Download the February 2016 Beans'Talk with photos here.

Over and up in Huamalies

At the time of our last letter we had no idea that we would soon take off for Huamalies—one of the language areas we translate for. One of the men on the translation team set up a weekend in the provincial capital, Llata, with church leaders from a number of towns and villages in the area. We traveled over a couple days early to avoid being on the road over New Year’s.

Brrr….on the air

Those first extra days there, Mark was interviewed and taught on the radio at 5:15 each morning. The down coat and woolen hat give you an idea that it was chilly! One morning during the program a man from a different town called into the station all excited about the prospect of meeting Mark in person. He traveled up with his wife and daughter to attend the events scheduled for Sunday.

Eager beaver readers

The schedule was packed with discussions about spelling and word choices, teaching about translation, working through surveys, and reading Scripture. When Saturday afternoon came and the group hadn’t finished reading the Joseph story, they volunteered to meet for an hour and a half before breakfast on Sunday to finish!

Quechua makes a difference

Casimiro came the furthest distance. He showed up Sunday late in the morning. At the end of the day Mark personally worked through the survey with him. He was constantly breaking out in smiles and laughter. YES! That’s how we talk!

He has been using his Quechua New Testament and is so excited about the eventual arrival of the whole Bible. Echoing other participants, he commented about how passages in Quechua evoke laughter, dismay, sympathy and other emotions. “We don’t react like that when we read it in Spanish.”

Interlinear – Literal – Dynamic

One of the biggest responses of the weekend came from the Sunday session about translation. Mark used a number of idiomatic Quechua expressions to teach about (1) interlinear, (2) literal and (3) dynamic translations. Here’s one example put into English.

Säputa qatirku shamushkanki?

(1) toad + OBJECT MARKER driving + QUESTION MARKER come+PAST+YOU

(2) Did you come driving toads?

(3) What took you so long? Were you herding toads?

After looking at everyday examples that didn’t make sense unless you know Quechua, Mark gave some examples from the Bible that don’t make sense as strictly literal translation. He explained that that is why sometimes the Quechua translation doesn’t exactly match the words found in the Spanish Bible. The words may not match but the meaning will be clear.

Encouraged – both directions

We were encouraged listening to many testimonies and ah-ha’s of understanding from the men (and woman) who attended the weekend. Pastor Julio, pictured below, was originally against the Quechua New Testament when it came out. Now he is an avid promoter of the use of Quechua in the churches.

Praises and Prayer Requests

* Praises: We had a great visit to the Huamalies area. Mark is working on preparing the glossary and in the process checking to make sure the glossary terms are translated consistently throughout the Bible.

* Pray: for the Feb 8th thru March 4th translation workshop. Leoncio will be able to join us since the Peruvian school year is over and students are on summer vacation. There is lots we hope to accomplish. Pray for good health, good attention to detail, and no unnecessary distractions.

Thank you! You encourage us, too! Thanks for your interest, prayers and support.

Mark & Patti