June 2004 trip report
Hi from Durango! Joseph and I are glad to report in well after our
trip to Lajas. We left Tuesday morning the 15th, and arrived back
in Durango Thursday the 24th being gone a total of 10 days. Unfortunately the spray we took along to kill scorpions did little more than annoy them. I think we killed 8 of the 10 scorpions we saw in the house. Suffice to say, we opted to sleep in the back of the truck. While we were out there, a total of 8 Tepehuan were stung by scorpions and ended up at the clinic for the anti-venom. Emiliano (you may remember him as a previous governor whom we helped out with a set of dentures) was way out in the mountains and was stung by a scorpion. After running his way back into Lajas, he only just made it to the clinic before passing out. He received the anti-venom, but it was touch and go. He is lucky to be alive, and he spent a number of days in bed recuperating. They say it has been one of the worst years so far for scorpions in Durango.
Joseph and I did allot of walking, visiting the many Tepehuan friends and families we know. One day we went with Calistro in our truck to bring in a load of firewood. Nearly every afternoon thunderstorms would sweep in off the mountains. On one particular occasion, we could see a storm building up all day to the east, by about 5:00 P.M. we could see it rapidly approaching. We took out the video camera to get some footage, and no sooner had we turned the camera on, lightning struck a tree about 600 yards away up on the hill. Needless to say, within a split second we were back inside the house waiting out a brutal storm and many close lightning strikes. Tepehuan believe that if lightning strikes close to you, that god is angry at you.
Unfortunately there has been no progress with the airstrip. It is still uncertain as to whether the village will go ahead and reregister and repair the strip. We continue to pray that it will happen, and if there is no progress in the next two months, we may have to look at registering it ourselves.
We are very appreciative of your prayers for the time we were out there. One night in particular we were grateful for the Lord's protection. I was talking with Marselo the son of our closest neighbor. He pretty much only speaks Tepehuan. All of a sudden he said, "Ar jix maimkam", which means "drunkard" in Tepehuan. He then said, "Aguas", which means "be careful" in Spanish, and then he disappeared. It is not uncommon to see a drunk walking around Lajas, and for the most part they don't bother anyone. However, when people head inside their house and shut the door when certain drunks are in the area, it usually means these are dangerous people, and possibly armed. Two drunk guys headed up the hill and then headed towards our house. I would've gone inside and shut the door but Joseph was playing with a friend 300 yards away down from our house, and I had no time to get him, and to call out would've just advertised the fact. I waited as inconspicuously as possible by our truck, hoping they would pass by and not stop. Unfortunately they noticed me, and I was forced to engage.
We greeted in Tepehuan, and for the first few seconds everything seemed to be pretty chummy, then all of a sudden the atmosphere changed. One drunk walked away a distance and the other began intently questioning me as to our purpose in Lajas. I answered all his questions, but he seemed not to understand and became increasingly more angry and aggressive. A distressing factor was that his right hand rested on a large knife in his belt, the size of which meant that it might have previously been owned by Goliath himself. There was also a bulge under his shirt, which meant he may have been carrying a gun. My main concern was the knife, as his hand seemed to tighten around it the angrier he got. He said that we should not be coming to Lajas, that Secundino should not loan us the house, and that he was going to run us out of town. His threats were made in a mix of Tepehuan and Spanish, and so if killing me was mentioned, mercifully I didn't pick it up. Needless to say, I was very afraid, and my heart was discovering a new dimension of pounding. I was also a little perturbed and angry myself, as here I was pouring my life out to help these people, bringing in free dental aid and much more, and here a drunk, who has done nothing to help anyone, wants to run us out of town. I discussed this fact with him and asked him why, but this only aggravated him more. My pocket knife was no match for his sword, and so I had planned, if his knife left its sheath, out would come a piece of my oak firewood. His threats got worse and my praying got more desperate, and eventually out of nowhere came the courage to tell him I was sick of talking about me being a problem in Lajas, and I asked him about his family. His whole demeanor changed and we found ourselves talking about how many kids we each had. I took the opportunity to tell him I was off now to look for my son and he agreed that was a good a idea. He and his companion came with me for a while. I found Joseph, bid them a cheery goodbye, and made our way to the house.
I am amazed at how the Lord so quickly got us out of a sticky and dangerous situation. Needless to say, we didn't get a good night's sleep that night. I later found out that his name was Victor. Interestingly, at the height of his aggressiveness towards me, it began to rain. By the time I had found Joseph and gotten back to the house, the rain had turned into a torrential downpour which lasted most of the night. If Victor had plans to come back and do us harm, the rain most definitely would've put a stop to that. We have no idea, but we praised the Lord for the rain that night. The following day I talked with Secundino and Calistro. Secundino was not happy and he went off to find Victor. I noticed he took his knife along. I have no idea how it went or what he said. Calistro said not to worry as Victor was not speaking for the town, and most people accepted our presence there. Pray for Victor - I hope to get an opportunity to befriend him in the future.
Pray for peace in Lajas. This time there were allot more drunks around. One afternoon as I was sitting out the front of our house talking with Roberto, we heard three gun shots. A drunk was running around with a 9mm revolver and had fired it into the air. Seems his father bravely managed to talk him into handing over the gun and everything settled down. We have no TV in Lajas, but as you can see, there is plenty to keep you entertained... to say the least. Apart from these two examples, the rest of our time out there was rather normal. I spent allot of time trying to learn and improve in speaking Tepehuan. Our food ran out after 6 days, but plenty of folk looked after us and fed us. Our last day before coming back home was the school closing day. Many pigs lose their life and are eaten in celebration of children finishing primary school and those graduating high school. We enjoyed some good pig meat with corn tortillas, and then on Wednesday, some really good tamales.
We found an empty house that we could possibly rent and renovate. The advantage it has over Secundino's house is that it has two large aguacate trees for shade. It also would be easier to fence of to keep potential drunk Victors away, and trigger-happy youths who have had one too many. We have been trying to talk to the owner for a couple of months now, but he is never in town. We finally managed to talk to his father-in-law, who is confident he will rent it to us. Pray that Lucio Millan would be interested in selling or renting his empty house to us.
Anne Marie had a great time back in Durango. She helped the taxi industry along financially, and was able to keep up with the kid's soccer practices and ballet classes. Taxis are rather cheap here. For about $2 she can go to the supermarket and back. We thank the Lord for what He is doing in Lajas and for His protection both for Anne Marie and the kids at home, and Joseph and I in Lajas. Barry and Candy are now back after visiting their son and daughter- in-law in California and their new baby grandson. Barry and I will make a trip to Lajas in July, which will be his last before they go on furlough for a year in the States. Thank you for praying for us on this trip.
For Jesus,
Andrew and Anne Marie
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