Working in Chihuahua, Mexico with the Baja Tarahumara People

Dates to Remember:
Wedding anniversary: June 19th
Birthdays:
Don, March 20th
Marie, November 15th

Contact
donburgess2@gmail.com
marieburgess2@yahoo.com

Mailing address
16131 N. Vernon Dr.
Tucson, AZ 85739-9395

Sending Agencies
Peninsula Bible Church
3505 Middlefield Rd.
Palo Alto, CA 94306

PBC Cupertino
10601 N. Blaney Ave.
Cupertino, CA 95014

After becoming a Christian in college in El Paso, Texas, I (Don) immediately started visiting slum areas across the border in Juarez, Mexico, taking medicine and holding Vacation Bible Schools. That summer, I took a job as a worker on the construction of the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad in Chihuahua, Mexico. This took me into the heart of the Tarahumara Indian country, where I had already visited a couple of years previously with my father, who was writing feature articles for newspapers. It was while working on the railroad that I became interested in the Tarahumara people and Bible translation. Later I wrote a Master's thesis on the history of missionary efforts among the Tarahumaras since the early 1600's, and then studied linguistics at the University of Oklahoma.

My connection with PBC came during that summer of railroad work in Chihuahua when I met Paul and Ellen Carlson, a Wycliffe Bible Translator couple who were the first missionaries sent out from Peninsula Bible Church.

I met Marie at an Easter dinner at the home of one of the PBC elders, and we were married at PBC 24 years ago. Marie had worked as an RN in ICU at Kaiser Hospital in Santa Clara. She came to know the Lord through the Career's ministry in 1976.

In regards to the translation, all of the Baja Tarahumara New Testament has been revised and only three books remain to be checked by the consultant. We hope to have everything ready for recording by the beginning of Jan. Because so many of the people are not able to read, plans are to put the recorded text onto a chip and into a small solar operated hand held player and then distribute several hundred of these throughout the tribal area. The region covers about 10,000 sq. miles of rugged mountains and canyons. The printing of the New Testament will happen later as well as the printing and recording of the Old Testament Summary.

In regards to literacy materials for the schools, we are nearing completion of a book on the Tarahumara uses of corn.

In the Baja Tarahumara area, we know of three small Christian groups that are interested in using the Scriptures in the Baja Tarahumara language. We feel that the spiritual battle is very intense, often in our own lives.

Please pray that God will meet our spiritual needs as well as those of the Tarahumara. And that God will grant us the health needed to finish the translation. Don has had atrial fibrillation for the past four years but God has given us the grace to continue in his work.