Archives of "The Russell Rag" Newsletter of the Russell Family Missionaries to the Simba People of Bolivia Mark 16:15 ... Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

Hi all,

Time has come for me to make another trip back to Bolivia.  I will leave at 2:00 A.M. and drive out to Columbus to catch a plain to Miami.  I'll have to hang out there until 11:00 P.M. when my flight leaves for Bolivia.  (Lot's of hurry up and wait)  I'll be staying down there for a little under a month this time.  I have to be back for a very special wedding: Our daughter Emily is getting married November 24th.  I don't want to miss that one. 

I have some specific goals for this trip:

      First, I need to do the checking of the rough draft translation I have been doing from Acts.  I plan on going over the material with at least 6 Simba people.  I also will be checking and preparing lessons that correspond with the book of Acts. 

      I also trust I'll have opportunity to work with Arturo and Pedro, a couple of Simba men that are leading the Church in Taperillas.  We expatriate missionaries are there to assist people like them.  Suzie and I believe that the most important part of our ministry is to disciple Simba people.  It is a huge encouragement for us to see these two men step up and stand in the gap.  There are also several other believers in Taperillas that I hope to spend time with and to encourage. 

      I am also hoping to spend a couple of days in Cochabamba to meet with a missionary with the United Bible Society.  He is possibly going to help me with a computer glitch I am experiencing.  It is a program that I need to use to prepare the translation for final printing. 

      I also trust I'll have some opportunities to share the Gospel with more Simba people that have not yet understood what Jesus did for them.  That is always an enormous privilege. 

Suzie and I request an interest in your prayers during the coming weeks.  I, Jack, promise to keep you informed while I am in the tribe (If the radio email system works).  Thank you all for being a part of this ministry.  God Bless!

Dear Prayer Partners,

The Bible tells us that we must live wisely, redeeming the time because the days are evil.  For those of us who work in Bolivia, that verse is cemented in our hearts.  We are still able to work there, for the most part, un-harassed; for which we are very thankful.         

We would like to give you all a report of our ministry over the last couple of months:

Jack was back in Bolivia all of June and July.  He was able to finish the translation and checking of the first five chapters of Acts, along with several of the corresponding lessons.  He had a productive time with the Simba believers in Taperillas.  Please pray for Nicolas, Arturo, Daniel, Pedro, Federico, and Porfidio.  These are Simba men who want to be responsible to lead the church in Taperillas. 

In July, Suzie and Joshua led a team from Victory Baptist Church (Cross Lanes, WV) to Taperillas to do a work project.  The people in Taperillas were so thrilled to see Suzie.  We were reminded again of the impact Suzie has had in the lives of so many of the Simba people.  The team was made up of 12 people (only one young man was not from VBC).  Even though they worked very hard pouring cement floors in the new dorm building at the Simba Bible Center, they still had time (and energy) to go play games and to go exploring with their new Simba friends.  The folks in Taperillas enjoyed the teams visit very much, but we sense that the biggest impact was in the hearts of the team members themselves.  We thank the Lord for the opportunity to have been a part of that.   

Jack was back in WV for one day when he had to leave for yet another trip; this time to Chihuahua, Mexico for a two week workshop for translators.  Jill Goring, New Tribes Mission’s international translation coordinator, led the workshop.  Jack is encouraged by the training and believes it is helping toward creating an accurate, readable Bible translation in the Simba language.

Prayer requests: 

• For Jack as he continually works on the translation and lesson preparation. 
• For the continued spiritual growth of the Simba believers. 
• For Suzie's dad.  He is not a believer and is very ill with emphysema. 

Thanks for your prayers!  God Bless!

Hi all,

Trust all of you are doing well and enjoying Gods blessings.  Here are a couple updates on our goings – on:

The missions trip:  Suzie and Josh, and the rest of the group arrived safely in Charleston, WV yesterday evening.  They had been in Bolivia with the Simba team to do a work project on a dorm building at the Bible Center in Taperillas.  They completed the project in good time.  The Simba people of Taperillas greatly enjoyed their visit.  Many of the Christians came and worked side by side with the group.  One Simba man told a member of the team (through an interpreter) "We can't understand each other now, but in heaven we'll all speak the same language."  We know that all the members of the group have been deeply affected by their experiences.  Pray for them that the Lord will give each one of them a strong passion to always be involved in evangelizing the unreached for Christ.    

