In my last post, I shared the exciting news of a people group that now has God's Word in their language, thanks to years of effort by our coworkers. I also mentioned that I tagged along to the dedication conference as photographer and driver of students.
The purpose of taking the Etnos students was twofold: (1) to give them an opportunity to see the results of successful cross-cultural ministry and participate in an important (exciting!) step in the process and (2) to be a blessing through service. Before the conference started, the students did a lot of the labor to get the chapel and guestrooms ready and set up dining tents.
Etnos gals sweeping out guest rooms
Cleaning and prepping the chapel
Etnos guys cutting bamboo for tent poles
Progress!
1 of 2 dining tents
However, the students' main role during the weekend was to prepare and serve 3 meals per day, so that the Simba ladies could enjoy the meetings! With max attendance approaching 200 people, it was a lot of work!
The kitchen was a beehive of continual Etnos busyness!
Armed and ready to serve! :D
Chop, chop, chop!
The gloomy weather couldn't dampen the emotion of the weekend (or the hot soup!)
Several of the students also found other ways to get involved:
Jilmer and Luis accompanied the singing times on guitar
Yovana spearheaded a program for the kids with some of the other gals
Nathaly with her little buddies
Songs and stories for the kids, in spite of the rain
Ignacio (top left) running the book table
All told, it was a great weekend in several ways. We had new experiences, got to know each other better, and provided a service to our brothers and sisters Simba Guaraní.
At the end of May, after more than 16 years of work, the Simba Guaraní people received a translation of the Bible that they can read and understand.
John 3:16 in Simba Guaraní
Our coworkers have had an active presence with the Simba since the mid '90s. As they finished learning the language, they realized that the people needed a relevant translation in their own language. They began work and last year officially finished, 16 years later! The translation includes the entire New Testament as well as portions of the Old Testament that are critical to understanding God, humanity, sin, and redemption. It went to print earlier this year and at the end of last month, they held a dedication conference.
Our missionary team working with the Simba Guaraní
Although the dedication was for the Simba Guaraní believers themselves, I (Nathan) had the privilege to attend as photographer and driver. The driving role was needed because we took most of the Etnos training students so they could be put to work! More on that in a future post.
The conference was Friday through Sunday, with the actual dedication ceremony first thing Friday morning. As you might imagine, it is no easy task to translate Scripture, so Jack and Bill, the two main translators, presented a copy of the new translation to each one of the Simba people that helped them during the process, as a gift to thank them for their service.
Jack and Bill with their translation helpers
Julio dedicating the new translation to God's work in prayer
Now, it's one thing to have a new book and the ability to read, but studying to understand is a different matter altogether! After the presentation, Bill walked everyone through the features of the book itself -- table of contents, footnotes, concordance, maps, etc. The following day, he and his wife Kathleen did an introduction to inductive Bible study and went through several texts to demonstrate the process.
Intro to the inductive Bible study method
The rest of the weekend was spent praising God and studying His Word together, led by Simba church leaders! It was so exciting to see these men teaching their people.
Of course, the most exciting aspect of it all was seeing so many believers eagerly following along in their new Bibles!
The weekend wrapped up with the Lord's Supper, celebrated together as brothers and sisters -- Simba Guaraní, Bolivian nationals, and foreigners. What a beautiful foreshadowing of eternity!
I recently had the opportunity to visit Urubichá again after almost 3 years. When our ministry plans changed direction in 2013, I made a rather hasty exit -- packed up the Patrol, threw all my tools and gear in the trailer, and hit the road for Santa Cruz. Although the transition to ministry at Etnos has been bittersweet at times, I haven't truly regretted that decision.
However, I was excited to go back for several reasons:
1. Since I left, Emilio and Marlen have finished culture/language study and started writing chronological Bible lessons. They have a small group of believers meeting in their patio each Sunday and have a kids' program on Saturdays. I was eager to see and hear how things are going for them. 2. Margarita joined the team about a year and a half ago, and Eliana moved out there in June. The purpose of the trip was to evaluate their progress in the Guarayo language. My role was to accompany Judy, our language consultant, and learn how to do evaluations, a natural extension of what I am already doing in the training center! 3. My parents are here for a few months to visit us and help around Etnos and I was able to take them along. They haven't spent much time out of the city on this side of the country, so it was a great opportunity to introduce them not only to a place so important to me as Urubichá, but all of the countryside along the 210 mile trip as well.
