On Eagles Wings - Ron Hutchcraft Ministries

Peru - The Final Frontier

by Ron Hutchcraft

The mountains and the jungles of Peru. That is where God chose to write the final chapter of this amazing summer of Native rescues. And where He has chosen to write the first chapter of a story that could reach from the reservations of North America around the world.

Eighteen years ago, God birthed a strategy to reach Native young people that He has used to make missions history - reaching thousands from this Gospel-hardened people group. What we did not realize was that His strategy could be for more than just the indigenous people of North America. The power of indigenous young people becoming the primary messengers of the Gospel to their people could potentially be unleashed in indigenous cultures around the world. And God chose to begin to open that door in the summer of 2009 with a series of supernatural events that led to an On Eagles' Wings team spreading their vision to Native Peruvian young people. Two different continents. Two different languages. Sharing so many of the same battles. Finding hope in the same mighty Savior.

The time had come for our last reservation of the 2009 Summer of Hope. We knew months ago "Rattlesnake Flats"* would be a special place to wrap this leg of things up. Ever since two of our On Eagles' Wings team members had visited this rez in early 2008, we felt the Lord leading us there. "Jim," a team member raised on a very violent reservation, came back saying this was probably the most violent reservation he had ever been on. That got our attention!

It is unlike most reservations that you will see. It is surrounded by a city - pavement, instead of dirt everywhere you look, and close to just about every modern convenience. However, as our team quickly found out, this "Asphalt Rez"* may have looked different, but the problems were still the same - drugs, violence, and life without a Savior.

This reservation was the last one added to our schedule, just about a week before we arrived. Normally we do not add a place this late in the game, but after talking with some of the locals, we knew it was a place the On Eagles' Wings team needed to be. Praise the Lord we have a strong enough team to split them up, and that we had this two day window to fit this in. It is a forgotten place, with very few mission teams even going there and no young people to speak of in the local churches.

"At five o'clock this morning, an 18-year-old young man from this village hung himself. He was the fifth suicide here in six weeks."

That's the news that greeted us as the On Eagles' Wings team arrived on our sixth reservation, the home of the firmly traditional "Andaro"* people. But if ever a place needed a Summer of Hope, this is it. Again, we've divided into two teams to enable us to reach the most possible people. The other team is with my son Brad, about four hours from here. They're traveling on the OEW bus; we're in five satellite vehicles.