Ayacucho (with Audio)

Huamanga, Ayacucho...

Over 260,000 people in the heart of the Andes Mountains. This is a city that knew great suffering during the decades of the '80s and '90s, as the Shining Path terrorist movement stretched its tentacles from this Department (State) into all of Peru. Thank God, they were finally defeated to a large extent, but over 75,000 people lost their lives during the conflict.

I looked out over these streets tonight from my hotel window...

And wondered what stories they could tell, should they speak. They were most certainly soaked in much human blood, for years. People here and from here tell how they were afraid to stick their heads out of their doors; how a walk to the store or market, or anywhere, meant stepping over dead bodies – every time.

Now, the same enemy is trying to make a comeback, just hours from here by road. They are attacking police and army patrols, extorting money from travelers, and running drugs to finance their activities. Even more insidiously, they are in the colleges and universities from here to Lima, filling young minds with their godless doctrines. Should they read these words, no doubt they would not be very pleased with the writer. And they don't play nice.

What will stop them?

The Gospel. It is the "Power of God unto salvation to all that believe." Nothing can stop the Gospel – and there is nothing that the Gospel can't stop.

Just ask Rufino Cullahuacho (Koo-ya-WAH-cho).

When a battalion of 80 terrorists came to "skewer" four pastors and decimate their congregations at a fellowship meeting, God responded by filling the house with His glory - and the congregants literally danced the (jungle reed-built) walls out of the church building! They didn't even know till much later about 80 men on a path, bent on spilling their blood. The area commander of the terrorists stared down his own men, and told them that if they proceeded, they would do so "over his dead body." 

They backed down - and two months later, that Shining Path area commander was gloriously born again of water and Spirit!

The Gospel IS the answer –– and Huamanga (AKA Ayacucho City), Ayacucho's hundreds of thousand need to hear it now. 

Thank God, there IS a holiness-preaching church body in Huamanga, albeit a small one that meets in a borrowed building:

Pastor Víctor Gutiérrez (R)

They are still small – but they love God, respond to teaching, and God is helping them. They have been through battles (including groups who are walking away from holiness and righteousness, who pull at them and pressure them to join them), but they soldier on.

It's regional conference time, which is why I'm here. I preached tonight - and how they responded. We experienced a beautiful move of the Holy Ghost.

You can listen to them welcoming me and then singing tonight in Quechua, the language of the Andes), here (Audio only); their heartfelt singing and simple, beautiful words always move me deeply. The man speaking is Bro. Rufino Cullahuacho:

Please pray for this conference and area. They need revival. Ayacucho needs the Gospel!!