Brynda Pendergrast will be putting her faith to a deeper form of action next month. She and several other members of First Baptist Church in Natchez will travel to South America to work with the Guarayo people who live in a remote section of Bolivia.

Pendergrast said she is going on this trip because she believes God wants Christians to be of service.

&uot;Faith without works in essence doesn’t mean anything,&uot; she said.

First Baptist of Natchez is coordinating the trip along with several other Baptist churches in the region. The group will be in Bolivia from Feb. 18-26. Local residents, Ken Moss, Johnny Waycaster and Donna Carr also will travel with Pendergrast.

While on their trip, the group will make plans to return to the country to set up dental and medical clinics.

Pendergrast said the ministry helps the Bolivian people become more accustomed to Americans and see &uot;that we are no different then they are,&uot; she said.

Because the area is so remote, few American missionaries reach the people there, Pendergrast said.

This will be Pendergrast’s first trip to this part of the world, but it not her entry into Christian service.

At First Baptist in Natchez, she serves as the church’s Sunday school director and as a sign language interpreter.

As Sunday school director, Pendergrast stresses that Sunday School is not just Bible study. It is also about doing good works.

&uot;I am a firm believer that the Sunday school is the outreach of the church,&uot; she said. &uot;(And) if we are going to witness to the world its going to be through the Sunday school.&uot;

She also leads a Sunday school class for deaf adults.

Pendergrast said she first began learning sign language 20 years ago after taking classes from a missionary who worked with the hearing impaired.

She then decided that was something she needed to learn.

&uot;I knew there was a need because there were deaf (people) in the community (who) were not being reached,&uot; she said.