No more jungle for a while...

  So, I haven't written in my blog for about 3 weeks now. Since the last time I wrote, there has not been a ton of missionary work. I mean, there has been work (cleaning, maintenance, ect..) but, nothing that is much of an interest in a blog.

  I didn't write about the last jungle trip from a few weeks ago. It went really well. A construction team came down from Minnesota. It was about 10 men with tools and ready to build a church. When we got to the village we were working in, we saw that the people that live in the village had been working on the church. It was only going to take a few days to finish this church completley and hold the first church service. So instead of helping in the church, I just let the guys do it, and I helped the ladies in the kitchen.. (i really just entertained the ladies whille they cooked) I knew what jungle kitchens were like, but after staying in there for the whole week and seeing how they cook in those conditions, I realized how amazing those girls are. I will post a picture of  a jungle kitchen, to try to give you an idea what it's like. But the picture does not do it justice, you have to see it to get the full idea...

This one is actually a little nicer than most. most of them are right on the floor of the house (or hut). This one, you could actually stand up to cook.  So that was a pretty good trip. The church was finished, we held the first service I survived some dangers. The first thing that happend was I smashed my finger against some of our well digging equipment and took a few chunks of meat out of my middle finger. But Daniela the nurse was there to take care of me. The second thing, was I was walking through a rice field on my way back to the boat. (I usually sleep on the boat as a security guard) The sun was pretty much gone. You could still see a littel but I needed the flashlight. So, as I was walking, I see somthing black shoot out of the rice field and slap against my jeans. It was hung on my jeans for just a second, and then it was gone. I later realized that it was a snake. It tried to bite my leg, but luckily It only got its teeth into my jeans and missed my skin. I don't know what kind it was. Most snakes in the Amazon are poisonous, so I'm glad it didn't get me.

         I am preparing for my Lima trip. Also, starting in January I will be overloaded with work preparing for the next DTS that will be here in February.

 Thanks for reading. Please continue to pray for me. Without your support, I wouldn't be able to make it down here.  God bless you all.

Back in the Amazon...

                                            
   So another jungle trip, another story. We went again to the jungle for some more medical clinics. Although this time, the short-term team that came here brought enough equipment to dig two wells. These wells were in places that were getting their water from the parasite infested Amazon river. Which, is the beginning of many of their health problems. Most of the children in these villages have parasites. In fact, on the previous jungle trip, we were in a village where a 5 year old boy died from parasites. It is very sad because the parasites are so easy to get rid of. You just take a pill and it gets rid of them. We saw them carrying the coffin into the house. We stopped and prayed for them. (this was not this trip but the one a few weeks ago) It really makes me think about these medical clinics. Sometimes I wish we could do more... I wish we had more doctors.. I wish we had more medicine. But if we would have come to that village a month or two before with our parasite medicine, This little boy would have lived. So, if I get discouraged I just think about that.

   Daniela organizing the medicine.                                

        I learned how to take blood pressure. I did it all day!

                          Emeth pumping the first clean water out of the new well.     

        

     Apart from the medical clinics, and digging wells, there was somthing really special about this trip. The village that we stayed in had never been visited by Christian missionaries before. Most of the people living in this village had never heard the Gospel. So on our last night (or second to last night) we held a service in the center of the village. We hooked up the generator, had lights and a microphone. The leader of the Washington team asked me if I would share a little of my testimony. So I did. I think this is the first time I have been involved with bringing the Gospel to a place that has never heard it. Sure I have shared with individuals that have never heard it, but never an entire village. It was somthing special this time.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. I want all of you to know that your help makes these trips possible for me. Without  you I would be able to take part in these wonderful ministries. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions..

 God bless all of you........

First Medical Outreach to the Amazon Jungle.

Probably the first time he has ever seen a doctor

  Last week I went on my first Amazon River outreach as a YWAM Iquitos Staff member. It turned out to be a wonderful trip. We had one docter, one dentist, five nurses, and about 8-12 more volunteers/staff helping with the trip. This team of short-time missionaries came from North Carolina, Ohio, Maine, Austria, and Germany. (sorry if I left anyone out)

   The strip started pretty normal. We had about a 6 hour boat ride that turned out into a day and a half. (we had to stop and sleep in a village.)  Julio, (a YWAM member from Columbia who is in charge of the river ministry) decided that we would stay in one village the entire week. We held medical clinics in 4 different villages but we slept everynight in the same village. It went really well. The doctors and nurses ended up seeing about 1,000 patients. (not sure exactly) And I'm not sure how many teeth the dentist pulled but everytime I looked over he was torturing someone!

Doctor David from Lima, Peru.

