the "permission" saga
16 October, 2005
Dear Friends,
This is just a quick update before we head out to Lajas as a family on Tuesday. We've heard some disturbing news from Lajas that needs allot of
prayer. On Thursday in talking with Secundino, he told me that apparently there is talk that we are going to be run out of Lajas or at least asked to leave the village. This was quite alarming as up and till now we had received no negative comments or vibes when we've been in the village or working on the house. I decided to go over and talk with Juan and Lucia about this, and they confirmed that it is true that the leaders are going to ask us to leave. It seems that they believe that if they let us live there, eventually more outsiders will move in, and we will take their lands. From what we can ascertain it seems half the village wants us there, and the other half doesn't. There has always been certain people in Lajas who haven't wanted us out there, and it is most likely that they have been trying to turn the village against us. Our only hope is that this time out there I can talk with the leaders and convince them that our desire is not to take their land. I have however said this before, but is seems they do not believe us. They have good reason not to, as many Indian villages have been taken over by
outsiders and the Indians have been left with little or nothing. Please be praying for wisdom as we try and share with the Tepehuan leaders why it is important that they allow us to live there. We want to share with them that we have a message from God that can free them from the fear and bondage they live in. We want to communicate that we love them and don't want to take their lands from them. We want to remind them of all the good things we have done and all the help we have been over the past 5 years in showing them God's love. Pray that their minds will be open to the truth and that they will give us a unanimous permission to live there. If it is God's will for us to live there, it will happen. If the leaders say "no", then for our own safety we would no longer be able to be in the village. They may say we can continue to visit the village temporarily, but this would make it impossible to effectively learn their language and practically has become too difficult with a family to always be on the move. Unless we get a unanimous "yes", we see no sense in continuing to take materials out for the house and continuing on with that.
If you are wondering how we are doing with all this after so much time and money invested, while initially it came as a shock, in essence we knew it could always come to this. We have discussed it as a family and with Barry and Candy and have prayed, and I think generally we are all simply taking it in stride and are waiting on the Lord. Anne Marie and I have thrown around plenty of options of how we can reach the Tepehuan if there is a negative outcome in Lajas, but in reality we want to take each day as it comes and look to the Lord for each step as He reveals the future to us. Needless to say we would appreciate your prayers. We drive out Tuesday and I hope to talk with the leaders first thing Wednesday. At this point we plan on returning Sunday. Pray for clarity and for the right words to say to the leaders. Pray that we will be able to communicate clearly in spite of the language and cultural barriers. Pray that the Tepehuan will see their need of a saviour and will want to know the message we have for them. In the end, pray that the Lord's will is done in Lajas as it is in heaven. Pray for Barry and Candy as they head up to the States for their nieces wedding.
For Jesus,
Andrew and Anne Marie
24 October, 2005
Dear Friends,
Back from Lajas but unfortunately no compelling news. The governor was
gone the whole time we were out there, and everyone we talked to had
different ideas on why we were or were not going to be kicked out. From
what we can gather, many want only us as a family out there, and others
felt that we as a team could live out there. Some felt that because we had brought in other people, i.e. people to help build our house etc, that they all were going to want to live in Lajas as well. I eventually caught up with Emiliano, and he gave me the spill on the whole deal. Apparently there are a number of people in the village who feel that we are offering dental clinics and helps in order to one day take over the town and run the Tepehuan off. All the favours we are doing are to try and trick the people into trusting us. Others feel that if we were to be allowed to live in Lajas, we would eventually move all our relatives in there and take over the village. Emiliano said that there is to be a town meeting on Sunday the 30th, and we should come to it and tell the people why we want to live in Lajas, and explain to the people that we are not there to take their lands. Once everything is explained, the people can then make a decision. Hence, next Saturday Barry and I will be making a trip out to Lajas to be at the meeting. I will be explaining to the people exactly why we want to live in Lajas and what we plan to do. We will try and calm every doubt they have about us and try and convince them we are not going to trick or steal their land. The rest
will be in the Lord's hands as to what they decide. Much to pray about.
