Forgiveness & faith in the Peruvian jungle
written by MV Missionaries Josh & Jennifer Hire
I was waiting for one man. Hoping against hope that he would come.
Would he come?
It was such a long trip, seven hours walking to the nearest river, then a boat ride, a motor taxi, and finally another two miles on foot to reach the Discipleship Center. But it wasn’t just the difficulty of the trip that might keep him away.
I was sweeping the chapel, preparing for the week-long training, but every few minutes I found myself looking up the road to see if he might appear over the distant hill. Others were arriving, and I was glad for each one, but it was his face I longed to see. Why? I had no words prepared for him. I just wanted to look him in the eye and see if he was okay.
He is a new believer from a distant and dangerous village where most of the people grow coca, and a hidden grass airstrip allows traffickers to fly out cocaine. To follow Jesus there is difficult enough, but the trial he recently faced was unimaginable.
Two months earlier, I heard the news. His fourteen-year-old daughter had always been sickly. Many times she had been hospitalized, and we often received calls asking for prayer. The last I had heard, she was doing better.
But during a visit to a neighboring village, a woman offered to prepare a traditional remedy, likely made from local roots and leaves. When his daughter drank it, she began to convulse. It was poison. There was nothing he could do. He watched his daughter suffer. Then she was gone.
He later told me he believed the woman had poisoned his daughter intentionally. Anger burned in his heart, and his family wanted revenge. The Shawi way is to seek justice by killing. To them, this was the only possible response. He was determined to find the woman and make her pay.
But before doing so, he went to speak with Eber, the local Christian leader we have trained and raised up to take over leadership at the Discipleship Center. He arrived with his mind made up, ready to kill. Eber listened, prayed with him, and then patiently opened the Scriptures to teach him what God’s word had to say about the situation. Upon hearing the words the man cried, then responded: “I knew you were going to say all of that, I had a dream last night and in my dream you told me all those same things, word for word. This is of God.” Through tears and pain and prayer, he began to understand that vengeance and violence were not the way of Christ. Though it seemed unimaginable, he made the decision to forgive.
He went looking for the woman, but she was hiding, afraid for her life. So he found her husband instead. He told him that, as a follower of Jesus, he must forgive, just as God had forgiven him. “Tell her not to be afraid,” he said. “I have forgiven her. Live in peace.”
Since hearing the story, I have prayed often for him. I cannot imagine the pain he has endured, and as a father myself, I cannot fathom such forgiveness.
And then he came. Cresting the hill in a blue T-shirt and a small black backpack, walking slowly up the dusty road under the afternoon sun. His face was tired, sweat beading on his forehead. When our eyes met, I saw the deep sadness there, but also strength. His coming meant everything. It meant he had not turned away from the faith. He was holding firm in the midst of unimaginable loss.
I had few words. I simply said, “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been praying for you. This week we’re studying forgiveness… and I think you can teach us something.”
Why Discipleship Matters
This story is a reminder of why discipleship is so important among the Shawi. It is not just about studying the life of Jesus; it is also about emulating him. Those new believers who are traveling to the Discipleship Center are receiving life-changing teachings, and that is why we must continue.
Continuing the Mission
We will continue to support the work the Shawi are doing. Although they are prepared to do the work, they lack the financial resources to travel and evangelize. They now have organized groups of believers in over seventy villages. The need for training is greater than ever. We will continue overseeing and fundraising for the ministry among the Shawi, supporting the discipleship center and the teams of pastors who travel to remote villages to share the Gospel.
Learn more about the Hire Family and their work in Peru.
