Local church members set out to change the world while changing their own lives
Peru is home to many Indigenous communities whose names, for the most part, don’t ever make it onto the folds of a map. That remote living, off-the-grid existence, however, recently welcomed a bit of the outside world – a world that included the hearts and compassion of nine members from Living Waters Church in Seguin.
In August, Living Waters Executive Pastor Shawn Bouldin indulged in a leap of faith, steering eight others, including his wife Amanda, into a part of the world that not many have ever visited.
Living Waters, known for its mission trips to Eagle Pass and parts of Mexico, recently returned home from a weeklong evangelism trip up the Amazon River.
Getting to and through those throngs of the jungle was simply a roadmap guided by God.
That’s because Bouldin says Manati II zona, a three-hour boat ride outside of Iquitos, Peru, and its surrounding villages are where he believes the group was called to serve.
However, despite the calling, setting foot in the villages was not that simple as Peru, one of the most vaccinated locations in the world, took the consideration of welcoming foreigners very seriously.
“They had not had visitors from foreign nations in over four years,” Bouldin said. “They are isolated anyway, and they were isolated because of all the travel restrictions (following the COVID pandemic).”
He says on top of any hesitation that the villagers might have had, things became even more strange as the group inched closer to arriving.
“Now, you are talking about the weirdest thing to prepare for — this is the weirdest thing that happened to us,” Bouldin said. “We started looking at the news a couple of weeks before in that area — so the news that was real hot and fresh down there (and) the breaking news was alien attacks. I’m not joking. The area around Iquitos, they had to bring in the navy. They were getting reports of lights flying over villages and so that peeked the attention of the village that we were going to go to and up until 48 hours before we got there, they were still very very hesitant on letting us come in because the villagers and all around the Amazon region especially around Iquitos, it was buzzing that this village (was) getting attacked. It wasn’t the one we were going to, but it was in the area.”
Despite reports of humanoids with large eyes and folks being dragged outside their villages, Bouldin says it didn’t take long for the group to bring a sense of peace to the people.
“They were really hesitant,” he said. “So, when we arrived, we knew of that ahead of time and there were only two to three people that greeted us. Now, when we left, the whole entire town said goodbye to us. But as we got there, we did some church services. We started feeding the families and went house to house. It relaxed all of (them) and by the end of that, no one was talking about it. No alien language or any of that stuff ever came up. I kind of add that because it was super weird. That is just one of the obstacles. You are dealing with a different culture. I mean they are a supernatural culture. They are a little more primitive and they don’t have outside news, so they go by word of mouth and what is kind of being spoken around and their reality is their reality. Regardless of what it was or what anybody believes, what really matters is what they believe, and they believed that something was going on and we could have been connected with it somehow or someway, but we were obviously able to do really good work and they were able to receive us.”
Bouldin says this trek south of the equator was not an easy feat, but it was a journey that his group was ready for, thanks to the help of its mission trip partner, Praying Pelican Missions.
In fact, the group’s decision to travel to Peru couldn’t have received a better sign from God. Bouldin says as soon as they arrived along the riverbanks of the jungle, they were greeted with a downpour of rain – rain that gave the group all the assurances that it needed in knowing that serving the families deeply rooted in the Amazon Rainforest was where they needed to be.
“The first day right out of the gate, we knew everything, all of the challenges — it almost took 24 hours to get there, three planes, two boats, two buses — and us pulling up to that river area and just being in a place that none of us had ever been before or seen before and just being able to pull up and to look up at that river in that little village and as soon as we set foot on the bank, there was a torrential downpour,” Bouldin said. “I mean it started pouring rain and it’s a dry season. They were having a two-month season where there was no rain and rain in the Bible represents the sovereignty of God. You see that in Genesis. You see that in several places in the Bible where rain is connected to life. It’s connected to the washings. It’s connected to the sovereignty of God and so we set foot on the shore, and we were like, ‘are you serious?’ This is awesome and we just knew God was with us. It’s those little things. It’s simple for God but it’s things like that that really speak to your heart and your soul to go ‘wow, God is with us.’ And, going throughout the week, looking back on the moment that was right at the beginning, he just gave us peace and confidence and it really increased our faith right on the front end.”
The journey to Peru, however, resulted in more than just changing the lives of the villagers. It also instilled changes within each of the nine making the journey.
In fact, folks like Cora Dabbs said those changes began way before packing her suitcase. She says not only did God speak to her to go on the trip, but he remained by her side throughout the entire experience.
