2 June - Sad end to a great week!2 June - Sad end to a great week!
The week in the village went by really quick! Anne Marie’s trip from Durango, although late, they made it in. We all met at a small ranch outside Milpillas that is owned by one of the believers. From there we drove down to a creek where the plan was to baptize some new believers; 11 in all. I got quite the surprise when Eduardo (leader from our church in Durango in charge of the Milpillas ministry) asked if I would do the honour of baptizing. Initially I refused as I felt they had done all the hard work, but he insisted, as he felt that we had largely worked at getting the church the initial permission to begin ministering in the town (since revoked by the current town leaders, but the church still holds small church services each month). So I did get the very cool privilege to baptize 7 or so of the new believers. It was really exciting hearing their testimonies and seeing their genuine thankfulness to God for their salvation. Anne Marie took video of the baptisms and we felt really blessed to be a small part of what God is doing in Milpillas. It’s great to see the change Jesus is making in their lives, especially as we know what these folk used to be like in the early days and how closed they were to outsiders and the Gospel. They have really changed and it is great to see.
Anne Marie and I enjoyed our week together. It was the first time in years we had spent time together on our own without the kids. Not the most romantic location, but fun nonetheless. After being gone for so long, Anne Marie felt rusty in the language, but she did work hard at trying to stay in Tepehuan when she spoke, and spent a lot of time visiting friends and studying. Many of the ladies were pleased to see her back and commented on how happy I seemed in having her with. It’s a constant source of mirth for them on how I have to do my own cooking and washing and how sad I must be at night.
It was a great week and we commented so as we were packing on Friday night. All of a sudden shots rang out and we weren’t surprised; we had been hearing shots most of the afternoon, as a pack of drunks roamed around happily shooting in the air. This is common, if not a daily occurrence, at certain times of the year. These shots however were from a heavy weapon and had the blunt sound as if being shot into the ground. Soon after, our packing was interrupted by people at our gate. It was the village governor and the second in charge and their wives. Apparently there was no one around that could write Spanish well, and they wanted to know if I would write up a report on a murder that had just taken place. Initially I was hesitant; we were packing to go, I didn’t want to leave Anne Marie on her own, I wasn’t aching to inspect a shot up body and neither was I keen to wander into the night where there was a pack of maniacs with guns. It was then that the governor told me the victim was my godchild.
This changed things dramatically! I had become his godfather years earlier, by attending his first communion held by a visiting priest at the church in the village. We weren’t particularly close, but we talked whenever we saw each other. By becoming his godfather, it did however bring me into an important relationship with his parents. We became compadres. I don’t know the equivalent in English, but it is an important relationship, highly regarded in Latin and Indian cultures and one involving certain responsibilities. I felt compelled to go and help in whatever way I could. Doing the report seemed the best way.
The tragedy was worse than imagined in that when I arrived at the house, I found that his four year old daughter had been deliberately shot and killed as well. Killings in the village are all too common, but when it involves innocent children, this is even shocking to the already brutish Tepehuan culture. To be brief, I was able to write up the report and describe the unpleasant but necessary details, and then was able to help the family accommodate the bodies together on a bed so they could begin their burial rituals. It was a difficult and heartbreaking night seeing such senseless loss of life and the helplessness of our Tepehuan friends.
To compound matters for the family, my compadre, the father and grandfather of the victims, that afternoon had left Durango with his other son on their way into the village, when they had an accident. Both ended up in hospital. None of us knew this out in the village as we were dealing with what had just happened out there, but later on early morning, my compadre, after just tragically witnessing the murder of her son and granddaughter, makes a trip into the city to be with her son and husband there. You can hardly imagine a worse scenario for her.
I didn’t get back up to our house till close to 1:00 AM. The family pleaded with me to stay, but the idea is you stay and don’t sleep at all till the body is buried. They believe if you fall asleep, the spirit of the deceased will come and steal your spirit. Not having this conviction was going to make it hard to stay awake, and secondly, it simply wasn’t safe to stay. There were still shots being fired and screams from drunks just up the hill. There was no telling if they would return to do some more damage. I simply just had to leave them in God’s hands. Thankfully that night there was no more shooting, and these drunks seemed to have moved on.
