Dear Church family,
May our Heavenly Father bless you all with all spiritual blessings.
First of all I wish to send you, from me and my family, our warmest greetings. I thank the Lord that we are all healthy now, but there was recently about four weeks when all of us were sick.
I want to report that, after several visits, we did a three day outreach in a small Simba village called Iticupe, and another three days in Lloqueaguada. There, we were able to befriend some of the folks and get to know them. For the most part they are not influenced by the government, or any other institutions, and have a simple mentality. They have many erroneous ideas about God, and many beliefs that are contrary to the Bible. But as we taught them the Word of God, and what He has done, it awakened much interest in them. Now, the people of both villages have invited us to return to give them more teaching.
Through our teaching they have realized that they are sinners, separated from God, because they are descendants of Adam and Eve. That Adam and Eve's sin brought terrible consequences on mankind. It brought separation from God, physical death, and eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire. What we have yet to explain to them is Gods promise to send the Savior. We also explained to them that there is an enemy of God that is bent on deceiving the entire world against God.
We need more time with them. I feel responsible before God to teach them further the Word of God. I am very encouraged to see their interest.
Please pray for the folks of those two villages, and for me that I may return to teach them. For the time being, I am the only one left here that can teach them in their own language. Brother Eduardo (Jack Russell) has returned to the States, and brother Guillermo (Bill Mann) is living in Santa Cruz. They both were a great help in the outreaches. My desire is that Eduardo return to Taperillas with his wife Suzie, that we may go forward with the outreaches and continue taking the Word of God to the unreached. We have heard of another village called Huaraca where there are many Simba families. It is my desire to go there as well.
Today we are in Santa Cruz. We brought our children out to leave them at the boarding school. It is difficult for us to leave them, but if they continue in school, we have no choice. We thank the Lord that our children understand that we are reaching with the Gospel those that have never heard, so they do not resent the separation. They and we are at peace with the decision.
I want you to know that you have been a huge help to me, my wife, my children, and in our ministry, because you have faithfully supported us with your offerings. We all thank you very much. With tears of gratefulness I give thanks to God for you my dear brothers and sisters. In the beginning it was difficult for me to think about my children living so far away in Santa Cruz in order to study. But I see our God's faithfulness in all of this and how He blesses those involved in his work.
This last week Zoila and I have been working with Guillermo and Eduardo in checking the revision of the book of Mark. I will continue to be involved in the work of translating the scripture into the Simba language.
I want you to know that, even though I haven't sent much information lately, that doesn't mean that we are not continuing in the ministry here in Bolivia. On the contrary, we are pressing on. I am often going out to other Simba villages. We are also preparing for our upcoming conference that will be hosted by the church here in Taperillas from the 22 – 25 of March. Please pray for the conference.
I also have another special prayer request. I am in need of a new motorcycle for traveling to the other Simba villages. The moto I have is too small, and not made for the rough roads that I must travel. It is made in China, and was made to use only in the city where there are paved roads. If any one would like to contribute, I have an account set up through NTM Bolivia: Felix Moto.
We are trusting in the Lord. Faith comes through hearing; hearing through the Word of God.
Your Brother and sister in Christ,
Felix and Zoila Avendaño
Bolivia, Simba Guaraní
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Please receive our affectionate greetings in the love of Christ our Lord and Savior. We also desire that the Lord
is blessing your spiritual lives and that you are rejoicing in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
Acts 4:33
The reason for this letter is to inform you that we (Larry and I) made our trip to the south asking for permission from the community captains so that we could hold 6 day Bible courses in two communities. It is possible that we may be able to go ahead with the courses because there are interested people, especially in the community of Karatindi. The dates for that course will be June 24 or 25 through July 1 or 2. In Tentayapi only the second captain is interested but we don't know yet where we will hold a Bible course for that area. The main captain is very protective and jealous of his community and is very reserved about our entrance there. He asks that we build more friendships there. He does not want to commit himself but he did say that the people who want to hear may listen to the teaching. We see that we need more dialog with this community and if there are positive results we will hold a Bible course in Tentayapi July 16-23.
The trip we took was from April 25-29. We made a large circle and traveled more than 500 Km. My motorcycle was a great help on this trip but it turns out that it is pretty small for those places where there are no roads. But I had the opportunity to actually travel by and gain experience using the motorcycle. I didn't have any falls and my partner congratulated me so I did well for which I thank the Lord!
After the trip we received an invitation from our beloved brothers in Camiri to attend their Bible course for national laborers and missionaries. That course was held May 2-5. It was a wonderful time of encouragement. I was taught, exhorted, and challenged to keep on in the work of the Lord in spite of the many difficulties. But this portion of Scripture encouraged me, Acts 6:4, and may the Lord continue to use us for the ministry of sharing His Word and for the ministry of prayer. We want to continue to teach here in the church in Taperillas so that there will be mature elders who can carry on the work.
Another important part of this letter is to thank you in a big way for your offerings that arrive here to support us in the work of the Lord. May the Lord be faithful to recompense you for your part.
For your prayers:
You may be involved in this outreach ministry through your prayers and financial gifts.
Your brother in Christ,
Felix and Zoila Avendano
(translated by coworker, Linda Depue)