Jacks' translation work: During Jacks' time in Bolivia he was busy working on the book of Acts.  Our field translation consultant Cam Hurst, along with wife Mary, stayed with Jack in the tribe for over a week checking the first five chapters of the translation.  Jack also is preparing lessons from Acts.  The Simba people of Taperillas showed a lot of interest as Jack taught through the first 4 lessons.  He was covering subjects such as: The day of Pentecost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the first church in Jerusalem, communion, etc.  Please continue to pray for Jack as he labors in this very important ministry.     

            Jack returned to WV with the group on Friday, but has to leave again early Sunday morning to fly to Chihuahua,  Mexico.  He will be attending a two week training workshop for Bible translators.  The timing of this workshop may be bad for us, but we feel that the training will be invaluable to Jacks ministry.  Please pray for us as we face two more weeks of separation, and that Jack will benefit greatly from this training.   

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.  God Bless!

I want to report to you of the latest outreach in the little Simba village, Yokeawara.  I traveled there on my motorcycle Saturday and  spent the day.  The people there are bond servants to a local rancher.  We, and they, were disappointed that the men were being made to work, so they were unable to attend the teaching during the day.  That left women and children attending.  Linda Depue took the children a couple times a day and  taught them Bible lessons, and some songs.  We tried to adjust the foundational teaching more for the women.  We know good seed has been planted.  

I made it home to Taperillas just before the rain arrived.  It has rained all night and much of today, Sunday.  The rest of the group  was going to finish up the outreach, pack up, and try to leave right after lunch.  Pray for them, because it rained pretty hard and I'm sure the road has deteriorated badly.

I have set up a translation check in Santa Cruz this week.  I had to extend my stay an extra week to do it, but it is vitally important.  The translation team will meet there starting tomorrow afternoon, Lord willing.  We will be checking the book of Mark.  My partner, Bill Mann has been working on the project for some time.  I stayed home from the last outreach in order to finish the initial check of the Book.  We have two problematic words that we must iron out.  One is "repentance," and the other is "Kingdom".  Thank you for praying.  We are continually trusting God for wisdom to do this very important work.

The outreach in Itau was well attended, 80 to 90 people (including kids) each day.  We aimed to teach exclusively in Simba, but there were a few people attending that spoke only Spanish.  Therefore, we had Felix do a little interpreting for them.  Many were hungry to learn.   Several expressed to us that no one had ever before visited them to teach them God's Word so they knew nothing.

Bill Mann, and Felix Avendaño, and I taught the basics; where the Bible came from, who is God, what He is like, some things that creation reveals to us about God, the angels, the first man and woman, the fall, and Gods promise to send a Savior.  As you can see, this is just the beginning.  Please pray for the Simba team that we may return many times to places like Itau to continue the teaching.

On Thursday, the 8th, the team will be headed out again.  This time to a small Simba village called Yokeawara.  There are ten families living there.  The chief has been asking us to come and teach them.  I wont be going with them this time.  I have arranged for a translation check in Santa Cruz starting Monday afternoon.  We will be checking a revision of the book of Mark.  I am staying here in Taperillas to finish preparations for that check.  I do plan to go to Yokeawara on Saturday to join in on the teaching for that one day.  Please pray for the outreach there.  Pray also for Arturo, the brother that is teaching in my place.

Please pray also for Suzie.  These times of separation are trying for us both, but she is left by herself to "hold down the fort." I want to thank you all for your prayers, support, and for your notes of encouragement.

I am not sure if my last letter actually went out to everyone.  The radio email system hasn't been working very well.

I intended to inform you that the Bible course was postponed until this week.  The reason was that many there were still planting their gardens.  They said that if we could come the next week, all of them would be able to attend.

Therefore, we are leaving tomorrow to go set up in a Simba village down the Iguembe Valley.  The community is called Itau.  The people there are completely unreached with the Gospel.  We hope to begin laying the foundation for them to understand who God is and what He has done for them.  I will be teaching, along with our partners  Felix Avendaño, and Bill Mann.  We will be teaching through Sunday.  We would very much appreciate your prayers for this outreach.

Suzie and I want to wish all of you a Happy New year!  God has wonderful plans for you in the days ahead and what a privilege it is to be members together in His family.

Here is the latest news:  I (Jack) am leaving on Sunday, Dec. 31 to return to Bolivia.  I hope to be in Santa Cruz to attend the annual field conference.  Then I'll travel on back to the tribe.  My plan is to stay there for six weeks, returning to the States in mid-February.  I have high hopes of getting a lot of work done during my time there.  For one thing I would like to be well into the Acts revision by my return date.

Please pray with us for a profitable trip.  Please pray for Suzie as she stays behind to take care of our grandson, Robbie, as Emily finishes her last semester at the University of Charleston.  Our son, Joshua, will be there to help out as he is living at home while attending nearby WV State University. Thanks for your prayers and support.

