May/June 2010

“...walk worthy of the Lord...being fruitful in every good work...increasing in the knowledge of God...[being] strengthened with all might...giving thanks unto the Father...” Colossians 1:10-12

For nearly a year, Huichol leaders have been planning and praying for God’s perfect timing in making a training, discipleship, evangelistic, edifying trip to the village of Codorniz, a village located at the core of the Sierra Madre Mountain range at the most distant boundary of the state of Nayarit and what seems like the edge of the end of the world. May 13, twelve select Huichol “missionaries” from 3 different villages, some experienced and some missionary apprentices, joined efforts and traveled to the remote mountain village of Codorniz with the “Good News.” Four of the missionaries, including José López* who is now unable to hike long distances through the mountains, were airlifted by a UIM plane to the nearest airstrip. Thank you, UIM! The other 8 took buses and rode in the back of a local’s pick-up truck as far as they could go then hiked to Codorniz. In addition to many hours of Bible teaching, 22 Huichols asked for forgiveness of their sin and were baptized. See pictures taken by José here.

*José López, who is on the team for Huichol Old Testament translation and is the lead pastor among the Huichols, has a severe knee problem. We have tried every possible option we can find to avoid surgery, but the orthopedic surgeon says it is inevitable. He is scheduled for a pre-op appointment with the surgeon on July 10, then he will be assigned a “probable” day for this very difficult surgery. In the meantime it is our responsibility to locate and “rent” the stainless steel surgical equipment (frame, rings, rods and pins) that he will need. Please pray with us for wisdom, a skillful surgeon, patience, provision, and complete healing for José.

The Tepic OANSA (AWANA) Club celebrated the end of the 2009-2010 term with the annual visit from Sparky on Awards Day. The kids were excited to receive the medals they have been working hard to earn all year; and we leaders are elated to know that each award represents the hiding of God’s Word in the tender hearts of the children with whom we have been working. Then we exerted one last effort for the year to prepare the OANSA Fair the following Saturday afternoon when each clubber got to spend his or her hard-earned OANSA pesos on games, prizes, ice cream, cotton candy and other treats. See fair pictures here.

Four brand new exemplary leaders-in-training have fulfilled all the requirements for becoming full-fledged leaders. All 4 started out as Cubbies, completed all the OANSA manuals, completed a 16-week discipleship class, completed a year of internship and now, at last, they have been awarded the privilege of serving in the OANSA club as official group leaders!

“...walk worthy of the Lord...being fruitful in every good work...increasing in the knowledge of God...[being] strengthened with all might...giving thanks unto the Father...” Colossians 1:10-12

The 12th Huichol Old Testament translation workshop is officially over. This session was a whirlwind of activity and productivity, as usual, with plenty of obstacles to overcome. Generous donors through The Seed Company made brand new laptops available for 3 of the mother-tongue-translators as well as 3 mobile satellite internet terminals, an amazing technical innovation that I’m still finding hard to believe. Basically, in the most remote villages, the project translators are able to access a satellite beam; and to make a long story short, though they have no electricity in their huts, they can have internet connectivity and get instant consultant help on puzzling passages! Picture that! So, John Wimbish and Joe Grimes worked together to get each consultant his/her own email address and instruct them in sending simple emails via satellite. See a slideshow of workshop activities here.

The latest email correspondence from Román in the village of La Quemada was directed to Joe Grimes. Román is working on the books of Isaiah and the Psalms. One of his questions was: “How do I translate ‘Ah,’ like in Isaiah 1:4?” (“Ah sinful nation...”) Imagine you are a Huichol living in the middle of the Sierra Madre Mountains; where would you go to find that answer? As insignificant as it may seem, it’s important; it’s part of God’s Word. In minutes he had his answer, no hikes from the village to the bus, no 13-hour bus ride to Tepic, no taxi to Debbie’s house, no minimum of 3 wasted days...

“...walk worthy of the Lord...being fruitful in every good work...increasing in the knowledge of God...[being] strengthened with all might...giving thanks unto the Father...” Colossians 1:10-12