March/April 2017 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:9

Huichol Camp 2017 - Brave Heart (Joshua)

Brave Heart

March/April 2017

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.  Joshua 1:9

These were marching orders for Joshua, the “Brave Heart” protagonist for the IBBM-Tepic 6^th annual Huichol youth camp last week. Joshua’s divine call to courage included: a clear task to perform, an imperative to be firm and faithful, an exhortation to depend solely on God’s Word, and a conditional promise of God’s presence and ultimate victory if he and his congregation would trust and obey. Likewise, the triumphs God provides today should come as no surprise when the marching orders have been faithfully obeyed by His followers.

The young people from the Tepic Church who generously sacrificed their spring break to serve with their whole hearts, the adult leaders who helped direct and administer the humanly-overwhelming logistics, the Huichol pastors and teachers who diligently studied and prepared the teaching times, the Huichol kitchen helpers who cheerfully contributed around 3,000 platefuls of savory nourishment, the team of big-hearted sponsors, and the Huichol young people who came to camp this year from nearly a dozen remote mountain villages all learned first-hand that, “Truly winning life’s battles is for committed and persevering Brave Hearts!” and the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.   

Salomón

By the way, if you’re following these bi-monthly prayer updates, this pictured camp teacher is “baby Salomón,” Emilia’s brother, from the Jan/Feb2017 episode. 

Faithfulness and obedience to God’s marching orders does not always bring about immediate victory, but the victory will be sure as promised. In May of 2004, Kirt sent out a prayer update highlighting and asking prayer for an open door for the Gospel in the remote Huichol village of Codorniz. He told the heart-wrenching story of a couple named Nicéforo and Zenaida and their little baby, Dieguito.  (*An excerpt from that prayer update from 13 years ago follows.) The marching orders were clearly given. The follow-up has been focused and determined. God’s Word and the spreading and teaching of it has been and is still a priority. The Lord God loves and has been with this army of “Brave Hearts” as He has promised, and the victory is at hand. Diego is now a teenager; for the first time, he’s eligible to attend the Huichol youth camp. His village church at Codorniz, only a dream 13 years ago, now has its own pastor, five Theological Education by Extension students, and they sent eight campers this year. Diego still suffers some from his birth defect, but he knows undoubtedly that God’s Word teaches him to be strong, courageous, not to be frightened or dismayed, for Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

The Huichol youth camp is over, but the Brave Heart celebrations never end. A day after camp, the village church of Loma Alta hosted a Resurrection celebration. Seven brand new believers from the baby church in the village of El Espejo followed their Savior in baptism. A few months ago, María was deathly ill. The gangrenous infection in her foot had begun to spread rapidly, and her body was so swollen she could not move. Her family had sacrificed much to pay off the local shaman for healing, but to no avail. Finally, her husband, Ascensión, and their daughter, Eulalia, decided to transport her to Tepic to the General Hospital. A month prior, Pastor Tino and a little band of missionaries from Loma Alta had traveled to El Espejo to share the Gospel. Most of the villagers rejected, including Ascensión, but Eulalia and her mother believed. When María was hospitalized, her daughter called Pastor Tino and asked him to come from his village to pray for them. Tino, Daniel, and Casimiro went quickly, and Ascensión was furious. He left for his village, 13 hours from Tepic, expecting never again to see his wife, Maria, alive. The missionaries prayed for María, placing their faith in the one-and-only Healer. Shortly after, her toe had to be amputated, but the infection was stopped, and she was able to return to her village. Ascensión sent for Pastor Tino, now convinced of his need to believe only in the one, true Kakaɨyari. UIM-Aviation pilots gave Tino, María, and Lidia a lift to Tutuyekuamama, an airstrip 2 ½ hours hike from El Espejo, and the little band of missionaries, again, carried the Way, the Truth, and the Life to the villagers. Ascensión gave his heart to his Savior, and he and his family committed themselves to travel to Loma Alta to be baptized on Resurrection weekend. 

There were so many Huichol believers in Loma Alta for the celebration, it was almost impossible to get a picture of Ascensión and his family members as they were being baptized. But the very best shots were of those faithful, Brave Heart missionaries who could hardly stop crying as they welcomed the new believers into the family. 

María

Pastor Tino

Lidia

Along with that exemplary Brave Heart, Joshua, may we determine to the end to be faithful and obedient to the clearly assigned task (outrageous as it may seem), solely dependent and focused on the promise and presence of the One Who opens the doors (irrational as that may sound), and peacefully expectant of the provision of victory in the conquest (made possible only by the supernatural power of the Lord our God who goes before).

Choosing with courage this day Whom we will serve… “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”     Joshua 24:15

*Nicéforo, Zenaida and Dieguito

May 10, 2004

This past February, three very faithful Huichol leaders landed in a small, chartered bush plane on a rugged, dirt air patch just beyond the border of our state, Nayarit. The object of their journey was to teach a first-level discipleship series to a small group of believers in the little village called Codorniz, located eight hours hike from the airstrip. Our prayers have been to reach out to more villages like this one.  When a pastor friend from Oregon made a visit with us last year, we stood in the remote village of Zapote de Picachos at the summit of a high mountain and looked off to the regions beyond where the Huichol pastors pointed out the places to which they wanted to carry the Gospel. We asked the question, “How would you get there?” They told us of a costly, but feasible plan to fly small teams in by bush planes. My friend said, “We want to sponsor the next few trips to those areas.” So it was. Now two trips have been made, and we are preparing a group for a third trip in June.

On this last trip, a very special thing happened in the village of Codorniz. A young couple indicated that they too, wanted to follow Christ. The young man, Nicéforo, and his wife, Zenaida, had recently had their first baby. Dieguito was born with a severe cleft lip and palate. The local, Huichol shaman told them that the baby had been cursed because Zenaida’s father is a believer. He warned them not to follow her father’s way in Codorniz.

Debbie and I met the family last month in the village of Salvador Allende where believers from several mountain villages came together for a joyous celebration of the Resurrection. Nicéforo and Zenaida believe that Jesus is the only Savior from their sinful condition, and they followed His example and were baptized. When we saw their little baby, who is now almost six months old and only weighs about eight pounds because he cannot eat properly due to his deformity, I offered to accompany them to the hospital in Tepic. We did not know it at the time, but they had made the exhausting, expensive trip to Tepic three times in failed attempts to get help for their baby. We agreed a week ago last Monday to meet at the General Hospital at 9:00 AM. When I arrived at the hospital, Nicéforo and Zenaida were sitting outside on the front steps of the hospital looking very sad. They told me in their halting Spanish, “They have rejected us again… this is the fourth time in four months.  They told us to ‘come back next month.’” No way! I told them to follow me, and we walked straight to the hospital director’s office. I had met him on a previous occasion by phone and was determined to get into his office. His secretaries did everything they could to dissuade me, but I took baby Dieguito from his mother’s arms and pulled the blanket off his face and body. “This little baby cannot eat! He is the size of a newborn! Imagine if he were your baby!” The ruckus was a little intense, and within minutes the director of the hospital came out to see what was going on... Before long, we were directed to a pediatric surgeon who examined the baby and ordered, “I want this baby admitted today, and I will personally do the surgery at 8:00 AM tomorrow.”  

Nicéforo and Zenaida will be going back to Codorniz with their healthy, beautiful baby Dieguito in about ten days. Imagine the impact on a people who were told that they were cursed… because of their faith in Jesus. Please pray for them and for all the new opportunities that will arise because of those who were willing to go… and those who were willing to send.  Thank you for your participation.