March/April 2019 “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them.
March/April 2019
“Prepare yourself and be ready, you
and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them.
Ezekiel 38:7
The goal is everlasting life
with God in His house. The Means is His Son. The destination and the only route
are designed and prepared by the Savior, Himself, and offered freely to those
who come through the True and Living Way. He says: …I go to prepare a place
for you… and I am the way… John 14:1-6
The prophet Ezekiel, inspired by
God nearly 600 years before Jesus birth, proclaimed this exhortation to God’s
people to prepare themselves, and to prepare the companies all around.
His words were applicable then, and they are today.
The
children of all ages of the IBBM-Tepic OANSA club are learning day-by-day that
our chief end is to glorify our Creator. Every year, each group prepares
a segment to share on Praise Day with the companies that gather around. They
are hiding God’s Word in their hearts, preparing the “what,” and learning
the “what for,” which is to share it with others. 
The
super-dedicated team of Huichol mother-tongue-translators (MTTs) congregated
again in Tepic for the 44th Old Testament translation workshop. The
translation work has been completed, and they are working hard to fulfill the
requirement of an audio-version prior to approval for printing. They spent
three weeks this time reading and spot-checking entire books at a time, and the
audio is now 72% complete. Not only does the audio requirement help polish
possible remaining flaws for a final draft, but it also provides the Huichol
community with God’s Word in their heart language for their cell phones. Yes,
surprisingly, almost every family has a smartphone at their fingertips! 
Check
out the picture of the La Bendición congregation witnessing the baptism
of 24 new believers in their village! They may not have signal in their
mountain communities, but they can listen constantly to the uploaded Huichol
language Bible files. Prepared and ready!
The Huichol MTTs have
not been satisfied just to complete the Old Testament translation, but they
have insisted on reviewing and revising the New Testament, as well. Their
language has evolved substantially since it first was reduced to writing just
over 60 years ago, and now that they have translated the OT, the passages that
appear in both correspond perfectly. Their commitment to excellence comes at
great personal cost which they hardly even notice in preparing themselves and
getting God’s Word ready to share in their heart language with the companies
that are gathered. They stand on the
shoulders of their Godly shepherd, Pastor José López, the “Apostle Paul” of the
Sierra Madre, who celebrated his 74th birthday during this workshop.
José is ready,
prepared, and has spent his life as a believer in preparing companies for
the Kingdom. 
The plan for the Huichol
youth camp 2019, Jesus, Take the Reins of
my Life, was ready, preparation was completed, and a gathered
company of more than 140 young people heard God’s Word and learned how
to apply it and live out turning over the reins of their life to Jesus. Sixteen
of the attendees from various remote Huichol villages recognized their need to
trust Jesus to forgive and save them. 
The getting ready and prepared
for all of these blessed moments and changed lives is not something that
happens only locally. It requires collaboration from God’s people all over the
world who sincerely love Him and His plan and faithfully have a part in it.
Thank you for caring, praying, and standing guard so generously with these, our
brothers and sisters.
“Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. Ezekiel 38:7
posted by debbiemellberg @ 10:44 PM
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