Everytime I go to the Jungle, I fall more in love with the children who live there. I mean, they don't have much of anything to do, but they are so happy and friendly. Just to be able to goof around with the kids out there make it all worth it.

                                                                 

This Girl had a smile on her face as Doctor Jim was giving her a shot and stitces in a nasty cut on her foot. Amazing!

  It was a really great trip. We have another medical outreach this Friday (September 25th) for 7 days. Then I come back to the YWAM base for about a week. Then we go out again on a construction trip for a week. On that one, we will dig two wells, and build a church. So far, I am staying very busy.

Please continue to pray for me and the rest of us YWAMERs down here.  We are doing our best here in sometimes very uncomfortable conditions. (right Daniela?) If you would like to support me or Daniela financially, please send donations to Friendship Baptist Church Mike Faulkner Mission Fund. 10150 Brockington Road. Sherwood, Arkansas. 72120 .      If there are any questions about what God is doing down here in Peru, please feel free to write me an Email at Mikesway0078@yahoo.com or you can call me at 501-588-2278. That is a Skype phone number that rings to my computer. If i am online I can answer. Please leave me a message and I will return your call.   . Thanks

                                                             

Starting after finishing

So I graduated the DTS (Discipleship Training School). I went home to Arkansas for about a month. I got to eat all of the food that I had been missing for the last 7 months. I was able to see all my friends and family that I had been missing. I got to meet my brand new nephew while I was home. I only was able to meet him for about 45 minutes, but I'm just glad he was born before I came back. ........... This all sort of sounds like the end of a chapter, huh?

Now I'm back in Iquitos, Peru. I am a staff member of the YWAM (Youth With a Mission) base that I took my DTS at. All of the students are gone. It is much quieter around here. I am moved in, settled in, and almost completely organized. Seems much hotter here than last time I was here. I already miss my family and friends. Seems a little more lonely here now. Hopefully that will change.
I have been praying a lot lately. It seems that as soon as I feel like I understand how things will go, things change. This is not always a bad feeling. But, sometimes frustrating.
I haven't really been working much yet. I have done some cleaning around the base, but its pretty slow around here now. This coming Thursday, however, we will be going to the Jungle on a medical outreach. We are going with one medical doctor, one dentist, about 4 or 5 nurses, and about 10 more volunteers or so. I don't know the village we are going to yet. Might be that I have visited here before. I actually hope so. I would like to see some of he people that we evangelized to. I think it would be interesting to see where they are on their walk with God.


I have realized since i got here that I need a few things. I need a desk, notebooks, pens, and a few other little things. I have support to last for about 2 months. But, after I buy all the things I need, that might go down to about a month and a half. I have learned to trust God. He will provide for me as long as He wants me to stay in Peru.

I will bring my camera to the jungle and get some pictures of the medical outreach. Also, I hope to bring back some stories of how God has been working with and through the people of the Amazon Jungle. Until next time,
Mike Faulkner

the long road

I know it has been way too long since i have blogged last. One of the reasons i havent written is because we have been travelling for the last 2 and half months. Another reason is that my computer died the first day of travelling. It´s pretty annoying trying to type a blog in an internet cafe. But here I am.. I´ll give it a shot.

Ok, so what has happened in the last few months since i have blogged last? Well one thing is that I have decided to come back to Iquitos, Peru (after about a one month vacation back home) to work with the DTS (Dicipleship Training School) that i am in now. I have had a really great experience here. Not always easy, not always fun, and many times, not a fun place to live. But i have made some great friends here. I really admire the work that they do. Not only do they have the school for 6 months out of the year, they have many other ministries for the other half of the year. During the non-school year, they go out to villages in the Amazon jungle. Many times we go with nurses and doctors with much needed medicene. I never thought i would say this (on account of the mosquitos) but I actually am looking forward to heading back out to the jungle.

Over the last few months we have been travelling around South America. Staying in a different city every week. Performing our dramas and choreographies for people. Mixed in with our program, we add a few short testimonies. As soon as the program is finished, we immediatley go out into the crowd and talk to them about Jesus. One great thing that I have learned over the past few months, is how to not fall into a mold. I have heard people talking about evangalism and they say the same things everytime. For example, ¨This is what Jesus did, This is how you accept Him, do you want to accept Him too? ¨ This normally produces a false response. Most of the people who are approached like this will just say yes, because they dont want to be rude. I have been praying and trying to approach people in a sincere way. I tell them about Jesus, about what He did for us, and what that means. Then I tell them what He has done for me. Afterwards, I tell them how to accept Him. Then I just let God take over. I believe that if they really want to accept Jesus, that they will ask about it. But even if they don´t, then I presented the Gospel to them. (which is what the Bible tells us to do, not force them into a response).
So that´s about it. I am looking forward to coming home and visiting family and friends for a while. Although, it will not be all fun and games, I will need to raise more support so that I may be able to afford to live in Peru for the next 2 years-ish. So please pray for that. I miss everyone and I can´t wait to see you... Love,
Mike

The end is the beginning of the end of the beginning.

