The Ends Of The Earth

Bobby and Maridith have jumped back in the thick of things at summer camp 08 at SWO.  The next big event in their lives will be their wedding, Aug. 10 at SWO at 5 pm there in Andrews, N.C.
 
They have plans to be in Quito, TN from Sept. 14-27.  (If nothing happens to change that)
I am not sure of the dates they plan to be with Maridith’s family but both families will be planning receptions/showers on behalf of all those who will not be able to attend the wedding in SWO.
 
After a bit of travel, they will be going back to school in Jan. ‘09 to finish whatever educational requirements are necessary to become career missionaries with the International Mission Board.
 
If you like you can check the website of www.teote.com to read the updates posted on behalf of Bobby and Maridith, if you happened to have missed them.
 
I am keenly aware of the importance of your partnership in the gospel as you prayerfully supported Bobby, Maridith, and their families over the last 2 years.
PHP 1:3″ I
thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
 
God bless all of you,
Janet Lane

When my phone rang at about 1:00 AM, I answered it by saying, “Hello, Bobby.”  He asked me how did I know it would be him, and I replied by saying, “Who else would be calling me so early in the morning!”
 
We had a good long talk and he filled us in on all the details of his exit time there in Peru. Efrain and L.J. are on their way up river to another community as L.J. won’t be finished until August. 
 
I asked Bobby about saying goodby to the Yaminauha, and he said that farewells there are not the emotional experience we are familiar with here in America.  They simple say I’m leaving then they go!  In some ways I guess that’s not as demanding on a person when it comes time to say goodby!  Oh well, different culture; different experience.
 
The good news is that we will go to the airport in Memphis to pick Bobby up on Saturday, May 31st! ! ! ! !  Probably around Friday of the next week he will be leaving.  So if you are in the Atoka, TN area next Wednesday evening, join us at Faith because Bobby is speaking. The services start at 7 PM with a fellowship following. 
 
While this journey is winding down, Bobby and Maridith will be embarking upon quite a different journey as wedding plans are being made for August 10th at SWO in Andrews, N.C.  Therefore, the support of your prayers is still very much needed.
 
I thank you deeply for your faithfulness to pray for Bobby for the knowledge of that support carried me through some lonely moments with my boy being so far away.  As I have said before, we depended on your prayers.
 
God bless you for your faithfulness,
Janet Lane

Hey to all,
Our phone call tonight brought us good news.  They were able to get the gas!  Now everything is setting on ready as Bobby and his team wait for the IMB crew to arrive.  I knew they would be able to get the gas for God always supplys what’s needed to carry out His plan.  By it being so much trouble God was glorified all the more when the supply was provided. (Remember Phil 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.)
 
All is going well with the church as well as the preparations for the IMB crew.  After the filming is completed, Bobby will fly out with Dr. Rankin and crew.  That should be on the 27th, then he will call us again from Lima to let us know when to pick him up at the Memphis airport.  Bobby mentioned too that he may arrive sooner than June 3rd and that would be glorious.
 
Thanks to everyone who have been diligent to pray,
Janet

i started packing up a little bit this past sunday and i´ll be home in 17 days. i´ve clearly done a terrible job of updating, but in 3 weeks i´ll be back with a year´s worth of stories to tell and a fiancé by my side.

yesterday i was reading in dueteronomy 28 where moses is relaying to the israelites what will be the effect of either their obedience or their disobedience in the land of canaan. how timely a conviction so heavy when the temptation to allow my heart and mind to disobediently board my plane 2 and 1/2 weeks too early comes over me like a house- because as my time in honduras winds down, my attention span shortens and wanders prematurely to my own personal promised land.
i know that simply coming here last august did not constitute my obedience in this season of my life- but that since then and until june 8, it has taken and will continue to require a day by day, minute by minute denial of my selfish ambitions… a sincere submission to the God of my life… a quiet patience… hands ready for the war i´m engaged in (yes, it´s a fight)… a focused mind… a willing spirit… and a heart full of rejoicing. my time remaining here is so short but there´s still obedience to be lived out- and the outcome will be tremendous. however, my response to this calling will be the difference between the blessings and the curses spoken of to these people who for 40 years experienced the unparalleled provison of God Almighty… but hardly even recognized it.
for all of my life i just wanna “faithfully obey the voice of the Lord… with joyfullness of heart… and be overtaken by His blessings…” rather than to “serve those who God sends against me in nakedness, with hunger and thirst, and be lacking in everything.” i want a heart to understand, eyes to see, and ears to hear… not unrest, a trembling heart, failing eyes, or a languishing soul. oh, to be set high above the nations of the earth, and to be established unto Him as HOLY…

i felt rain yesterday for the first time since october. good things come to those who wait, really good things… 

• Feast your eyes!  The new Xtreme Team website!
• Feast some more!  My new photos!
• Levi and i are back from the Tigre River.  *sigh*
• As you know, the last Xtreme Training ended.
  
