The Festival Week Begins in Trujillo, Peru!
Our Team has arrived safe and sound in Trujillo, Peru with only minor flight delays. Here are some images of the experience so far. Please continue to pray for open doors and hearts!
Please like Festival Por La Vida Facebook page and tune in at 4:00 P.M. PST Friday and Saturday to WATCH THE FESTIVAL LIVE!
The Trujillo town center
Mike speaking at the Marriage Conference
Dr. Jaime Miron sharing a message at the Marriage Conference
Mike and team praying with the General of the Police
Local Transportation
Local Marketplace
A local sugarcane factory that operates 24 hours a day. Sugarcane and asparagus are two large crops in Trujillo.
Watch the Latest from Trujillo, Peru!
As you know, this year, November 18-19, we have the opportunity to practice and proclaim the love of Jesus in Trujillo, Peru. Our Spanish World Team is reporting breakthroughs among church leaders who’ve held 20 year grudges. We are witnessing a hunger for the Word of God. And, we are experiencing a community that is overwhelmed by a depressed economy.
We are so excited for the coming months as we prepare for the festival.
Please Join with us in praising God for all He is already doing in Trujillo, Peru.
CLICK HERE to learn more about Trujillo.
Gateway School of Evangelism – Class of 2016
God’s Legacy is shaped by those He sends. Just as Jesus has made me a disciple, I have also been called to make disciples. This is a task I cannot take lightly. Gateway School of Evangelism is our answer to that call.
Last month we completed our second module of MSI’s Gateway School of Evangelism and we are in awe of all God did! Fourteen individuals from six nations came for nine intensive days of equipping to “do the work of an evangelist” in their world. Hearing their stories and getting to know them we can see that God is fast at work preparing the way for the Gospel to be carried to every city, every nation, and every corner of the Spanish World. The mission of Gateway is to equip, train, and send out effective evangelists. We believe this next generation has the capacity to reach so many more, and to carry on the life giving work of evangelism.
It was truly an honor to get to serve these students. This was possible in no small part due to your prayers and continued partnership. At MSI we want to build upon God’s Legacy. We thank you for coming alongside us in this powerful call and ever humbling work.
Join The Team Today
For many of us the more we pray for a city, a people, a cause, a mission, the more passionate about it we become. So, as you partner with us to pray for Trujillo, Peru, We would not be surprised if you want to get more involved!
One of the ways you can do that is by coming with us to Trujillo this November! If you join the U.S. Serve Team, you will have the privilege of looking into the faces and sharing the love of Jesus with those you’ve spent these months praying for.
By joining the serve team, you’ll become an integral part of practicing and proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to thousands of Peruvians. It’s an action-packed, high intensity week of serving. Some of the ways you’d share the love of Jesus are:
- Visiting orphanages— distributing gifts to kids who may not receive another gift all year.
- Deliver basic supplies like food and sanitation items to remote, underdeveloped villages in and around Trujillo.
- Participating in various Compassion Aid projects.
- Perform dramas, tell stories, and share your testimony at area schools.
- Attend the Festival— witnessing hundreds say YES to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
If you’re interested in learning more about joining the U.S. Serve Team, click on the picture above to hear Patty’s story. Or to apply, please contact my daughter, Jenna at: jenna@mikesilva.org
Special Audio Message From Mike
We have the wonderful privilege to serve at Discovery Church in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota this weekend, as part of their missions month. Pray that the Holy Spirit moves powerfully here at Discovery Church, and for a great awakening on a global scale in the coming year. Our heart is to bring the life giving Good News of Jesus Christ. We serve an Almighty God, who is capable of so much more than we could ever imagine.
“The lord replied, ‘Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.’”
(Habakkuk 1:5 NLT).
Mike Silva
Trujillo, Peru Festival November 18 & 19 2016
The CITY
Trujillo lies along the northwestern coastal region of Peru and is the second most populous city of the country. It is a city with ancient roots. Some archeologists believe the earliest civilization in the region dates back to 4700 BC. La Libertad Region, which surrounds Trujillo, has been a cradle of indigenous culture for millennia.
Trujillo, amidst its beautiful heritage, is also a broken place. Infectious disease, underemployment, and systemic societal issues plague the region. Although Trujillo is a culturally rich and scenically beautiful city, there are a number of great obstacles and threats to the local people and its countrymen:
In 2012, Peru surpassed neighboring Colombia as the world’s largest producer of coca, the raw material for cocaine. Peru has since stepped up eradication aggressively, and has made great progress—coca production last year was at its lowest level since 1998 – making Colombia once again, the world’s leading producer at present and Peru now number two. But the problems Peru faces with its drug trade are still very serious. One consequence of Peru’s position in the global drug trade has been a rise in international cartel operations there. Mexican cartels dominate, operating particularly in northern Peruvian coastal cities such as Chimbote, Trujillo and Tumbes resulting in a massive increase in violence around these cities.
