Ayoré diode ojñane Ecarai
When the disciples arrived they told Jesus about their trip: (Mark 6:30)
We know in our village that people arrive and bring all kinds of news to us – stories about what is happening in the world and how bad things are. But what Peter and the other disciples told Jesus when they came back after a trip was about what Dupade did for them in their travels.
It’s always good when our Ayoré countrymen arrive. Or when Ayoréos from other places visit our group. When believers come they give us their testimonies and tell us what Dupade did for them wherever they went. Not only do we like to hear their news, but Dupade loves to hear it too. (Malachi 3:16)
But let’s pray for Dupade to help us to understand His Words for that is what God asks us to do.
Let’s sleep a bit in the sky and *Soríané will pray for us to understand Dupade’s Words.
Soríané’s prayer:
Dupade, I pray to you right now; I want very much to hear your words from Ecarai’s lips when he teaches me. You are the only great medicine man, so much more powerful that all others. You are greater than Satan and his demons. You have overcome death. I want you to place your hand upon us tonight, so we might enter the light. Place your hand on us this very night.
We know that good things come from you whenever we meet to study your words. Watch over us tonight and protect all of us from Satan. Forbid our-nearnesses to him. You are the only one we obey every day. We can not see you, but you can see us and are with us right now.
You are the only powerful medicine man whose words we obey, the words of your Son Jesus Christ.
You alone are over all things. Over death. Over Satan and his demons. As David’s father, Ecarai, teaches us right now, forgive our ugly ways and the sin inside us.
Give us nourishing food and when we eat may it not make us sick. Only you can see what is inside. May we not experience sickness. Protect the children and help them to be obedient to your words. In the same way, the women, give them your thoughts and help them to not be ashamed of your words each day when we listen to your words from Ecarai’s mouth.
I pray to you in your son Jesus Christ’s name. Amen
Ecarai teaches about testimonies and news: (Ephesians 6:21,22)
What Paul taught was true. He said: “I sent Tychicus to you so that he could tell you how things are going with us.”
Isn’t it true that it makes us feel good when those of us in Tobité hear news that people in other places like Rincon or Zapoco are believing in Dupade? But when we hear the news that the believers in Poza Verde are forsaking Dupade’s Words, it makes us very sad. This is what Paul tells us: “For you, I sent Tychicus, so that you would hear the news about us from his very lips.”
Tychicus was Dupade’s servant, his believer, one who never grew tired of Dupade’s service. It’s true that we also went on a similar trip when we went to visit the people in Rincón to take Dupade’s Words to them. It was as though it was our own village and we stayed quite a while, and I’m thankful to Dupade that his words have not pulled themselves out of the people of Rincón. Neither have they pulled themselves out of the people in Zapocó, nor out of the people in Tobité.
But God has heard the news about those who no longer gather to be taught his words, but their news was not pretty to him. The news about them was ugly, for they have abandoned Dupade and stopped gathering to hear his words. On the other hand, the news about the people of Tobité, Zapoco and Rincón has also reached Dupade’s village, and it was big news for Dupade when he heard that news.
Paul sent Tychicus to Ephesus to encourage believers: (Ephesians 6:21,22)
Dupade’s believer Tychicus was never too weary to serve Dupade. And that is true of me, we believers here in Tobité have the responsibility to increase our knowledge of Dupade’s Words and shouldn’t be weary of attending meetings where we can hear more about Dupade’s Words. It doesn’t matter if it’s Sunday or not, wherever and whenever we get together to hear Dupade’s Words that place where Dupade’s Words fall is a church and we shouldn’t make excuses for not being present. We should not say, ‘I’m not going to the meeting, because I had a long trip and I’m tired out.’ Or, ‘I’m not going, I’m sore all over.’ It’s true sometimes we get sick, and it’s true that there are Dupade’s Words that say we’ll be sick or have pain. But when someone ignores how he feels to listen to Dupade’s Words, it seems Dupade increases that one’s health.
