In contrast to his rustic surroundings, Pastor Dorival’s face is alight with joy and excitement. Dorival is an evangelist, travelling far and wide in this old car to share good news with other Kaiwá people indigenous to western Brazil. Dorival is excited to soon have the whole Bible in Kaiwá:

“Before, when the Psalms were only in Portuguese we could not understand them – words like intercession and transgression – we did not know what these words meant. But now we know! I love Psalm 1 that says we are compared to a tree that is planted by living water. That is so beautiful to me. It gives a deeper understanding of who God really is. When we received parts of the Old Testament it was like someone took a huge light and put it up high and said, ‘Oh! Look all around here! Here is something you did not know before!’ So when I think that soon there’s going to be Genesis to Revelation, I feel really happy inside. It’s very good. It tastes good to see this happen. So I am jumping up and down with happiness because it is really beautiful, it is almost ready.”

A draft version of the entire Bible in Kaiwá was dedicated on 31 August 2013. Please pray for the 30,000 Kaiwá speakers who are now reading and reflecting on God’s word.

Photo & Words: Elyse Patten
More photos blogged at elysepatten.com