These People Amaze Me.

Michael Geurink is my cousin. His faith and dedication to Jesus blows me away.

Since 2000, Michael and his wife Katrina have been planting churches and reaching the ‘unreached’ people groups in the central regions of South America – in the Amazon.  I’m sorry, did I say ‘in’ the Amazon?  I meant on the Amazon.  For close to a decade they’ve actually lived on a house boat on the Amazon River with their four beautiful children.  Why?  Because not only are there no WalMarts, Targets, or malls nearby…there are no roads.  The Amazon river serves as the 10-lane super highway of South America (as well as an oasis for piranhas and pythons, but that’s another story).  All along it’s major arteries and tributaries are villages of people who don’t know Jesus.  Using aviation and their house boat, they are as ON MISSION as any people I know.

One gathering of people in particular that has caught their attention (and their heart) is the Ticuna people – scattered over Brazil, Peru, and Columbia.  Not only do they not speak English (!), the language they speak is not related to or structured like any other language on earth, making it one of the most difficult in the world to learn.  Michael is currently teaching Bible and doctrine classes to believers in the area, while working diligently to build trust relationships and learn an incredibly difficult language.  Oh, and they face incredible opposition and challenges on a daily basis.  In the last year alone:

• Their dog has been killed.
• Their boat has been vandalized and the motor stolen.
• A known local sex offender has moved in near them and harassed them.
• They’ve fought difficult physical challenges and illness.
• They’ve had limited supplies (and severely drained resources) due to containers getting hung up for weeks at customs.
• They go days and weeks being separated as Michael takes two kids and goes ‘upriver’ to teach while Katrina keeps the other two and ministers to those near their houseboat.

And then I get an email from him last week that says:

OK, want some good news now? The good news is…it’s ALL ultimately good news when God is in control. But we’re longing for the day when Jesus exercises His physical reign over all the earth. Until then, however, our adversary is just as aware as we are of Jesus’ mandate that some be redeemed from every tribe and every language and every ethnic group “and THEN comes the end”. We’re privileged to be working on one of the remaining Gospel frontiers, but that means when it comes to spiritual warfare and enemy strongholds, this is no gentleman’s duel—it’s the wild, wild west.

What can man (or any other creature) do to us!!!

And then today one that says this:

We really sense our adversary fighting against us at every turn–I don’t know how to emphasize it more than that–right now, if something can go ~wrong~ it will, but we are confident always within the good permission of our loving sovereign Father, so its okay!  But, strive with us for deliverance form the evil one in your prayers!  The promise is, Greater is HE who is in us than he who is in the world!!!

They amaze me.

I’m embarrassed at the lack of faith I live with many days, and the things I complain about.

Thank you for living well and leading me well, Michael and Katrina.  You make me want to live differently.

Want to know more about Michael & Katrina and how to pray for them? Join their email update prayer list – send an email to abwegeurink@gmail.com. It might be a few weeks before you hear anything.  They only get to check email/internet when they take the 1200 mile trip to the big city.