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Ministry News
March 2008  Felix and Zoila Avendaño and family Ministry News March 2007 We have continued to do outreaches to different Simba villages down the Iguembe Valley. We did one at the end of January, and another the first of February. Since it is rainy season, and this years' is a doozy, we are unable to go far from the beaten path due to the deterioration of the roads. The outreaches are certainly helpful. Many Simba people are hearing the truth of God's word in their own language for the first time. However, we see a big need for "follow up", with more teaching, and encouragement, and discipleship. Our follow up has been sporadic so far. Some of the people come out to our home base in Taperillas for Bible courses, but that may be as little as once a year. With as many as 70 different Simba villages, it is not possible for our small team to visit them all. Here are some measures we are taking to address this problem: 1. We are preparing recorded lessons to distribute to people in each village. The idea is that the "care takers" would listen to them, and play the lessons for their neighbors to hear. There are some basic problems with this approach. The people have to have, and maintain cassettes, cassette players, and batteries. Cassettes last a good long time in our cool, dry homes. But the Simba live in damp, hot mud and grass huts. We are looking in to a different type of player. It is sort of like an mp3 player that can hold 80 hours of recorded material. It would use fewer batteries, and since there is no removable tape or disk, it would be much more durable. The initial cost to get started is high, so we are looking to the Lord for funds. 2. We now have a daily radio program. Bill and Kathleen Mann recorded the lessons, and put them in a proper format for radio. Many Simba villages have at least one short wave radio that can pick up the station from Santa Cruz. Once again, there is always the problem of keeping up with batteries, and maintaining the radio equipment in the tribes. 3. Tapes and radio are good, but there is nothing like an actual visit and face to face encouragement. Our partner, Felix Avendaño, has a burden to make frequent visits to the Simba communities that we have contacted. The problem for him is transportation. Felix received a gift of a new, Chinese made motorcycle about a year ago. The moto is very cheap, and has not been able to withstand the abusive roads we have to travel in order to reach some of the different Simba villages. It has been a good bike for Felix to learn with. He is now very proficient in changing flats, and doing other general maintenance. He really needs a better motorcycle. We trust the Lord for funds, and that he will soon be back on the trail riding a dependable, suitable motorcycle. 4. We also ask you to pray for the Simba believers. There are several families that desire to serve the Lord in some capacity. We want to see more leaders taking their place in the church, and more going out to other Simba villages to evangelize and to disciple others. July 2006 We would like to tell you about a recent Bible course we held in a very small and isolated Simba village called £toröro. Mainly one family lives there; an older Simba man named Kurinda and his extended family. There are several other Simba villages near by; within 10 miles. We were encouraged by the enthusiasm, prayer, participation, and sacrifice of several of the Simba believers here in Taperillas. Several families donated food to the cause. Six of the believers went along to help out. It was encouraging to see their joy in the Lord and testimony as they took care of setting up camp, food preparation, and anything else needing done. We enjoyed very good team work. The eight-day Bible course was well attended, although Kurinda was hoping for more to show, we had 52 Simba people. Many were Kurindas family, many were teens. There were some older people too. Two grandmas (early 70s) from a village about 8 miles north were there and participated in many discussions. Several of the teens had previously attended courses in Taperillas. They were mostly readers and were very hungry to hear the Word. Most of the 52 were very attentive and openly showing evidence of the Holy Spirit working in their hearts (or livers for the Simba). Three of us did the teaching; Jack, Felix, and Felix's' cousin Arturo. We taught each morning from 9 till noon, then in the afternoons from 3 till 5:30. Each night we had singing and showed videos (Creation through Jacob in Spanish, and the Jesus film in Eastern Guaraní). The teaching was very well received. "When I (Jack) taught about the flood and about God's covenant with Noah and about the rainbow, it was apparent that the Holy Spirit was really opening it up to them. They were so light hearted. I honestly believe that all of them decided to believe God's Word. One older man came to me afterwards in the lunch line and put me in front of him (it was goat gut soup so I wasn't really in a hurry) and he thanked me for teaching him and shared briefly that he too was believing the teaching over what his fathers had taught him." At the conclusion of the meetings we had given a clear presentation of the Gospel. Kurinda got up and expressed his faith in the Lord and tearfully shared his desire that all of his family would believe. The last night there a group of teens kept Jack and Felix up till past 11 asking for "good parts" from God's Word. What a privilege. We have no doubt that, if God tarries, they will some day be teaching those things to their own children. Most of those 52 heard the Gospel for the first time and responded with simple belief. PTL! We had invitations to come and hold courses in several other villages as well. We are reminded of the words of Jesus, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. Mt 9:37,38" August 2005 This past year we have had some great times visiting with family, friends, and supporters. We always enjoy presenting our ministry to different congregations in all of the churches we visit. Thanks to all of you for your interest, fellowship, and encouragement. The time has now come for returning to Bolivia and the work in the Simba tribe. Our plans are as follows: Suzie will remain in the States to help our daughter, Emily, by taking care of our grandson, Robbie. Suzie will