…to hear the gospel.  Pastor Carlos had been able to live in the village with his wife and child…his wife being Ticuna Indian, and this was her village.  But this year, Dave & Denise Love (USA), and his team from Texas, accompanied by some local pastors, were warned to be careful. On Tuesday, the team traveled by boat to San Martin, Colombia, unaware that there had been a meeting in the village Monday night discussing the arrival of the missionary team.  Although they had already received permission to be there, when the team arrived, the security person in charge of who came and went into the village was unusually aggressive.  After some intense discussion, he let them stay.  The team walked to the meeting location to have a service with the believers. At the end of the service, a woman stood up and said, “I want to be baptized, and I want to be baptized today!” The team consulted with the local pastors.  They knew it was risky but believed they needed to respond to this woman’s request. So they all walked down to the river and baptized the first person in the San Martin village. After that baptism, the hostility escalated.  Word reached the team that if something happened to all of them the locals would not be responsible in any way.  A pastor pulled Dave aside and said, “We must leave soon. When hostilities are building among these tribal people, they can be talking to you or sitting watching you and suddenly stand up and start stabbing you. We are all at high risk, but if we leave Carlos and his wife, they most likely won’t live through the night.  We have to make a decision.” Together, they decided to evacuate Pastor Carlos and his family immediately.  Returning to the village put the team at risk. They quickly packed up the most important supplies and clothing that they could carry. They were all in tears, grieving because it appeared to be a victory for the enemy and a retreat. There wasn’t time to waste. They needed to get back to the boat without appearing hurried or worried. That whole walk back to the boat, they expected to be attacked. The team made it out safely and returned to Puerto Nariño. Apparently, the village had decided to kill Carlos and his family after the team left.  Carlos and his wife are now pastoring in another river village.

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