We trust everyone is doing well and enjoying the blessings of the Lord.  We are fine, working hard and seeing some progress.  

Suzie and I want to invite you to visit our web site.   After a couple weeks of being down because of a virus attack, the Russell Region is back up and updated with a report and pictures of Jack's recent trip into an isolated Simba village, Itororo.  Just click here

God Bless!
Jack and Suzie Russell
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I hope everyone is doing well.  After traveling into the regions beyond for the last couple of weeks, settling down into a normal work routine here in Taperillas seems kind of mundane.  Such is life.

Because we didn't make it into Tentayapi, we had a large amount of potatoes, carrots, rice, onions, and a few chickens left over.  Therefore we decided to throw a community lunch at the Bible Center on Saturday.  It went very well.  For people that often go hungry, a meal like that is quite a treat.

Later in the evening we had an evangelistic meeting and a video.  It was well attended by most of the community.  The believers, myself included, were encouraged.

I have been focusing on getting the foundational Bible lessons in shape for Simba teachers to use.  I have had good help in this project despite the fact that most people are very busy with finishing up their corn harvest.  Please pray for this work.

The most urgent need in the tribe right now is for faithful, Simba people to begin teaching others the Word of God.  So far there are precious few who are willing to step up.

The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Luke 10:2

I imagine that a letter from me so soon comes as a surprise to you.  Unfortunately, we were unable to get into Tentayapi.

The Simba name "Tentayapi" means "The farthest outpost", and it lives up to it's name.  It is the uttermost part of the earth.  Very difficult to reach, and it took a toll on Larry's truck.

The front wheel knuckle broke and wheel was ready to fall off.  We wrapped it with wire, and considered going on.  We met together and prayed about it.  Then in discussing the problem, the three Simba couples working with us felt that we should turn back.

They each had children with them, and other children staying with family back home.  It would have taken them three or four days to walk out of there, and they all had obligations for the following week.  Larry and I wanted to stay the course.  If the wheel gave out we would take it as it comes, but we could understand their position.  Can you imagine carrying a small child 50 miles through the sand?

Felix and I were willing to go in and teach for a few days, but it just wouldn't have worked out.  We were to be self-sufficient.  The people there are very poor and scarcely have enough food for themselves.  Because of the deep sand the motorcycles must be light.  We carry only the necessary tools, extra oil and gas, and maybe a little drinking water, but that's about it.  Besides we needed to go out behind the truck in case it incurred problems, which it did.  They made it out just beyond a small, frontier town and the clutch suddenly gave out.

It was a simple problem requiring only a small rubber seal, but the closest place to find one was three hours, of hard riding, away.  We found a "taxi" to take the women and children back home, Felix and I took off to find the parts, and Larry and the other men made camp.

I was able to find the parts that evening and left at daybreak Monday morning to get them back down to Larry.  He repaired the clutch, and so three days after leaving, we all arrived back home.

I am terribly disappointed at how it worked out, but I know that God is in control.  We are already planning to return and talking about possible dates.

Thank you for praying.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch … there are some serious problems for the church here in Taperillas and I would appreciate your prayers.  One problem I'll mention; the school officials have organized an all day party to raise money.  It's kind of a common thing here in Bolivia.  They all gather around drinking chicha, (home-made corn beer), and block the road.  In order to pass, the drivers must give a donation and in return they get drinks of chicha.  The school officials are obligating everyone in the community to be involved.  They are expected to make the chicha and sell it at the road block.

The believers object to it.  They want to be excluded because of the drunkenness.  They point out the damage, fights, and broken families resulting from alcoholism, so want no part of it.  The officials are claiming that they will impose huge fines on anyone who refuses to participate.  And so it is costing these young believers to take a stand for their faith.

They need our prayers.  That's all for now.  Thanks for taking part in this ministry.

Because Jesus said, "Go",
Jack

It was at daybreak last Saturday morning, before we left Itororo, that my partner Felix and I jumped on our motos and pushed our way down the 20 kilometers of a sand and dirt trail to reach Tentayapi.

The purpose of our trip was to secure permission from Wayari, the chief of Tentayapi, to hold a week long Bible course in the village.  Tentayapi is the largest of the Simba villages, around 500 people.  They are also very zealous of their culture, so they are known for being closed to outsiders.

Since we started the Simba ministry we had hoped that someday we would have the opportunity to go into Tentayapi and preach the Gospel.  And here I was on my first visit there.