Hezekiah’s testimony was beautiful to Dupade:
You might remember it was a man from Old Testament times named Hezekiah who said: “Dupade, my sickness is going to throw me to the ground, and I am going to die.” This is what he said, and then he went on to say: “I will die soon, Dupade, but I would like you to remember that I was kind to my countrymen. You saw the old ladies that I gave food to, and the poor people.”
And Dupade did take note of his generosity, kindness, and mercy. And Dupade said: “I have heard your prayers. But you won’t die yet. I’m going to increase the years of your life. The years will finish off one of my feet, before you die.” And when Dupade is pleased with us, he can give us a measure of health so that we can continue gathering together to hear his words.
But when Dupade knows that some of our people are just about ready to believe in him, he is sure to keep us alive so that we can go on giving his words to them. (Romans 9:25,26)
Long ago the news about us Ayoreos was ugly to Dupade, but when we believed in Jesus the news about us changed and it is now beautiful. Our testimonies are good because we have accepted Dupade’s Son.
The news about the people of Sodom was ugly to Dupade:
You have heard how Dupade sent some angels to their city, I think it was called Sodom. He sent them to destroy the city because of its ugly testimony. But one of the first men called Abraham dug-into-Dupade’s-insides and asked him not to destroy the city. And Dupade said to him: “You’re right, if there are 10 righteous people, then I won’t destroy the people in the city because of the righteous people living among them.” But, he did not find 10 righteous people who believed in Dupade. But as he said he would do, he destroyed their city because no longer were their minds on Dupade and because of their ugly testimony.
Paul told how he suffered for telling Dupade’s Words:
What Paul told them was: “You have heard the news about me.” He went on to tell them his testimony, how the people had beat him till he had no more health. Other people put him in prison. He was where there was no air and no light to see by. Others chained him up and beat him with sticks until he was so bruised there was no place where he had sound skin. He body was tutut. They beat him like this because they hated Dupade’s Word and forbade him to preach it. Even though they hated Dupade’s Words and didn’t want him to preach them and whipped him, all Paul said was, “This is my testimony. I won’t stop preaching about Jesus Christ or make my suffering an excuse for not serving Dupade. I will never say: ‘Dupade doesn’t help me so I’m going to stop preaching, because the people were always beating me up.’
But what we heard about Paul’s testimony today is very true concerning his suffering. (Acts 14:19,20)
Paul had the testimony of being willing to suffer if needs be to preach Dupade’s Words. They almost killed him, but he went right on serving Dupade. Paul’s testimony is beautiful, because even in suffering he took Dupade’s Words all over the world.
Paul’s testimony had to do with a disease in his eyes: (Galatians 4:13-15)
We didn’t see him, but probably Paul’s eyes were dripping pus and looked repulsive. Despite the lingering illness in his eyes, Paul didn’t use it as an excuse to give up preaching the Gospel. He never said, ‘I can’t read, and I can’t see to travel about, so how can I go on taking Dupade’s Words to other places?’
But instead he said, ‘This is my testimony, if Dupade wants to take me to be with himself, then that is what I want too.’ (Philippians 1:21)
Paul’s testimony had to do with shipwreck:
Act 27 tells about a strong wind coming from the north and tossing the ship about the sea that Paul was traveling on. Therefore, they threw the boat’s cargo into the big water to lighten the boat. For many days the sun didn’t shine, and then things got even worse, and the boat was broken to pieces. They couldn’t even eat. After going a long while without food, Paul stood up and said to those aboard: “My friends, don’t worry. For if the boat breaks clear apart, none of you will die. For an angel of Dupade from heaven appeared to me in the night. And the angel said to me: ‘Paul, don’t be afraid. You must go before the emperor of Rome in the days ahead. Therefore, Dupade wants to save you from drowning in the big water, and he will save all your traveling companions also, and none of them will die.’”
