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previous "Glimpses"

"A glimpse into the life of a Simba person."

November 2004 There are approximately 7000 Simba people living in 60 + communities in southern Bolivia. The Simba people live in simple houses made of adobe or of sticks and grass. Those that live near rivers fish for their food. Those that live away from rivers plant mostly corn, and also potatoes, rice, sugar cane, and other vegetables. They raise some chickens and pigs. They are very poor, subsisting on almost no income. Very few of those over 25 have an education. There are government schools in some Simba communities that teach mostly in Spanish up to about the third grade. The Simba have a unique language and culture. The typical Simba world view is quite animistic. They believe that spirits control the world around them. The Simba people will often try to manipulate certain spirits by performing rituals, or by seeking the help of a witch doctor. Only about 5% of the Simba people have had an opportunity to hear the gospel. The work of evangelizing the Simba is hindered because of the difficulty of traveling into the isolated communities in which they live. Please pray for the Simba, that they will all soon have the opportunity to hear and understand what Christ has done for them.

April 2003

Here is an interesting custom amongst the Simba people. The making of chicha. Chicha is sort of a homemade brew, made from corn. The corn is boiled, then cut off the cob and placed in a tub. 

Simba Women chewing corn to make chicha

Then women sit around and chew it up, spitting it back into the tub, then chewing more until it is all pulverized. It is boiled down again and left to ferment. Yum, yum. (I personally think that God never intended for us to drink corn, especially that way.) We asked them why they don't just pound the corn in their mortars to pulverize it. The answer was, "When you do it that way it just doesn't taste right." It must be an acquired taste.

Simba Women chewing corn to make chicha

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October 2002

We recently visited with the people of Awairenda. We would like to give you a "glimpse" into their lives and our short visit with them. Awairenda is located about 30 miles from our community, Taperillas. Due to bad road conditions, a trip, by vehicle, to Awairenda takes "roughly" three hours. The "road" winds through a small canyon and, sometimes, through a sandy creek bed. The purpose of our trip was to do medical work and do some Bible teaching in the evenings, as well. Dr. Tom Raff came from PA to attend to the needs of the people. Our friends, Larry and Kathy Westfall of WV, came to help out in whatever way they could. They came with servants hearts and it showed. They were such a blessing!

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Awairenda is a fairly new community. The people live in crude structures with tarps for roofs. Their land is situated in a wide valley with very little vegetation. The hot, dry winds were blowing during our visit and there was hardly any shade.

The people are constructing houses of adobe, but this is a slow, back-breaking process, hampered by bad weather, at times, and by lack of water, at other times.

They have no jobs, no incomes. They live off the land - growing their staple crop of corn. They will plant other things - if they have the seeds to do so.

They are very poor people. Health-wise, financially and spiritually. There are believers among the people, but they have no steady Bible teaching and no full-time pastor.

For the most part, the people of Awairenda are mono-lingual. Jack's ability to speak with them in their heart language - Simba - was such an asset. With Jack's help as translator, Dr. Raff was able to see many patients during our three day visit. Some serious illnesses were treated, but mostly just some general aches and pains. The people were so grateful for this medical help.

We were also able to check for anemia among the people there, and the Westfall's were a great help in the 5-man process of getting information (names, birth dates or ages, etc.) pricking fingers, preparing blood smears (or slides), reading the blood smears, etc. Cramped quarters made this process difficult. Also, the people all wanted to crowd around and watch their friends and neighbors get their fingers pricked. It's quite a show!

For rewards, we hand out boiled eggs to all the children under the age of 12. It helps dry up the tears pretty quickly.

The Westfall's brought with them a huge suitcase full of used kids clothing and shoes. We were able to hand out all the items they brought while in Awairenda. What a blessing to see the smiles that a simple item of clothing or a pair of shoes could bring!

Please pray for the people of Awairenda. They desire to hear God's Word. Pray for their physical needs, as well - good health, provisions for completing their houses, and rain to water their next corn crop.

Our desire, as a team, is to travel to Awairenda from time to time and teach. We would like to construct a small house where we could stay during these visits. We are leaving it all in the Lord's hands and ask you to pray that God will see His work accomplished in His way in Awairenda.

April 2002

Even a little light can reach into the darkest of places. 

We have found this to be true over the last few months. Most recently, as I was getting supper on the table one evening, two Simba ladies arrived. They said, "Several of the drunks have been fighting and one of them, Porfidio, has been stabbed in the foot. The nurse is not here. Can you please come?"

Jack, who was just finishing up some translation work for the day, asked them a few more questions and then went to get our vehicle. I began to gather the medical supplies I thought we might need for just such an emergency. Supper would have to wait.

Dusk had fallen by the time we reached the injured man's home. Porfidio sat in a drunken stupor and his family gathered round us as we knelt in the dirt and, by the light of a flashlight, began to clean and then stitch his wound. I prayed for God's wisdom in dealing with the situation, but really didn't give any thought as to how He could use all of this for His glory. As we worked by the light of that flashlight, God began to work with His Light - causing it to shine into the darkened hearts of some of the men who'd been involved in the drunken brawl. A few days later we began to hear stories of just how God was working. One man's story touched us deeply.

