Monday, September 8, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
Feb 2014 News letter - Return to Amazonas
Well, here we are back in Leticia, Amazonas Colombia. We arrived Saturday January 25th
and thought that we had at least 1 more week before school started. We soon found out that school was starting
early due to some political question and that we needed to be ready on Monday
the 27th to begin school.
Between uniforms, schedules and cleaning a very dirty house
that had been sitting for almost 3 months, my hands were full to say the
least. Neivy is now in her routine of
school and I am begining to discover what God has for me to do here in Leticia.
In the beginning of February, I met with Pastor Pacheco of
the Mission Ministry Church. We
discussed what God has put on my heart in relation to discipleship teaching in
the church. He asked me what was on my
heart. I expressed the concern that has
been on my heart for a long time. The way to mobilize people to reach the
nations has to be based in the knowledge and understanding of how much God
loves mankind. To have a clear
understanding of the story of the Bible from a covenant perspective in
chronological order (God's relationship with man from creation) is the
motivation needed to persuade the church to accomplish the task that Jesus left
with us to Go and make disciples. Pastor
Pacheco seemed excited and stated that it had long been a desire of his to have
someone who could present this teaching to his congregation. He is looking at
how to schedule this as seminar teachings throughout the year. He also asked if I could teach music and
English classes. Music, because it is
not much taught in the churches and is a very important part of worship. English, because there are many people that
come from other ministries that work with their church that only speak
English. These two classes will mostly
be for the leadership but also, open to the public and will be a donation paid
position for me to augment my support.
This is definitely a year of adventure for me. I am excited because I will have the
opportunity to use gifts and talents that I have studied and trained in most of
my life. I am looking forward to seeing
the souls that God is going to change and the results of the discipleship
training that will take place this year.
Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to advance the Kingdom of
God in the Amazon. Remember that
discipleship is a long-term endeavor and you are part of the process.
Many of you know that part of the reason for the trip to the
states was to meet with the AFAMMS board.
Due to various family changes and commitments, it was agreed to continue
with AFAMMS until the end of this year of 2014 as a 501c3. I will continue to work here in Colombia as
an independent missionary. You may
continue to send your support as usual.
For those of you who will desire to continue supporting me and Neivy
here in 2015, I will be sending out information as to how you can do this but,
your donation will no longer be tax-deductible in 2015. This will be more of a walk of faith for
Neivy and me but, I know that those of you who have visited and know my heart
for ministry here in the Amazon will continue to faithfully pray and
financially support us here in Leticia.
Thank you for the prayers and support financially and the
encouragement that many of you freely gave to Neivy and me while we were in the
states. Even though it was very cold we
enjoyed our time visiting with you and meeting new brothers and sisters in
Christ. Thank you again!
Adventuring with Christ,
Orchidy T Boyd
Monday, December 16, 2013
December News Letter
Here we are in the Motor City (Detroit) experiencing a
true Michigan winter. The fun of seeing
Neivy's face as she saw snow for the first time, the joy of throwing her first
snowball and her realization that her concept of cold was not like anything she
knew. I thank God for the Winter coat
and boots that were brought to the house for her. God knew what she needed to outlast a Detroit
Thanksgiving Parade on a snowy day.
Thank you friends and family for your heart of giving. You are blessing
us!
After the challenges of traveling on Spirit Airlines,
extra airline fees for arriving late to Bogota on LAN, having to stay in Bogota
for 3 extra days, no food for a whole day of travel (Spirit does not serve
meals on international flights), lost luggage for 4 days and realizing that the
cell phone number that I had just bought on the previous trip had been given
away to someone else, one could justify having a bad attitude. BUT, for the grace of God!!!! We are on an
adventure and you gotta take the good with the bad. That's what builds character. If anyone needs to call me, I am on Skype and
Facebook and gmail as long as I have internet access.
Just an update on the outreach ministry with the group
from Trinidad and Tobago. FANTASTICO!! The Trini culture is very happy and
free. We literally had a Holy Ghost
party in the city plaza. There were many
who came to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. The Assembly of God Faith
church was initiated with the new converts and we celebrated with many of the
pastors from the Assembly churches in both Leticia and Tabatinga. The pastor of the new church networks with
the church that Neivy and I are now attending and I believe that God wants me
to work with them both this next year. I
am excited about the move of God in these churches in the Amazon.
This trip has 3 purposes.
The first is to give Neivy and I a chance to know one another better
without outside interference of well meaning family and friends. We are working on her English and she is
having the opportunity to learn about my
culture. We need your prayers because
this is a challenge for us both. I need
God's wisdom in helping her through the culture shock to get to a point of
enjoyment. We have had some
breakthroughs Praise God! The second
purpose is to get some much needed rest for both of us. This past year has been a challenge. Neivy
leaving her home, going to a new school, and getting a new mother all at
once. Me becoming a single parent mother
of a teenager, changes in ministry focus and location, working through how to
organize my life with Fibromyalgia and physical recovery of tendons and muscles
in my legs and right foot. (As some of you may remember my visits last year for
fund raising, that I was traveling with a recently fallen arch). BY the grace of God, we made it through! And,
the third purpose is to deal with some important AFAMMS Board issues.