Thanks to all that held us up in prayer that last few days. We really appreciated it. This is the short get it out version. I will write a more detailed script of events for those interested in the details in the coming days.
For Jesus,
Andrew and Anne Marie
28 October, 2005
Dear Friends,
We arrived in Lajas around 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday night. Our closest neighbors came around immediately, as they usually do to see what we
might have of interest. We unloaded and Anne Marie began heating up food. Falctino and Marselo when I asked them about us getting kicked out, said that we might be able to live out there but everyone else who has come out there with us can't. The following day I found out that the governor and nearly all the men were at a meeting in another village and probably wouldn't return till Saturday. We had plenty of visitors that day and so we stuck around the house. Rutilio said that we weren't going to get kicked out, but could visit, bet everyone else can't come back. The following day we visited Irene and her daughters. She said that she hadn't heard of any talk but that it would be wrong if they kicked us out after all we've done. Her eldest daughter had heard of the rumours, and said that people are saying that we may be allowed to live out there for a month and then we have to leave for a month. On the way back to our house we stopped by Calistro's. He
wasn't home but we visited with Dominga his wife. Anne Marie and the kids helped her peel beans as they talked. Dominga and Martina who dropped by to visit said that it is only a few in the village that don't want us here. People deeply involved in drugs, they're drunks and thieves, these are the ones who are against us. They said unfortunately the town listens to these people. Dominga said most likely we won't be allowed to live there. Pampilo another Tepehuan guy came by for coffee and basically told us there will be a meeting to decide our fate. As you can see, everybody had different versions or knowledge of what had been said or what was going to happen.
Anne Marie being that she isn't in the village as much spent more time wandering around visiting with different folk. For some reason I wasn't really interested and stuck around the house visiting with those that came by. I also didn't want to seem like we were trying to go around and get as many on our side before the supposed town meeting. Interestingly enough, one group of ladies that Anne Marie visited, seemed to jokingly infer that we were doing such. By faith I worked some on the house figuring if we get permission the house would be further along. Things really didn't get clear for us until I visited with Emiliano on Saturday. We talked for some time about allot of things. When I finally asked him about the prospect of us not being allowed in the village, he said it was true. He told me that as we were good friends, he would give me the inside story. He said that there are people in the village who feel we have been doing dental clinics and favours for people and not charging in order to one day feel we have enough favours on our side, to then feel we have a right to come live in the village and run them off. He said people don't understand why someone would do these things for free, and so therefore are suspicious of what we really want, and why we are really there. He said initially when it looked like just us being there, people had gotten used to it, but now with Barry and Candy coming out and especially the groups of guys we've had out there working on the
house, people are afraid that we all want to live out there and own land. He said that it has already been decided that on Sunday the 30th, there will be a town meeting to decide if we can be in the village. I assured Emiliano that we are not interested in owning land, that all we want is for our family and Barry and Candy to live in the village. The others do not want to come here and live and some most likely will never return. I asked him how do I explain that we do dental clinics and favours for free asking nothing in return, when in reality the concept of unconditional love and grace barely exist in their culture. He said he understood and trusted us and many do, but there are a few who do not like us or trust us, and these are the ones
who are persuading the village. He feels that if we talk to the village on Sunday and explain exactly why we are there, then the village will decide. He didn't say it, but I got the impression that most likely the most positive outcome will be that we will only allowed to continue visiting. I explained to Emiliano that we have God's Word in our language as does most of the world. I said we wanted to give them and teach them God's Word in their language so they can understand it. I told him we could give them God's Word in Spanish but it will mean much more and speak to their hearts more directly if they could hear it in their own tongue. I wasn't sure how Emiliano would
take this. He himself is a shaman and holds close to the Tepehuan beliefs. He seemed not to be shocked or against what I said, but said ultimately it is up to the village.
Barry and I plan to leave for Lajas tomorrow Saturday the 29th. Ideally it would be good to get into the village before nightfall in order to touch base with the governor. At some point in time on Sunday, we should get summoned to the meeting. Most likely I will speak to the village on our behalf. The plan will be to clear up their doubts and suspicions, and then lay out as clearly as possible our reasons for being in Lajas and wanting to live there. In a nutshell this would mean explaining that we want to teach them and give them God's Word in their language. Our prayer is that the Lord's will be done in Lajas.
