“Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. John‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭

Hola friends and family, we hope you are well and the narrow road is the path you find yourself walking upon. We are finishing up our eighth month as missionaries in Peru and are preparing to head back to the states to visit family, friends, and our supporting churches. We want to give you a quick update about what we’ve been doing the past month.

We are blessed to be living in Cochiquinas, a small community on the Amazon River. Jungle life is definitely an adjustment, but God has been very gracious to us. We have been getting settled in and preparing the ground for a garden. Hopefully we will have some fresh fruits and vegetables next fall. We are still trying to figure out the best way to set up a water filtration system and our solar energy system, so any expert advice is welcomed!

Ryan is meeting twice a week with two of the men from our small church family, Juan and pastor Julio. He is doing some guitar lessons with Pastor Julio and is currently taking both of them through the book of 1 Timothy. They are spending 4 hours a week going verse by verse and it is such a blessing to see the hunger these men have for God’s word.

A group of people have been meeting four times a week for Bible studies, worship, and prayer. Once a week some of the leaders do home visits to share the gospel, pray and worship the Lord with those who are sick. Two of the people they visited this week are Mario and Odela, one is a believer and one is not, both have very serious health issues and need prayer.

The more we meet with people, the more we see the need for a Bible teaching church in our community. We have been praying about planting a church here in Cochiquinas and opening a Discipleship Center. We already have a church building and we recently were able to purchase the property next to the church. When we first looked into the property, we were told it was already sold, but the Lord had other plans and a few weeks later we were able to purchase the property for the Discipleship Center. Please join us in praying about planting a church in Cochiquinas early next year and starting a Discipleship Center in March 2026.

Ryan went up to teach at a conference in a small community of 500 people called Nuevo San Juan. This community is up river about 16 hours from where we live, on the river Chambira. There were about 400 people that came from surrounding areas for the conference and 100 of them were from an indigenous tribe called the Urarina. The people had such a desire to spend time with the Lord so they were up at 4 am for morning devotions and then spent the days listening to teachings and singing praise songs until it was time for bed. It was a great time of studying the word of God and worshipping the Lord. The end of the conference ended with many people getting baptized.

One couple from the conference is praying about moving their family to Cochiquinas to serve at the church and the discipleship center. Their names are Isias and Layla. Their family has had tremendous health issues in the past and they have witnessed first hand God’s miraculous healing. They are both musically talented and have a heart to serve the Lord in any way they can. Please keep them in prayer.

After the 4 day conference was over, it was time to take an 8 hour tour
back to another city to catch another boat to head back to Cochiquinas.
Ryan realized quickly he was in a boat with no bathroom, no seats and
only a cover to block the sun. It promptly began to rain and the trip
turned into 16 hours, no bathroom, 50 people on board, children
included, it didn’t take long before everyone was wet and for the first
time it actually felt cold. Needless to say, around hour 10, the boat
started to take upon itself a unique smell. Then, the boat hit a sandbar
in the middle of the river, and was stuck for about an hour and a half.
The storm continued to worsen and the captain could no longer see and
because he was also new to being a captain, he pulled over to take
refuge and abandoned the boat for 2 hours while he stayed with friends
in the small river community until the storm passed. Needless to say,
the American traveler didn’t have joy in his heart but was so thankful
when they were on dry land. What was amazing was to see the Peruvian
people sing praise songs, praising the Lord despite their circumstances.
Through it all, God received the glory!

The rainy season is here and the great Amazon River is slowly rising. More people will soon have better access to much needed water and the smaller tributaries that were dried up will be navigable again. Even though it can be dangerous to navigate the river and smaller tributaries because of the hidden sandbars and large debris in the river, it will be a blessing to be be able to visit the surrounding communities that have been out of reach when we return back from furlough.

We are excited to see family and friends and are looking forward to all the Lord will do in the New Year!

Please pray for:

– salvation and healing from cancer for Odela

– healing for physical ailments for Mario

– construction for the Discipleship Center

– financial sponsors for Isias, Layla, & their two kids to be missionaries with us in Cochiquinas

– clean water systems for the community

– travel mercies and our time while we are on furlough 

Thank you all so much for your loving support! 

Love,

Ryan and Karen Gause

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