Dear Friends,
We are thankful for your prayers. Our recent stay in the village
went really well but wasn’t without its unexpected turn of events. It is incredible how God moves, provides and looks out for us so that in reality, there is no need to fret or panic. To trust Him means to look to Him with confidence that He has us in mind and is watching over us. You can completely trust the faithfulness of God even when it's risky to do so. He will always lead us step by step, but we have to be willing to take them.
We were having a good trip out to the village, but the truck had developed an annoying squeak on our last return from Lajas. I had looked the truck over and also had it in to the mechanics, but nothing was obviously loose . The noise had become such, that as we neared the halfway mark of the trip, I decided to have another look. I decided to check around the motor. Everything looked o.k., but the Lord had me stare at it long enough to notice that it seemed slightly lopsided. Looking closer, I saw that the engine mount bracket was completely cracked. (I had recently replaced the engine mounts, and the brackets were fine.) Fortunately, the design of the truck meant that the motor still sat in its position, but if the bracket on the other side of the motor broke, we’d be in some trouble. We prayed as a family and decided it would be best to continue on to Lajas, albeit a little slower. Thankfully, we made it into the village, but I realized that we would definitely need to replace the bracket for the return trip, otherwise we would cause more damage to the truck.
It would be impossible to be an effective tribal missionary if you didn’t have a support team behind you, and God already had a plan in action before we knew we would need it. From Lajas we were able to call Kevin in Chihuahua (one of our field leaders), he in turn was able to call Steve (our support missionary in El Paso). Steve was able to run down to the Chevy dealer and order the parts that we needed and then ship them down to Chihuahua. Matt and Jonathon ( our language consultants) were scheduled to fly out to Lajas towards the end of our stay to do language evaluations; they would be able to bring in the part. So, when you pray for our safety, this is the result; God works things out for us and He receives all the glory.
The time in the village was full. There was lots to see and be involved in with the “Day of the Dead” celebrations. This is a tradition where food is offered to the ancestors, and it is believed that the spirits return from the place of the dead to eat the food that is placed outside on raised wooden platforms. The first night young boys run around each house eating the food; they represent the spirits of children that have died. The following night, the men go from house to house eating the food, symbolizing the adult spirits. We were able to learn more on what the Tepehuan believe about death and spirits.
We found a great place to go hiking as a family. We had been in this area before, but this time we decided to keep on exploring. We headed up a small rise and suddenly came out on a rocky outcrop where all three sides dropped suddenly away down into the river canyon. It is really impressive as you gaze down hundreds of feet into the canyon, but not really incredibly relaxing as you try and stop four kids from rushing the edge for a closer look. Being that the cliffs actually stick out over the canyon, there are many places one could slip over the edge without the slightest worry of hitting anything till the bottom. We threw a rock and counted thirteen seconds before it disappeared into the trees below. The following day Joseph and I headed there with Marselo to take some pictures and hang out. On the way back Marselo almost stepped on a coral snake. They’re apparently a relative of the Indian cobra and are very venomous. This snake, however, was not given a chance to prove otherwise. Joseph was stoked to be involved; he was about to try and pick it up until he remembered the rhyme, “red on yellow kill a fellow.”
After about a week in the village, Anne Marie began to have a tooth ache. Day after day it began getting worse until finally it was so painful that she wasn’t able to stand it. Painkillers were not helping and even four ibuprofen were not taking the edge off. We decided that she needed to get into Durango and so we called in the plane. We cannot use the airstrip in Lajas, so the following day Barry loaned me his truck and I took Anne Marie and Sophia to Milpillas. Joe (the pilot) met us there and took them into Durango. Anne Marie hoped that she would be able to get the tooth fixed and then return three days later when the consultants flew out. This wasn’t to be as the tooth required a root canal involving several days and multiple visits to the dentist. She settled to stay in Durango and wait for our return from the village.
On the Wednesday, Barry drove back to Milpillas to pick up Matt and Jonathon. They came bearing gifts which included the engine mount bracket we needed, candies for the kids, and some much needed coffee that Kevin Beach sourced for us in Durango. As you can see it’s great to have a team behind us helping. Without them there would’ve been no truck parts arriving, no pilot to fly us, no consultants helping us with language, and perish the thought, no coffee!
To help ease suspicions of having Matt and Jonathon in the village, they proposed to fix the truck for me, that way they could pass themselves as mechanics. This was an amusing thought but I readily agreed and went back to cooking in the kitchen. They did a great job of replacing the bracket; in essence a simple process of jacking up the motor and undoing five bolts, however each bolt is in a tight spot making it a very tedious and time consuming task.
