New Tribes Mission’s emphasis on church planting is broadening the view of the missionary team in a Nahuatl village.

“One thing that has been heavy on the hearts of our team is the Spanish-speaking individuals in this village,” wrote Katie Moore, a member of the team. “We have couples who have intermarried from several tribal groups, families that speak only Spanish in the home, and … government workers who make their home here.” 

This means that although the team is focused on learning the culture and language of the Nahuatl people, they see current needs around them and they know that any church in the village will need to be multi-ethnic.

“Right before Christmas break, the Mexican teachers expressed an interest in doing a Bible study,” Katie wrote. “They said that they understood that we had studied ‘that sort of thing’ in college and asked if we would like to teach them some.”

Soon afterward, and before the team could provide an answer, a Nahuatl man named Hermilo came to them to ask for a Bible in Spanish. Hermilo does not speak Nahuatl, but speaks and reads Spanish. After he received the Bible he asked, “This is the real Bible, isn’t it?  It’s not one of those that people added a bunch of extra stuff to, right?”

“We don’t know Hermilo’s background,” Katie wrote, “but we imagine that he must have had conversations with a believer at some point in his life. We praise God for whomever planted the seeds of interest and pray that the Holy Spirit will bring about belief and fruit because of it.”

The missionary team is hoping to begin a Spanish-language Bible study this month.

Please pray that God uses this study in the hearts of people who attend. “Pray that we wisely balance our time between community service, construction, language learning, and Spanish evangelism,” Katie wrote.

 Missionary Katie Moore is getting settled into her home among the Nahuatl people. Right after her arrival a work team from the USA came to help.

“When they arrived, things really started moving. We raked and shoveled gravel, poured cement floors, framed walls, put up a fence, welded protection bars onto windows and dug a hole for a septic system.” Katie wrote. “We took a deep breath and then … built an outhouse, hauled water, tiled a shower, framed some doors and moved cement.”

Katie and her teammates used the cooperation and fellowship shown by the work team to show the Nahuatls how God’s family meets one another’s needs, something that is not a part of Nahautl culture.

“We are constantly trying to find opportunities to work on our language abilities, wrote Katie. “The phrase ‘niʔ neme moneštile mehikán’ means ‘teach me Nahuatl.’” 

“Please pray that our minds would be sharp and that our will to study will be strong until we can clearly communicate the Gospel in the heart language of the people.”

Lots of physical labor needed to be tackled as missionaries went back into a Nahuatl village recently, but that’s not the main thing.

“Although there are many things that will require our attention when we return to the tribe, we will focus primarily on reconnecting with the people,” wrote Katie Moore. “We have been gone during the rainy season and want to spend time visiting all our friends and neighbors.”

That also means time spent in language learning and review. “Time to brush the dust off our phrases and get back to work,” Katie wrote. One they expect to use a lot is Ni ki to kwal?, which means, “Did I say it right?”

The physical work mainly involved completing a house for new members of the Nahuatl team, Pete and Liesl Hypki. The outside is complete, but the inside needed to be finished, and before that could happen, 1,500 adobe bricks that were put inside to protect them from rain had to be moved.

Six missionaries from another part of Mexico came in to help with the task.

Pray for the missionaries as get back into ministry, build relationships and ask, often, Ni ki to kwal?

An uneventful trip to a Southern Tepehuan village provided an opportunity for a Southern Tepehuan man to share his faith.

Over the weekend, missionaries Barry and Candy Wingo and Andrew Ferguson went to the village along with Agustin, a Southern Tepehuan believer who is helping with Bible translation, and a Mexican doctor who usually has to travel to the village alone, “so it's nice if it works out for her to travel with one of us,” wrote Barry and Candy.

Barry and Candy are working on translating Exodus 2, and needed to check Genesis.

“It just means that Candy or I read the passage to someone and then ask questions to make sure that they understand what they heard,” the Wingos wrote. “We record these times in case they have a better way to express what they heard or detect something that is not right. It's a long process, as we do this with at least two to three people for each passage.”

On the way to the village, they took a break for lunch and started chatting about where they’d be in 25 years.

“I just commented that I'd be in Heaven by then,” Barry wrote. “The doctor asked me how I am so sure about that.” To people who practice the predominant religion of Mexico, it seems presumptuous and prideful to claim to know you are going to Heaven.

As Barry began to explain the Gospel to her, Agustin jumped in and shared his testimony.

“It's unusual for him to talk with an educated Mexican lady, as he's usually very shy, plus Spanish is not his mother tongue,” Barry wrote. “I wish you could have seen the joy on Agustin's face as he very clearly shared his faith, quoting verses he has memorized.

“He freely shared about his life of being involved in drugs and alcohol, and coming to faith in Christ while in jail. The doctor was impressed, and we trust that she will come to know Christ and be assured of her place in heaven one day as well. What a joy it was to see Agustin's boldness in sharing his faith.”

Pray that the doctor comes to know Christ, and that the check of Genesis in Southern Tepehuan turns up all the issues that Barry and Candy need to find.