And when they were all safe on land again they left for Rome! As they were traveling, some believers from Rome went to meet them, and Paul was encouraged by them. And he said: “My faith went up when I encountered my fellow believers while still a long way from Rome, for I knew they had come all this way to meet me to share Dupade’s Words with me.”
And that is what happens when someone believes in Dupade and he hears Dupade’s Words from the lips of Dupade’s believers. His faith goes up again and he feels so much better. Dupade’s Words make him feel better. Paul tells us, “You will hear the news about me.”
Paul’s testimony had to do with imprisonment:
This is the testimony that Paul told them. He said: “You’re going to hear news about me, my testimony, from Dupade’s believer Tychicus who I have sent to you.”
Paul learned what was going to happen to him, that he would be put in prison, and when it happened, Silas was with him when they locked them up. In the middle of the night Paul and Silas began to sing songs about Dupade, and they also prayed. Other prisoners heard them singing and they listened to Paul and Silas. They wanted to hear Paul and Silas and to know what the songs were about, and they were encouraged in their faith, and were happy to hear songs about Dupade from Paul and Silas’s lips.
Bad news causes us to wilt:
Am I not telling the truth? When we get news about believers, and hear that they have stopped following Dupade, do we not wilt? When we are few people in Dupade’s House, don’t we wilt? When someone’s finger hurts, or his eye hurts, or his toe hurts, that person wilts. It’s that way with Dupade’s believers. They feel let down when there’s only a few to hear Dupade’s Word. They hear the news about a believer who has stopped going to hear Dupade’ Words, and they wilt.
Paul likens the church to a person’s body. Let’s say a person cuts his toe, or gets a splinter in it, or has rash on his body, he feels weak because his body is sick and he’s weak from pain.
This is one of the teachings Paul gives us – he says: “You have heard the news about me, my testimony. So think about it,” he says. And goes on to say: “No one anywhere, if his body aches, can makes it all better by ignoring it.”
But these are also what we learn from Paul’s teachings: “When Dupade’s church is healthy, everyone who attends is healthy and they don’t lack energy or joy. On the other hand, when the attendance goes down and many of those who used to study Dupade’s Words lose their desire for it, then we all wilt.”
Why do we wilt? We grow weak because there are few of us to listen to Dupade’s Words. We wilt when our toe hurts; we wilt when our eye hurts or our finger hurts, and we don’t have any energy. It’s like this with those who believe in Dupade’s Words when Dupade’s power wilts among us it’s as though one of his toes hurts, or when one of Dupade’s churches stops meeting.
Dupade’s Words are what make healthy believers: (Isaiah 55:11)
It’s very true that when Dupade’s Words return to him and his people go back to him they won’t be alone, they will bring us with them, and others too. It’s true that the Words of Dupade and his house where his believers meet are not alone in this world, just as a family is never alone when it travels in this world.
It is like that also with those who know sárode for they are not alone on their journeys. They go with each other wherever they go, because they know how to blow on them who are sick, and to heal their sicknesses, and to bring them peace, and people get better. They go everywhere together and are a family to each other, those who know sárode.
It’s especially like this with us who have good testimonies, those of us who are full of the Holy Spirit, we go everywhere together, and help each other as we serve Dupade and preach his Words. We accompany each other and pray for each other when we are sick.
Satan tries to destroy our good testimonies:
Those of us who are preachers and teachers bring Dupade’s Words to you wherever we go. We explain to you how Satan works all over. We want to make you aware that Satan doesn’t always enter things that are ugly. He often enters beautiful things, so no one can recognize him.
Satan already has control of sinners, and it feels good to those he indwells when they bawl out their fellow men. Those that Satan controls never get tired of doing the ugly things he inspires them to do. When Satan sees a young man who believes in Dupade, he enters a beautiful girl to tempt him, and the young man is unaware of what is happening.