Studying and training

I know that I haven't posted in a while. For that, I apologize. We are incredibly busy here all the time. We have 5 days with 2 classes per day. Then we have drama practice 6 days a week. The only day off is Sunday. And the first half of that is going to church. After church, i usually just lay around and rest up for the busy week ahead.
I am enjoying myself. I never thought that I would like learning these dramas. But, I think I am getting pretty good at it. We have learned a total of 4 dramas and 3 or so choreographys. In 3 of the dramas, I have one of the main roles. (God or Satan) I think playing Satan is a little harder because I have to shiver and look evil all the time. When I play God, I just stand up really straight, and try to look holy. There was a time a few months ago that I thought all of these dramas would be very cheesy. In fact, if i would have known that there was this much emphasis on dramas, I probably wouldn't have come here. I'm glad I didn't see that before. Because, now that I am learning them, I am seeing how incredibly powerful they are. Sometimes when we practice them, we watch the staff perform them first. And when I see it, it gives me goosebumps.

Things are going really well, we have about a month left of classes and drama training before we head out for outreach. I am very excited about that. I can't wait to perform some of these dramas for hundreds of people. I am excited to see their reactions. From what I hear, anything that has to do with theater down here is very well excepted. I am also excited to be able to share the love of Christ to people after we perform. I am expecting miracles.

I got some news the other day that there is an extra expense on the outreach phase of the DTS. Bolivia charges a "vengeance tax" to United States citizens only. Apparently they charge exactly what the U.S charges for a Bolivian to get into the States. This was unexpected. Seems it will put a crunch on my financial situation. There was a time where I would be worried about this. But, over and over God has shown his faithfulness, and come through with however much or however little financial support I need.

Please continue to pray for me, as God has instructed me that I will come back to South America after the DTS. I'm not sure where yet. Or for how long (at least 2 years).. But that will take a lot of prayer. I will need to speak at churches to gain support, all of the missionaries down here tell me to try to get monthly supporters. I also need guidance from my leaders here. So far, they have been great. They are praying for God to show me where He wants me. When they could be trying to recruit me.

So that's the situation for the time being. If i failed to mention something, or if you have a question, please email me at Mikesway0078@yahoo.com Thanks for your love and support. I miss you guys......

Week 2 in the , surrounded by the Amazon Jungle

And now, the second week of the rest of my life has begun....
Two weeks into the DTS now,(Discipleship Training School) It's a bit different than I originally thought. But I knew it wouldn't be exactly as I expected. I'll give you a few examples. First, I thought I would be sharing a dorm with about approximately 6 guys. In reality, I am sharing a dorm with every guy here. Not just DTS students, but also all of the male staff. The living arrangements will take a bit of getting used to. But so far, I am getting along great with all of the guys. They all seem pretty cool.
Second thing that's different from my expectations is the amount of free time. Not much free time at all. We have quite a bit of homework, so most of the free time that I have is spent reading or writing. I will say that so far, I don't really mind all of the work. The classes are very interesting and, in my case, are needed.
Each week we have a guest teacher. This week, our teacher is Don Riling, a pastor in (or from) New York. I don't know much about him. (He just started teaching today) I had a conversation with him over lunch today. He seemed like a very sincere, godly man. Sometimes when you meet people, they ask you about yourself, but you can tell that they don't really care. I could tell when I told him a little about myself, he was genuinely interested. In my opinion, that says a lot about a person. ( I also think that I'm not very good at that)
This week, he is teaching on Intercession. The first class was great. I can't wait to start again tomorrow. Another cool thing is that he uses stories about his son during his teaching, and he brought his son, Brent, with him. Brent is also pretty cool, seems like his dad raised him well.
Oh a few other things that I forgot to mention: I ate alligator, cow heart, and some sort of grilled worm. The alligator and worm weren't very good. But I really liked the cow heart.. As a matter of fact, I think I might go eat more sometime this week.
Thats about it. For those that are wondering, God is really moving down here. I am excited to see what He does over the next 5 months and 3 weeks. I miss most of you guys.. :)
Mikie Faulkner

Thank you letter disguised as a blog entry..