Apart from their various mechanical duties, they took the time to evaluate each of us in how we were doing in the language. This involved sitting down with a Tepehuan language helper and following Matt’s directions as he tried to push us toward our speaking limit in the language. From this they can ascertain where we are, how far we have left to go, where we need to improve, and direction for the future. We are glad to say that each of us has improved since the last evaluation.
Matt’s wife Starr was scheduled to come out to Lajas, but as Anne Marie and her grew up together and are good friends, she decided to stay in Durango with Anne Marie and Sophia. This was a great help to Anne Marie, especially with all the trips to dentist etc. They had a great time together.
With the truck fixed, evaluations completed, and our three weeks in Lajas coming to an end, it was time to head back. We decided as a team to head back a way we had gotten to know a year ago. It takes nearly the same amount of time, is further in distance, but more of the road is paved, it also means driving on a very steep road that drops thousands of feet to the bottom of a canyon. All this is rewarded by a river in the canyon where the kids love to swim and fish. I drove ahead of Barry to give the kids more time at the river. We cooked hotdogs, Joseph caught a fish, and Madeline and Julian swam. After lunch we headed off again. We had just passed through a small mountain village and were heading up a hill when for a split second I lost concentration and the truck got caught in loose gravel near the edge of the road. The rains had made the side of the road perilously soft and the wheels went off the edge. Fortunately we weren’t going very fast and the truck came to stop. What wasn’t cool was that truck began to slowly slide sideways over the edge. Thankfully it stopped and Matt, for whom I was thankful was along, jumped out and got the kids out of the vehicle. He also helped a Tepehuan family out of the back of the truck who made no small haste in exiting. As we inspected the situation we were humbled to find that that only thing that had stopped us from tumbling into the ravine was a large boulder that the truck was now wedged on. We were extremely thankful to the Lord who had obviously saved us from certain disaster. There was no way we could get the vehicle out. To try and go forward or back meant the truck would slide down the steep embankment and then tumble over into the ravine. Anyone in the truck would be seriously injured if not killed. We were stuck!
God is incredibly gracious and incredibly faithful, and we are so thankful to Him. As we tried to figure out what to do, the Lord sent along two men who were heading down the road with their donkeys to get gravel. After having a look and a talk, they both headed off and were soon back with a pick and a chainsaw. They figured with a lot of work, some logs and a lot of rocks, we could try and build up the road under the tires. It wasn’t long before some more people showed up and there was a steady stream of people carrying and rolling boulders and rocks towards the truck. The problem was however, that there was no way that the truck would be able to be driven out under its own power; the ground was simply to soft and steep; it would need to be towed out so as to stop it from rolling down into the ravine. Any similar sized truck wouldn’t suffice as it could be dragged down along with my truck if it were to slip over the edge. The Lord had all this under control and before long one of the mountain passenger busses came lumbering down the road. It was just what was needed. The driver took a look at the situation and a plan was devised as to how best to tow the truck out. Someone however, would have to get into the truck to steer it out and this was definitely the riskiest part of the whole deal. It is amazing how that when the Lord is involved, He gives you confidence and the boldness at the right time even when you aren’t sure of the outcome. I wasn’t comfortable or happy to have to get into the truck, but I was confident God was in charge. The next thing I remember is a guy yelling in the window “listo eh?” [are you ready?] and then suddenly being jerked backwards and the truck was once again on firm ground. There was a lot of whooping and hollering and we were all very relieved. The Lord worked it all out in his perfect timing. The road that had been built under the tires had collapsed, but held up just long enough for the truck to be pulled to safety. I generously paid and we profusely thanked all those who helped, and we were soon on our way, praising the Lord for His goodness.
The rest of the trip was uneventful and it was good to be back together as a family. Anne Marie’s root canal is basically finished apart from the permanent crown. We have two weeks in Durango before we head out to Lajas again. Thanks so much for praying. It really was your prayers that kept us safe and helped us.
Be praying for Luis and his family as they have brought their sick little girl into the hospital. Pray that she will be able to get the right treatment and made well.
“The Lord comes down from heaven
and wraps us in His wings and it makes us feel loved.”
The Glorious Unseen
For Jesus And His glory,
Andrew, Anne Marie, Joseph, Madeline, Julian & Sophia
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November 2007 letter
