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from Ephesus traveling to Miletus to see Paul
and Timothy for a few short hours or days
in Acts 20. Some of our friends would travel
for days by canoe and then a day by bus to
cross into Colombia to meet with us. I would
have to drive across Paraguay, fly to Bogotá,
Colombia, and then fly on a smaller plane
the next day to Puerto Carreño. I said, “Yes”
with no hesitation because we felt that God
had a purpose. We had no way of knowing
that purpose, but we were confident it was
His plan and His time.

What a blessed time when we found each
other! Traveling across borders, we had no
phone service. I arrived at the hotel but they
were not there. I went to the river and they
were not there anymore or not yet. Their last
message said they were crossing and to pray
that the border guards caused no problems.

I returned to the hotel, praying they would
find it. What a blessed reunion it was!
The Ye’kwanas have the New Testament in
their language like the verse given earlier, but
they do not have the Old Testament. A group
of faithful men with another missionary are
now revising the New Testament for a new
printing. The Bibles from the last printing all
rotted away from the humidity and use.

16 BIMI
Number 1, 2024
We had planned a four-day seminar on the
Old Testament, so we got right down to it.

Twelve hours a day—lots of teaching, lots of
questions, lots of tears, and lots of laughter.

Why was God doing this? Food and money
were scarce in Venezuela. We had to cover
all costs for them to stay in Colombia. It was
a great sacrifice for them and their families
to get there.

We began by sharing what God had been
doing in our lives since we had separated. We
shared all the happenings for our families,
new children, new marriages, and strong men
passing into eternity. Heartaches and joys all
need to be shared. We took the time to learn
again all we could of our families and friends.

That is the way and it cannot be rushed.

People are always more important than time.

A soul lives forever but time will come and go.

They began to share their dreams, their goals,
and hopes with us. What could they do for
God? How could they serve the Almighty?
They have no resources to spare. With
Venezuela in economic crisis and perilously
close to a national collapse, what did they
have to offer to God? They had faith and
the desire to fulfill 2 Timothy 2:2. The parts
of the Old Testament that they had heard



and the stories of faith they read about in
Hebrews 11 were incomplete. So much of the
New Testament alludes to the Old. However,
they did not have an Old Testament in their
language that they could read or that the old
ones could read or the young ones could
learn to read. What could they do?
With many indigenous groups, outsiders
arrive and drown out the voice and sound of
their native language. Missionaries work as
quickly as possible to learn the language of
the people because it is proven that the heart
language of the people reaches the soul and
stills the spirit in a special way. Paul knew this.

We can read about it in Acts 22 where in the
first few verses he calms the crowd of rioters
by speaking Hebrew. Later, when he talks to
the Centurion and the Tribune, we know he
was speaking in Greek or perhaps Latin, the
official language of the Roman Empire.

And in like manner, the Old Testament
Translation Project is born. Some of the
stories had been translated enough to
help the teaching in the churches by the
missionaries who know the language and
are working on the New Testament revision.

The men from Chajuraña realized that
they needed to take responsibility for their
Bible, and they are excited about giving the
finished books as they produce them to the
old ones so that they might read God’s Word
in their mother tongue. This is their project.

It is not a missionary’s idea. They want to do
this for their people.

We practiced methods and taught them new
techniques to help them get the job done.

They will need help both financially and
technically. We will travel there a few times a
year to consult, help correct the translation,
and encourage the men—a team of six
FAITHFUL men. They are halfway through
Genesis, and the old ones who have read it
love it.

The workman is worthy of his hire. They want
to work full-time, at least six hours a day, but
they need to provide for their families. We
are commanded to tell them the Gospel and
to disciple and train them. We instruct them
to read the Scriptures. Can one imagine not
having the Psalms in our Bibles or Proverbs
or even the stories of Esther and Ruth? They
do not have to imagine, it is their reality.

Would we say, “Well, they do not really need
that part of the Bible”?
They want ALL of the Word of God in their
language. Can we blame them? We should
help them get it! W
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