also be available for things such as ladies meetings at churches if the opportunity arises. Jack is returning to Bolivia at the end of August. He will pick up again with the Bible translation and teaching / church planting ministry in the Simba tribe. Jack will return to the States at the end of November. Why you ask? Not only to spend the holidays with family, but also … Read the following excerpt of a letter from NTM Bolivia … Political Situation in Bolivia: … the situation seemed to be calming down and, thank God, it has. Oh, there are still periodic roadblocks and strikes, but it’s not country-wide, like before, and we consider that normal and something we can live with. The reason there is a general calm is that we will be having general elections (both for President and for the Congress) December 4, 2005, and everyone is agitatedly gearing up for the campaign (they’ve already started the propaganda- GAG!!). Unfortunately, this is only a temporary calm! Why do I say that? Because if one of the more radical candidates get in, there will be much social unrest as he institutes a “government of the people”, and as a North American entity we will be, at best, harassed, and at the worst, totally unwelcome. If one of the moderate candidates gets elected, the radical people movements that drove 2 presidents out in 2 years have promised that they will drive him out in only 6 months. He will either allow himself to be driven out, or he will call the troops out to maintain law and order and that will make for a very difficult situation for us. I must admit that I don’t even know how to ask you to pray. We are praying that the right man will be elected (not sure what that means in God’s economy) and that God will give us wisdom, especially as we plan the future of our Mission and are responsible for our Mission family. Several of our missionaries took early furloughs due to the unrest, and as a Leadership we need a balance between trusting God and being wise. Jack will return to the States just before the election in December. He plans to continue the Bible translation work during his time in the States. Then, after the election and everything hopefully calms down again, he plans to return to Bolivia in January, 2006. Well, that’s the plan. As always, we’ll see how the Lord works it all out. Thanks for your prayers. March 8, 2005 Hi all. I (Jack) wanted to give you an update. I arrived back in the US on Friday morning at 1:30 a.m. Then right away on Friday evening through Sunday evening we were involved in a mission’s conference at Bible Baptist Church in Danville, WV. I was tired, but it was well worth it! My time in Bolivia was very productive. I had the privilege to teach in one of our Simba Bible Courses. Simba people from 7 different villages and surrounding areas were in attendance. Many of them were hearing God’s Word taught in their own “heart language” for the first time. As for the translation work, I was able to translate 157 verses - finishing the verses needed for the foundational teaching all the way through Joshua. I was able to check most of the new material with three or four other Simba people. Then, in preparation for the translation consultant’s visit, another missionary did a “Back to English” of nearly half the book Exodus. This is a literal English rendition of the Simba translation so that the consultant can check it for content. Our regular translation consultant is on a medical furlough, so this time I had the great privilege of working with Wayne Gill. Wayne is one of the most experienced consultants in South America. Wayne and Ruth came down to work with me during my last week in Simba land. We checked through some very difficult portions of scripture (the building of the tabernacle, and the Ten Commandments). We were able to finish checking 225 verses, and are lacking only one chapter to finish Exodus. As you can see, the trip was a great success. Suzie and I are grateful that I could go. Thanks so much for standing with us with your prayers! Now we are trying to work out our schedule for the second half of our home assignment time. We will be contacting all of our supporting churches that we have not yet visited. Hopefully, the Russell’s will be coming to a church near you in the near future. We look forward to seeing you all. God Bless! Jack and Suzie Russell Date: 14 Feb 2005 Hi all, Just a quick note to let you know how it's going here in Simba land. I had a very busy week mostly doing translation. But on Thursday morning, my computer's hard drive crashed. Fortunately, my partner, Seth Lamb, is very good with computers and helped me re-install the operating system and get the computer up and running again. I didn't lose any of my work, but it took a whole day to get it set up again. I made up for lost time, and have now finished all the verses I needed to do from Exodus, Leviticus, and I'm now working on Numbers. The translation consultant is coming down on Feb 23rd for a week long check. So I am working at a marathon pace to get as much done as possible. I am also arranging for several of the Simba folks to work with us during the check. Please be praying that I will be able to put together a good team to do an effective language/translation check. We should be able to check up until March 1, and then I will return to the city of Santa Cruz, then back to the States on March 3rd. Before I close, I would like to tell you what one of my language helpers said to me on Saturday. We were working on a very difficult portion of scripture, and I was asking some very specific and directed questions to make sure that what I was translating would be easily understood. Porfidio was one of the guys helping me that day. (Some of you may remember that he is the former "village drunk" that was stabbed in the foot a while back and who Suzie stitched up. He came to the Lord shortly after that experience, and is doing great!) We read the Scripture portions in both Spanish and the Eastern Guarani. I asked if they understood, and Porfidio said to me, "No, those aren't really clear to us, but that one you wrote there on the television (computer), that really speaks to my liver, because that voice is like our voice." (Meaning ..."that's the way we speak!") Well, that was really an encouragement to me. Thanks for your prayers. Because He said Go, Jack Hi all, just a quick report from Simba land.
