August 4, 2010
Thank you so much for your prayers and support of our family and ministry. Thank you for being a partner with us in sharing Jesus Christ, His love, and His Word with the Tarahumara people. We praise God for all that was accomplished in July. Thank you for continuing to lift up our ministry, our family, and the Tarahumara people to the Lord.
The translation committee met a total of 3 weeks in July, and they are meeting this week (Aug. 2-6) before they take a break of a month or so. They are revising the translation of the New Testament. Please continue to pray for each member of the committee (Martha, Giltro, Fernando, Jesús, Marcos, & José Luis). Pray that they would be filled with God’s wisdom and grace to translate His Word, and that they would also be filled with an intense love for God’s Word as well as an urgency to see it translated. We are convinced that the Tarahumara people will experience freedom in Christ through God’s Word, through His truth. Also, please keep José Luis in your prayers as he continues to represent the translation committee as its coordinator and liaison with the National Union of Indigenous Translators (UNTI). José Luis attended the meeting of UNTI at the end of July in Mexico City, and will discuss this meeting with the members of the committee this week to report on the business meeting and the workshops he attended.
We thank the Lord for the opportunity our daughter, Jaynie, had to attend the King’s Kids Mexico summer camp in July. The camp was a very intense time of learning about God, His heart, and His purpose for each person. Thank you for praying for Jaynie during the camp. Jaynie was challenged in many ways; however, she shared with us that she now understands more about who God is for her personally and His love for her. Her favorite part of the camp was the classes and the time spent in prayer. Even after a difficult first week, she keeps remembering the camp as a fun time and she shares her memorable moments with us. Please keep Jaynie in your prayers as we continue with home school and ministry. Pray that God would bring godly children into her life as friends and playmates. We pray that the Lord will use her and our family in ways that impact Tarahumara families with Christ’s love.
We ask you to pray for our YWAM base and staff. We have experienced misunderstandings and disunity during the past year as a staff. However, we are taking time this summer to seek God with more intention, to know His vision and mission for our base, to define our purposes for ministry here in the Sierra Tarahumara. Please pray for Henk & Edith Kaemingk, our base leaders, and for us as we form a new leadership team. Please pray that the Lord would open our ears to hear Him and to clearly know His will and purpose for our base, our ministry, and our family. Please pray that we would be filled with His wisdom as we seek to share God’s vision with all members of the staff. Pray that we would be united as a staff in implementing this vision.
We are excited by the monthly Bible courses for Tarahumara Christians that our base will begin offering at the end of August (Aug. 30 – Sept. 3). There are several Tarahumara Christians who have expressed a desire to learn more about God and His Word. Please pray for the Lord to prepare the hearts of those who will attend the first course – pray that His Word will fulfill His purpose for it in the lives of each person who hears it. Pray for Henk and José Luis as they lead this course – Henk as he teaches the first course and José Luis as he helps with translation and discipleship.
If you would like to see photos and read a more personal narrative of our life in Creel, please go to our blog at www.tarahumarafamily.blogspot.com. We periodically post photos and share about our daily lives. If you have any questions or would like to know more about our lives, please leave a comment on the blog.
Thank you for supporting us by praying for the Tarahumara people and for the needs we have shared with you. May the Lord give you wisdom as you lift up our petitions and may He bless you with His grace and peace.
In Christ,
José Luis & Susan Parra