ALTECO 2007 Update

Steve was asked to assist and participate with the ALTECO consortium held in Florida. So at the end of March we packed up the boys and flew down to Orlando.

Steve served where needed for the duration of the conference, while enjoying the opportunities to network and fellowship with delegates from various backgrounds & ministries. Everyone attending had one primary focus--empowering the Amazonian tribes. We wish that we could find a way to convey the sense of unity we witnessed at this conference or how exciting it was for us to be involved in it.

Steve Saint (son of Nate Saint and founder of I-TEC, the Indigenous People’s Technology and Education Center) joined us at ALTECO again this year. (He recently joined the board of ALTECO, which we are really excited about.) This year, he brought his new dental/birthing chair (which is an interesting combo, if you really think about it!) The chair was developed by I-TEC to equip our indigenous brother and sisters to minister in tangible and practical ways to their people and neighboring tribes. (They are also trained to do the dental work.)

Steve Saint also demonstrated another project aimed at indigenous independence: his "grasshopper", which is sort of a combination go-cart/paraglider. This two man flight vehicle is being developed for use in the Amazon as an alternative to planes. The "grasshopper" could be seen several times during the conference week, taking off, soaring, circling and touching down. It was awesome, in the truest sense of the word! (We have uploaded a few of the photos to our photo album, if you want to see for yourself!)

The April 2007 newsletter from I-TEC briefly mentions a little bit about the conference and their take on it. I’d like to encourage you to visit the I-TEC site if you have an interest in the dental/birthing chair or the grasshopper. They have some neat photos and you can even read their April newsletter (look for the Archives link on the Breaking News page).

This year has seen many changes for us as well as Amazon Focus. Although our status with Amazon Focus has changed to “Associates” we have found that there are still plenty of opportunities for us to remain involved with AF.

Steve has been hard at work, organizing a 10-day trip for five of our church’s key leaders. Along with Steve, they will travel to Peru in the beginning of December (Nov. 29- Dec. 9) for a time of exposure to the people and ministry of the Amazon. We are praying that the effects of this trip will spread throughout the congregation, as these key men share all that God is doing in the Amazon.

Shout out from I-TEC

Just received an email from I-TEC, the organization founded by Steve Saint to empower the Waorani tribe of Ecuador. If you are familiar with the story of the "Auca Indians" (or the movie "The End of the Spear") then you may know that Steve Saint is the son of Nate Saint, one of the first missionaries to the Aucas, now called the Waorani. I'm including an excerpt here as it pertains to the work of Amazon Focus. (ALTECO, mentioned below, is an extension of Amazon Focus.) If you are interested in reading more, you can see the full text at http://www.itecusa.org/breaking.htm

Steve [Saint] will be in Brazil September 5-9th, attending the CONPLEI (National Council of Indigenous Evangelical Pastors and Leaders) conference, to be held in Porto Velho, in the northwestern region of Brazil. According to a recent ALTECO bulletin, 3000 tribal leaders from across the Amazon will attend, many traveling by river for weeks to come to this event.

ALTECO is “Amazon & Lowland Tribal Empowerment Coalition”, and was formed to empower tribal believers to reach the unreached people groups in the greater Amazon region. Their purposes and concepts so closely match those of I-TEC, we are excited about our participation. Steve is on the steering committee and we hope to work more closely with ALTECO in the future, combining forces to reach a common goal.

The “ALTECO Pledge” is taken from 1 Corinthians 1:9-14: “Our desire from the very start is to always pray for you, asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will and with spiritual wisdom, in order that you may:

1. Live a life worthy of the Lord


2. Please Him in every way


3. Bear fruit in every good work


4. Grow in the knowledge of God


5. Be strengthened with all God’s power


6. Have great endurance and patience


7. And joyfully give thanks to the Lord

That’s a great list to post in a prominent place in our homes and hearts!

We think so too!! :)

Breaking Down The Barriers

A brief note from Paul Johnson, regarding the Amazon Consultation (ALTECO):

God is breaking down the barriers ... that has throttled true partnerships, and now the spirit of cooperation is stunning.... Four years ago, many skeptics told us it would take a "Red Sea caliber miracle" to get mission agencies to work together! Well guess what? He opened the sea again, and we're now learning to walk across on dry ground .. hand in hand, and shoulder to shoulder with our tribal and national brothers as well!!

• We had 72 participants - 23 returnees & 49 first timers .. more than 100% increase from 2005!


• Delegates represented 41 distinct organizations - 22 previously involved, and 19 new ones!


• In three Amazon Consultations to date, we've had a total of 142 delegates, from 54 organizations!


• There are 12 individuals from 10 organizations who have attended all three consultations to date!


• We are now in touch with a total of 86 organizations, about the annual consultations!


