Colorful members of the Shipibo-Conibo people group dance with international visitors in a remote Peruvian river community.

(Oct. 11, 2013 - by Ruth Pike) As a boat brimming with passengers docked along the banks of Peru's Ucayali River, the warm air began to stir with the sound of indigenous music. A Shipibo-Conibo (Peruvian indigenous tribe) community, its residents wore typical dress and played traditional instruments as they danced their way toward the riverboat to greet the visitors.

"They took us by our hands and invited all of us to dance," said Ruth Telenchana, a registered nurse from Hospital Vozandes-Quito who was touched by the love and friendship of the people she met in the remote community.

During the five-day outreach (Sept. 23-27), known as Misión a Bordo (Mission on Board), the international team was warmly greeted by Shipibo-Conibo communities along the river as participants applied what they were learning in mission seminars to practical outreach.

"The very experience of being on a boat-having three conference sessions in the morning and then going out and applying what you heard in the conference-is something that is very enriching for everyone," explained Marielena Carrera, a general practice physician who attends Iglesia Alianza El Batán, a church in Quito.

Members of the international team pose on the riverboat, the Evangelista.

Delegates traveled from Ecuador, Canada, the U.S., Bolivia, Argentina and Peru to embark on the Evangelista boat for the floating missions conference, organized by Red Amazónica Peruana (RAP or Peruvian Amazon Network). This is a consortium of Peruvian and international mission organizations, including Apoyo, HCJB Global's pastoral and leadership training ministry.

Delegates representing HCJB Global at the outreach included two Spanish radio staff members, six participants of the Corrientes missionary mentoring program (two doctors, two nurses, one pastor and a systems specialist), Dr. Mark Nelson and Dr. Francisco Nina from Bolivia, a graduate of Hospital Vozandes-Quito's family practice medical program.

The third floor of the boat served as a conference hall for talks on mission. "The greatest values of Mission Aboard are the speakers and the example of a life of missions service that they bring to the participants," said Nelson, a physician now based in Ghana after several years of service in Ecuador, who helped coordinate the outreach.

"The experience that impacted me the most was the passion that each one of the missionaries has," added Telenchana.

Some of the speakers included Peruvian missionary Irma Espinoza, a member of Amazon Focus; Paul Johnson, president of the Amazon and Lowland Tribal Empowerment Coalition (ALTECO); Simón Bohn of RAP; and Eliezer González, Venezuelan-American missions and personal trainer.

"Our excellent speakers shared their lives and what they had learned during their time as missionaries in the jungles of Peru, Bolivia and the African continent," related Telenchana.

"It was really incredible to hear and meet these people and have them so close so they could share all their experiences," added Carrera.

González agreed, saying the outreach "brings us to have an intimate encounter with God's Word, with ... experienced missionaries and needy people in the Peruvian Amazon."

In the afternoons and evenings, participants visited three different communities from the Shipibo-Conibo tribe: Betanía, Palestina and Santa Rosita. They used drama sketches to teach Bible stories such as the parable of the lost sheep and held church services in the evenings.

From Tuesday to Thursday, medical professionals identified healthcare priorities in communities and gave out medicines to those in need, seeing more than 500 patients. Typical problems observed included skin disorders, parasites, chronic musculoskeletal maladies and gastritis.

"We prayed for them and tried to understand what they were feeling," explained Carrera. "It's more than coming as doctors and telling them to do this, to take that, to go to the hospital. It's something different, it's trying to go beyond that."

Dr. Mark Nelson examines a child during a similar outreach in 2012.

Nelson shared the story of a 60-year-old woman who was bedbound, suffering from deformities resulting from previously undiagnosed rheumatoid arthritis. Staff members provided her with pain medication and an anti-inflammatory regimen, enabling her to sleep better and hopefully improve her mobility.

"Most of all, I hope and believe that what small help we were able to be was an encouragement to her family members who are among the small group of faithful Christians in the community," said Nelson. Patient follow-up is being carried out by staff members from RAP who attend churches in Lima and Pucallpa, Peru.

"The people who need the most are those who give the most," said Telenchana, who participated in Mission Aboard with her husband, Elías Chumbico, a surgical supplies worker at Hospital Vozandes-Quito and worship leader during the conference.

Speaking for them both, Telenchana said, "We have a broader perspective.... In the future this will be very useful to us because we're ready to go wherever God sends us."

"I think that God uses all this to speak to consciences and stimulate His calling which may be latent in the hearts of some," concluded González.

Source: HCJB Global