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History of Christianity in Ixil Mayan Culture of Northwest Guatemala
Since 2009 the Ixil Nebaj people now have the New Testament & other literature for adults in
in a written language thanks to Helen & Ray Elliot, Dwight Jewitt, Sharon Rosenwald
and Ixil translators and all of you supporters.
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Evangelical missionary activity began in Nebaj in the second quarter of the last century and continued until a brutal civil war in the late 70's and early 80's forced the withdrawal of all expatriate missionary personnel from the area. The area was extremely hard hit by the violence of that war, with virtually every family losing a loved one as a result of the political upheaval. However, God used that time to bring about a significant "people movement," a time when large numbers of Ixil people turned from old religious ways to the Gospel of Christ. (This was true of much of the rest of the country of Guatemala at that time also.) Today, only a handful of expatriate missionaries live and work in the area. The work of the many evangelical groups, represented by over 300 congregations, is overseen by indigenous pastors and lay leaders, who desperately need further Bible training in order to carry out the ministries God has given them.
SIL translator Ray Elliott and his Ixil co-translators published the Gospel of Mark in 1960. Given that there were very few believers at that time, the response was probably minimal.
The Ixil people of Nebaj have been waiting for 50 years since the Elliott's came to live among them and to learn their language. Now they are within months of having a New Testament available to them in their language
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