AWR News

by Teddy Griffin
an AWR intern at the time of writing 

Pastor Dagoberto Cirilo Sanchez was watching 3ABN when he saw a missionary group handing out MegaVoice Ambassador audio devices to people in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. Sanchez is currently serving as a missionary to the Huichol people, deep in the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico. Sanchez, also a missionary pilot, is well known to the Huichols for his kindness and willingness to fly their ill to the hospital in Guadalajara or bring back necessary supplies, from rat poison to chain saws. This saves the Huichols a 10-hour bus ride to Guadalajara or its surrounding cities.

Sanchez contacted Adventist World Radio president Dowell Chow about handing out these Ambassadors to the Huichol people. Partnering with Project Amistad — another Adventist ministry — AWR was able to obtain 120 Ambassador units programmed with the New Testament and The Faith of Jesus Bible-study series in the Huichol language, as well as the entire church hymnal (both music and lyrics) in Spanish. Chow flew down to Mexico to help Sanchez pass out some Ambassadors to the Huichols.

The Huichol people are considered to be one of the most well-preserved groups of people in the world who are still keeping their ancestral traditions. Scattered throughout large portions of Nayarit, Jalisco, and Zacatecas, Huichols live in small communities of family clans and are mostly distant from one another. These areas are only accessible by plane because of the steep, rocky terrain. They don’t allow outsiders or even other Huichols to join or live on their land, due to scarcity of water, and arable and grazing lands. Huichols are mostly animists, regarding deer, scorpions, and other animals as holy creatures. Many passionate festivals are held to pay tribute to these animals. They also look to a shaman, or healer, to cure their sick and wounded.

With these ministry challenges in mind, Chow joined Sanchez in Mexico, where they were met by Lucas Ortiz Salvador, a Bible worker with the largest Huichol congregation in the area, with 30 members. They piled in Salvador’s pickup truck and drove on roads notoriously used by gangs and drug dealers. Chow remembers, “The truck and roads were so dusty and dirty that my shoes turned from black to brown!” After walking through the mountain for an hour with limited water and in grueling heat, the group stopped to intercept a group of Huichol men who, they were told, would be returning from their trip to the top of the mountain. 

After much waiting, a party of Huichols arrived, led by their chief, Porfirio. Chow and Sanchez explained how the Ambassador units were a resource for Porfirio to use for his people. Porfirio turned on the Ambassador, and his face beamed when he heard the Bible being spoken in his native language. The leader then accepted three units for his village! Another one was given to a man in the group named Carlos, a native of Chalate, who promised to go to his family who were still in Chalate and share it with them.

The next day Chow and Sanchez drove through rugged terrain to Canoas, where they met with a local artisan named Agustin Lopez de la Cruz. There Chow was shown the “Silla para el Marakami,” an exquisite chair — made by de la Cruz — in which the shaman of the Huichols traditionally sat. Chow was given the honor of being allowed to sit in it as a special guest. “It was a gesture I highly regarded,” recounts Chow.

On the way back to their rooms, the men stopped at the house of a woman named Angelina, who was helping make bricks from mud and donkey dung. Sanchez offered her an Ambassador, but she refused it because her husband was away and he was the one who needed to accept it; if she accepted it, he would beat her. Sanchez promised to return when he was home and give them a unit. The group went on to visit many more villages, including the ranch of Salvador Chivarra and his extended family. Chivarra was excited about the Ambassador, and so Chow and Cirilo left one with him as well.

Everywhere Sanchez and Chow left Ambassadors, recipients were told that Sanchez would return in two months to evaluate their experience and answer any Bible questions they might have. This trip was especially helpful because the Mexican government doesn’t allow religious organizations to obtain a broadcasting license in the name of a church. Because of this obstacle, AWR does not currently have any broadcasts in Mexico. It is possible to purchase existing stations that are for sale under the title of a non-governmental organization, but these stations are extremely expensive. Chow sees this trip as the first positive step for ministry to the Huichols: “The Ambassadors allow a very secluded and sheltered culture to be able to hear about the good news of Jesus from where they are. We are thankful to our supporters, who make such projects possible.”

Note: Only a few months after this trip, the first baptism resulting from the distribution of Ambassadors took place, with four Huichol people joining the Adventist Church.