Natchez &8212; Leaving roast turkey and trimmings far behind, two Natchez men instead are spending this Thanksgiving Day near the base of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador.

The Rev. Bart Walker, pastor of Parkway Baptist Church, and Randy White, a member and lay leader at Parkway, are spending the week near Santo Domingo, located about halfway between Quito, capital of Ecuador, and the Pacific Ocean.

Their Thanksgiving Day meal today likely will include guatusa, a native rodent of about four to seven pounds; rice; plantain in some form; the fibrous root of yucca plant; and perhaps fish, Walker said as he and White talked Friday about their trip prior to the Saturday departure.

&8220;All of the food will be cooked over open fires,&8221; Walker said. &8220;We will eat what they eat.&8221;

Walker and White are in Ecuador to work among the Tsachila (pronounced SAH-chi-lah), an ancient Indian tribe that predates the Incas.

They often are referred to as &8220;Los Colorados&8221; because they paint their hair red with a grease dyed with achiote seeds. They dress in the manner of their ancestors, wearing clothing they weave from yarn made from alpaca fleece.

&8220;Only about 2,000 to 2,500 of the tribe remain,&8221; Walker said. Numerous pressures threaten the people and their way of life, especially the dominant Spanish culture in the country.

&8220;They&8217;ve been exploited,&8221; he said. &8220;And they&8217;re suffering from the same things the American Indians suffered during the time of the reservations. More and more of their land is being taken away, and the Western culture is encroaching upon theirs.&8221;

For Walker and members of his church who have been to Santo Domingo at least once a year for the past five years, the aim is not to change the Tsachila culture or even to build churches. &8220;We only want to teach them the Gospel,&8221; Walker said.

In 2000, three Parkway members went to the Tsachila communes to work in a medical clinic in cooperation with an Oklahoma church.

&8220;We found out there was a Bible translated and published in the language, Tsafiki. We presented them with this Bible, and it was the first time many had seen or known about the Bible,&8221; Walker said.

&8220;Later that same year, we returned with a mission team and conducted a Bible study, a vacation Bible school and evangelism and outreach programs. We developed a very good relationship with them.&8221;

For Walker and White, this trip is the second in 2005, as they were among the regular mission group earlier in the summer.

&8220;Several of them received Christ this summer,&8221; Walker said. &8220;They said to us that they need more teaching, that they could not sustain their understanding if we did not come again.&8221;

That a return trip worked out to be Thanksgiving week &8220;is purely by God&8217;s providence,&8221; Walker said.

Ecuador is now in its rainy season. &8220;It will be muggy and bug-infested. We&8217;re taking mosquito nets and insect repellant,&8221; Walker said. They will live in a cane hut with a thatched roof.

On this trip, the two men have planned specific teaching programs, spending about five hours each day working with Tsachila leaders, including the chief shaman, or spiritual leader. The native Tsachila religion is a form of animism, Walker said.

In the morning, Walker and White will observe the native customs of fishing, hunting and gathering. The noon meal will be the large meal of the day. They will teach in the afternoon and evening but will be flexible.

&8220;During our time, Randy will teach Christian doctrine of the family, and I will teach the nature of God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the concept of substitution, that he died to wipe away our sins and that by grace we are saved by that,&8221; Walker said.

&8220;We&8217;ve learned we have to be fluid,&8221; White said. &8220;They&8217;re very eager people and very attentive.&8221; Still, they have their own way of doing things, including sometimes setting a schedule not in line with one the missionaries suggest.

The missionaries will teach in English, which will be translated into Spanish. The Tsachila speak Spanish but will discuss the lessons with each other in their native tongue.

&8220;I&8217;ll be pleased if the leaders are able to grasp the basic concepts we teach,&8221; Walker said. &8220;We&8217;ll be teaching things that are pretty fundamental. I&8217;ll do some questions and answers, and those will lead to more questions and challenges.&8221;

Preparation for the trip has included plenty of prayer and Bible study. Both men feel a strong sense of purpose in this week&8217;s work.

How important to their church in Natchez are these mission trips into remote Ecuador, a small country on the equator &8212; which gives it its name &8212; between Colombia and Peru?

Walker answered. &8220;This is our chief calling. We know this is one of the greatest privileges we&8217;ll ever have,&8221; he said. He quoted Matthew 28: 19-20, in which Jesus says, &8220;Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.&8221;

His church members want to live out that challenge, Walker said.

&8220;Our church will testify it&8217;s one of our great passions to have a consciousness of the entire world, to recognize the need for the entire world to know Christ.&8221;

Knowing that certain other missionaries in the past have &8220;treated the Tsachila unbecomingly,&8221; Walker said, &8220;Our people have been humble, loving and careful with them. They have pleaded with us to come.&8221;

The Tsachila have become precious to church members, Walker said.

&8220;We&8217;re deeply concerned for their future, with Western culture invading, the government treating them poorly. It&8217;s a heart-breaking thing. That&8217;s why Randy and I are not going to be eating turkey with our families this Thanksgiving.&8221;