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The clip is now a bit outdated as you will note when they refer to cassette tapes being distributed, but it is interesting that they mention the Jesus Film.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.

Not Just for the Non-literate

Generally we focus on reaching out to people who cannot read, giving them the ability to hear God's Word in their own language.  In many places this includes elderly people whose eyesight is failing or who never received enough formal education.  In other areas it means ministering to people who are somewhat bilingual, who may even know how to read Spanish, but have not had an opportunity to learn to read their own mother tongue.

Looking at the text above (from Amuzgo de Xochistlahuaca in Guerrero, Mexico), you can see why reading some of these languages is a tremendous challenge, even for people who know how to read their secondary language.  Glancing at the highlighted portion, I see one word with seventeen characters.  Reading the scriptures in their native tongue can be a chore that does not resemble a devotional act.  Some may possess the capability of slowly sounding out the words, much as a first grader can sound out the vocabulary in their early primers, but few can read for comprehension or retention.

Now this problem can be remedied, thanks to new technology developed by friends of ours with Wycliffe Bible Translators.  They have created this phone app that enables people to listen to the scriptures in their difficult-to-read language while they look at the text, which is highlighted in sync with the audio.  What an exciting tool to encourage literacy among people groups!  We learn best when we can see and hear the narrative.

Audio players are still necessary for listening groups, the visually impaired, those without cell phone service, and for non-literate people who cannot access the internet even where it is available, but this option offers great potential for wider and free distribution of scripture translations we continue to record.

Praise the Lord for this new advancement in the use of Bible translations in both written and audio formats.  It's not just either-or, but both seen and heard.

We used to adapt the prayer from Psalm 119:18 for non-literate people groups, asking God to open their EARS that they may HEAR wonderful things in His Word.   
Now we can ask God to open their eyes, ears, and hearts that they may know Him more fully.

To view or download this app, go to https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.wycliffe.amuzgoguerrero.amu

Can't We Just Send Money?

Many times we hear short term team members verbalize an inner conflict regarding the cost of their mission trip.  Seeing the many unfilled needs of the village, local church, and people, and the financial needs for our ministry with ASM, they ask sheepishly,

"Wouldn't it have been better if we had simply sent the money rather than spending it on our own airfare and ground costs?"

Our answer is always the same.  Yes, perhaps, but people don't.  No one understands the need until they experience it for themselves.  We have yet to be able to show pictures and tell stories that portray the reality of the needs in a way that stirs people's hearts.

Secondly, we remind our teams that God uses their visit to encourage believers who seldom have any opportunity to interact with believers outside their small flock.  Our teams infuse hope and joy into the lives of pastors and those struggling in their faith.  Together with teams, we bring them tools to use for evangelism and discipleship.  We remind our brothers and sisters that they are not alone.

Is it worth the price of the trip?  I would say it is!

Our prayer is that God would strategically raise up prayer and financial partners among those we have hosted on short-term teams.  As Pastor Jerrod (from a supporting church that has sent several teams to work with us) challenged his latest group: 

"Decide now what God wants you to do differently as a result of your week in Oaxaca.  The default is that each one will return to Ohio and go right back to your same way of living, interacting, and spending - forgetting the plight of the needy, the suffering, and the lost." (my paraphrase)

Please pray for those who have walked the dusty trails, driven along the mountain passes, eaten the local food, slept in modest homes with few comforts, and prayed for very real and impossible (barring a miracle) requests, distributing audio Bibles to people who desperately need the hope of the gospel.... Pray that their lives would be forever changed.

Pray that they would become passionate about the spiritually lost in their circle of influence and be bold about sharing the gospel truths, and that they would have a fresh missionary perspective of the world that will rock their church and community.  Pray that their own lives would be changed so drastically that they would daily experience and express the joy of their own salvation.

Lastly, please pray that some would become hooked on missions and obey the call to pray, give, and go wherever God leads, whether across the street or across the world.  May God

call some to be ambassadors for Audio Scripture Ministries, raising funds and awareness for our ongoing ministry to the unreached people of Oaxaca, Mexico, and beyond.