The Guarayos team (l-r): Eliana, Margarita, Esteban, Emilio, Ninoska, and Marlen
On the trip out to the village, it occurred to me that this was the first time I was going to Guarayo country withoutplanning to live there. That realization gave me the freedom to look at everything through different eyes and I found myself much more relaxed. I definitely took a lot more photos (Click here to see 80 of the best).
We drove on Saturday and arrived just before the kids' program. They were having a special game day to encourage more kids to come, and there were a ton! The younger ones and the gals played board games while Emilio reffed a soccer tournament for the older boys.
On Sunday, we joined the group in the family's patio. Unfortunately, most of the congregation was at a big event at another, Spanish-speaking church in town. Even so, we enjoyed our time and were treated to several Guarayo worship songs, a violin duet by Esteban and Ninoska, and Emilio teaching in Guarayo.
On Monday, the work started. Judy and I spent a couple hours with Eliana that morning, asking her to do a variety of activities using the Guarayo words and phrases she knows. Then, in the afternoon, we invited a bilingual Guarayo lady to come listen to the recordings and talk to us about how Eliana speaks. We also visited a couple from the church, Hermenegildo and Matilde, to get their perspective. She is doing great!
Judy, Eliana, and Rafaela
Urubichá is known for making the best hammocks in Bolivia. Matilde is finishing the one in the background.
On Tuesday, it was Margarita's turn! She is also advancing very well! She is fairly well conversational and speaks rather fluidly.
Judy, Margarita, and Esther
Of course, no trip to Urubichá would be complete without going to the baroque music institute!
A highlight for us was to find Esteban giving a violin lesson to a 5-year old student.
Behind the music institute, there is an artisan institute that offers woodcarving classes for the men and weaving, sewing, and needlework classes to the gals.
Guarayo men hand-carve wooden boxes to sell
Guarayo girls with their needlework samplers
Eliana is using the weaving institute as an opportunity to spend time with the ladies, building crucial relationships and listening to language as she weaves. She recently started a new bag and showed us the process of setting up the vertical threads on the loom.
That evening, we spent some time on the plaza and stopped in to see the church and watch the Urubichá youth choir practice for the following night's performance.
The region's reliance on timber and woodcarving shines through, even in the Catholic church
On Wednesday, our final day in town, Judy and I spent some time talking over the results of the evaluations with the gals, giving them suggestions for how to continue improving in their studies. We visited the Rio Blanco in the afternoon.
That evening, we went back to the plaza and joined a packed house for a performance by the choir. They sang an amazing rendition of the Kyrie from Domenico Zipoli's Missa in F.
Our plan for Thursday was to take some final photos of the team and hit the road by 8:00am for the ~7 hour drive home. We had been gone for 5 days already, and I was eager to be back with Kaylee and the girls. We were also taking Eliana and Margarita back to Santa Cruz with us, for a missions conference that started that evening!
However, first thing that morning we got news that there was a big blockade in San Julian, a town about halfway home. Apparently, the soy and sunflower growers were upset about prices, among other things, and applied Bolivia's normal form of protest: block the highway until the government agrees to help. I was unsure how to proceed -- whether we should stay another night and see if it died down, or go look for a way to go around.
Then Emilio got a phone call, in which he learned that a group in Urubichá was planning to block the highway in Ascención due to a timber dispute. So we decided to get out of Dodge.
We drove as far as El Puente, home of Bolivia's nicest gas station (in my opinion). After fueling up, I asked about a way to get around San Julian and one of the old timers told me about a route that cut cross-country to Montero. I have often wanted to find a way through there, so of course we decided to try it! :D
Lunch in Nucleo 29
It was an exciting, crazy drive through farm country on bumpy, dusty roads. We had no map, no GPS (mine was stolen recently), no road signs, and for most of the journey, no cell coverage. I lost track of how many times I stopped and asked people for directions. We had to flip a couple of U-turns, but we never got truly lost and never got bad directions.
For me, the highlight of the trip was crossing the Rio Grande on a barge, my first time!
The AC conked out around noon, so the inside was just as dirty as the outside! We made it home in 10.5 hours, hot, filthy and exhausted, with just enough time to shower, change, and grab a bite to eat before the conference started!!
I spent some time on Google Earth figuring out as much of the route that I could. Due to a recent, significant change in the course of the river, I was unable to complete the center section, but it gives the idea. :)