We as a team are trusting the Lord to be able to live in Lajas and learn their language. The village will either give us permission to do this, or they could say "no" and tell us we can never return. Another response could be that the village will only allow us to continue visiting. This in effect will make it difficult to learn their language. The possible options that could arise from this outcome are:
1. Continue to visit Lajas as we have been with the hope one day we'll be
allowed to live there?
2. Go to another Tepehuan village in a different dialect and start from
scratch there?
3. Go to a completely different tribal group that are more open than the
Tepehuan like the Cora?
We really feel it is hard to imagine how long we can keep on with the first option as it is incredibly hard on our family and could go on for years. With the second and third options, at this point we do not sense the Lord leading us to to this as we have many relationships in Lajas.
We hope this gives you a clear picture of what we are facing. We hope as you pray with us in these things that the Lord's will will be made clear, not only to us, but to you as well. We welcome any comments or thoughts on direction if the Lord is giving you a sense of what He is doing here.
For Jesus and His glory,
Andrew and Anne Marie
3 November, 2005
Dear Friends,
We arrived in Lajas Saturday evening and so before nightfall, Barry and I headed off to talk with different folk and to let the leaders know we had arrived for the meeting. The governor wasn't in town, but his wife assured me there would still be a meeting. We had prepared a letter as a team stating our objectives and reasons for wanting to live in Lajas. Barry shared this letter with Roberto in order to try and get some feedback before the meeting. In the ensuing discussion, Roberto brought up a whole bunch of new accusations about us. Apparently in a neighboring tribe where another evangelical mission works, Americans had setup a dental clinic and had raped many of the women. We know the missionary there personally and we haven't heard of such a thing happening. It seems the Tepehuan believe we will do the same. The following day was even more discouraging as we never were called to the meeting. In the late afternoon, we figured we better find out what the deal was. We visited with a number of leaders and each one's story seemed vague and inconsistent. It was looking like the classic Tepehuan way of letting you know the answer was "no" but not actually coming out and saying so. Emiliano told us that as the governor wasn't there and hardly any people were around due to harvesting crops, that waiting till the meeting next month would be best. We of course discussed the various rumours and assured them that whether true or not, we were not like that and wouldn't do such things. We found out that nearly all the rumours were started by the soldiers when they came through the village, and clearly they were trying to encourage the people to get rid of us. Drugs, payoffs and
corruption are rife in the mountains. As you can imagine, we were pretty discouraged as we had not gotten a clear response form the leaders, and now we had to wait another month to perhaps find out the inevitable "no". Monday was spent visiting more of the leaders sharing with them the letter we had prepared. Many agreed with the letter and said that we should share it at the next meeting and perhaps the people would agree. Better news than the day before, but still not very encouraging news to take back to Durango the following day. As the sun set gradually over the mountains, an incredible hue of red, orange and purple enveloped the western sky, this was actuated by a last ditch effort of the fading sun to spread its last failing rays as it reluctantly sank from view. Somehow I didn't feel so ready to leave Lajas either.
The next day rather than leave, we felt we ought to at least spend one more day in the village. We wanted to share with folk what was written in the letter, and get a feel for where people were at with us wanting to live out there. This ultimately led us to talking to Victorino. I met Victorino back in the first days of us going to Lajas. He was one of the leaders and his father was dying of cancer. We were able to help the family out with medicines that eased his pain and made his last days more comfortable. You may remember that we prayed with him for salvation in the doctor's office, as he only had a week to live. Since those days, Victorino has been a good friend and cried with me the day we left Lajas for Australia. We climbed up to where his house overlooks the village and sat with him discussing the letter and the
rumours in the village. Victorino was very open with us and he helped us see exactly what the Tepehuan's fears were and how we could best deal with them. He explained the issues surrounding the fact that the Tepehuan were upset about with us owning houses out there, and what would happen to the houses when we left. To cut a long story short, Victorino gave us some clear insight and some hope for a positive outcome in the next meeting. We left allot more encouraged and could see that it was the Lord who caused us to stay the extra day and arranged for us to talk with Victorino.