We arrived at Chief Wayari's hut and greeted his wife and some others.  We told them we wanted to speak with the Chief, so they led us to the hut.  I had never seen a Simba hut as clean and neat as this.  It was the typical three walls, made of sticks and mud, with an open front, and grass roof and dirt floor.  However every post was cut perfectly square, the floor was smooth and clean; all the stick frame beds were neatly made.  It was impressive.  More impressive than that was Wayari himself.

In Tentayapi chiefs are chosen for life, having great authority.  Wayari had an air of kingliness about him.  He greeted us warmly and had us sit down.  We chatted a bit but then got right to it.  We told him that we had been in Itororo holding a Bible course at the home of Kurinda (born in Tentayapi) for the last week, and that we would like to come here next week.

The old chief looked concerned as he repeated the dates we had asked for, then was silent for several long moments.  My heart dropped and I thought that was it, he was responding negatively.  But then he spoke up and said simply, "I do not see a problem with it." And with that word we had the necessary authorization to fulfill a goal that the Simba team has been dreaming of since 1994.

Folks, we leave tomorrow, July 8th.  We have a long trip to get in there, and a lot of work to do in order to set up camp.  We hope to start teaching Sunday and go through next Saturday.

Please pray for this Bible course.  God Bless!
Jack

I wanted to write you a little about what is happening here.  I can't speak freely about the political situation.  I can tell you though that we are penetrating to the heart of the Simba tribe.

We spent all last week at the home of an older Simba man named Kurinda in the place where he lives with his family.  He is from Tentayapi, which is the center of the tribe and culture.  He lives in a stick house with a plastic tarp for a roof.  There are three walls - the front open.  One wall is made of very old, worn out clothing. The whole hut is only about 10' x 10'.  There he lives with wife, and around 7 children including 3 teens.  They are so poor.

When we arrived on Saturday, we found his 6 yr old son, Alvero, eaten up with scabies.   From scratching he had huge open sores that were badly infected.  Linda also suspected that he had typhoid. He was nearly dead. She worked and worked with him and we all prayed for his survival.  It wasn't until Friday that we were pretty sure that he would make it.  He would have surely died without the medical attention.

Well, our week there was a huge success.  52 Simba people came, some walking from 15 miles away.  Most of them were extended family members of Kurinda.  Many of them were teens, though there were two old ladies (70 yr old - very old for a Simba) that had walked around 8 miles to be there. There were three of us teaching; myself, Felix, and Arturo (a believer we are discipling here in Taperillas).  We would start at 9 in the morning and go to noon.  Then again at 3 till 5:30.   Then a sing and praise at 7 closing with a video.

How those teens encouraged us.  Some of them were eating it up.  And how they loved to sing.  Every spare moment they would ask us to teach them more songs.  I went to sleep at night hearing them sing (10 - 11 pm) and some mornings I woke up to them singing (5 -6 am).  On Wed, I taught about the flood and about God's covenant with Noah and about the rainbow.  You know how afraid of the rainbow they are.  I guess the Holy Spirit was really opening it up to them.  They were so light hearted.  I honestly believe that all of them decided to believe God's Word.

One older man came to me afterwards in the lunch line and put me in front of him (it was goat gut soup so I wasn't really in a hurry) and he thanked me for teaching him and shared briefly that he too was believing the teaching over what his fathers had taught him. At the conclusion of the meetings we had given a clear presentation of the Gospel.  Kurinda got up and expressed his faith in the Lord and tearfully shared his desire that all of his family would believe.

The last night there a group of teens kept me and Felix up till past 11 asking for "good parts" from God's Word. What a privilege. I have no doubt that, if God tarries, they will some day be teaching those things to their own children. Most of those 52 heard the Gospel for the first time and responded with simple belief. PTL!

Please pray for us.  We are going into Tentayapi next Saturday to spend a week teaching.  Satan is figting hard against us.  Upon returning home Saturday, we learned that Zoilas' father had passed away while we were gone.  She and Felix are spending a few days with her family before we head out again.  Pray for them.

Also please keep Suzie in your prayers.  She has had a difficult time adjusting to my absence this time.  Also for Josh.  He is looking for work this summer, but so far has come up empty.

Thanks for your prayers.  God Bless!
Jack

I hope you are doing well and enjoying the blessings of the Lord.

I arrived in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on Thursday morning.  It was a long trip.    I had a 12 hour layover in Mexico City where all I could do was camp out with my luggage at the airlines' desk and wait for them to open.

The airline is called, "Lloyd Aereo Boliviano".  The day I arrived it came out in the Santa Cruz news paper that "LAB" had worked it out so that they could keep flying for one more month.  My return trip is in 6 weeks, so I would appreciate your prayers about that.

