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!! :)

More feedback

I wanted to share this bit of feedback as well, because this is a huge part of what Amazon Focus does: Encouraging churches to commit to partnering with tribal churches.
I am so pumped about the possibility of North American churches partnering with the Amazonian tribal churches. I believe that by understanding “Church-2-Church Partnerships”, the local church will begin to take ownership of missions.

This wave has really swept me up and I’m going to ride it out. I’m trying to compose ways to communicate the partnership concept. A short-term trip is an ideal environment for considering opportunities and deciding life-changing issues.

It used to be that we would get people out there short-term and ask them to consider two simple choices: Am I called to go or to send? Now as we take “decision making” people out there, and they see that the tribal church is doing the job effectively, we need to ALSO ASK if they want to PARTNER in the mission task!