Back to main magazine page now!!

The
Worm , The Word , The Work
By Sean Lunday
The Amazon Connect Team reached the remote river village of Santoro in
Loreto, Peru, in 2019. The Peruvian pastor, Sean, stated that he had sought to
reach this village for many months but faced numerous barriers. Nonetheless,
there had never been a church of any kind in this indigenous village. The goal
of the evangelism team was to break those barriers down by providing medical
care that in turn would provide an opportunity to give the Gospel. It did not
take long for the team to set up the mobile medical clinic in a local hut while the
evangelistic team spread the news throughout the village making our presence
known. As we worked throughout the day, there was a steady stream of villagers
arriving from the surrounding jungle, eager to be treated and receptive to the
Gospel message.

The clinic typically will plan to finish by midafternoon, providing sufficient time
to return to our base village so as to not be on the river after dark. Just as we were
done packing, preparing to return to our base up river, three families arrived at
the riverbank. They had traveled three hours by canoe to bring their little boy,
hot with fever, whose leg was infected and swollen the size of a grapefruit. After
closer examination, we realized the cause of his pain was a large worm that had
Amazon Connect Team 2019
16



hatched from a larva and was growing inside his leg. The doctor soon opened the wound further
and with a little coercion from a piece of dried beef, the worm poked his head out far enough for the
doctor to grasp it with tweezers and remove it from the leg. Soon the open wound was sown shut
and meds given to heal the infection. God used the incident to open the parents’ hearts to receive
the Word of God and trust Christ as Savior. Pastor Sean has continued the work of discipling this
family and others who trusted Christ with subsequent visits to the village.

During the pandemic, the work was begun to build a Baptist church in this village. This is the first
church of any kind ever built in this Amazonian village. To God be the glory! In August 2022 we
held another clinic and church services in the Iglesia Bautista Divina Gracias (Divine Grace Baptist
Church). As a testimony of God’s grace, now the Gospel of Christ is being proclaimed for the
first time through this church! And it all began with a WORM! If God can use a worm to plant
a church, He most certainly can use you! Are you willing to be used? Are you willing to step out
of your comfort zone to take the Gospel to those who have never heard? Yea, so have I strived to
preach the gospel, not where Christ was named (Romans 15:20). W
Transportation on the Amazon
17