While in the city I was able to get the Simba Bible translation to a print shop, so we now have a few copies of the entire translation available to the Simba people.  We really thank the Lord for that.

I arrived back in the Simba tribe on Saturday.  Sunday was spent meeting with the believers and with my partners.  We had a lot of planning to do because next Saturday, the 24th, we will head into the Iguembe valley.  It is a very isolated place where many Simba people live.  We are planning to set up camp in a little village called Karatindi and hold an eight day Bible conference there.

Please pray for us in this effort.  The logistics will be very difficult.  Almost none of the people there have ever had an opportunity to learn about Jesus.  An appropriate verse is

1Co 16:9, For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

Please also remember Suzie, Josh and Emily.  It is often difficult to be apart.

Thanks for your prayers.

Hi all,
We hope everyone is doing well.  God is good and He does love us!

We wanted to let you know about Jacks upcoming trip back to Bolivia (Lord willing).  He is planning to leave on the 15th of June.  One of the goals of this trip is to hold Bible conferences in a very isolated area where there are several Simba communities.  It is called the Iguembe valley.

That is the area where the small handful of believers are suffering some persecution for witnessing and teaching what they have learned in the Bible courses in Taperillas.  The Simba team has received invitations to go there and teach.  Our partners, Larry Depue and Felix Avendaño, have recently returned from a survey trip down that valley and have decided upon a centrally located village to hold the conferences.  We hope to hold two, each lasting for eight days.  Felix and Jack will do most of the teaching.  This is a golden opportunity and we greatly appreciate your prayers.

Joshua and a couple of his friends are hoping to travel to Bolivia as well for a two week work group.  They would be working on the Bible Center in Taperillas.  Please remember that in your prayers as well.

That's all for now.  God Bless!

Hi all.

Hope everyone is doing well these days and enjoying the blessings of the Lord.   Our son, Joshua, has been on spring break, so has been with us for the week.   His vacation kind of got off to a rough start.   Jack drove up to Houghton, NY to pick him up, but hit a deer a few miles from the college.   It did a lot of damage to the car.   The deer broke through the driver's side door glass, and broke off the side mirror.   Thank the Lord Jack was not hurt.   He was able to pick up Josh and drive back to WV.   But it was a cold trip for them.

The translation work is going forward.   Jack is working most days checking and formatting to get it ready to print.   Please pray with us that the translation could be completed soon, and for the finances to do the printing.   We haven't checked with a printer yet, but we know it will be quite expensive.   (Sounds like a good Sunday school project.)

Many of you are wondering about the situation in Bolivia these days.   We just received a letter from co-workers living in the city of Cochabamba.   The following is an excerpt from that letter:

We have spent another week of strikes, protest marches and roadblocks...  unfortunately something that is getting to be rather "old hat".  We just stay home, work on our many projects and wait them out - only taking care to keep a good stock of food on hand and any other vital items.

However, for the 75% of Bolivians who must "work today to eat today" that is creating some great hardships.  This week we had a 48 hr. strike by national health workers - they will only attend emergencies in the hospitals, a 48 hour transportation strike - which pretty much shuts down activity in the city, and we are in a critical stage for our national airline which is about to go under for the final time.  Next week we can count on the school teachers joining in and possibly the Central Worker's Union.

I would like to ask your prayers for our country.  The new government has been in power for less than 3 months and already many social groups that had endorsed the winning party are now very disenchanted because the government will not give in to every demand that these social groups present.  It's a lose/lose situation because if they give in to the demands of one group, they are directly violating the demands of a different group.  Please pray for the government, and for the different social movements - that they could find some way to arrive at a peaceful solution.

Thanks for praying with us.   God Bless!

Dear Praying Friends,

Thank you so much for praying for the Simba Bible Conference.   We are very thankful for the way the believers in Taperillas worked together to earn money for the conference and for the way they worked together to prepare and host many visitors.   9 or 10 communities were represented so we felt the conference was very well attended.

The teaching was very good.   There were very clear Gospel presentations in the Simba language.   The lesson on the sacrificial lamb from the Old Testament was very moving.   Many people cried during that lesson and the following one in which Christ was presented as the Lamb of God.   We believe many of the folks returned to their homes with hearts full of gratitude for all Christ has done for them.

We were saddened to hear of persecution against some of the Simba believers in other communities.   Please join us in prayer for Wilson and his family.   He was attacked and seriously injured as a result of his desire to share God's Word in his community.   He is currently recuperating in a hospital in the city.   One of the women who attended the Bible courses that were held here last year gathered the children together in her community and began to teach them what she had learned.   Several of the parents became upset with her and banded together to drive her out of the community.   She had to find a new home.   Please pray for Cristina and her family.

