Greetings!

Jousting with the Enemy.

That’s the name I have come up with for some future memoir of this project. Not to get ahead of things, but several people have suggested that the journey we have been on while making this film is worthy of a story itself. I hope that such a story is a story of faithfulness, perseverance, and prayer.

I have begun thinking of the jousting analogy because it fits what we are experiencing. In a jousting match (think of two knights on horseback with long spears) there are moments of incredible collision and conflict, followed by a period of re-grouping, re-arming, and setting up for the next encounter. To me, that does describe our journey pretty well. Over the past years we have experienced incredible conflict followed by a peaceful period. In all of this we see both the Enemy’s schemes and the Lord’s favor and power. We certainly haven’t been kept from conflict and pain, but we have been acutely aware of the presence of the Lord in the midst of it. Maybe this is part of overcoming our glaring imperfections. It has definitely helped us to be less full of ourselves and more humble as we move forward resolutely but without false confidence.

This is a very un-Hollywood way to make a movie!

Below, I’ve tried to give you some quick snippets of recent happenings and then some ways you can pray for us.

Thank you for joining with us,

Tom Khazoyan –– Executive Producer, The Enemy God (Yai Wana Naba Laywa) film

[Note: If this is the first time you have received this update, you can read all of our past reports on our web site, www.TheEnemyGod.com under the "News" section.]

We did have some moments where trust became an issue. We are still learning how to communicate well and build trust as the outsiders. But I think we made great progress and the actors felt appreciated and respected in the process. So we are moving ahead.

We also were the subject of a feature article in the Belize Times, a national paper. They were very fair and caught the spirit of the film. They are touting the opportunity to birth a film industry among the Kekchi. That would be great to see! We hope this project will give the Kekchi a new sense of pride in their language and their abilities.

The rest of the crew, and our Yanomamö partners, will arrive a bit later to begin rehearsals with our Kekchi cast, final set preparation, and whatever else is left to do. So we are very close!

There are plenty of hurdles cropping up and we don't really expect them to diminish - we are trying to make movie outside the U.S., with a wonderful but inexperienced cast of actors, under conditions that can't be controlled very well. It is a testimony to God's grace that we are at this point, but we are not relaxing a bit.

? Pray for focus and wisdom. The parent organization for 10X Productions recently made a change in its leadership, replacing the founding CEO. This is a difficult time for us but we are hopeful for the future. Please pray for God's purposes to be accomplished and that the transition would not sidetrack us from important activities on the film.

? We have begun to hear threats from indigenous rights activists who are offended by the film. We have expected this because Bautista's story, while true, is not necessarily politically popular. I actually enjoy these conversations if they are respectful. I have had good dialogue with some people but it is difficult for others to accept this version of an indigenous peoples' story. They can choose to trust our hearts and our faithfulness to the promise we made to the Yanomamö, or they can call us names. Please pray for understanding and grace as we deal with these expected encounters. Pray for protection from these attacks as one person is threatening to have the Venezuelan government shut us down.