Ministries PO Box 356 Worthington, MN 56187   "Beyond The Roads" is a ministry update from John & Gioconda Armstrong. If you no longer wish to receive these updates, simply click the "unsubscribe" below. Preferences   |   Unsubscribe

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