Corinda, a new Simba believer, and his son expressed a desire to have us come and hold a 5 day Bible conference in their area the end of June or first part of July.   This is the same area where there has been so much persecution.   Pray with us that their desire will become a reality.

I (Jack) am planning my next trip to coordinate with this conference.   Also, Joshua and several of his friends want to form a work team to help out with a building project in Taperillas.   Suzie would accompany them to serve as cook, chaperone, and general slave driver.   Please pray for this team, that the door will remain open in Bolivia, and that they will be able to raise the funds to make the trip.

Thanks for praying.   God Bless!

Hi all.

I wanted to write and let you know how Saturday's meeting in Taperillas went.   There is good news and there is bad.

The good news is that the community enthusiastically wants to renew our contract for ten more years.   The bad news is that they want only two missionary families (instead of four) living in the village.   It's kind of a long story, but the main reason for their decision is that the Simba people of Taperillas have, at times, been looked down upon by other Simba villages because of having four missionary families living in their community.   So they want the Depues and the Russells to remain.   The Manns are currently on home assignment, and the Lambs are headed back to the U.S.  for their year of home assignment, as well.   Please pray for the Simba team!

Now more than ever we need wisdom and grace to hold the team together and to coordinate our efforts in order to reach the 7000 + Simba people for Christ.   There is so much work yet to be done.  

Another disappointing item that came out in the meeting is that the people are asking us to contribute $5000 towards the purchase of a tractor for the community.   Not only is this a financial burden for us, but we also feel that a tractor is a bad idea for several reasons which I won't go into at this time.   However, their decision has already been made.

Another urgent prayer request - the time has come for me to buy tickets to return to Bolivia.   I plan to leave on February 6th.   The tickets are going to cost around $1,100 and travel and supplies while in Bolivia will cost approximately $700 more.   Please pray with us that the Lord would supply this immediate need.   Thanks so much for standing with us in this ministry.

God Bless!

Hi all, I have an urgent prayer request for you.

This Saturday the people of Taperillas (our tribal community) are going to have a meeting to decided on our (the missionaries) new contract for remaining in the community.   My partner, Larry Depue, has put in a lot of hours drawing up a contract with the help of a lawyer in town.

Hi all!

Finally I have a chance to write and fill you in on the last couple of weeks.   The plan was for my translation consultant, Cam Hurst, to fly in and work with me in the tribe to check the remainder of the Old Testament verses.   Unfortunately, the weather turned bad forcing us to cancel the flight.

So we went to plan B.   We invited three Simba language checkers to travel with us to the city of Santa Cruz to meet Cam there.   So, the rush was on for me to pack up the house and prepare to leave, as I would not be returning there until the end of January.   We did have a profitable translation check in Santa Cruz.   Linda Depue and I worked with Cam, and three Simba ladies checking the final Old Testament scriptures which complete the verses necessary for the Phase One foundational teaching.   The missionary team is now in the process of looking through all of the translation, checking for errors in preparation for printing.

I am so pleased to have been able to finish the project during this trip.   I know many of you were praying for me.   Normally I felt that I’d had a good day translating if I could get a rough draft finished on 12 to 15 verses.   During this trip I was averaging over twenty verses a day! Thanks for your prayers and continued involvement in this ministry.

I am now back in the States and have had a happy reunion with all my family, except for Joshua who is still at school in Houghton, NY.   He is due in tonight for his Thanksgiving break, and we are all looking forward to having him home for a few days.   What a joy to be with those you love after a long absence!

Your faithful partnership with us is a continual encouragement.   It sure is a blessing to have a support team we can count on.   May God bless each of you as we enter into this holiday season.   Suzie and I wish each of you a very joyous Thanksgiving.

Hi all,

I am back from Awairenda, the Simba village that is about 40 miles North of Taperillas.   The road is terrible, but I was able to make the trip in about an hour and a half on motorcycle.

The conference was well attended.   There were several "Preachers" there, but only my partner, Felix, and I taught in the Simba language.   The others taught in Spanish.   You couldn't help but notice how the people drifted off during most of the Spanish messages, but came to life when they heard the Word taught in their own language.

You would have been proud of us (The Simba team) as we all worked together for this conference.   I'll report briefly about our team: First the Depues - Larry hauled a truck load of believers from home (Taperillas) to the conference.   He pulled a trailer too so he could take our tents, a generator, TV & VCR, medicine, and literature in the Simba language for those who could read.   (The most popular was a Hymnal of Choruses and Hymns that our furloughing partners, Bill and Kathleen Mann, prepared.)

