 News from Lima
June 5, 2005 Our dear praying friends, During a very productive six weeks in the Kashinawa village of Nueva Luz, we rejoiced to see many things of the Lord moving in good directions. First of all, the "church" is beginning to realize that they are going to be responsible to "earn their own way" in bringing a ministry to their people. This has been a revelation to them for they have had a deep underlying belief that they need a missionary with money to help them! We don't quite look at it that way, and neither do any of the other mission groups that have been helping with their ministry over the years. The "Welfare Program" is soon to end and we see healthy signs of ways they are seeking to begin financing the work of their growing church. Their Kashinawa Bible Institute was paid for by a friend of ours and by us, but that money has come to an end, and the rest is up to them. There are many ways they can earn money, such as by building and selling canoes and planting marketable crops. They also have carpentry supplies they can still use to build desks and there is a man who says he can paint the main building--used diesel oil is the "paint" of choice for keeping a building insect free and help it last in the jungle. There have been two very successful courses at the Kashinawa Bible Institute since it was completed in January, plus a visit from a missionary involved in the Swiss Bible Institute, where many of the pastors have been able to attend and graduate. The next course at the Kashinawa Bible Institute is scheduled for August, with all Kashinawa teachers. They expect students from the 18 Kashinawa villages in Peru and some of the Brazilian Kaxinawás, who will have to travel 4 day upriver to arrive. Each student for the month long course is to supply one gallon of gasoline to help with transporting students and supplies, pay about the equivalent of one day's labor (or what they receive from selling a large chicken) and bring some food. They have planted large gardens right next to the Bible Institute and the game is plentiful. As for Dick and me, we are working with separate teams on Old Testament translation, which keeps us going at double speed, and have now come to Lima with quite a lot of Scripture to check with our translation consultant. We are working towards translating 40% of the Old Testament in Selected Passages, with an edition to be done for the Peruvian Kashinawas and a second one for the Brazilian Kaxinawás. The alphabets between the two countries are quite different because the national language of Peru is Spanish and in Brazil it is Portuguese, and there are also some dialectical adaptations to be made. Just thinking about all the proper names to be changed gives me shivers! However, in that we have already completed two editions of the New Testament for the Kashinawas on both sides of the borders, and I learned a lot about the formatting involved, I know what is ahead and I do enjoy a lot of that detail work, so I guess that is good! We are anticipating completing the final check of the two editions of this translation simultaneously, with teams from both Peru and Brazil being in Nueva Luz with us in about a year from now. The World Bible League has very kindly agreed to publish the two edition of Selected OT Passages. Many of you will get a letter in the mail from us requesting your help in financing this, but I will attach the information at the bottom of this also, for many of you do not get our mailings. We have had one week of working with our translation consultant and have three more weeks to go during this time in Lima. We anticipate completing the checks of the selected portions of I and II Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, about 40 additional Psalms and part of Isaiah. We are very happy to be able to stay at the guest facility of the Wycliffe Bible translators and they have just made two lovely offices in time for us to use them. In the Kashinawa village we only have solar cell-battery power and cloudy days are really hard for us to keep one computer working. So we are overjoyed to both be able to work day and night on the computers and also have e-mail available to us. It is like going from a rustic campsite to a city office to work! Yes, we are coping with the changes just fine! Our three main Kashinawa co-translators, Roberto, Waldemar, and Tufí, joined us on the long bus ride from Pucallpa to Lima. We pass an area in the Andes with an altitude of 16,000 feet. It sounds very scenic but we all get altitude sickness and take Dramamine, and just "cope!" and then we are finally here, almost a day after leaving Pucallpa. Fortunately we generally pass through the highest altitude at night and can sleep through it, thanks to the Dramamine. It has long ceased to be a scenic trip, but rather what we have to do to get to and from Lima, for round trips for the five of us is just too expensive by plane. This is the beginning of winter weather in Lima now and it is cool and cloudy almost all the time, and sometimes we just can't get warm. Having come directly from the only too warm, humid jungle, this is quite a change, and the woolen sweaters sure feel good. Can you imagine a woolen sweater all day long in June! This has not kept us housebound, by any means, however. We have been to two lovely choir concerts from a group from a church in Knoxville, TN, have been invited to homes of the people from church, and do have to go to a little restaurant for our lunch and supper. There are many restaurants that serve "Menu" for about $1.70 each, and this includes a soup or salad, main course, pudding type of dessert and a fruit punch. It is good to get out and I just do not want to spend my time shopping and cooking. So, how can you pray?
We do gratefully appreciate your prayers for us and for many of you who give regularly for our financial support. You are keeping us at our work! We pray at least weekly for most of those of you who get this letter, and we love you for being with us in what the Lord has put before us.
Yours in Christ's love,
I would like to help in the support of the publication of Richard and Susan
Montags' "Selected Old Testament Portions" for the Kashinawa in Peru
and the Kaxinawá in Brazil: I understand that I will receive a tax deductible receipt for my gift(s) from SIL International for my gift. Signed: ______________________________
The check should be made out in US dollars to "SIL International" and
sent to:
International Publishing Services Coordinator
- June 11, 2005 |