July 2010

Dear Friends, My trip to Iquitos was a huge blessing in so many ways. I was able to teach two workshops- one on Forgiveness and the second on Fear. I was originally scheduled to teach three workshops, but the Friday session was cancelled. But, the youth group from Betania church invited me to speak to them on Saturday night on what it means to be a true disciple of Christ. So, that more than made up for the cancellation. In the evenings, we held evangelistic meetings. Everything went very well. Each night, there were those who made the decision to trust Jesus as their Savior. The church was also able to distribute gospel tracts that I had taken down throughout the surrounding neighborhoods.

Betania Baptist Church

Folks beginning to come in for PM service.

Betania's youth group during game time.

I was also able to visit Calvario Baptist Church and La Luz del Mundo Baptist Church on the last Sunday that I was in town. What a blessing to be able to speak for the devotional at Luz del Mundo and to see old friends at Calvario.
Some of the dear folks at La Luz del Mundo church.	With Pastor Manuel Flores
With Juanito from Calvario. We used to sing in the choir together.

Pray for Andrés, whom I met on the plane from Iquitos to Pucallpa. He was very afraid of the storm and the violent turbulence we experienced. That, along with the fact that he was traveling with a believer friend, opened up an incredible door to talk to him about eternity, Heaven, forgiveness of sin, and being eternally reconciled to God through Christ’s work on the Cross.

Plane that I met Andrés and Kevin on.

Pray for Kevin, from Utah, with whom I had an incredible witnessing opportunity. He was in Peru, visiting some shamans and drinking ayahuasca to speak with the “Great Boa” spirit. He comes from a devout Mormon family. We were able to talk over a period of several hours, and I was able to share with him, in depth, God’s story of Redemption.

Below, is a "supplemental" report of sorts. :-)

Family and Friends

We had the fantastic privilege of attending the wedding of John Patton, my brother, and Wendy Stiles, ABWE missionary to Japan. The wedding was held at Bethel Baptist Church in Grand Blanc, Michigan. On our way up to Michigan, we spent a couple of family "vacation" days in Ohio. Our family was hosted in Michigan by a wonderful couple, Archie and Gwen Anderson. Their house was right on a beautiful lake, and they made us feel totally at home.

Visit to Iquitos Although my primary purpose for going to Iquitos was to teach workshops for Christian leaders, I was able to do a variety of other things. I took some clothing, vitamins, Bibles, gospel tracts, and computer parts for a missionary's laptop. Actually, peanut butter was an item that made it into my suitcase as well. You can never take too much peanut butter. I was also able to visit 3 churches, 2 missionary families, various other friends, and a friend who has a ministry in the Iquitos prison.

Tourists

I have never seen so many tourists in the city of Iquitos as I did this visit. They came from every walk of life- from hippies to upper middle class families. They came from several continents- South America, Europe, the Middle East, and India. There were many religions represented as well. I was struck by how easy it was to engage folks in conversation. Most are there to see the jungle, the animals, and the tribal people. However, some are there to seek spiritual peace and harmony.

Most of the national believers feel inadequate regarding reaching these tourists. Even though Americans get a bad rap around the world, the tourists in Peru welcomed the opportunity to speak to an American. Tourism represents a very need and wide-open evangelistic opportunity.

Witnessing Opportunities

God was really honoring your prayers and mine regarding this trip, since He placed so many incredible witnessing opportunities in my lap. Besides being able to witness to Andrés and Kevin, I had chances to talk with several of the hotel staff, as well as people that I met going around town, like: the motocarro drivers, those whom I would meet at the popular tourist hangouts, folks at the stores and shops, and people at airports.

Ministry Update During his trip to Peru, I just "happened" to run into several men from different congregations that are each doing something in terms of river outreach. But, they all expressed an interest in seeing their efforts expanded, improved, and coordinated with the efforts of others. These men were an encouragement to me, and the fact that we plan on serving as river ministry coordinators, served as an encouragement to the men. Support and Churches We are still aiming to leave for the field this fall. Our committed support level is 70%. The 30% that we lack equates to 1,900 dollars per month. The next couple of months are going to be very busy for us as we contact churches and schedule meetings and then go to the churches to present our ministry. Please pray for us in this regard. Blessings to You All, Andy & Carol apatton@abwe.cc 443-517-0121 PO BOX 183 CROWNSVILLE, MD 21032 Website: www.8pattons.org