The Tepehuanes Indians

X+VAN! from the Lane Family. X+VAN, pronounced SHOO-vaahn, is the Indian way of saying hello. We hope that the Lord will touch your heart as you scan down through the photos and information on this page. May the Lord bless you!

The Tepehuanes Indians inhabit the entire southern tip of the state of Durango, Mexico in what is known as the Mezquital Region. Forced into this area by the Spanish Conquest during the 1500's, the Tepehuanes, along with their neighbors to the north, the Tarahumaras, were the only two tribes that were not conquered during the conquest. Rather than submit to the Spanish rule, the Tepehuanes hid in the secluded wilderness of the Sierra Madre Occidental. 

Until the 1950's this wilderness was only accessible by mule. During the same time period, a few small airstrips were being cut into the forests to allow single engine aircraft opportunity to land. 

Recently the municipal government has been working to improve roads. Much of the wilderness in which the Tepehuanes live is still only accessible by four-wheel drive. 

In some areas still, horse back is the only option for travel.

After spending one year in language school to study Spanish at the Latin American Missionary Training Institute (LAMTI) in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, México, we moved to Durango to begin to reach the Tepehuanes with the Gospel message. The Indians speak a different dialect (O´dam k+ñ) distinct from Spanish. This adds another language to be learned. In the mountain villages, a large number of the Indians are bilingual and can handle both their dialect and Spanish. However, there are some areas where the people only speak their dialect and this requires us to better our ability to speak to them. 

In the Fall of 2000 we began our trips to the mountains. The trips average 150-200 miles deep into the Sierra Madre. This translates roughly into 6-8 hours driving time to reach our first village. 

In the same year we began working in several villages to win souls and busily disciple them. One group has recently organized into the first Independent Baptist Church in the history of their tribe. On 08 May 2005, La Iglesia Bautista Agua Zarca (Blue Water Baptist Church) was organized. 

Bro. Catarino and his wife, María Clara are two members of the newly organized church. Bro. Catarino has been involved in the work since we started. He now is serving as the assistant pastor of the church. 

In April of 2006, we began a new phase of the work in the mountains among the Indians. We started a Bible Institute with the desire to train the Tepehuan brethren for the work of the ministry. The first month we had a total of 5 students enrolled. Now there are over 15, some coming as far away as two hours from other villages just to study the Word of God. We have plans in the near future to start "satellite" schools in other villages to make the courses accessible to others.

These brethren are working hard to reach souls in their region. They constantly bring new folks to the meetings and accompany us to reach other villages. We pass out tracts and do personal soul winning, the "one-on-one" approach working best.

We currently have a building built that is serving as our church facility. As the church grows, our building is beginning to seem smaller. We are currently working on the next phase of our Base Camp.

These are some photos of the new building that we have under construction  in Agua Zarca. It will measure approximately 15 x  25 feet. This building will house our church as well as the Bible Institute. 

The work on this building is being done completely by hand. The sand, gravel and rock are shoveled out of the rivers and trucked up to the site. The cement and building materials all have to be trucked in from the city, a trip from 8-10 hours away. Once on site, the materials are mixed as needed on a concrete pad. 

These are photos of a typical Indian jail. The judicial system of the tribe is different from that of their mestizo neighbors. Although the tribe is under the regular local government, they are a self-governing entity. They elect their own governor and officials that serve a three year span in office.

HELP!

No. I do not have a twin! I have not figured out a way to clone myself, although the idea sometimes seems like a good one. As you can see by the photos on this page, we are busily working to reproduce ourselves in the lives of the people that we are training for the work of the ministry. Our hope and desire is that they will take charge of the work, and in turn, will begin to train others who will continue to start even more churches. We need help! There are so many towns and villages that have never heard the life-changing Word of God that we simply cannot reach them all. We are working to reach as many as we can, but the need is so great. We need men and women who are willing to sell out and forsake all and come and work alongside us to reach others in Mexico. 

Will you come and help us?  

"Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." Matthew 9:37-38

If you would be interested in coming for a visit to see what the Lord is doing through our ministry here, please click on our contact information on the home page and get in touch with us.

May the Lord bless you!