“This mission trip impacted me significantly by allowing me to see God in his fullness and inspiring me to look at life differently — observing his nature and how he placed things strategically in every environment — such as how certain plants grow in certain areas,” Dabbs said. “Even though the locals were custom to that environment, I was amazed. Although looking at their situation, not having what society says (you) need in order to succeed, they had it better because the solitude in the Lord and with the Lord is where I believe he shows his glory more. There are no distractions. Like in the old biblical day, and today, we Christians still pose a question ‘Lord, are you hearing me? Where are you?’”
Upon returning home, Dabbs held a whole new perspective in praising the Lord and showing “that love” to others.
“Although they may have been losing sight of God’s purpose and may be believing that he was not hearing them (he sent us), I am forever grateful that I listened to the voice to go,” Dabbs said. “It changed me because it allowed me to be a vessel for God to pour into and for them to pour into us. His words say, ‘with the love and kindness have I drawn thee.’ It impacted me in ways that we as Americans are so full of social media and other things that we don’t need. (It) distracts us from hearing from God and getting back to the basics in really seeking him concerning his things. When I left, my heart was full and amazed at how sovereign the God I serve truly is.”
Among those also making the journey to Peru was the youngest of the bunch, 16-year-old Jaden Del Val.
“I wanted to go on the trip since I had first heard about it,” Del Val said. “So, later on, my mother and I had a conversation, and I told her I wanted to go for the opportunity to see how the elders in the church go about these mission trips so I can learn from them. I have previously been on two youth trips but none with adults, so on the Peru trip, I got a new perspective on not just life outside the US but the missionary lifestyle. Plus, I love mission trips and being able to be the hands and feet of God and to just be part of His blessings for others.”
Perhaps it was being a teenager that equipped him to make even deeper connections with those he encountered, especially the youth in the villages.
“One of the days, we went and visited the kids at their school. When we arrived, I had a stampede of at least 20 kids running at me while yelling my name, and when they got to me, they hugged me and asked for high-fives, fist bumps, and my bracelets,” Del Val said. “I wear a bunch of little bracelets with Bible verses. They were from other mission trips I had been on. I handed out almost all of my bracelets to them just because it was hard to say ‘no’ to them. This is my favorite memory because just to see someone that happy to see me made my day.”
Now, having returned home, Del Val says things are no longer just normal.
He says it has all now become gratitude.
“The mission trip really just reminded me how blessed I am and opened my eyes to see people the way God wants us to see people,” Del Val said. “We have so much in the states that we complain about, which other countries would say is a blessing to have. Yet, the amazing people we met in the village had so little and were still overwhelmingly filled with love and joy.”
Unlike Del Val, who got an early jumpstart in missionary work, others like Glenn Davis said he had to wait until now to fulfill a lifetime dream of going on a mission trip.
Being a career history and geography teacher, Davis says he’s always wanted to see that part of the world. Also, having been a coach for the past 38 years, his schedule has never allowed for such opportunities.
“The chance to go to the Amazon Jungle region in Peru was just too appealing, I really felt a calling to go. The chance to go and serve and minister to these villagers was just too much to pass up,” Davis said.
Davis says while most people travel to relax and see the landmarks, this trip was about appreciating the people and making sure you take a piece of them back home with you.
“My most lasting memory will be the smiles on their faces,” Davis said. “They don’t walk around feeling sorry for themselves. This is their life, and they live every day to make the most of it. They were happy to see us every day. They were appreciative of what we did for them, but happy to help out and serve right alongside us as well. They are truly God’s people.”
Now, although they were able to support the schools, feed the families, build much needed projects, and minister to families, Bouldin says the real prize came in being able to put on God’s armor and help sow the seeds of faith.
“Some of Jesus’ last words is recorded in Matthew 28 and he said, ‘Go into all the world and baptize people in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit’ and ‘teach them everything that you have observed in me’ and then he says, ‘to make disciples,’” Bouldin said. “So, he kind of gives his people the last marching orders. As Christians, we take that very seriously and when it says, ‘go into all of the world,’ we want to know what parts of the world have not been reached. What part of the world are there people that need the good news of Jesus? We can easily kind of sit here at church and we can have really good work here locally and be very fulfilled but there is something about the specialness and the challenge from Jesus to be able to tell his people, ‘You need to go into all of the world.’ Now, here’s the thing, somebody had to come into this part of the world. He’s standing in Israel 2,000 years ago, commissioning his people. Somebody had to take that message seriously and to spread it even over here in America.”
So, while the Peruvians return to their usual lives living humble, off-the-grid existence, the Seguin locals who met them will carry the lessons learned with them as they continue to work toward living a life reflective of their beliefs.