Families who fall below the poverty line are living on about $1.90 per day. The average annual income for most Peruvians is a little over $6,000/year or about $500/month. Many villages currently live without clean, safe drinking water, contributing to many unnecessary health problems that plague its people.
The NEED
In a place of many physical needs, there is an even greater need—a spiritual one
. 76.9% of the 949,000 people in Trujillo identifies as Catholic. The Evangelical population is estimated at 15%, while the remainder claims non-religious, Atheist, or other. This means over 800,000 people are living without Hope and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ! For the evangelist, this means cast those nets… the fishing will be good!
The DETAILS
Counselor Training and Follow-up: In the months leading up to the festival, MSI staff and partners are training thousands of counselors throughout the city to assist decision-makers who respond in a commitment to Christ at the Festival and the Churches who will be receiving these new converts and discipling them in their newfound faith.
Compassion Aid: We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ and demonstrate His love for people by meeting very real and significant physical needs.
Our Serve Team will spend the week reaching out to local schools, orphanages, prisons, rescue missions, deaf communities, etc., sharing the love of Christ in a variety of ways with both word and deed. There is a great need in a number of the smaller villages for clean, safe water so our goal is to sponsor 1-2 water well projects, funds permitting.
Two-Night Festival: At the core of our outreach is the evangelistic festival on Friday and Saturday (November 18 & 19). The Festival is completely sponsored by generous MSI donors in order to make this a free event for the city. Big name and widely popular Music Artists draw the crowds in excitement for a free concert by their favorite music groups. Mike Silva is then given the platform to proclaim the Gospel message in a clear, compelling and culturally relevant way. As people respond to the invitation, our trained counselors help us collect names and addresses of decision makers that will be passed along to the local Churches for effective follow-up and discipleship.
Saturday night kicks off with our family festival called FestiKids. Families enjoy face painting, games, large inflatables, music performances, and much more. And the Gospel is once more presented and an invitation given to receive Christ.
Legacy: One of our great passions is investing in other Pastors, Evangelists and Next Generation leaders who will then all go out and each reach even more people for Christ. Talk about a high return on our investment! Our outreach in Trujillo will include a special Pastors and Leaders conference which will focus on evangelism, leadership and discipleship training. Because access to training is either unavailable or not affordable, MSI provides this ministry at no cost to attendees.
For more information on partnering with MSI, please contact Jenna Silva at jenna@mikesilva.org
or 503-614-1565.
CLICK HERE if you would like to join the U.S. Serve Team.
Cuba Audio Report
Thanks to all of you and your continued prayers and support, Mike Silva International was able to travel to Caimanera and Guantánamo City, Cuba. This was a historic moment for both MSI and evangelism as we were among the first to preach publically in Cuba since the Revolution in 1959, and the response to the Gospel was incredible! It’s amazing to be in the presence of people desperate for God. People flooded the streets and many, many made decisions to follow Christ right then and there. It was truly a blessing to see.
Afterward, I was speaking with my good friend Bayron Lechuga, Festival Director for MSI, whom I had the privilege of being there with. I asked him, “How do we explain this [overwhelming] response to the Gospel [To all of you back home].”
He responded,“Tell them it’s because no one has ever fished it [Cuba] before.”
Please continue to pray for Cuba; the time is now!
“Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does”
(Psalm 96:3 NLT).
Mike Silva
Historic Trip to Cuba!
God is answering one of the wildest prayers I’ve ever prayed: to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ openly in Cuba!
For the first time the government has approved a religious event outside the confines of the church. They have given us the largest public venue in Caimanera and a theater in Guantanamo. I will be traveling with 11 others, including seven other pastors. Juan Carlos Rodriguez, singer songwriter producer and Latin award winning performing artist from the husband wife duo Tercer Cielo (Third Heaven) is also one of the eleven. It will be his first time performing in Cuba and we’ve been receiving reports that the people are ecstatic!
We recently heard from a local pastor that the government is implementing crowd control measures because people as far away as Santiago are planning to attend the events.
Would you please pray for me, that I would preach the Gospel with boldness and power? Please pray for the hearts of the people of Cuba, many of whom will hear the Good News of Jesus for the first time. And most of all, pray that God’s Name would be lifted high.
For His Kingdom,
Mike Silva