First, thanks to all that were It was very encouraging to see them responding, Now I have some prayer requests. First, we are
planning the next Bible course This week I am starting the translation work
again. Much has changed since I Jack and Suzie Russell Jack and Suzie entered New Tribes Mission in 1990, Moved to Bolivia in April, 1993, and have worked in the Simba tribe since 1994. They live in Taperillas, a Simba village in southern Bolivia. Though a dirt road passes through the community, the village is quite isolated. There are no phones, and no electricity. Jack is currently team translator and is translating portions of the Old Testament into the Simba language. He has completed the book of Genesis, and has nearly completed Exodus. He is also preparing foundational lessons for use in evangelizing and discipling Simba people. He teaches through the lessons, and assists other Simba believers in teaching. Suzie is the team book keeper. She also assists in our medical outreach to the community and surrounding communities. She is kept quite busy helping Jack and ministering to the community. While on home assignment, the Russells are living in Nitro, WV. Their home church is Victory Baptist Church in Cross Lanes, WV. They are visiting friends, family, and supporting churches. Jack continues to work on the Simba translation as much as possible. Jack will need to return to Bolivia for a month or so sometime early next year to check his work. If you have any questions or comments, you may reach the Russells at jack_russell@ntm.org
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 typical Simba village |
 Jack teaching in a Simba village called, 'Salt People' |
 Simba boys from 'New village', a very isolated Simba village |
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April 2003
At the time I am writing this, the US and her allies are at war with Iraq. It is a great concern to most of the world, especially to the countries involved. My intention is not to trivialize the Iraq war, but I want to mention that there is another war that has been raging for a long time. That is the war that Satan has launched against God and His creation. Satan is already defeated, but continues fighting for the souls of men, women, boys, and girls. This war of which I speak is even more vital and urgent than the one against Saddam and his armies, for this is a war that has eternal consequences. The Simba are a people of which very few have heard about our Saviour Jesus Christ.
We have recently returned from the latest survey of Simba villages in southern Bolivia. Eight of us went on the survey. Along the way we came across a friend from Tentayapi, a Simba community that maintains the old Simba traditions. His name is Yaguayu, meaning "Yellow Tiger." (He calls me "Yaguati", - "White Tiger.")
Yaguayu had walked to a community which happened to be the first Simba community we visited on our trip. He decided to accompany us for the rest of the trip. I'll mention here that Yaguayu is a believer, but can't read or write. Learning to read is not allowed in Tentayapi. Yaguayu has a desire to build a shelter in his community with the idea that, if there were a shelter, we (the missionaries) would come and teach from time to time. The people of Tentayapi could then learn about the Lord. We want to answer that call! Now back to the trip. In all, we visited 8 different Simba communities. In each community we asked for and received permission from the chief to hold a meeting.
In the meetings I, and brother Felix, taught some very basic concepts about God and the Bible. It was more of an introduction. Most of the people we encountered were completely untaught concerning the things of the Lord. In each place we went the chiefs and people invited us to return and teach them. Many of them commented that they were in desperate need of hearing the teaching about God. Our hearts were very challenged to return as soon as possible and begin teaching in those places. One problem we face is a lack of trained teachers. I am less than half way through the translation and preparation of teaching materials. I see the work as more urgent than ever.
Please pray for us in the Simba work. God knows the needs and will supply. God bless you all and thanks for your prayers.
Jack
November 2002
Hi all,
We wanted to send you, our praying friends, a report on our latest Simba Bible Course. The course was held in our community of Taperillas Nov. 17 - 20. There were 15 Simba men attending from 9 different communities. There were three men from Tentayapi, meaning "The last village", which is the most isolated and culturally pure Simba village. See the picture below of Jack with a new believer, Kare, from Tentayapi. Jack taught the first 14 foundational Bible lessons. Pascual and Felix Avendaño, our Simba co-workers, questioned the class and did fill in teaching where necessary. Jack had prepared the lessons to address key points of the Simba world view, so there were some intense, moving times as the Holy Spirit began to shed light in the darkness.