Carmelo had turned his back on the Lord years ago after being falsely accused of stealing. He had turned to a life of drinking, fighting and physically abusing his wife. He spoke with one of the believers here and said he was tired of living that way. He told of his 6 year-old granddaughter begging him to move to the big city with her because she had heard that people drank only water there - not alcohol. He told of how his wife ran away from him in fear each time he came home drunk and of how his smaller grandchildren would cover him with blankets after he would pass out in the yard. But what he said last touched us the most. "Here we are, a bunch of filthy drunks, fighting and trying to kill each other. When one of us gets hurt you don't refuse to help us. You come with love and a willingness to help even us."

God caused His Light to reach into several hearts, and we have now seen Andres, (the man who stabbed Porfidio), and his wife come to know the Lord as well as Porfidio and his wife. Carmelo has also re-dedicated his life to the Lord.

We share this story with you so that you will know that God uses your faithful prayers and support to shed His Light on the Simba people. Thank you so much for helping us SHINE THAT LIGHT!

This is Paulino Chavez and his family (from Right to left) wife Sofía holding Neomí, Saúl, Dora, Carol, Paula. We wanted to feature this family at this time to ask you all to pray for them. 

Paulino is a very talented musician. He loves to sing and play guitar. When he led the music in our church meetings the quality of the singing was always quite a bit higher than when he isn't there. Also he has often helped Jack as a language helper and does very well. When their daughter, Carol, was about 6 months old she became very ill. We tried to treat her, but her condition deteriorated quickly. We were taking her to the hospital in town and her heart stopped when we were about 20 minutes away from town. Suzie managed to revive her and she did recover. She is very special to us. 

Recently, the second youngest, Paula, fell into a fire and badly burned her hand and wrist. Sofía brought her to Suzie. Suzie started treating her and for two weeks had to clean the burns and remove the dead skin. She also recovered nicely. Sofía keeps her children clean and well dressed. We have had such a good relationship with this family, and still do. 

However, Satan has purposed to destroy this beautiful, Simba family, and has nearly succeeded. There has been unfaithfulness between Paulino and Sofía. Now Paulino is struggling with resentment. He sometimes gets drunk and comes home and physically abuses Sofía. Several have tried to work with them and help them through these difficulties, but it seems that Paulino can't control his anger. Since we are going to be in the States this summer, we are going to look into a "Domestic Violence" program that we could translate into Simba. Please pray for Paulino and this dear family.

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Let's take a glimpse at Nicolas and Eli Chavez. Nico and Eli, along with their children Beatriz and Natali, are our closest neighbors. They live about 50 yards from our home. 

They are a young couple whose desire to serve the Lord is very evident. They attend almost all of the believer's meetings and their interest in God's Word shows. Nico and Eli can both read, so they are able to take notes and look up scriptures on their own. Nico takes on some of the responsibilities of the meetings - singing specials, doing some teaching, leading the singing, etc. He made a drum for our use doing the meetings and also a tambourine. 

Nico and Eli enjoy sports - especially soccer and volleyball. If there is a game to be played, you can usually find them both among the first to arrive at the field. Because of the close proximity to our home, Nico works for us quite often. Jack taught him to use the lawnmower and he keeps our grass looking very nice. This frees Jack up so that he can continue language study on a steady basis. Nico and Eli have also worked as language helpers from time to time. They are very willing to help out in any way they can. 

They have become special friends of ours. They visit us often. They enjoy reading the Spanish Bible storybooks we keep on hand. We look forward to teaching them more spiritual concepts in the future. Nico will be a great help to Jack as he begins to prepare lessons in the Simba language. Pray for Nico and Eli and their family. They are a very special family and we feel that God will really use them in the community of Taperillas and beyond.

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This month we are profiling Felix and Zoila Avendaño, along with their three children, Joel, Jonatán, and Kati. Felix is Pascual's son. (Pascual was featured last month) 

Although Felix was raised mostly away from home, he still has a good grasp of the language and culture. After a tour in the military, Felix was in much turmoil not knowing what to do with the rest of his life. He married Zoila, who is also Guaraní / Simba, and settled in Santa Cruz. They began to attend a church that didn't really preach a clear gospel. His inner turmoil continued. He began to visit his father in Taperillas from time to time and there, he began to hear the clear teaching of the Word of God. He eventually decided that he wanted to enter a Bible school or Seminary to learn more. 

We directed him to Nueva Esperanza, the New Tribes Mission National Training Center in Santa Cruz. It is hard for us to appreciate the step of faith it was for Felix to take his young family and enter the three year training program at NE with no financial support. At NE, Felix and Zoila really understood the Gospel for the first time. NE was a difficult adjustment for them, but they have grown in leaps and bounds since beginning the training program there. They just finished their second year at NE. When they complete their third year of training they intend to return to Taperillas and enter, full time, into the Simba ministry. 

We are praising the Lord for raising up Felix and Zoila we are sure that they will be a great blessing to the future Simba church. Please pray for this young family.