Larry also set up lights for the evening services, showed videos each night, and during the day he even did dental work pulling a lot of ugly things that used to be teeth.   He also talked a lot with people and led one young man to the Lord.   Linda did medical work assisting a doctor that went with us.   The doctor is a young Christian Bolivian lady named Paula.   They were both kept very busy as there are so many sick people around but NO doctors.  Linda and the doctor also helped teach the children's church that was held twice a day.

Felix and I taught/preached six of the meetings.   Most of the people there had never heard the Bible taught in their language.   Many were quite surprised to hear a "gringo" preaching in Simba.   There is a well known Simba man that is a friend of ours.   His name is Yawayu (meaning yellow lion).   They were calling me "Yawati" (white lion).   Felix and his wife Zoila excel in ministering one on one with people.   They spent many hours chatting with people encouraging them.   Seth and SaRee Lamb and their 4 children also attended.   The kids had such a good time playing with the Simba children, and in any Simba village there certainly is not a lack of children! Seth and SaRee are in language study, so they got a lot of good exposure to the language as Awairenda is pretty much mono-lingual.   They also assisted in many of the tasks that needed done.   Seth drove his truck with a trailer as well and took Felix and Zoila and their kids.   I believe that the Lord worked through us during our time there.

There were several that made professions of faith.   The leaders of the group of believers there came to me this morning and told me that they needed to be taught the Word, so could we please return soon and teach them more.   How often do you hear that? What a privilege it is to serve these folks.   Thanks for your prayers.

Pray also for me this week.   Cam Hurst is coming back down on the tenth to finish checking the Old Testament scriptures to complete the translation for the foundational teaching.   We have only 70 verses to check.   I have to have it back translated into Spanish before he arrives, so I will be working hard on that.

All for now.

Hi all,

It's raining!  It started on Friday up in Central Bolivia, where it rained so hard the river washed out a bridge and caused over 50 landslides along one of the main roads.   There were at least 13 people killed.   Down here we didn't get hard rain, but it was enough to force us to postpone our trip we were planning for Saturday.

The Simba village we wanted to visit has no shelters, so any meeting would have to be "open air." We are hoping the rain will be gone in time for our upcoming trip this Thursday to a Simba village north of here.   The people of that community have been planning these meetings for some time and have even acquired a cow to butcher in order to feed everyone.

I should be there through Monday, 7th.   Please pray that the people there will understand clearly the Gospel.

We also heard that the presidential election in December has been canceled because the congress was unable to come to an agreement of how many delegates each State should have.   Please pray for the country of Bolivia as it is a very critical time.

To finish on a lighter note: I was going over the translation of Jonah with several of my helpers, how the Ninevites repented.   I told them that the people probably threw ashes on their heads to show their sorrow.   One lady began laughing and told me that reminded her of a long time ago, when we (the missionaries) first came to visit her house.   She said that they thought we were devils and they were afraid, so after we left they gathered ashes and put them in our footprints thinking that would keep us from ever coming back.   But she said that she was glad the ashes didn't work because now she knows God and believes the Gospel.

Thanks for your prayers!

Hi all, after floods, fires, hand grenades and dynamite, you might be wondering what might be next from here.

I am relieved to tell you that we have had a quiet week.   However, I am very pleased to report to you that I have finished with the rough draft of all the Old Testament scriptures which are needed for the foundational teaching.   I will do some checking this week on the final 100 verses, and then check them with Cam Hurst next month.   That will bring to completion a project which I started about four years ago.   So you'll understand if I find that more exciting and exhilarating than any flood, fire, hand grenade, etc.

I would like you to be praying about a couple of upcoming trips we are going to make next week.   On Saturday the 29th, one of my partners, Seth Lamb, and I, along with Daniel (one of the Simba church leaders from here in Taperillas) are traveling to a Simba village called Villa Esperanza.   It is about three hours South from here.   We are planning to show a video Saturday night, and then hold a meeting Sunday morning.   I will be preaching, so I ask your prayers for that.   Also, on November 3rd, several of us are going to participate in a three day Bible conference at another Simba village about three hours north of here called Awairenda.   The people there are mostly monolingual and are very excited about having Felix and me teach in their language.   It's exciting to see Simba people eager to hear God's word. That's all for this week.   Thanks for your prayers! In Christ,
Jack Russell
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Last week I wrote to you about flashfloods and dynamite.   This week it's forest fires and a hand grenade.