For example, one of the questions some of them asked was, "Who empowers our witch doctors to heal people and to do good things?" The answer is, "Satan, because he wants to deceive you just like he did in the garden of Eden when he was 'doing Eve a favour by blowing the whistle on God and showing her that God was holding out a good thing from them by ordering them not to eat the fruit of the one tree." Another question, "We heard that God has a mother, Mary?" Answer, "That is a lie, He is eternal, was not born like us, did not make himself, He has always lived." What a great time of learning about God. We were very pleased with the outcome.
One guy from Tentayapi, Kare, came to Pascual and said that he wanted to be saved. We weren't sure how much he understood about the plan of salvation, but it was clear that his thinking about God had changed considerably. We are beginning to build the facilities for the Simba Bible Center. These classes were held in the newly constructed garage. Kind of a shelter where we are storing building materials for the main building. The next building we are putting up is the bathroom facility. You would be surprised at how much thought and planning went in to that one. Most Simba people have never seen a toilet, much less know how to use one. There will have to be special training for them to use the facility. (Not something we talked about in mission training). There are two work teams coming from the States in January. We hope to have the bath facility finished by the time they arrive. We have over three thousand adobes finished and ready for the construction of the main building.
Please pray about these projects. Pray also for the on-going Bible translation. Jack is progressing well with the Book of Genesis and the foundational lessons that go along with the scriptures. Many thanks to all of you that prayed for the Bible course. It was a great success. By the way, check out our newly updated web site. God Bless!
October 2002
Medical work: Our good friend, Dr. Tom Raff, came down for a week of medical out- reach to two Simba villages. Our dear friends from WV, Larry and Kathy Westfall, also came to help out. We spent a couple of days in our village of Taperillas attending to the sick and afflicted. Then we headed 30 miles North to a larger Simba village called Avairenda. A Bolivian dentist from a nearby town joined us in the outreach. There we set up three rooms, one for the doctor, one for the dentist, and one for doing blood-hemoglobin tests to check for anemia. We stayed in Avairenda three days. After seeing patients all day we had meetings in the evenings. Jack preached one night and Felix preached the second night. After the brief message, Jack showed a teaching video about creation through the flood. It was a very positive time with the families of Avairenda. We spoke with the chief of the possibility of us building a house there so that we would have a place to stay during our visits. Our thinking is that some of our team could go there from time to time in order to study, teach, and check material. The chief talked with some of the leaders and their response was positive. We will be looking into that possibility in the not too distant future. Please pray with us about that and for the Simba people of Avairenda.
Translation Check: Cam and Mary Hurst, our translation consultants, are making a trip down to check the translation work Jack has been doing from Genesis. They will be with us in Taperillas during the third week of October. It is a lot of work to check the material and is a very important step in coming up with a clear, understandable translation. Please pray for God's wisdom as we check, and correct the material.
"Kick the Gringos out!" As the Lord's work amongst the Simba continues to move forward, the opposition is also increasing. Recently, a former "Big chief" started sort of a campaign to get us, the missionaries, kicked out of the Simba tribe. He is no longer a chief, but still has a lot of power and is able to intimidate others (Sound like anyone else we know?) We don't really know why he wants us out, but he could do harm to the ministry. His attempts failed this time, but he probably is not planning on giving up. Please pray for this guy that the Lord would reveal Himself to him and melt his hardened heart.
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May 2002 Update |
The work in the Simba tribe is going forward and becoming more demanding and intense. There is an open door to teach in just about all the different Simba communities. Jack is making good progress in preparing the foundational Bible lessons and translating the scriptures that go with them. So far he has completed 20 lessons and the first 12 chapters of Genesis. This work involves thorough Bible study, checking in other versions, writing the Scripture in Simba, checking and correcting with helpers, doing a "Back to English" copy to send to the field translation consultant, making the corrections that he suggests, then checking it all again with the field translation consultant and several Simba helpers. Sound like a lot of work? But it is worth it so that the Simba can have an understandable and meaningful Bible.
Jack is also teaching on Sunday afternoons. These are open-air meetings and many unbelievers are usually present. Please pray for wisdom and perseverance. Suzie is continuing to help out with the medical work in Taperillas. Our partner, Linda Depue, has taken over the bulk of it, but Suzie still helps out. Within the last few months
Suzie has delivered one newborn, sewed up a stab wound, and treated all sorts of ear infections, conjunctivitis, lots of colds, and many other things. Many times this ministry gives Suzie special opportunities for spiritual ministry as well. On top of that, Suzie is the Simba team bookkeeper. This is a job that continues to grow as the team grows and as we have more projects going on. Please pray for Suzie in this very demanding ministry.