• I will be in Peru for a couple more weeks wrapping up loose ends.
• PrayeRequests below.
  

And so it ends.  Levi and i have wrapped up my final trip to the Tigre Quichuas, for now.  From Iquitos we were able to purchase flights to Lima.  At the moment i’m back in Pucallpa for a few days and Levi joined José Chillambo to renew their visas on the Ecuadorian boarder.  As for my plans for the near future, i should be back in Lima this weekend and will be there finalizing some paperwork ’til i arrive in the States on the 30th of May.
Now for the juicy details from the Tigre: All together, we stayed in the Quichua community of Paiche Playa for a little better than 7 weeks.  We had many worthwhile conversations and taught only a few Bible stories as the people showed little interest, and their common drunkenness often betrayed the people’s spoken desire to hear the Word of God.  In other words, several told us they really wanted to learn the Word, but none came when the bottle was offered next door.  It’s sad, for obvious reasons, that these people are still on the path to hell without our Jesus.  I also feel the human (or should i saw “prideful” or “fleshly”) frustration and disappointment of not having any quantitative or qualitative data to show my “successfulness” as a missionary.  That’s of infinitely smaller consequence compared to the prior tragedy, the fact that they are still lost.  That is out of my hands, but may every soul praise God that salvation doesn’t lay in the hands of corey, who would screw it up, for sure.  To anyone who has ever said, “All your sacrifice and hard work are worth it if just one life is changed,” i have news for you.  I have failed your standard of worth, but not my God’s.  “And Samuel said, ‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.’” (1 Samuel 15:22)  All the sacrifice and hard work are worth it if and only if our Lord is obeyed.  He was obeyed.  Therefore, it has been more than worth it.

As of right now, the Conoco-Phillips oilers are starting a 6-month work in the virgin jungles surrounding Paiche Playa.  Thus, all able-bodied males will be away from the community working for the oil company.  We don’t know what the future looks like regarding the Xtreme Team’s work in Paiche Playa and other parts of the Tigre River, but please join us in prayer for where the Lord directs.

As for the upper Tigre, we met several people you should know about.  Here’s some of the key players:

• “Lapiz,” whose nickname means “Pencil” in Spanish, is an alcoholic claiming to be an Evangelical Christian in Paiche.  I feel like he has a correct idea of Who God is, but in practice, he is very backslidden.  God gave me a Word to share with him and he took it all in.  Pray that Lapiz would return to Christ in spite of his lack of Christian community and be an example to his lost neighbors.  If not, i told him, he needs to stop telling people he’s a Christain because he gives Christ a bad name.
• Mario Rios is a brother based out of Iquitos that makes missionary trips fairly often with his 20+ -year-old sons.  They have a heart for their lost indigenous countrymen have helped plant a number of churches on the upper Tigre River and others places.  Pray for Mario to use wisdom in order to plant biblical churches.  At least one of his sons, Israel, wants to enroll in an Xtreme Team training ASAP, but our communication is often hindered.
• Alipse Valera has worked for some years now on the Tigre and has pastored the church in the Tigre Quichua community of Marsella.  He shared with us that he’d be leaving his flock soon, because it’s time to see if they can stand on their own.  I tip my hat to this sweet brother as i feel that allowing a baby to walk on her own is an opportunity that every church deserves but so few ever have.  Pray for Alipse to continue to seek God’s guidance in where to go next.  Pray for the Quichua church of Marsella to remain faithful and not only learn to walk on her own, but to run for Jesus!
• Ronaldo Calderón, a new believer in Christ, thanks to an evangelical visit by Alipse a couple months ago, found us when the river launch we were riding stopped in his home of Lamas Tapishka.  He shared his testimony with Levi and so Levi shared the story of Philip and the Ethiopian.  Recognizing that he was lacking in the baptism department, Ronaldo asked Levi to baptize him, and so Levi did just that in the Tigre River as his family and neighbors looked on.  Pray for Ronaldo to grow spiritually and his faithfulness in Lamas Tapishka, where he has no church yet, would multiply and flourish.
• Filipe Carejano is the pastor of the church in the indigenous community of 12 de Octubre on the Tigre.  We’d heard rumors that he had a drinking problem, but we refused to listen to gossip.  However, when we arrived in 12 de Octubre we found out first-hand as he was passed out on the floor in his house and too drunk to carry on an intelligent conversation.  Some of the faithful few from his congregation have decided to leave that spiritual empty building and start another church in town.  Please pray that Filipe would be convicted, repent, and reunite with the Christ’s faithful church in 12 de Octubre.  Thank God for sound-minded sheep that can pick up their cross and press on, even when their human shepherd falls behind.

• Besides the above listed requests, please pray for Levi.  At the moment we don’t know where exactly he will go, how he will be funded, or who his partner will be.
• Pray for Robert, Lorne, and Efraín as they are finishing Robert’s last trip to the Yaminahuas.
  

†il the whole world hears,
corey reid pendergrass