September, 2004

Dear Praying Friends,

A wonderful time was had by one and all as we celebrated the publication of the Kashinawa New Testament for Peru and presented it to those gathered in Balta on August 9 and 10. They had come from many villages as representatives of their individual congregations and shared in our joy as we gave them their long-awaited New Testaments, and also lovely book marks brought by our dear friend Wilma, and new song books with over 150 songs written mostly by them.

The church in Balta and the next one upriver, in Santa Rey, had wonderful folkloric groups prepared with worshipful music. They had made new costumes for the occasion and practiced and practiced so that all would go just right.

We were greeted in the village with a big fiesta with all kinds of foods, and our courageous guests joined us in eating raw turtle eggs with yuca fariña, monkey meat, wild pig, yuca, a drink made from ripe cooking bananas, and whatever else came their way. Truly valiant visitors!

After spending the night in Balta, the men had the chance to join a community fishing party and see how they really like to fish. And then it was back on our plane from the South American Mission and we returned to Pucallpa. We were all pretty tired out by this time but the Lord kept us going and we kept packing in more and more things into a short time. Our friend Wilma and the pastor from our sending church in Dayton, TN and I flew to Lima the next day and I am now awaiting word that Dick and the director of Mission to the World's IMPACT program, under which we are working, will have a flight from the frontier town of Esperanza to Pucallpa, and then travel on to Lima. Our three co-translators will accompany Dick on the bus for a time of "doing Lima", after a very long time of working hard with little free time.

Another Halleluiah event is that the Brazilian New Testament adaptation was finished in Nueva Luz at the end of July, with even three days to spare, so the Brazilian men could re-read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke before returning downriver to Brazil. I will finish up the final proofreading within a week or so, and what a good feeling that will be!

Being in Lima now, I have gotten together all the documentation I will need to go for my Brazilian visa on Monday, in preparation for taking the New Testament for the Brazilian "Kaxinawá" to São Paulo, Brazil on September 24th, where it will be published by the Brazilian Bible Society. The Lord is providing quite a variety of people interested in distributing the Scriptures to the Brazilian Kaxinawá. Please do keep this whole ministry in your prayers. There has been little interest in the Gospel or the Scriptures among the Kaxinawá on the distant rivers, and this is where the biggest impact will need to be made. We anticipate some of the Peruvian Kashinawas will also help and one has been invited to a pastors' conference in Brazil to share with the national pastors and seek their support in Scripture distribution and to offer the opportunity for the Brazilian Kaxinawás to attend the almost completed Kashinawa Bible Institute, located about 3/4 hour downriver from Nueva Luz, where we live and work. They will be offering a 3-cycle course there, which will be preparatory for all believers but especially for those who want to become pastors or evangelists.

We want to express our overflowing thanks for your faithful prayers and financial gifts for us and ask you to pray with us for the following:

• Thank the Lord that the New Testament for the Peruvian Kashinawas is completed and now being distributed. Many of you have helped in this and we thank you very sincerely.
• Pray for many hearts to be open to receive their first copy of God's Word in their own language and to place their faith in Christ or rededicate themselves to Him.
• Thank the Lord that the dialectical adaptation for the Brazilian Kaxinawá (yes, a different spelling because they use a different alphabet) has been completed with a great group of Brazilian Kaxinawás familiar with the dialectical changes needed for those living on the more distant rivers in Brazil. Please pray for me as I go to São Paulo to work with the Brazilian Bible Society on getting it ready for publication.
• Pray for Dick as he stays behind, returns to Nueva Luz, and continues with Old Testament revision. I will join him ASAP and work with a second group of co-translators, also on the Old Testament. Dick has revised or retranslated what we had translated in the 1970's as far as Joshua and I have begun Psalms. We will work with two translation teams simultaneously, with Dick doing the Pentateuch (the first 5 books) and the historical books, and me doing the books of poetry and prophesy. We will do as much as we can, with our desire being to publish selected passages making up about 40% of the Old Testament at the end of 2006, at which time we are scheduled to be finished with our six year term in Peru.
• Pray for the Lord to fence in the translation teams and us from Satan's attacks. We are confronting him with the advancement of the Scriptures. Claim Christ's protecting power along with us.
• Pray for good health and endurance for the two teams to work long hours with good concentration, so we can move ahead well with our selected Old Testament portions.
• Pray for all the individual congregations to work together well and quickly bring to completion the building of the structures needed for the Kashinawa Bible Institute and for there to be many students ready to begin or continue with their course work there.

May the Lord's overflowing blessings be upon each of you. And remember with us as I John 2:6 says: "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."

Yours because of Calvary,

Sue

For Dick and Sue Montag

Write to us at:
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Montag
ILV, Apartado 52
Pucallpa, Peru, SA
RMontag@mtwla.org or dick-sue_montag@sil.org