Zapotec Village Trip

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The Great Barrier

A.k.a. "You can lead a horse to water...."

At the risk of sounding discouraged, let me just admit up front that we really need prayer to overcome the final barrier to seeing people become mature followers of Jesus who are expanding Christ's kingdom in Oaxaca.

Twenty-five years ago when we first left the U.S. for Guatemala, we were convinced of the great need for Bible translations in every language of the world (then thought to be around 5000).  With Wycliffe Bible Translators providing well-equipped linguists to accomplish this task, we tackled the next barrier to seeing lives changed as a result of the gospel:  Literacy.

While working with more-or-less literate native speakers in the Mayan village where we lived, we discovered a few other obstacles.  First, the folks had no electricity, and it was hard to read by candlelight after a long day of work without falling asleep.  Secondly, they simply did not value reading as we North Americans do, and literacy never became a habit.  Third, even for those who wanted to read, it was almost impossible to bridge over from reading primers and easy pamphlets to reading and comprehending the books of the New Testament, and there were few other printed materials available in their mother tongue for reading practice.

To overcome this barrier, we began recording scriptures on tape.  (Listening while following the printed verses was an effective aid in literacy for those who wanted to improve their reading.)  In the early years, that required batteries and cassette players.  More recently this is not a restriction, with modern devices utilizing rechargeable solar panels.  Changing over to the new technology, the Lord helped us overcome the other obstacles by providing new recording equipment, recruiting technicians to produce the audio Bibles, and most challenging, even finding native speakers who could read or at least repeat the phrases into a microphone for the recording process.

Another persistent (or at least potential) obstacle is funding for each project.  The Lord has graciously provided the necessary funds for over 40 language groups to have a recording of their entire translated New Testament.  To that we say hallelujah, and praise the Lord!  (Now may we be faithful to continue this laborious and expensive process in every other language of Oaxaca.)

Fully equipped with audio New Testaments, and a belief that "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God..." (Romans 10:17 was our battle cry) we only needed to distribute the audio Bibles, and surely people would understand the power of the cross, and be lining up at the riversides to be baptized after coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus.  So we thought....

We were encouraged by the participation of partnering organizations like World Mission, Megavoice, Audio Scripture Ministries, Galcom, and Faith Comes by Hearing (Hosanna), who helped provide equipment, expertise, and the digital devices to be distributed among the people here.  Short-term teams purchased audio Bibles and hand-delivered them to families who needed them.  It's all good.

There is just one remaining barrier, and that is getting people to actually listen!  The only way to break down this final obstacle is through spiritual warfare.  The battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and principalities of darkness that have dominated Oaxaca for thousands of years.  They are not going to simply allow the Word of God to be proclaimed without a fight.  Instead they are going to do everything possible to stop people from hearing The Truth.

Even in our own lives (with a variety of scripture translations in English for free online), we are tempted to skip our daily Bible reading and often miss our family devotional time.  It is amazing how tiny a distraction can deter us from doing what we know we need to do to instruct our children, and to stay strong and grow in our spiritual journey.  For the people of Oaxaca, it is that much harder.

Even though we have worked diligently to overcome so many barriers to communicating the gospel message to them, people still have to choose to study the scriptures, to accept the teaching, and to continue growing on a daily basis.  It's not a simple matter of applying a magic formula, and voila! people come to Christ.  It is still a work of the Holy Spirit, and there is still an enemy in the story who wants to prevent that from happening.  With that in mind, would you....

• Please join us in praying for the remaining unreached people groups, that many would have faith to believe.  
• Pray that the Holy Spirit would open their eyes and prepare their hearts to receive the truth of the gospel.  
• Pray that we would see a great harvest of spiritual fruit among the people of Oaxaca.  
• Pray against a spirit of discouragement.

• Pray that the final barrier would be overcome!

 Likewise, will you please join in praying for us as a family as we go out this weekend to distribute some more audio scriptures?  Pray for our safety in travel (5 plus hours in the Suburban), for protection from the evil one as we are in areas that are still under his rule, and for joyful reception of the gift we are bringing to the people.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would soften the hearts of those who will come to see the Jesus film in their language for the very first time.  Pray that our children would be gratified to be part of this family mission trip, and for unity between us, that God's love would shine through us as a family.  Pray that we remain in good health.  Thanks!

Little Wedding Livers

 This delicacy is typically served in Oaxaca on the morning of weddings, and therefore called higaditos de boda, which translates as "little wedding livers."  Generally the family begins a day ahead of time, preparing the spices and the broth, and then the day of the wedding they make an enormous cauldron of the soup-like dish to serve to all well-wishers who come bringing wedding gifts. 

Last night, as you know if you read the post Mexican Weddings on my other blog,  I was to serve as "ring bearer" for the wedding of some friends' daughter.  (More on that in a separate post.)  Earlier in the day I took Bekah and Jonny with me to a special afternoon meal at our friends' house. 
First we were served little loaves of bread to dip in hot chocolate. Whatever we didn't finish was added to the huge decorative loaves of bread they gave us to take with us.  At any party in our town, the guests expect to be given plastic bags or buckets to take home extra food.

The next course was the higaditos which we ate by using corn tortillas as a scooper.  This makes the meal twice as filling, and we were struggling to pick up as much liver and eggs with each scoop until finally we were given spoons.  We're always thankful for spoons!  Just when we were despairing of ever getting close to the bottom of the bowl, the hostess gave each family a small plastic bucket (with the bride and groom's name and the wedding date printed on it with a permanent marker as a souvenir) to pour the leftovers in to take home.  

By this time my kids were antsy and begging to be excused, so I sent them home with the bread and the bucket of wedding livers.  This was a social faux pas because the hostess intended to fill the bucket the rest of the way with yet more of the dish to take home for another time.  Too bad.  Some of us really like it. 
 

 In case anyone is interested in tasting this treat, here is a recipe I found online.  Enjoy!

Eggs with chicken livers: Higaditos by Karen Hursh Graber © 2008 

This recipe, with its fresh salsa, is adapted from Seasons of My Heart by Susana Trilling.  I suspect the version they make here is much more elaborate and time consuming.

Ingredients

For the sauce

• 4-5 plum tomatoes, roasted and peeled
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 fresh green chilies, seeded if desired
• Salt to taste
• 3 sprigs cilantro
• ½ cup water

For the higaditos

• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 pound tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 pound tomatillos (tomate verde) husked and finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• ¼ pound chicken livers, boiled and finely chopped
• ½ cup parsley leaves, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 15 eggs

Preparation:

Grind all sauce ingredients in a molcajete or food processor, leaving the sauce a bit chunky.
In a large, deep non-stick frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, tomatoes and tomatillos, and cook until soft. Add the garlic, livers, parsley, oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook for10 more minutes.

Beat the eggs well and add to the pan, mixing them in gently. Push the eggs away from the sides of the pan as they set. Continue cooking for another 10 minutes, until the bottom is set and browned.

Using a spatula, divide the egg mixture into quarters and flip each quarter. Continue cooking until set and remove the eggs section by section, draining any excess oil. Cut into smaller pieces to serve. Serve with sauce and warm corn tortillas. Serves 8.

Link to Source Article

More photos:

I guess we'll be having bread and hot chocolate for breakfast a while

Enjoying a family style meal with some dear friends

No pressure to clean your plate; just take the rest to go

Gifts are generally displayed in clear shrink wrap

Victor and Ruth, the happy couple