November the 27th is the next village meeting in Lajas. Pray that Satan would not hinder the meeting going ahead and us being there. Pray that we will be able to arrange with the leaders for a time in the meeting. Pray as we share with the Tepehuan, that their fears and suspicions of us will be relieved, and that we will be able to dissolve the vicious rumours that have been spread about us. Till then we continue with language learning here and trusting the Lord for a good outcome in the village.
Thanks for sticking with us in Prayer.
For Jesus and His glory,
Andrew and Anne Marie
24 November, 2005
Dear Friends,
Hi once again from Durango. Tomorrow I leave for Lajas with Barry and Candy. Anne Marie will stay home with the kids due to some guests staying with us for the week. As you will remember, the Lajas town meeting is being held on Sunday, and we hope to present our case once again to the Tepehuan for permission to live in Lajas. This will be a more direct and precise approach than what we've taken in the past, as we feel the village know us and trust us better. We also hope to dispel some of the rumours that have been floating around about us. We realize Satan does not want us there, and so he will always be generating lies about us especially as our purpose is to preach the Gospel. We know the Tepehuan know us and they do trust us, and many know the lies are untrue, but we would like to communicate truth clearly about these issues, so that the people hear it directly from us. Pray for safety as we travel and for a good time with folk out in Lajas. Pray for boldness and clarity as we speak to the people in the meeting. Pray also that Satan would not be able to hinder the meeting nor us being allowed to attend and speak before the people. Pray that the Tepehuan will see in us the truth, and that they will desire to know personally the God of whom we speak and represent. Pray also for Anne Marie as she runs the home. We return Monday evening.
Looking forward to reporting on return.
For Jesus and His glory,
Andrew and Anne Marie
29 November, 2005
Dear Friends,
I'm writing this lying in bed with the laptop on my lap marveling at the realization of finally understanding the reason for its name. I usually use the "laptop" at my desk hence the reason for not having come into a fuller knowledge sooner. I still have a desk, but am taking comfort in the bed due to coming down with a flu. Hopefully a few days of rest will see the worst of it gone.
Possibly this has been a nonchalant way of starting an important email, especially when we have just returned from Lajas, and many I'm sure are wondering what happened. Are we in, or out??? Well the time out in Lajas was very nonchalant. We arrived Friday night and Saturday morning found out that there would be no meeting. Apparently due to some pending business, the meeting had been rescheduled for the following Sunday upon which it was suggested we come out then. We said that we wouldn't do that as we had come out especially for this meeting, and there was no guarantee that the meeting date wouldn't get changed again. To make matters worse, the governor was out of town as well. As you can imagine, this was perplexing and very disappointing. However, as we got around and talked to several of the other village leaders, each one expressed that in reality there was no problem with us living out there, and communicated to us that we can go ahead and keep fixing the houses. It seems that they feel if we are only there to do what we stated in our letter, then there's no problem! The
viscous rumours floating around about us seem to have simply disappeared.
So I guess that's good news then, right??? It is good news, but it would've been nice to have gotten something more concrete, more dramatic, something more exciting and sure to report about. As many of you know, there has been nothing easy about this work. Every aspect has been and still is difficult. Nevertheless, if we pause and look back from whence we have come, and remember back to those first difficult trips we made as a family into Lajas; I remember thinking, there is no way these people will ever let us live here. To look back and see all the that Jesus has accomplished and how faithful He has been in keeping us going and providing all that we have needed, reminds us that He truly is with us. There is reason to have a great
hope that these Tepehuan will continue to allow us to live there, and one day they will hear the Gospel and they will get saved. So yes, it is good news, but it was such a "non-event" we simply just have kept on going about our business. I did some more work on the house, and we did a repair to the door on Barry's house out there. Basically we are going to get both houses ready, and hope to start living out there hopefully sometime around June/July. These recent events have put us back quite along way from our initial plan for moving in.
Thank you for praying. It is an answer to prayer even if things didn't pan out we had thought they would. We'll write again soon.
For Jesus,
Andrew and Anne Marie
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