Dear Friends,
First of all, we the Ferguson family want to wish each one of you a
very blessed and merry Christmas. We pray that somehow you will find
the hope that became a reality at the very real birth of Jesus, to
become even more real in your life as we celebrate Emanuel. And He is
still with us!
We've been back from Lajas a week now and have been busy with letter
writing, card sending and getting back into the run of things here. We
had a good time in Lajas, although difficult as well. There is the constant run on visitors which takes time adjusting to, and then trying to keep four kids sufficiently entertained also is a strain. Anne Marie's days are full trying to keep a family fed and clothed without a washing machine or running water. Currently we fill two 44 gallon drums with a hose from the closest water faucet around, from there we filter the water for drinking. For washing clothes, bathing or doing dishes, we heat water on a two burner gas stove or on the wood heater. Unfortunately, quite often the water isn't running through the pipes, and we are forced to get water in buckets from a spring about 500 yards away. We've heard the village will be improving their water system, and so hopefully we will set up running water in the near future.
The main task we face on a day to day level is language learning. Living in the village makes this much easier, but waking up and facing yet another day of studying language isn't the most exciting prospect. At times it can get quite boring. Being with the Tepehuan, speaking their language, and trying to learn more is the fun part, but the long hours of looking at notes and listening to recordings, organizing notes and recordings on the computer, trying to figure out the grammar and then making up a dictionary, all this at times can get very tedious and tiring. Its very easy find other things that need to be done like making another pot of coffee before drinking the one you just made. At the same time, we realize that it will be very difficult communicating the Gospel to the Tepehuan if we can't speak their language, and this spurs us on. Pray for us as we undergo this difficult stage of the process.
One day a Tepehuan man called Angel dropped by. We had some coffee,
and after a while we got round to talking about some of the violence that had taken place in the village over the past few years. He felt God was punishing the Tepehuan and began asking some pointed questions on why God punishes us. We explained that God wasn't specifically punishing Lajas, and then had a great opportunity to explain to him about sin, punishment and God's provision of salvation. He seemed very
interested and said he would like to talk more. We explained what we
could in Tepehuan and the rest in Spanish and so it is hard to know how much he was able to understand, but we know God works through His
Spirit and we pray that not only one day will Angel get to hear the good news of Jesus in his own language, but that his eyes will be opened and He will trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.
It has been a big year with much happening. As a team we have managed
to get our houses built in Lajas, and are able to live out there for two to three week intervals. We've made big inroads into the language and through the Lords hand, we seem to have been accepted into village life in Lajas. All this seemed such an impossibility not too long ago. None of this has been easy and there have been plenty of times where we have wanted to give it all away, but God has been faithful in sustaining us. A major reason why we are still here is because of all who pray for us and support us. We're so thankful for such a caring and interested team that is behind us and for us. We are looking ahead to a great year of seeing the Lord work in mighty ways in 2007. Thank you so much for being with us.
For Jesus,
Andrew, Anne Marie, Joseph, Madeline, Julian and Sophia
...
December 2006 letter
