Mark & Patti September 2025 Update

Our bags were packed, we were ready to go!

Like John Denver's song, we were ready to leave on a jet plane. Then, out of the blue Delta informed us that our passports were not valid. What?!

It turns out that Peru, like some other countries, now requires a full six months left on one's passport in order to be admitted into the country. It doesn't matter if you only plan to stay a few weeks. It was so unexpected that we found ourselves grinning. Wow! God has so many ways to redirect and guide his children. This one was pretty obvious!

Thankfully, we haven't lost anything in the process except being with the Panatawa Quechua team in person. We have cameras and mics set up so Mark can work with them virtually.

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Mark & Patti September 2025 Prayer Requests

* The first two+ weeks of September we will be in Peru. Mark hopes to check the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel and chapters 1-13 of 2 Samuel for the Panatawa Quechua team. Pray not only for good concentration and attention to detail while checking Scripture, but also for protection over schedules, health and rest.

* Pray for the people who will eventually receive these books. May they be hungry to know more about God and find him in his Word.

Summer Beans'Talk 2025

Download Summer Beans'Talk 2025 with photos.

Hungry?

Why would someone offer you food when you yawn? To distract you and help keep you awake?

To our Quechua friends, a yawn is a sign of hunger! It sort of makes sense. Look how wide the mouth gets when you yawn. It must be waiting for something to fill it, right?

Sometimes messy…

These are the broad steps Mark goes through with the four teams on the new Quechua translation project (the “C4” project), with the goal of eventually publishing a separate edition of the Bible for each of their central Quechua varieties.

1. Mark teaches a computer program to adapt chapters of Old Testament books for each of the new teams. He adapts from a previously published translation that he worked on.

2. The men on each of the four teams edit the chapter so it sounds like their respective Quechua. Then they go over their versions as a whole group.

3. Mark checks their work. Usually, their work is good. However, sometimes it gets messy. Not only are the men new to translation work, but they are also new to reading and writing in their language. So sometimes it is easy for them not to notice that they have left out a main verb, garbled the spelling, or deleted punctuation. Sometimes, not understanding their Spanish Bibles, they will change the meaning to what is incorrect.

4. Mark gently points out the mistakes that were introduced. Then, after working on it together, sometimes they end up with what Mark gave them in the first place!

They are learning!

When I express dismay at this process, Mark is upbeat. They are just getting started. They have much to learn! he responds. The men all have great attitudes and are learning quickly. They are sacrificing a lot to leave their homes and work as a group for 18 weeks a year.

Step 5 is taking the books they’ve worked on during the year and reading through them with community members for a different kind of check. They plan to do this check during the August workshop.

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