Download the PDF of this letter with photos here.
Back in Peru!
We left Ohio July 14th and landed back in Peru the next morning.
The week before we left, Mark was able to bring his hand all the way up to his mouth and curl most of his fingers down to touch his palm. That may not sound like much, but they are big milestones on the long road to recovery.
The therapist was delighted with Mark’s progress. She has been such a cheerleader. She is willing to coach Mark long distance as he continues exercises on his own. So, we booked our return flight as soon as we could.
Split up…& special colleagues
Hours after landing in Peru, I (Patti) saw the dentist for a broken tooth. Alas, I didn’t think about how he’d need more than one day to fix it. Since the dentist doesn’t have Saturday office hours, I was stuck not just one extra day in Lima, but a whole weekend in Lima. I was able to spend a lot of that extra time being “mama” to a young woman we’ve watched grow up who’s now in Lima.
Thanks to some colleagues, I had a place to stay while Mark traveled on up to Huanuco on the Friday night bus. At the bus station a Peruvian colleague was waiting to help him with his bags. What a nice surprise!
Not as planned…but off to a good start
Thank you for praying for the translation workshop. We didn’t have the help we anticipated for setting up the Internet, but another colleague volunteered to run a long cable from our apartment down to the adjacent building and into the room where the workshop is held. That worked! Mark could talk to the group while he was in Ohio but he could not follow their discussion since they were only set up with one microphone. He has a lot of questions for them and now that he is here with them, he is working solid to make the most of these last days.
Two days to go
There are only two more days to go after today to finish this workshop. I’ve gone ahead and colored in the boxes Mark expects to finish in these last few days. For View from our porch. those of you who are careful readers, the book of Lamentations should have been colored purple in April, not green! My mistake. Now it is yellow! In addition to all the translation, the guys are also working on finishing up a new hymnbook for three of the Quechua areas. One group came back with several changes to some of the songs, so they are checking to see whether the other two areas want the same changes.
Prayer and Praise
Continue to pray for Mark’s recovery: for feeling to return to his pinky and ring fingers, for increased range of motion, and for regaining strength in his arm.
Pray for both of us to get back into the groove and caught up on work missed while we were gone. I just got back to Huanuco yesterday morning and don’t feel like I’ve quite got my feet on the ground yet.
August 6th a neighboring Quechua language (Huallaga Quechua) will be dedicating the complete Bible. This is a huge milestone culminating nearly 40 years of work.
• Pray for the entrance of God’s word into many Quechua homes and communities in the Huallaga area of Huanuco.
• Mark was invited to give the main message at the dedication. Pray that he clearly communicate the importance of God’s word.
Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement and support.
Patti Bean
