Project Ticuna - UCB/LAM

Our first contact with the Ticuna Indians was in the year 2000, when Noel was invited to speak at the inauguration of the "All Indian" Bible School near Tabatinga, on the"Three Frontiers" borders of Brazil, Colombia and Peru.  Whist there, God gave Noel a vision of Ticuna Indians on a big boat, carrying the Gospel Message up and down the Amazon River, with great joy.  One of the things he noticed was that they were all carrying a Bible in their own language.  Later we learnt that, at the time, the Ticunas only had the New Testament in their own language.  The Old Testament was still being translated by American missionaries, in their 80's, living on an island of the river near-by, who refused to return home until the work God had given them to do was finished!.  Since then, the complete Bible has now become available to the Ticuna Indians.  Ticunas live spread out over the Amazon jungle in the three frontier countries and have free access of travel in all of them.  Because of their expert knowledge of the Amazon Jungle trails, they are frequently exploited by drug-traffickers, whose"payment" for their services is mainly unlimited amounts of "cachasa" (100% Alcoholic drink).  This has resulted in drunken orgies among the Indians, killing or maiming many of the adult population in wild fights. Others have been killed on the jungle trails, in fights between drug barons and police in forest raids.   Poverty and malnutrition and their own traditions are other sources of suffering to the Ticuna people and but for the change and hope that the message of the gospel brings, their tribe would be fast disappearing now; as so many of the other tribes before them.  The Christian message has brought new life and dignity to this people and the opening of a an Indian Bible School was another step forward.  Noel and Sandra Quinlan are also on the board of "United Christian Broadcasters" in Brazil, (UCB Brasil), whose leader is Silvia Calmon, and when the three-monthly devotional "Word For Today" came out in Portuguese, a suggestion was put forward to produce a yearly booklet in the Ticuna language as well.  The idea was received with much enthusiasm and currently there are two editions of the Ticuna devotional published, making 6 months of the final booklet to be produced. These are the very first Christian examples of Christian literature in their own language, other than the Bible. Clauber and Deonora, leaders of the Ticuna School that Latin American Ministries supports, are on the translating team.  LAM has helped to supply funds for the translating work and now contributes monthly to the financing of the Radio programme that goes out on weekdays all over the area inhabited by the Ticuna Indians; broadcast in their own Ticuna language and Portuguese and Spanish.  "UCB Canada" last year supplied hundreds of solar-powered radios to give to the Ticunas far-removed from electricity, so that they would be able to hear the daily reading of the devotional and other health-related messages etc. 


Latin American Ministries - Project Ticuna UCB Brasil/LAM