How do you suppose Samson, the strong man of long ago, was tempted to have sex with a foreign woman of a different culture who had never heard Dupade’s Words? She had sex with him and did something worse to him. She betrayed him to her countrymen, who gouged out his eyes. Satan enters beautiful things, and beautiful people, so that Ayoreos and Cojñone won’t recognize him. (2 Corinthians 11:14)
Satan entered a snake long ago, that seemed as innocent as a child as far as Eve, our fore-mother, the first woman, was concerned. He probably made himself into a handsome young man and Eve wasn’t afraid of him. She didn’t recognize him as Satan at all. All of us have seen snakes, how that even today they have very beautiful markings and colors. The coral snake has very beautiful colors, as well as the rattlesnake, and that’s how the first people were fooled. Satan entered the snake and may have transformed the snake into a person. He could have presented himself in such a way to the first women that she didn’t even know he was a snake.
Therefore we who are Dupade’s believers, when we know about these things, if we refuse Satan’s temptations, Satan will leave us alone. (1 Peter 5:8,9)
You know that Jesus said this to Satan: ‘Satan, leave me, I’m fed up with you. As if I would choose to obey your words!’ And he went on to say: ‘What I choose are my Father Words.’
But Satan said: ‘Pay attention to me and bow before me and the whole world will be yours, and all the beautiful things in it,’ that’s what he said, trying to tempt Jesus.
The clan-washing ceremony is an example of the new birth:
It’s like when the Ayoréos used to wash each other so that they could change the other person and they would take his clan name. When they completed the clan-washing they didn’t hold back their food from the one they’d washed. They didn’t find anything wrong with the one they clan-washed, they accepted him as one of their own clan.
Well, this is how it is with Dupade when he washes us and changes us, we take his clan name. Jesus’ clan name is Christian because Dupade named his Son Christ. Therefore, I’m telling you, if any of us wants to be clan-washed, tell Dupade and he will clan-wash you. Then you’ll accompany Dupade when he comes back. For He is coming, but no one knows the day.
Jesus tells about some of the signs of his return:
You have heard us tell about how the Ayoré men of old believed that the crying of bats were signs. They would say: ‘The bats are crying, it’s a sign!’ But the signs that are most important are Dupade’s signs. His Son Jesus said: ‘I am coming back and one of the signs my coming will be earthquakes. Other signs of my coming will be the falling of stars. Another sign of my coming is when the sun dies and makes the earth dark. Another sign of my coming is when the moon’s eye turns blood red.’ But when we hear the news of these things, Jesus’ coming will be near.
But at that time, if you don’t believe in Dupade, we will miss you, but in vain, and you will miss us also. But we won’t be able to say to Dupade: ‘Dupade, wait so the other’s can come with us. Erase their sins so they can come with us.’
But this isn’t what Dupade’s Words teach. Dupade’s Words say: ‘My Son Jesus Christ died for them long ago, and his believers who are still on earth must preach my Words to their countrymen so that whoever wants to can believe in Jesus too.’
So I say to you, if you want to put your faith in Dupade, then do it. But Dupade’s believers should stop living the way they did as unbelievers.
It is like us Ayoréos who live among the Cojñone, we have stopped doing many of the things we did before. We have stopped tying our hair back; we have stopped going about naked; we have stopped killing the Cojñone; we have stopped killing our fellow-ayoréos. When we left our old ways, we cut our long hair and become ‘ones without tails’ (ponytails). We put on clothing. We carried guns. We ate things that used to be taboo: deer, wild turkey, tapir. We changed in these ways.
But it is a good thing for us who follow Dupade’s Words to change our ways, then the Cojñone believers won’t know what to say about us. It is also good for us to have pretty testimonies. When we change our ways we no longer do the things we used to do. We no long tie our hair like our forefathers did. We no longer go without clothing. We no longer kill the Cojñone. We don’t kill our fellow Ayoréos. All that is left for us to do are other things like these and to trust in Dupade so that when he comes for us we can all go to Him.