Its Tuesday night. A little more than two days before I leave. I have been really busy with preparations latley. I feel really prepared, which kind of makes me nervous. I don't want to be over confident and forget something. I was in the Boy Scouts for most of my childhood. The motto was "Be Prepared" Speaking of Boy Scouts, I have a little story to tell.......
So during my planning an prepping, I turned over the rest of the fundraising to the Creator of the Universe. (He and I talk daily) And He reminded me that he was going to take care of that in His own time. So, me being me, in the back of my mind, i was second guessing His promise. Even though i knew i shouldn't. I had to keep telling myself to let Him handle it. He never fails. (He is a much better friend to me than I am to Him, but im working on that) Anyway, I had been waiting on my tax return check. It was taking much longer than I originally thought. The plan for my tax return check was to have it in time to leave for Peru. Well It wasn't looking good. At our weekly prayer group, I voiced my concerns with a group of friends and family. Everyone at that prayer meeting prayed that God would take care of the money situation. ......Oh boy, now the good part.......


So the next time I went to my church, Sue (the wonderful woman that works in the church office) told me that a check had come in the mail that day. I asked her, "who sent it?" She told me. (now I am not going to mention this person's name because I dont know if he would want me to) When Sue told me who it was, I recognized the name as a guy that i was in the Scouts with (Troop 18! represent) I have not seen the person that sent this donation in 10-14 years. I will not mention the size of the donation, but i will say, that it was enough to take care of the rest of my needs for this mission. How amazing is that? The timing, generosity, and the heart. I cant even put into words how incredible that is.

Now, if this person ever reads this blog, I just want to say that I don't know how to thank you enough. Your act was one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed. And the timing of it all (God's timing) Thank you very much. I will make this promise to you, I will never forget your support and I will thank God that we were in the Scouts together.
And to everyone.. Please continue to pray for me, because even though you may not see them answered, the story i just told is proof that God is answering prayers beyond our expectations.


God Bless

Tick Tock

Greetings!
Well, only 16 days left. As the date draws near, I keep noticing things that i need to take care of. For instance, I forgot to get my yellow fever immunization. So I made the appointment for Friday to get it. The shot is much more expensive than I expected. (about $150) But, I am getting my tax return check in the next few days, so I think I will be OK as far as money goes.

I know there have been a few friends and family reading this blog and I appreciate that. I just want everyone to know that this blog can be interactive. If there are any questions, comments, or suggestions, I would be more than happy to address them. As a matter of fact, your questions might make this blog better. (sometimes I don't have much to write about). Eventually, I will try to post some pictures here as well.

Again, I want to thank everyone for your prayers and support. I could not be doing any of this without you.
God bless

Why am I still suprised?

Greetings friends and family. I am writing today with some very good news.
If you read the first post of my blog, you might have been able to sense some worry in my words. The money I needed to raise was starting to come in slower than I had hoped. The fundraisers that were coming up were going to help, but I was sure it would take much more than that. I knew that if God wanted me to go on this mission, He would provide. I also knew that I shouldn't be stressed about the lack of funds, because if we didn't raise enough, I knew God had different plans for me. I was worried, stressed and was not trusting God like i knew i should. Then Sunday happened.
For the last few weeks, we have been advertising (in the church bulletin) a youth and desert auction. Some friends and family were going to cook lunch for all the members and visitors to our church. I and others had been praying for the success of this fundraiser. Believe it or not, we were praying for at least $800 to be raised so I could go ahead and purchase a plane ticket. What happened at that auction is something that I will never forget. Not only will I not forget, I will never be able to thank God enough for all of the people that helped and volunteered. By the end of the auction we had raised just over $3000!
Yesterday I got the plane ticket to Peru. I got the check sent off for my tuition just a few hours ago. Those two expenses were the largest of the trip. God miraculously took care of those in a snap of His fingers. Now not all of the expenses are covered, but I know God will provide the rest when He wills it.
Isn't it amazing that sometimes when i worry, stress, or wonder when God is going to do something, He waits until I realize how much I need him? Then He provides when it seems that hope is fleeting. God has shown this to me many times, and yet, every time He does, it surprises me. One way we know He is our Father is sometimes when he gives us gifts, it's like the best present ever and we never even expected it. Don't we all just love surprises?
Glory to God!

The Starting point

As many of you know, I am headed to Peru for missionary training. I hope everyone will pray for me as well as try to help financially. I just started raising support these last few weeks. So far, it has been pretty slow. I have faith that God will provide everything I need to make this trip.
I am making this blog so people who know me and have helped me can keep up with me on my mission. This is my first blog, so please bear with me on the first few posts. Please continue to pray for me, and if there is anything you would like to know about, just let me know.