Written by: host
12/28/2006

The jungle village of Oromomo is home to about 200 families, of 2 different indigenous tribes, the Yura and the Chimani.  Shown below are children in the village who are learning to hunt with hand-made bows and arrows.



Oromomo is a remote village accessible only by bush plane or by canoe, thus making Christian ministry difficult at best.  A Bolivian Christian missionary, Inocencio, and his wife Daria, have worked in this village for more than 2 years, sharing the gospel, however there is still only one other believer.  Many villages along jungle rivers are steeped in the traditions of their ancestors - they believe in many gods, such as gods of the river and the earth, and their worship consists of many ancient rituals.  They are more than happy to hear the gospel, but they simply want to add Jesus Christ to their list of gods.  They do not want to accept that Jesus is the ONLY way, and that eternal life can only be found in Him.  Their disbelief and lack of understanding makes it imperative that the Christian ministry continue in Oromomo.

A New Tribes pilot contacted Helping Hands, and explained that the airstrip in Oromomo was overgrown.  It was dangerous to fly in and out of the village, thus it would soon be difficult or impossible to support Inocencio and Daria's ministry.  Could we get a team together to go in and clear the airstrip?  Our answer - "Absolutely!"  Then all we had to do was find people willing to spend their Thanksgiving in the Bolivian jungle.  God brought us three wonderful people from the U.S. - Rich A, Rich M., and Cindy.  These three, Drs. Richard and Brenda Kowalske, Poly Gonzalez, and Jessica Matthews, (Helping Hands missionaries), and 2 other indigenous missionaries spent 5 days in the jungle clearing the airstrip.  We also provided medical care for many of the villagers.  The team is shown below, from left, Jessica, Cindy, Rich, Dr. Richard, Rich, David, and Ariel (not shown is Dr. Brenda.)



Rich works in the thick brush of the jungle.



We finished our work!  The choice to forego a traditional Thanksgiving dinner had not been difficult for our team, because the week was spent making an eternal difference.  The airstrip was cleared, the planes could fly, and the gospel could spread.  The team battled hordes of mosquitos and a myriad of other jungle bugs; bathed in the river; cooked over an open fire; and tolerated temperatures over 100 degrees - all in a day's work for the Lord!

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