Therefore, if someone wants to accompany his relatives, or a wife wants to go with her husband, or a husband wants to go with his wife, tell Dupade. Dupade will forgive your sins, because his Son Jesus paid the debt you owe for your sins by dying for you on the cross.
Dupade will clan-wash you and you will become right with God and he will accept you. He will write your names in heaven.
Why do the Cojñone fill out bills of sale to show who the new owners of the cattle are? They write their names on these forms as proof of purchase. Dupade writes our names in his book also as proof that he has purchased us. The book of life that is in heaven shows who have put their faith in Him. And Dupade pays attention to this book to know who it is that will inherit eternal life in heaven.
This is all my words for you, but possibly someone here wants to tell Dupade that he wants to belong to him and to have his help and that he wants him to know that he loves his Words.
When a person is a true believer he has a good testimony:
When a person truly comes to faith in Dupade, he stops being angry like we are prone to be. And other changes take place. When Rosadé came to faith he stopped smoking his pipe. He stopped blowing to cure people. He only cared about faith in Dupade. I don’t smoke a pipe, though I tried to before. That’s because Dupade is not pleased when we smoke pipes. Soríané does not smoke a pipe. He stopped when he put his faith in Dupade and Dupade clan-washed him and he took on the clan name of Christian. When a person wants to be a believer he follows Dupade. He doesn’t follow his fellow man, or fellow young man. But we believers follow each other and do Dupade’s ways here in our town: we attend meetings where we are taught Dupade’s Words and we grow in our knowledge of Dupade’s Word. We’re happy together, and Dupade sees our pretty testimonies and is pleased with us.
It would be wonderful if our descendants had Dupade’s Words in the language of the Ayoré.
I don’t know if, soon, I’ll be helping Señora Marina to put a portion of Dupade’s Words into the Ayoré language.
It’s going to be beautiful if future generations of Ayoréos will still be understanding our language, our first language. And possibly soon they will be reading Dupade’s Words in our language and they will use out language to teach us when we have finished translating the Bible into Ayoré.
When I have finished helping Señora Marina, teaching her how to say Dupade’s Words in the Ayoré language, I will be going to other places where our fellow Ayoréos live to help them, and Dupade will help me to reach others of our countrymen. Or, if it’s Dupade’s will, he might stop me along the way.
You see, when a person is ill, he doesn’t know how long he will be alive. But he trusts in Dupade’s gift of a new life. This is my testimony, that while I am alive I will live in the hope of the next life in heaven where Dupade is going to restore me to health.
Nacore closes in prayer:
Sleep a bit in the sky and I will talk a little while to Dupade.
Dupade Dios, I am speaking a bit to you right now. We are very grateful to you, dear One, to be here where you Words are, in this building that is called “church.” We are also very thankful right now that we can mention your Son Christ’s name to you the greatest of all medicine men, Dupade.
We are also grateful to you, dear One, that you have increased our vision as Ecarai has taught us these things. What a good prayer of Ironguené’s whose other name is *Soríané, as he prayed to you for us. Help us to go to your beautiful city of light. Protect our-nearnesses from everything that has to do with the things of Satan. Because we know that Satan is always looking for ways to destroy our good testimonies, therefore, watch over the women and we men day and night. I pray to you in the name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen”
Key:
Dupade – God
Dupade Dios – Dupade God
Finish off one of my feet – Fifteen
Throw someone to the ground – Finish someone off
To dig into someone’s insides – Beg someone for something
Tutut – Black and blue
Big water – Sea
Cause someone to wilt – Cause a person to become discouraged
Sárode – Medicine men who use word magic and blowing
Sleep a bit in the sky – Bow your heads and close your eyes
Where Dupade’s Words fall – Church; Where God’s Word is preached
Ayoréode – People of the Ayoré tribe
Cojñone – People who are not of the Ayoré tribe, white people
*Soríané was one of the killers of the first five missionaries that went into the jungles in search of the Ayoré.
Ecarai – Tobité, Bolivia – 1970.
Transcribed and translated to English by: Maxine Morarie.
