Changing words to communicate well
When you read that Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt, you probably don’t dwell on that. It is outside of our cultural experience. A number of Quechua legends, however, tell of individuals changed into rocks. Not just any rock. There are certain pillar-like rock formations said to have once been people. They changed into a rock.
God says in Malachi 3:6, I the LORD do not change. You guessed it—using the verb “to change” in this verse could mean that God does not change into something. It is as if God were saying: I do not change into rocks, or I do not change into animals. Not only that, but the Quechua word for “to change” can also mean “to turn,” as in: I the LORD do not turn around to look behind me.
This is an example of a text where we have to change the words in order to keep the meaning of the original text. In Quechua, God says in Malachi 3:6, I the LORD am always the same.
City of the dead = cemetery
In Nehemiah 2:3 Nehemiah replies to the king and says, “Why shouldn’t I be sad? The city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins and the gates have been burned down.” In Quechua it sounds weird to say that people are buried in a city. When we checked this passage with two separate people, they both thought that Nehemiah was sad because the cemetery was in ruins, rather than a city in ruins. Nehemiah means that the city where his ancestors lived is in ruins, and that is how we have to word it in Quechua.
Translation progress
After months of wading through Psalms and not having much to show on our chart, it is nice to be able to check some books off in quick succession. The minor prophets and Daniel are just about ready for the next workshop. They are only lacking the initial comprehension check.
Suspicious VBS classes
I made two different trips up to Margos to find out how the VBS classes went that were held in January and February. Neither written invitations nor word-of-mouth messages got to two of the leaders to meet me. Communication isn’t easy without phones or postal service.
Hercelia (see November’s Beans’Talk) was there. In the first place where her team taught, twelve children attended. There is no church in that hamlet, and many children who wanted to attend were forbidden by their parents. In the second place, 25 children attended, mostly unchurched. May the children keep singing the songs they learned and re-reading the papers they took home so that their families might hear God’s truth, too.
Yes, we made it home
We asked you to pray for our trip back home with all the equipment the end of February. When we left Huaraz, we weren’t sure if we would make it. Mud wasn’t the only problem. Strikes were due to begin and close the road. However, the only problem we met was temporarily getting stuck in huge tire tracks too deep for the vehicle we were in. Men poured out of vehicles behind us to push us through to where the tires could gain traction.
Disappearing road trick
Last Saturday, just hours after I made it back from Margos, a chunk of the mountain gave way where the road is carved into a cliff. Now there is nothing! People have chopped out a teensy steep footpath to get up and around the missing road spot. Whew! I’m SO SO glad I didn’t have to do that. I might have opted not to come home!
Praises & Prayer Requests
• Praise God for traveling mercy. He has kept us safe over and over again.
• Praise God that the new HM Quechua man, Leoncio, seems to be working well. Pray for at least one new man from the MYL Quechua area to join us as well.
• Praise God that our son Andy is able to fly again. He ruptured his ear drum and had to “sit on the bench.” Now he's back in the cockpit in the Air Force training program. He’s praying that he can make up all the flight hours he missed in order to graduate with his class.
• Pray for the next Old Testament workshop here in Huanuco, April 12-30th. Nehemiah and Daniel will be the books adapted into the other Quechua languages and worked on.
Thank you SO much for your prayers, gifts and encouragement. We couldn’t be here without you!
Patti
