Clear skies aid planting, drag audio Bible sales

A respite between storm systems provided nice traveling weather, but it worked against sales for a team distributing audio Scripture players in northwest Guatemala.

After weeks of uninterrupted rainfall, many mountain-dwelling Chuj Mayans of the San Mateo Ixtatán region had been unable to plant their hillside corn crops until last week. As a result, most church members from outlying towns — who had been invited to five central towns — could not come but had to seize the moment to plant their crops.

“The rains put off people’s planting so long that when the rains let up, they were out planting,” said Dave Ekstrom, who joined the traveling team. Ekstrom and his wife, Helen, worked together many years translating the Scriptures in three Mayan languages.

The team sold about 30 out of 300 MegaVoice audio Scripture players (for about $40 each) to believers who live in the remote Cuchumatanes Mountains.

In one town, five of their six customers were women, Ekstrom noted. “I was surprised that the women had money of their own to buy with, but they did,” he said.

During their travels, they met men on literature committees and other church leaders who agreed to take on the responsibility of training people who to use the players effectively for teaching and discipleship.

In one town, some men had come to the town for another purpose but wound up sitting in on the team’s training session. Later, they bought some Scripture players. In another case, a young man bought a player, hoping to use it as an evangelistic tool to share the good news of Jesus Christ with his parents.