Paddle to Tibet?

As I have shared before, we have long been making plans to “blaze a trail” from the Peruvian Andes to the Tibetan Plateau. In fact, one of my best friends in the world, a missionary in the Dominican Republic, was planning to take one of his own disciples on a backpacking trip into Tibet later this year.

I was also hoping to do some practical missions training with a small group of Peruvian mountaneers (trained guides who lead treks above 20,000 ft in the Andes) in June or July, so that they could travel and minister in difficult-access regions of Tibet sometime next year.

However, at this point in time, as airline travel is impossible in so many parts of the world, these brothers might literally have to “paddle” there instead! And it would be worth all the effort, if that were truly the only way!

Jokes aside, we are still in the process of training future pioneer missionaries to reach parts of Tibet that are completely inaccessible to 99.9% of us.

 

Back in February and early March (the good ole’ days when driving and flying was not illegal in Peru), I was able to do some missions training in numerous mountain districts, from the shores of Lake Titicaca in the south to the glacier-clad peaks of Ancash in the north, encouraging the churches and raising awareness of the need for the Gospel in western China and Tibet. 

 

Pray that the (Prison) Doors Would Open

In February, I was finally able to return to the mountain prison where we did a large evangelistic outreach just before Christmas, but this time my family was also able to join me.

I preached to many of the same inmates as before, as well as in a completely new “high-security” ward, while my wife was asked to minister in the “ladies” ward.

Unfortunately, just two weeks after our visit, Peru completely “locked-down” the country under martial law, and gatherings of any kind have been forbidden until further notice. We had originally planned to return before Easter (didn’t happen) and again around Mother’s Day (not happening), and at this point there is no way of knowing when those (prison) doors will open for us again.

Please pray for these prisoners, who number in the thousands, that they would trust in Christ for salvation in this time when they are even more isolated than usual. Also pray for the believers among them, that they would be full of boldness and wisdom and would continue to faithfully proclaim the Word in the power of the Spirit!