Download the PDF of this letter with a photo here.
He must have needed a “break”
After Mark’s fall and surgery to repair his shattered elbow last month, some of you were pretty creative. One note referred to our home base here in Ohio: “So, Chagrin Falls (much to Mark’s chagrin) must be aptly named…more dangerous than the Andes.” Another wrote, “God knows you need a break from your riptide schedule…I’m glad you get a break to tend to yourselves.”
Mark no longer wears the black brace you see in the photo. Just last week he began therapy. His left hand is basically useless and there’s very little range of motion in his elbow. We hope to see both improve by this time next month. We are hopeful the doctor will give us clearance to return to Peru at that time.
Workshop adjustments
Mark continues to work on translation via the Internet, albeit at a much slower pace than normal. As we mentioned last letter, we were planning to hold the next translation workshop out in a remote location. No more. Since we won’t be back in Peru in time, we sent someone out there to let people know that we won’t need the food, lodging, meeting places, and other things that we had arranged for.
Meanwhile, Mark sent a note to all the Quechua translators letting them know to head to Huánuco instead, where we normally meet. Mark plans to go ahead with the workshop, hoping to “attend” it from a distance via Internet. Check the prayer requests listed below.
Forget it?
In Isaiah 43:16–17 God recalls rescuing the Israelites from the mighty Egyptian army. He opened a way through the waters for the Israelites to pass and then crushed the army under the waves. The next verse then says: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”
If we were to translate just those words, it would come out in Quechua as a command, as if God were prohibiting them from remembering his great deeds. We know that is not what is meant in this passage. Rather, God is highlighting the contrast between the great things he has done in the past and the even greater thing he will do in the future. To help modern English readers, at least one translation adds: That is nothing compared to what I am going to do. In Quechua we are considering saying some-thing like: “But now I will do something even more awesome than I did before.” We’ll be discussing this more as a group in a later workshop. Once again, translation isn’t just getting the WORDS translated; it’s making sure the meaning is translated correctly, too.
Prayer and Praise
• Praise for WONDERFUL times with family in May. The end of May we were with Mark’s sib-lings and their families in Michigan.
• Pray for details of the July Old Testament workshop:
• improving the range of the Internet connection in Huánuco beforehand so Mark can easily communicate with the participants as well as remotely access their computers;
• getting all the computers and monitors set up and talking to each other;
• safely copying the files the men worked on between workshops;
• men stepping up to fill the gaps in Mark’s absence;
• all of them getting along well and caring for each other;
• progress towards the goal of going over the community checks of Jeremiah 29 though chapter 52, plus working through all of Lamentations and hopefully the first 24 chapters of Isaiah.
• patience as it won’t be like any workshop they’ve had before;
• for God to work through our weakness.
• Continue to pray for Mark’s recovery. He still does not sleep well at night.
Thank you SO much for your prayers, encouragement and support.
Patti