• We anticipate another 100% increase in 2007, and are planning for 150 - 200 participants next year!

ALTECO's focus is the 400+ tribes of the Amazon region, but the Asians and Africans have approached Alteco leaders for help in replicating what we're doing in their areas of the world as well. Of course, we're thrilled to help our brothers anywhere, and anticipate - in God's time - the formation of "GLECO" - the Global Empowerment Coalition!

ALTECO Feedback

One of the indigenous leaders from Peru had this to say:

Thank you so very much for giving us the opportunity to get to know other people who also have a great heart for the Amazon.... I speak my own language and also Spanish, but now I’m motivated to learn English too.

Upon returning from Florida, we attended the first-ever Amazon Consultation here in Peru. It was a great blessing. We formed a committee comprised of two indigenous leaders, a national leader and a Swiss missionary, in order to establish a missions network here in Peru, which can be a complement to ALTECO. ALTECO can focus on the broad Amazon region, and our network on the local level here in Peru.

I was able to teach on the truly Autonomous Indigenous Church, and also share about ALTECO with the over 50 delegates that attended from churches, denominations, mission agencies, missiological study centers, and theological institutions. We genuinely felt like one team in the Lord. There were testimonies and challenges, and all were in favor of establishing the Peru Network. All this makes me think that our Lord wants to come back and take His church to heaven soon. There is much interest in missions everywhere now!

Better Than Nothing?

3/16/2006

On Friday night, we heard updates from the Amazon, delivered by nationals through interpreters. The first to speak was Henrique Diaz, a Brazillian national pastor and member of an organization called CONPLEI, which is a council of indigenous pastors and evangelical leaders. In September of this year, CONPLEI will be holding a tribal conference in Brazil. Organizers are expecting 3000-4000 Indian leaders and non-tribal participants.

The story that Henrique shared at the end that most affected me was this: “In the past when someone came to speak to the native, they did not speak the language of the native… When missionaries came and gave them scriptures [in Portuguese?], the native gave back the Book and said, “If God is so interested in us, why doesn’t he speak our language?”

Maybe you're thinking, what’s the big deal?!! Imagine that you are part of an Amazonian tribe in Peru. You speak the language of your tribe, and if you are a man, you also speak some Spanish, but if you are a girl, probably not much. If there are no translations of the Bible in your tribal language, you may be given a Spanish translation instead. Though you may accept the book, it is not written in the language that speaks to your heart, and you may not understand it that well. Surprisingly, some organizations would declare your tribe to be “reached” with the gospel, because you have access to a Spanish translation.

Incidentally, I found this article about Henrique and his work, if you are interested in learning more: Son Shine in the Amazon Valley.

Not Hijacked!

No doubt you've been losing sleep wondering if we had been hijacked. After all, we told many of you our intentions to post during the ALTECO Conference last week. Unfortunately, for all involved, we were "experiencing operating difficulties".... Hopefully you've been standing by!!

Since I wasn't able to do the daily post while I was gone, I have been wondering.... Should I just blurt out all our days' experiences with one post? A textual diarrhea of sorts? Well, that just sounds sick, doesn't it? So, I'll break the last week up as best I can over the next few days.

First, a little about the conference.... It was held in Orlando on the Wycliffe property and mission representatives from many organizations were in attendance. We arrived a couple of days early, hoping to help out wherever needed. So, Steve had the privilege of picking up some of the delegates arriving at the airport. He loves doing that kind of thing, and as an added bonus he got to meet a lot of the attendees.

Our roommate...

On our second day at Wycliffe, we acquired a new roommate in the ample two bedroom apartment where we were being housed for the week. We were joined by Irma Espinoza, a fellow AF missionary, who works among the Candoshi Indians of Peru. Steve knows Irma from his many trips to Peru, and I had the opportunity to meet her at the end of 2001.

Sharing the apartment allowed us to talk over breakfast and late in the evenings after the meetings had ended. It was so much fun listening to Steve & her conversing in Spanish, and I felt like I was understanding more as the days went on. We can only imagine what Ian thought about Daddy's strange new way of talking though. He may have been watching the Sprout channel, but we could tell he was listening to the Spanish conversation. Who knows? Maybe Ian will start speaking in Spanish soon too.

As a side note, Ian warmed up to Irma very quickly and soon was looking for her whenever we went to the conferences. When he spotted her, he would either run excitedly towards her or he would begin chattering up a storm... It sounded to me like he was trying to say "Irma". Once in her presence, he would begin to flirt with her--across the room, between tables-- he didn't care. Apparently, he is a fluent flirter. :)

***NOTE TO MYSELF: Take some Spanish classes soon!! This is my second opportunity to be immersed in the language, but not able to communicate, except in the most basic terms… Fortunately for me, Irma's (and some others’) grasp of English is better than my Spanish!