What if There Were a True Cost of Discipleship?

Back in 2011, we drove to the village of Tabaa with our three youngest kids and our (then) new recording technicians, Diego and Luz.  Diego and Luz had dubbed the Jesus Film in this variant of Zapotec, and we accompanied them to show the movie and also to deliver some audio Bibles to the folks out there.

That trip was memorable in several ways, not the least of which was the fact that our Suburban chose that day to develop a fuel leak.  We smelled gasoline all the way out to the village, but once we arrived, the remaining fluids drained themselves from the vehicle, displaying an undeniable problem.  We spent the night on sleeping bags on the church floor, eventually returning to Mitla on a chicken bus.

The believers in Tabaa impressed me with their devotion to Jesus and their willingness to sacrifice in order to follow the Lord.  Back then the town officials were levying a fine equivalent to a year’s salary (for some of the folks) just for joining the evangelical church.  What amazed me was the fact that people were actually paying it.  Somehow I can’t imagine American Christians putting up with such a thing.  Many would forsake the Lord if it cost that much.

This past week we revisited Tabaa in order to get the current phone number of the pastor.  That is a whole other story in itself how we ended up essentially touring the entire Villa Alta region of Oaxaca taking a “short cut” from one village to the next along unpaved unmarked roads.  In all, we drove over eight hours covering very few miles, but in the end, we succeeded in getting the pastor’s phone number.  It turns out that the pastor’s father is close to heaven’s gates, and many family members were gathered to say their final farewell.  With that little situation, we departed and returned to Mitla the same day, having gleaned a bit of new information.

Sadly the church members in Tabaa are still under the town rule that requires them to pay the huge fee for joining the church.  Already fifteen families have paid the $30,000 pesos in the past seven years, bringing the church membership up to 40 families.  Soon we will return with audio Bibles for the new families, but in the meantime, we have taught the pastor to use the Bible app on his phone to read and listen to the scriptures in his own language.  Others can download the audio Bible onto their phones, too.  That is the good news.

Then again maybe all of our towns should grow "richer" when Christ's church grows stronger?  I would take comfort in this if it weren't for my skepticism that town leaders are not often known for their integrity.  

• Pray against corruption at every level of government in Mexico.  
• Pray that townspeople would notice a true heart change in the new believers.  
• Pray that many more would risk losing their financial gain in order to walk openly with Jesus.  
• Pray that new disciples would find great joy and peace in their sacrifice. 

Pray for the believers in Tabaa

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  

 John 8:31-32 ESV

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Colorful, Diverse Oaxaca

Little by little we have ministered in each of these ethnic groups.  Sometimes it is confusing when we say our technicians are recording another Zapotec, Mixtec, or Mazatec New Testament translation, but there are many many different variants of each language represented on this chart. 

Later this month we will be returning to Mexico to distribute audio Bibles among the Nahuatl (Aztec), but traveling to villages in the neighboring state of Puebla to do so.  In the country of Mexico, there are more than a million speakers of Nahuatl, though most live outside Oaxaca.

Mexico boasts six million indigenous language speakers, though other Latin American countries have a higher percentage of indigenous people.  To put it in perspective, the southern state of Oaxaca is 65% indigenous, whereas the country of Guatemala is only 42.8%.

According to YWAM, "Oaxaca contains the largest concentration of people groups in the Americas.... many whom are considered unreached."

 Click here to see a short video clip

illustrating how colorful and diverse Oaxaca is. 

The clip is now a bit outdated as you will note when they refer to cassette tapes being distributed, but it is interesting that they mention the Jesus Film.  Our studio has been responsible for the dubbing of the Jesus Film in many of the indigenous languages of Oaxaca.

*The languages in parentheses are considered derivatives of the larger language group, whereas Huave, Nahuatl, and Chontal are each distinct languages that comprise the remaining 7% of languages represented in Oaxaca.

Sharing the Bread of Life

Being back in the US now, I find it difficult to connect "communion" with the little tasteless wafers and watered down juice offered in most churches.  In fact the picture of true communion in my mind is one of being in a wheat field in Oaxaca with a short-term team from Ohio.  As we were introducing the field hands to the Bread of Life, they shared with us bread which they had baked from wheat they themselves had planted, harvested, threshed, and ground in a local water mill.  Eating those little loaves with glass bottles of Mexican Coca Cola with the group who had come to share in the spiritual harvest of Mexico touched my heart as the epitome of true fellowship and communion.

The Bible is poetic in the simple verse in Deuteronomy 8:3, which says "...that man does not live on bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."  Another bread verse that comes to mind is when Jesus declared in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whomever believes in me will never be thirsty."