As a side note, although drinking and shootings are common here, we have never personally had to face these kind of threats as a team or family, nor witness them. Nearly always there are long stories of previous disagreements and fights that culminate in the events we just described. There is a certain safety factor in that we are outsiders and simply don’t have the type of history with people to warrant having such enemies. Most importantly, it is God who watches over us and protects us, and that is where your prayers for us are constantly appreciated.
We left the village the following morning feeling quite somber and it was a quiet trip home. Please pray for Claudia (wife and mother), for Helario (father and grandfather), for Emiteria (mother and grandmother), and for Roberto (injured brother and uncle in hospital). Pray that this event would be used by God to bring them to accepting Jesus as their saviour and Lord.
It was great to get back home and see the kids again. It seems all went well for the Worley’s and they did a good job. Lord willing it is looking positive for them to be able to continue looking after our older kids next semester. Continue to pray that all this will work out.
For Jesus and His glory,
Andrew and Anne Marie Ferguson
22 May
Dear Friends,
I’m writing from the village, and it’s a beautiful sunny day. I’ve been out here for two weeks and it’s not as much fun without the kids and Anne Marie here. Tomorrow a group from our church will be travelling to Milpillas to do ministry and so she is catching a ride out with them. I will drive there and pick her up and bring her out here (8 hour round trip or so). We’ll spend a week here together before heading back into the city. Barry and Candy will head out of the village with me, but will head back into the city and are taking a month visiting family in the States.
This brings up the point of who will be looking after our kids. Ryan and Lisa Worley are just completing Spanish study and have expressed interest in coming to Durango to help with taking care of Joseph and Madeline. They have come down from Chihuahua to do a trial week, hence, giving Anne Marie and opportunity to come out here. This week will be a heavier load than the real deal, as they have all four kids, aren’t in their own home, have two days to learn various parts of the city, and everything is completely new. On top of this they have their own kids as well. We are excited about the possibility and although I’m sure it will be a tough week, the hope is that it will help them and us determine if this is something that could work in the future.
The school our kids go to has exceptionally high standards and put a lot of requirements on the kids in the homework area. You would think it was almost intentional that they waited till THIS week to pile it on. On top of her already busy schedule, Anne Marie has not only had to get ready for Ryan and Lisa’s arrival, but the kids have had tons of homework that she has had to work through them with. She has done a great job in my absence, but is extremely tired. Hopefully these days in the village on our own will give her a chance to recuperate.
We’d really appreciate your prayers for our kids and Ryan and Lisa. Pray that they will be able to enjoy their week together not only getting to know each other, but also learning the ropes. Pray Ryan and Lisa will be able to see what God has for their future in all this. Pray also for safety for Anne Marie and the church group as they travel out. Pray also for the Wingo’s and my safety as we travel as well. There are plenty of dangers on the road, and so we look to the Lord’s protection and He has been so good to us and so we travel with confidence.
So yes, I get the easy job of being in the village these days while Anne Marie struggles on her own, but hopefully this will change soon. So what’s happening out here???
We are moving steadily ahead in language and its exciting as we are move closer to finishing. You’d be excited to know that we are in the midst of doing some pre (Bible)- translation exercises. We aren’t quite ready in the language yet, but by starting, it should help us get there. Barry is the principle translator and has translated already the old testament story of Joseph being sold to Potifar. Candy and I get the opportunity to read it to others and get their feedback. It’s still quite preliminary, but it is exciting to think that the Tepehuan are hearing God’s Word for the first time in their language. As word gets around and people come to a better understanding of what all this is about, I’m sure it will cause a stir in the village, but pray that God will use this for His glory in pricking their hearts to want to hear the whole story and to see in it, an answer for their hopelessness.
Thanks to all who pray and give. It is so much appreciated and we are indebted to your faithfulness.
