Curse turns to laughter
Dust chased Tim Roberts and Ted Wingo down the Mexican trail like little kids following an ice cream truck. One look at them said at least that much dust had already caught up with them.
Nervous but happy replaced tired and hot as they saw the Tarahumara village ahead.
But the happy was ripped away as a man rushed from a mud-and-stick house. He ran right at them, his arms held high, his mouth forming words they could not understand. His angry expression told them he was the village witchdoctor, and he was cursing them.
The missionaries did not know this man’s name was Valentin, nor did they know that he had hurled his most powerful curse at them. Even if they had known, it would not have stopped them from establishing a ministry in the village. They definitely felt unsettled, but had peace in following God’s will to bring the Gospel to this isolated village.
One of the first people to befriend the missionaries was Nacho, Valentin’s son. After the men taught him lessons from the Bible, Nacho placed his faith in Christ. He has held firm to his faith in spite of taunts and ridicule and physical attacks, and continues to study and teach and translate with Ted and Tim.
He has also carried a burden for his dad and his mom, Cuca; a burden that has become Ted’s and Tim’s as well. For 13 years they prayed with him for the couple, yet the opposition remained. Sometimes the couple was friendly, sometimes not.
Cuca would go often inside her house when she saw the missionaries coming. If she could not get inside before they reached her house, she would usually ignore them. When she spoke to them or about them, her disapproval was clear.
But this spring the couple asked to hear Bible lessons. Ted, Tim and Nacho started with Creation and moved through key Old Testament accounts, finally reaching the life of Christ, and then His death, burial and resurrection.
And things really changed this month.
Valentin and Cuca began to laugh for joy. It all made sense – Jesus had taken their sins away!
"My heart was happy," wrote Tim. "Well, happy doesn't quite cover it. I was overjoyed … as I listened to two old shamans giggling like little children because of their newfound faith in Jesus Christ."
Pray that Valentin and Cuca discover the joy of being growing followers of Christ. Pray that Nacho has wisdom and insight as he helps Ted and Tim translate God’s Word into the Tarahumara language.
Nervous but happy replaced tired and hot as they saw the Tarahumara village ahead.
But the happy was ripped away as a man rushed from a mud-and-stick house. He ran right at them, his arms held high, his mouth forming words they could not understand. His angry expression told them he was the village witchdoctor, and he was cursing them.
The missionaries did not know this man’s name was Valentin, nor did they know that he had hurled his most powerful curse at them. Even if they had known, it would not have stopped them from establishing a ministry in the village. They definitely felt unsettled, but had peace in following God’s will to bring the Gospel to this isolated village.
One of the first people to befriend the missionaries was Nacho, Valentin’s son. After the men taught him lessons from the Bible, Nacho placed his faith in Christ. He has held firm to his faith in spite of taunts and ridicule and physical attacks, and continues to study and teach and translate with Ted and Tim.
He has also carried a burden for his dad and his mom, Cuca; a burden that has become Ted’s and Tim’s as well. For 13 years they prayed with him for the couple, yet the opposition remained. Sometimes the couple was friendly, sometimes not.
Cuca would go often inside her house when she saw the missionaries coming. If she could not get inside before they reached her house, she would usually ignore them. When she spoke to them or about them, her disapproval was clear.
But this spring the couple asked to hear Bible lessons. Ted, Tim and Nacho started with Creation and moved through key Old Testament accounts, finally reaching the life of Christ, and then His death, burial and resurrection.
And things really changed this month.
Valentin and Cuca began to laugh for joy. It all made sense – Jesus had taken their sins away!
"My heart was happy," wrote Tim. "Well, happy doesn't quite cover it. I was overjoyed … as I listened to two old shamans giggling like little children because of their newfound faith in Jesus Christ."
Pray that Valentin and Cuca discover the joy of being growing followers of Christ. Pray that Nacho has wisdom and insight as he helps Ted and Tim translate God’s Word into the Tarahumara language.