I know that needs some explanation.   I reported to you that my translation consultant, Cam Hurst and his wife Mary were here with me since last week.   Cam and I worked with a group of three or four Simba people to check the translation for comprehension and accuracy.   This is a very important step in the process.

During their time here many of my Simba neighbors were burning their fields in preparation for planting corn.   One such field is right behind our house.   Can you imagine the smoke, cough, hack! A couple of times throughout the afternoon we rushed out of my office to fight back the flames that were trying to get out of control and burn on up into the jungle.

Early in the evening the fire had pretty much died down and was just smoldering.   Suddenly there was a huge explosion.  It shook the house, and shook up everyone in the house.   It turned out to be an old hand grenade that had probably been left there in the 60's when the Bolivian army chased Che Guevara, a Marxist revolutionary (Fidel Castro's nephew) through here.   The hand grenade had been just a few feet from where we burn garbage.   Fortunately, when it went off, there was no one around.   People are still picking wicked looking shrapnel out of the trees around that spot.   Despite all of that "excitement," we finished checking about 300 verses.   I certainly didn't expect to get that much done.   Guess you can say we had a blast! Anyway, we are now so close to finishing the project that Cam and Mary have decided to return around the first week of November to check the remaining verses.   I have only 46 more verses left to translate and prepare before their return.   Thanks for your prayers for me in the coming weeks.   There are some very difficult terms that we need to come up with in the language before it can be ready to print.

P.S.   Also, please be praying for the NTM missionaries in Venezuela as they are experiencing extreme opposition there.   Read the latest news at our mission web site: www.ntm.org

Despite flashfloods and dynamite, we are still ahead of schedule!

I imagine that needs some explanation.   My translation insultant .  uhm, that is consultant, Cam Hurst and his wife Mary arrived here in the tribe on Tuesday afternoon.   His job is to check the Bible translation for comprehension and accuracy.

On Tuesday evening we were hit with a whopper of a rain storm.   The wind blew the rain into the house through the closed windows, so we had to spend some time mopping up water.   The little creek below the house flooded worse than I've ever seen.   It did a lot of damage in the village.   Many of the people are still working to repair damage.

On Wednesday, my partners Larry and Linda Depue were returning from the city, but were unable to get here.   The people of little town just East of here were upset at the Government so they decided to all get together and block the road.   Some of their people used dynamite to blow trees down onto the road.   They were successful at shutting everything down, so Larry and Linda had to turn around and return to the city (6 hours).   We were sorry to hear that, especially since the Depues were bringing our supplies for the next two weeks.   But we made do and did just fine.

It is now Monday, the road block was lifted for the weekend and the Depues made it back (with our supplies).   The roadblocks are supposed to start up again today, and this time they are saying it's till their demands are met.   So Cam and Mary may get to stay longer than planned (They need to fly out this Friday).   Despite all that, we have breezed through the translation check.   Cam has caught, and helped me correct a few things, but mostly it has been smooth.   It must be your prayers for this project, because it has gone so well that we finished in just two days what I thought would take a whole week.   So I have been working hard to get more material ready for this week.   I am pleased with the progress.

Thanks for your continued prayer for us and for the Simba people.

I'm writing this Russell Rag from Taperillas, (Cross Lanes) Bolivia.

I arrived here in the tribe on Thursday and am now settled in.  The radio email is working well, so I wanted to give you a brief report.  First, the weather.

It is winter here, which means dry season, and boy has it been dry.  But it has been very hot, too (100 deg. in the shade yesterday).  However, last night a cold front moved in from Argentina, and the temperature dropped 55 deg. in under 12 hours.  So it is now 45 deg. and we are all looking for the sun to return.

Something very encouraging occurred today (Sunday).  Even though it is cold and drizzling, a good number of people came out to the church meeting this morning.  It was so good to see them coming out wanting to be fed spiritually.  I am also encouraged because, even though it is planting season and everyone is very busy preparing their gardens, I still found two couples that, starting tomorrow, are coming to work on the translation with me.  Please pray for the ministry here.  

Also remember Suzie, Emily, and baby Robbie in WV, and Joshua in NY.  Emily is carrying 23 hours this semester and is loaded down with homework each day.  She is doing well, though, and we praise the Lord for this answer to prayer.

Baby Robbie is growing so fast.  He is keeping his mommy and mamaw very busy these days as he is crawling and getting into everything! Josh is adjusting to college life and learning to balance the social aspect with the work aspect of it.  He is also starting for the JV soccer team, and is really enjoying this experience.

Once again, thank you all for your faithful prayers.  God Bless!