RiverWind, a group of people laboring to bring the Kingdom of God to communities deep in the Peruvian Amazon. Whence the name?
The Ucayali River, wending back and forth through the Peruvian Amazon. A sound like the blowing of a mighty wind coming from the dwelling place of God; the outpouring of God’s Spirit into otherwise ordinary men and women. Tormenta. A violent wind sweeping across the jungle. ParoNiwe. This is RiverWind in Shipibo, language of one of the numerous peoples living in scattered villages in remote regions of central Peru.
Servant Leadership. We practice the principles of leadership modeled after the manner of Jesus of Nazareth. Shipibo ParoNiwe students have been learning this Christ-like style of leadership – planting seeds, growing new Christ-followers, harvesting the fruit of faith, gathering young and old into the church as followers of Jesus the Christ.
But then COVID comes, a disease encircling the globe; an angel of darkness, a destroyer striking fear, executing death’s judgment. How will these young churches, these new believers living in the midst of the jungle, live?
Reports filter into the RiverWind Mission Center in the port city where we live. Unable to be with them, we hear of continuing ministry by ParoNiwe. It is August in Tumbuya. A “spiritual party” is held in a small village. They hold Biblical teaching on the healing of the soul, led by students and graduates of Servant Leadership training. Nearly 500 members from six churches gather to sing, study and share. 1,630 Peru soles ($500) are contributed by church members, together with rice, sugar, fish, bananas, cooking oil, and gasoline for canoe transportation from the villages. Given by the poorest of the poor, this is a generous offering.
A second report arrives. September in Nueva Italia. A retreat for 20 single young men studying God’s Word and will about sexual morality. Young men covenanting together before the Lord to wait for marriage. It is financed by the Shipibo ParoNiwe team, at 450 soles.
October in Tupac Amaru. 35 young adults, men and women, gather to learn about drug addiction and alcoholism. Here again, provided for by 280 soles, plus rice, sugar, 15 kilograms of fresh-caught fish, 3 chickens and 2 bunches of bananas. The young people decide to continue holding retreats to grow in faith and obedience.
The apostle Paul quotes the prophets: “God has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” To those who would give generously to the poor he continued: “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread [or rice, fish and bananas?] for food will also supply and increase the harvest of your righteousness” (2 Corinthians 9:9-10). These Amazonian men and women, children, elderly, upriver on the Ucayali – these you will meet when we all stand together in worship around the throne of God and the Lamb (Revelation 5:9-10).