For Jesus and His glory,
Andrew and Anne Marie
18 April
Dear Friends,
Hi once again from Durango. Our kids got a two week break from school for Easter. The first week Peter (Anne Marie’s dad) and his wife Arlene along with Anne Marie’s brother Joel, his wife Suzie and their baby Twyla came to visit. We had a good time visiting some of the sites of Durango and eating some good Mexican food.
For the second week, we went to the village as a family. The Tepehuan were really glad to finally see Anne Marie and the kids and couldn’t believe how much our kids had grown. It was a busy week with a lot of people coming by to visit. Marcelo and Faustino took the boys and I down to the river on an overnight fishing trip. The boys really enjoyed it and we all caught a lot of fish. The climb thousands of feet up out of the canyon is always a challenge though.
While there are aspects our older three children can enjoy about being in the village, at their ages, a week is all they can handle. The environment out there no longer is conducive and they get easily bored. There is a family who may potentially suit the need we have for someone to care for our children in Durango, while Anne Marie, Sophia and I go to the village. Right now they need to finish Spanish study, and then if all goes well and we all feel they are suited for the task, hopefully they can move down and begin ready for the next school semester in August. There is still a lot to talk about, and they are going to do a trial run for a week in May, and as you can imagine, this isn’t a job that just anyone can do. We would appreciate your prayers as a family as we work towards this, that above all we would know the Lord’s will and that He would open up the way for our families’ needs to be met. Pray also for the other family (Ryan and Lisa Worley) as they also come before the Lord with their future in regards to this need.
While out in the village this time, a whole bunch of Jehovah’s witnesses rolled into town. They spent a few days going from house to house trying to coerce the Tepehuan over to the Jw ways and doctrines. As you could imagine, this was the talk of the town and many Tepehuan came to us asking whether we were Jw’s, and what we thought of their beliefs. Needless to say, the Jw’s forced themselves upon people, and didn’t seem to take no for an answer when it came to entering houses and sharing their teachings. They also spoke out aggressively against the Tepehuan beliefs and god’s, which, needless to say, went down like bacon at a ba mitzvah. It was quite amusing hearing how some, when they saw the Jw’s heading their way, quickly herd their kids out the door and scurried off to the woods to get away. We were all quite relieved to see the dust as they left town the following day.
Initially we were a little annoyed, as Satan would seek to use this to really confuse the Tepehuan, perhaps even get them to question whether we should have the right to share God’s Word with them. After a while though, God seemed to calm our hearts and we could begin to see that He could even use this to cause the Tepehuan to not only question their own beliefs, but seek to know why,
The big question that the Tepehuan need to see is, what is the authority by which any of us believe what we do. The answer simply is God’s Word. Pray that God would use this to really allow us a clear opening to be able to teach the Tepehuan His Word, and that they would see it as, not our religion (white man’s), but God’s truth for them as well.
If you’ve seen any news on Mexico in the past couple of years, and especially recently, you would realize that the country is going through a particularly difficult and dangerous time. While there are quite a number of major hot spots and “no go zones”, it seems violent events can happen anywhere at any time across the country. Living here means we have grown accustomed to this and have to take the necessary precautions to live and work as safely as possible. As a mission, we are constantly keeping informed of what is happening, and make decisions accordingly. It goes without saying that God ultimately guides us and protects us, and we sense this constantly. You will notice in our updates, that we no longer refer to the name of the village we work in, nor give specific names of people there. We will be a little more general about travel dates as well. It would not be prudent to give detailed info in a bulk email like this, but we do value your prayers. If you would like more specific information about this situation, please don’t hesitate to email us privately. In case you’re now feeling a little anxious, we feel fine and enjoy living here, however, times have changed and we need to be cautious.
Finally, we have a dental clinic planned for the village and Jim (the dentist) is supposed to arrive tonight. We just recently heard that his flight is delayed and may not make his connection. Pray that he’ll make it in on time and that the clinic in the village will go well. We’re trusting to be able to help as many folk as possible with their dental needs and to be a blessing. Our prayer is that these kinds social efforts will help stand us out from the false religions such as the Jw’s and others. Pray for safety on the roads. Anne Marie will be in the city with the kids and so she would also appreciate prayer.
Thanks for being there for us,
Andrew and Anne Marie