I would like for you all to consider this holiday season
giving a special offering that will go towards some of those extra costs of
living in the states as a family of two (which is much different than when I
traveled by myself). This will help with
some transportation costs and living expenses. I do not know all the things
that God wants to do with us on this trip but, through your giving you will be making
a impact in the life of a young girl.
Some of you do year end giving for tax purposes. This is a way of blessing your missionaries.
So, even if you are giving to different missionaries... give. May God bless you all more abundantly above
all that you can ask or think!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Donations by check or money order:
AFAMMS (do not put my name on the check)
PO Box 39803
Redford, MI
48239-0803
Adventuring with Christ,
Min. Orchidy T Boyd
Friday, October 18, 2013
October News Letter
The question is “How does God work?” I came to the Amazon
5 years ago. The goal was to take the
Yaguas off the unreached people group list.
How could I know what that meant?
There are various definitions of who are reached and who are not
reached. There are different
understandings of what it means to reach a specific people group. Since I have been here in the Amazon I have
seen many short-term outreach groups come to do various things. They have come to visit communities and do
little presentations for the children, share their testimonies with the people,
bring humanitarian aid such as medical, clothing, and toys. Each group coming and doing some type of
activity and leaving some type of material “blessing.” The problem has been that each group came
with good intentions to leave a mark with the same people who the group before
visited. Between Leticia and Puerto
Narino, Amazonas, every community has been reached at least once but, none has
been discipled. This has created a
subculture here in the Amazon. The
belief system of the general indigenous population is that one needs to have a
“patron” (person from the outside) who can get material items for them if they
can convince them of their loyalty. This
works with tourist and missionaries. The message is rarely as important as the
objects that they can get (i.e. Saw, hammer, boat, motor, clothes, toys, food,
money, etc.). Everyone gains something
out of the deal and all depart happy and content that they have “blessed” or
were “blessed.”
I have come to the conclusion that the Yaguas in this
area have been reached many times over and over. To be discipled one must consent to the
training or teaching of the discipler.
The Yaguas have not been discipled and as long as the priority of the
Yaguas is to receive material things, the spiritual condition of the Yaguas
cannot change. There are a few believers
among the Yagua Nation but they are in great need of discipleship. The doors have closed for me in the
communities where I have been working.
They have realized that I am not a rich North American who can get them
things. The group where I worked before
have let the other group know this and have discouraged them from working with
me. My question is “How does God work?”
I have often noted in the Bible that God takes one person
out of their family situation and uses this separation as a time of training
and equipping them with physical and spiritual skills and abilities that will
enable them to be more effective in the geographical location where that person
will live. Often, like Abraham and
Sarah, they make their own plans to help God complete His word spoken to
them. For their lack of faith, they act
in their own power and knowledge and understanding of the situations in which
they find themselves. These actions
result in kings that desire to marry sisters that really are wives and an
Ismael that is not the promised child of God. (Genesis 20 and 21) The desire for building a
training school has to be realized in God's timing. I will wait on Him.
There is a silent pressure for “missionaries” to
“produce” and to show the world what they have done to advance the Kingdom of
God. (Putting myself in this category)
We send out news letters as often as possible with pictures, statistics, dates
and anything else that can convince the readers that we really are doing the
work of the ministry so that they can pray and send financial support. My
questions are: Which of these works are Ismaels and which of these works are
Isaacs? What really is the work of the ministry? And, which is the work of God? The king came to know and fear the God of
Abraham. Ismael also, became a
great nation. The verses that have been a consistent
companion to me over the last few years are Proverbs 3:5 and 6.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And
lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He
shall direct your paths.”
The key is trust in God!
As a result of learning to trust God with all my heart, He has gifted me
a daughter. She is from the Yagua tribe
and is now 14 years old. She loves the
Word of God and is growing in her personal walk with God. Her family often visits and calls. We pray a lot for their spiritual growth and
look forward to the day when they too will all be saved. Neivy is my Isaac. I do not yet know what God is doing with
us. For right now, I am learning to be a
single parent of a teenage Yagua girl.
Right now I have legal custody of her and we are praying about
adoption. This year has brought many
changes in my life and ministry. Because
of the situation in her community, we cannot return and minister for her
safety. The people with whom I had been
working in the Yagua community have rejected the gospel for tourism. Please keep them in your prayers.
Last week we received a six month visa from the Embassy
of the USA to come to the states. It
will be her first visit. Because of all
the changes, I need to meet with the AFAMMS Board to put many things in order
for the state of Michigan. We will be in
the states from November 18 through the end of January during her school
break. In the meantime, I am teaching
Spanish, English, and music classes. I
am using them with the purpose of witnessing the Gospel and making money to pay
for our daily needs. I certainly feel
for those of you who have more than one teenager at a time. They eat a lot and always have another school
project. They are a blessing! We have started attending Mission Ministries
Church here in Leticia. They have a good
youth group and teach the Word. They are
very mission active and focused in discipleship training. October 10, 11 and 12, 2013 we will be
networking with other missionaries to have a three day evangelistic crusade in
the city amphitheater. I will be helping
with the music. Please be in prayer for
the souls that will be touched and the follow-up. What is God doing? He is allowing me and you to take part in His
plan for the Amazon region of the three frontiers. Keep Praying! Keep
Supporting! And, feel free to come and visit us :)! See some of you soon in the
US.
Adventuring with Christ,
Min. Orchidy T. Boyd
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