New Song in The Andes

Book Review.
Maust, John. New Song In The Andes. Gospel Missionary Union. 1992. William Carey Library, Pasadena, California.
Comment. Henry.
I have several rather personal ‘interests’ in this biographical resource. In 1951 I arrived at Briercrest Bible Institute as a student. The Klassens had graduated from this school and I heard them report about their work in Chimborazo province. In the mid fifties my wife and I were pursuing plans and doing correspondence with the Gospel Missionary Union as potential missionaries. In the early nineties we did a missions trip to South America and Quito was one of the places where we spent several days. A year later my son and I did a two month work mission in Shell which is not that far from Chimborazo province. In fact while we were there Henry Klassen came to Shell on some ministry related matters.
The Quichua are descendents of the mighty Incas. The first G.M.U. missionaries to the Quichua in Chimborazo province, Ecuador, were Julia Anderson and Ella Ozman. Their field director felt that the Quichua would be more accepting of ladies than men. This happened in 1902.
In Caliata, not far from the provincial capital, Riobamba, the ladies were offered a hut for their home which they shared with a Spanish speaking Quichua grandmother. Learning the Quichua language became their primary focus.
The Quichua were at the bottom of the social structure. Their poverty resulted in poor health. The mortality rate among young children was fifty percent. Any medicines that the ladies could give became an effective avenue to build relationships. The first Carnival that they experienced was very devastating. Drunkenness and resulting violence characterized the event which everyone was expected to attend. Mandatory contributions of liquor and funds for the Carnival fuelled their poverty, not to mention the pain brought on by brawls, etc.
It was not easy for the missionaries to explain the gospel to people who were following a religion that was a mixture of Catholicism and Quichua animism. During the second year of their missionary work the ladies experienced personal tragedy. Ella came down with pneumonia as a result of a difficult trip. There was no medical help for her and she lost her life. This left Julia alone with her very difficult ‘assignment’. Her health was impacted by an attack of small pox that left her disfigured. There were times when her failing health was so severe that she feared she was going insane. Added to these challenges she did not see any converts among the Quichua.
In 1915 Julia married William Woodward, another missionary . His health was poor and he could not tolerate the high altitude of Chimborazo. Their field director, George Fisher, insisted that the work with Quichua be carried on so Julia went back to Caliata by herself while William stayed in the coastal city of Guayaquil. It is baffling to see a missionary given such an assignment by a ‘responsible’ leader(s). In 1926 William died. Julia now focused most of her energy on translating the New Testament into Quichua. When she retired in 1953 this project was not completed but the next year the Quichua/Spanish N.T. reached the Chimborazo Quichua.
A new chapter of Quichua missions began with the arrival of Henry and Pat Klassen in 1953. They worked hard to address the cultural challenges which kept the Quichua from accepting the white man and his message. Henry kept telling these people that he was only a farmer with not much education and therefore not that different from them. The ministry of the Klassens focused on medical care (they established a medical clinic) and teaching these people how to read and write. There were a hand full of converts in the village of El Troje. These converts experienced persecution.
Colta became a centre for concentrated missionary work. The Klassens gave leadership. A school was built along with a medical clinic. The spread of the gospel was impacted by the establishing of a radio station. In the village of San Antonio opposition was overcome in miraculous ways and many were converted. The Quichua were actually being evangelized.
Some national and religious changes that happened during this time also contributed to the growth of Quichua believers. In 1964 political agrarian reform was passed which made it possible for the Quichua to own (buy) land and this did much to elevate their social status. The reforms of Vatican II created an environment in the Roman Catholic Church which was much more accepting of evangelicals. When Quichuas began to accept positions of leadership (pastoral) the movement took on a real indigenous characteristic.
In the early seventies the complete San Bernardo valley was evangelized. In less than ten years the number of Quichua believers went from some 250 to over 20,000. “The Chimbaroza Quichua story became part of a larger movement of God in the South American Andes” (113) touching people in Peru and Bolivia. By the 1980’s the Quichua believers had become a strong indigenous organization.
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