These bread metaphors communicate clearly to people living in agricultural societies once they can actually hear them in their own language.  In Mexico, it might be translated more literally “Jesus is the Tortilla of Life.”  For the people groups of Oaxaca, corn is the main crop, and tortillas are the basis of their daily life and sustenance.  However for this particular indigenous group, wheat and bread spoke very clearly to them.  What a privilege it was to see the workers with sickle in hand, literally "bringing in the sheaves," listening to the precious words of Life in their own language for the very first time.

After years of painstaking linguistic study and translation work, followed by weeks and months of recording the New Testament, it is a humbling experience for visiting teams to be the ones to hand deliver the audio scriptures, and to watch the joy and awe of the listeners as Jesus comes to life for them.  In some cases, the linguist who dedicated his life to the translation process has already departed this earth, and our distribution teams are the ones to bring the project to completion.

  

While Jim and I have sacrificed the more tangible blessing of living on the mission field to live in Michigan closer to the home office, we realize that we still need people to go and provide audio scriptures to the many people who have yet to hear God speak their language.  It is a team effort, from translators, to native language helpers, to those who can record the scriptures, and finally to those who will fund the projects and those who will supply the audio players.  Will you consider devoting a week of your life in order to hand carry audio Bibles to those who need to hear it?

As you are perhaps contemplating year-end giving, would you consider a special gift to provide audio recordings and players in areas where people still have not heard the Good News?  Click here for more information. Write to us at jim-jamie (at) lokerfam.com if you have questions.

And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."  Luke 10:2

All photos are by Hannah Loker.  Please do not reprint without permission.

Facts and Figures and a Very Cool Map

Thanks to our friend, Loren, for sending me this cool map based on the 2010 census data.

Write if you want me to send you a copy so you can blow it up bigger and see the actual languages in each bubble.

As for the facts and figures, here's a summary of the work we have facilitated these past 20 years in Mexico (for those who do not receive our monthly updates):

• 61 whole New Testaments recorded in 8 states in Mexico, mostly in Oaxaca
• Jesus Films dubbed in 44 different languages
• Around 5000 solar powered devices (Megavoice) of the New Testament distributed to individual families in 41 languages
• Nearly 1000 Proclaimers distributed to listening groups and churches in 36 language groups
• 57 team trips hosted, including scripture distribution teams, construction projects on 18 new churches, medical, and children's ministry.
   

We think that's pretty cool, too.  Looking at the map, please pray for the remaining 60 or so Bible translations that are still either in process or on the list for future linguists.  Pray for the completion of ten New Testaments that are in the publication stage.  Pray most of all that they will be utilized.  Pray that we can schedule, record, format, and distribute audio Bibles in each of these new areas, too.  Pray for a fruit-filled response to people hearing God's Word in their own language.

Guatemala in the Rear View Mirror

What a difference 25 years makes!  When we returned to Guatemala early this year, we were thankful to find our former coworkers still following the Lord and faithful to His Word.  It took a bit of effort to locate the homes of our dear friends, since everything in the villages had changed so much. 

We realize that they have seen many missionaries come and go, and wondered if they would remember us.  It was a joyous reunion as they greeted us with obvious recognition, even though we have all grown a bit older. 

Their homes are much more modern now, and the streets are paved.  Running water and electricity are the norm, and in fact, we found a cell phone tower right down the street from our old house in the Mam village where we lived.  What an amazing transformation.

 Jim with Emiterio, our main language tutor and the voice on the Jesus film and the audio New Testament in Mam of San Juan Ostuncalco, and his family

Emiterio with his family about 24 years ago

Jim and Santiago, who is the son behind Emiterio in the photo above

 Norberto, pictured here with Jim this past January, was our neighbor across the street, and a vital member of our team as a native missionary among his own people.  Notice the phone tower in the background and the paved street.

 This was the front of our house back in 1987.  Today the road is paved and the house is replaced with a big 2-story building.

Emiterio and Norberto promoting scriptures in the local market

Village Recording Process (new photos!)

Miguel and Lupe, our traveling recordists

This particular village at dusk

Like many other villages in Oaxaca, set on a hillside

Mazatec readers for the dramatized New Testament recording

Blankets help make the room more sound-proof

Make-shift recording studio with all portable equipment

This is one of several New Testament recordings in process.  Faith Comes by Hearing (Hosanna) is sponsoring this dramatized, multi-voice recording to be formatted for Proclaimers, a digital device with a rechargeable solar panel and large enough speakers for a group of listeners in a church or home setting.

Thanks to Lupe for these great photos, and thanks to FCBH for their partnership with us in producing and distributing the Word of God in the language of the people in San Jeronimo, Oaxaca.  Thank you, too, for your prayers covering this ongoing ministry to reach the unreached of Oaxaca.