Hissing For the Bees

During our same visit to Oaxaca last month, we traveled to a near-by village, one hour by truck, or four hours by foot.  Thankfully a mudslide was cleared up in time for us to make the trip by truck, but the handful of believers were so eager to see us, they would have walked over if necessary. Instead, we piled into the back of two trucks and drove down to the valley, across a river, and then up to the other mountainside.

The name of the village is Abejones, which means "The place of the bees."

My prayer for this village was a continuation of the one I prayed for the other Zapotec village, based on the words from Zechariah.  However, this time, I used the AMPC version on Biblegateway.com, which says:

"I will hiss for them [as the keeper does for his bees] and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall increase [again] as they have increased [before, in Egypt]."

Zechariah 10:8

 
What a fitting passage for the people of Abejones who desperately need to hear the Word of the Lord hissing for them, gathering them in like bees.  Please pray that the little house church there would grow spiritually and multiply, and that they would remain strong in spite of persecution and difficulties they may face.

Photo by Debbie Loker

Our brave team from Ohio trusted God for their safety as we journeyed to Abejones to encourage the small house church with audio Bibles in their language.

Whistling their Names

When our seven children were still at home, I formulated a system of whistling for them (yes, perhaps inspired somewhat by "The Sound of Music").  I would whistle the cadence of my own exaggerated calling of "Chris-to-pher," "Tim-my," "Aar-on Mich-ael," "Han-nah Marie-e."  It saved me from yelling their names all day long.

What is interesting is that in southern Mexico, there are language groups that can communicate with whistles that reflect the tones and inflections of their native tongue.  Last month we witnessed this phenomenon in a Oaxacan village.  With no internet or cell phone service, it was a handy way for people to holler out to see if someone was home, or to get their attention on a pathway.


As I was praying for these people, I found a verse in Zechariah 10:6-8 which speaks of God "whistling" for his people, gathering them together, and redeeming them.  This is my prayer for the Zapotecos, that they would hear God's voice in the audio Bibles we distributed, and that God would strengthen them, save them, bring them back to Himself, and hear and answer their prayers.  I pray that they would be like mighty warriors, and that they and their children would rejoice and shout triumphantly in the Lord.  Lastly I pray that their church would multiply and spread to the other side of the mountain where there are still no believers.

Won't you join me in praying for the Zapotec people of 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.

Premature Praise

Photo by Amanda Pitts

Having devoted our lives to daily service in hopes of someday hearing, "Well done, good and faithful servants," it seemed premature to be honored this side of heaven. 

Well acquainted with the honor of suffering for the sake of the gospel, being "awarded" things like loneliness, bed bugs, head lice, amoeba, hepatitis, and dengue fever, this was a very foreign experience to find ourselves in the spotlight being honored with the prestigious Meritorious Achievement Award, the Pro Ecclesia Medal of Service.

Walking down the Baylor equivalent of a red carpet, and having Judge Ken Starr place this medal around my neck with the flash of cameras, and then again at half-time during Baylor Homecoming, the only thing that I could think of were all the people we represented, the team of people who made our accomplishment possible:  the Bible translators, our technicians, the financial supporters, our prayer partners, and the many who came on short-term teams to distribute audio Bibles.  On behalf of all of them, we received the medal.

The most humbling part was watching the "story of our lives" flashed before us, knowing that we follow many like Billy Graham and Max Lucado whose names are known throughout the world.  We are not sure what God will do with this experience, but we are trusting Him for more ministry partners as a result of this recognition and publicity for Audio Scripture Ministries.

To read the full story and see the lovely tribute, go to the Baylor website here
and also here.

Here is our prayer for you who share in our inheritance, from Colossians 1.

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth....

⁹ And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. ¹¹ May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

We would ask that you pray the same for us, that we might continue to be filled with the knowledge of God's will... and walk in a way fully pleasing to Him, being fruitful in good works, strengthened with all power, enduring patiently and with joy, etc. - even in Michigan when our hearts are in Mexico.  Thanks!