Almost Everyone Has Been Bereaved

God's Word provides the key to peace and hope for many families who have suffered violence in rural Peru

In the mountainous AYACUCHO region of Peru, the Quechua people have often found themselves caught between two terrifying forces: the fear-inspiring tactics of the communist terrorists, Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), and the violent repression of the Peruvian armed forces, who frequently accuse the local people of complicity.

Martyr

In 1987 the Quechua: Ayacucho Bible was published, thanks to the work of translator Rómulo Sauñe, who became a martyr at the hands of Shining Path in September 1992. Since then the churches have grown in this region and despite its remoteness the Peruvian Bible Society (PBS) tries to serve the area with Bibles.

On a recent visit to the area the secretary of the Pastors' Fraternal group said that they could never find the time to meet together because they were so busy with the work of their churches. But when the Bible Society asked them to meet and suggested a day when they were coming with a quantity of free Scriptures, the pastors made a special effort to attend this important meeting. Assemblies of God pastor Rómulo Sandiego said that because of the many years of violence in the area there was a great need to take the Gospel to the people. But it was important to do this in a careful and sensitive manner: so many people have been badly shocked by the activities of Shining Path. He believed that about 95 per cent of all families in the area had lost someone through the murderous activities of Shining Path. Many people were forced to leave their homes and farms in the countryside and move into the towns. Many went to the capital, Lima, and some were living in the city of Ayacucho.

Protested

When the Shining Path movement first began, there were people who believed in them and followed them. But when they began to use violence against the people and force people into supporting them – they used to execute publicly village leaders or people who protested against them – then many people turned against the movement.

As a result people listened more carefully to the Gospel message and responded by accepting Jesus as their Saviour. They turned to God, looking for peace and hope in the terrible emotional turmoil of the times.

All the pastors concurred with this view; there were also representatives from the Church of God, the Evangelical Pentecostal Church of Peru, the Baptist Church, the Presbyterian Church of Peru, and the Church of God of Prophecy.

One pastor said that they were in need of a great many Bibles and other Scripture publications and they had written to the PBS asking for help. They were delighted when they discovered that the PBS had brought a large quantity of Scriptures to Ayacucho and especially pleased to receive a generous gift of Scriptures for their churches to use.

Wonderful

Pastor Sandiego said: "This is a wonderful meeting because it is the first time we have been able to talk to a member of the staff of the PBS. We are extremely grateful for this generous gift from the Bible Society, and we thank all those who have made this gift possible."

The Scriptures were then allocated to each of the churches according to the size of their congregations. The Bible Society has now asked these pastors to meet more regularly so that they can plan programmes of Scripture distribution in their communities and the PBS has promised to give them as much support as they can.

The Scriptures made available to the pastors on this occasion were 650 New Testaments, 4,080 Portions of Ruth, 1,000 Gospel Portions and 192 Spanish Bibles. The Book of Ruth is a particularly interesting publication because it is in Quechua and the front cover depicts two typical Ayacucho Quechua women reaping a harvest. With the Portion are a number of Bible Study Helps and questions to encourage people to really get to know this book. (WR 318/02 - 397) [PHOTOS]

This page was last updated on Thursday, 17th April 1997.