NANACATLAN, PUEBLA, MEXICO (ANS) -- The Totonac believers of Nanacatlan, Puebla, Mexico, have just received the unexpected news that 500 copies of their New Testament in the Totonac language had just arrived.

The visiting group in the village of Caxauxuman, Vera Cruz

“Actually, they have had the New Testament available for a number of years,” explained Dr. Dale Kietzman, leader of Latin American Indian Ministries. “There has been a steady demand for the volume, due to the responses that come, principally by telephone, from first time listeners to the weekly Christian radio broadcasts of their pastor, Felipe Ramos.”

Dr. Kietzman went on to say that Ramos’ voice is now recognized throughout the states of Puebla and Veracruz because of his programs that have been on the air for the past 30 years.

“Recently he was able to move to stronger stations, broadcasting in both AM and FM. His Totonac Radio Hour is heard in all the various dialect areas in these states. Because of the dialect differences, he invites other pastors to record short messages which he includes in his programs, 'so that every listener can feel at home with the Gospel message.'

A local family, and the team, sitting around the table. The recorder is there to play a taped message as a part of the discussion

“One of the ways a listener can respond is to request a copy of the New Testament. But the supply had run out, and they could find none at the Wycliffe center in Ixmiquilpan in the state of Hidalgo. As it developed, Wycliffe had transferred all the stored books to Mitla, in the state of Oaxaca.

“It took enquiries to the Bible League in Crete, Illinois, the publisher of the volume, to straighten the matter out.”

Dr. Kietzman added that this week, Bible translator Gerry Anderson delivered ten cases of books in the back of his pick-up, driving 500 miles through the mountains to make the delivery.

“In addition to requests for New Testaments, Pastor Ramos gets lots of requests for him to visit listeners in one of the small hamlets that dot the mountainside,” stated Dr. Kietzman. “He does that as often as he can, or sends a team, armed with a laptop computer and small video projector, to make the visit on his behalf.

“The well-trained team spends time visiting, and then plays the JESUS film, now available in the Totonac language, for the family and neighbors. Their visit often concludes with a small service and a very frank discussion of the implications of the Gospel message.

“These visits are really the first of many, because a new congregation is coming into being. The group is small, the meeting place will at first be in a house, then move outdoors as the group grows, and eventually become a congregation that builds its own building and sends its young people for training. This is rich soil that will produce a hundred-fold.”

For more information on this ministry please go to the Latin American Indian Ministries’ website, www.LAIM.org, or in Spanish at www.misiontotonaca.org 

Dan Wooding, 71, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on the KWVE Radio Network in Southern California and which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries and also provides a regular commentary for Worship Life Radio on KWVE. You can follow Dan Wooding on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. Dan has recently received two top media awards -- the "Passion for the Persecuted" award from Open Doors US, and one of the top "Newsmakers of 2011" from Plain Truth magazine. He is the author of some 44 books, one of which is his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.