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.

Read more...

Mark & Patti August 2025 Prayer Requests

PRAY:

Aug 4 thru Aug 22 Mark will be consulting from Ohio again for the C4 team representing 4 related Quechua languages. These men have been working together for less than a year. This workshop they will be inviting people down from their respective communities to read newly adapted Scripture to them to make sure it is understood. Their goal for the three weeks is ambitious: check Genesis, Ruth and Jonah with community members AND edit drafts of Exodus 17 to 29 that Mark has generated for them. There’s lots to pray for, including health. During June’s workshop several were ill.

PRAISE:
We enjoyed ten days of vacation in July with three out of our four kids and nine of our twelve grandchildren. What a rare treat!

Mark & Patti July 2025 Prayer Requests

* When's the last time you thought to PRAISE God for access to his Word in your own language? PRAY for the many language groups in the world that are still waiting for their own copy of the New Testament. There are many more waiting for the Old Testament.

* Pray for Quechua speaking pastors and those in their congregations to take time to practice reading God's Word. Pray for perseverance in reading and progress in fluency. Pray that God's Spirit will meet them in his word to teach, rebuke, correct and instruct them. May we all pay attention to God's work in our lives!

Mark & Patti June 2025 Prayer Requests

* June 6-14 we will be traveling, visiting the California Redwoods to celebrate Mark's birthday. Praise God with us for this opportunity and for the beauty of his creation.

* June 16th there's another 3-week translation push with the group of men representing 4 closely related Quechua languages. They travel down to town to work together and with Mark (online). This month they plan to finish the book of Genesis and get well into Exodus. Pray for increased facility and understanding. These men are just months into working in their language in written form, having never written it before now. Pray also for growing attention to detail.

Mark & Patti May-June 2025 Beans'talk

Download a printable copy of the May-June 2025 Beans'talk with photos.

BIG news with a BIG birthday

In June, Mark turns 70. That means he is old enough to start receiving maximum Social Security. That, plus our retirement accounts, will be enough for us to live on. So, starting the end of June, we will stop receiving financial support through Wycliffe Bible Translators and "retire" from Wycliffe as supported staff. Instead, we will work as volunteers. Many, many thanks to all of you who have faithfully kept us going over these past nearly 44 years.

Your prayer support is still very much appreciated. We will continue the same work we have been doing. Mark is still consulting for and supporting several Quechua translation projects with years to go.

Did you read that carefully?

We are still working. After June, we will work as volunteers rather than supported members of Wycliffe.

Do we need financial support?

No. Any gifts for us received by Wycliffe after June will be applied to their general budget.

Do we need prayer support?

Absolutely! It would be such a privilege to count on your continued prayers for our work and for the Quechua-speaking churches.

Read more...

Mark & Patti May 2025 Prayer Requests

* Pray for refreshment for our daughter-in-law Rachel who is exhausted from the stress of dealing with her son Jeremiah's leukemia the past two years. Pray for Patti and son Andy as they team up to keep life humming at home with Jeremiah, Matthew and Hannah while their mom is whisked away by her sister and mom for a week.

*May 5 through 24th is another translation workshop for the four central Peruvian Quechua teams. Pray for Mark as he teaches, guides and checks the work they plan to do covering Genesis 33-44 and the books of Ruth and Jonah. It's a lot of concentration, especially when done at a distance.

*Mark is still helping the Panatawa Quechua team work through 1 Samuel. Pray for the teams in Peru to be impacted by God's word as they work at getting it into their language.

*Praise for the gift of a couple weeks with our son and his family (E&J) as they ended up in the States for paperwork/visa issues. Praise that they are back in their country of service.

Mark & Patti April 2025 Prayer Requests

*Pray for Patti to be an encouragement the weekend of April 4-when she will be in Dallas helping establish a "Share-the-Care" group for Mark's sister Margaret. Patti writes, "Margaret and I have a special relationship. I had the privilege of discipling her through college and being good friends with her before Mark and I realized we were more than just friends." Now Margaret anticipates needing more help as she enters what may be the home stretch of her cancer journey. Pray that God will put together a great team to help Margaret in the months ahead.

*Pray for the eight Quechua pastors that Mark worked with last month (March) and will be working with again next month (May). Pray for God's word to impact their lives and ministries as they interact with it daily. This month they are in their respective communities reading and hopefully teaching the chapters that they just translated in March.

March-April 2025 Beans'Talk

Download a printable version of the Beans'Talk.

We wrote the previous Beans’Talk from Peru where Mark was involved in a translation workshop. The subsequent workshop is taking place right now and Mark “attends” from his computer in Ohio.

On the big screen

The Oscars came and went. We don’t follow them. But here’s Mark’s version of being on the big screen. This is what he looks like for those who are in Peru. Being on a screen (actually, just a wall) is not the same as being there in person, but at least it’s something. The new equipment is making it much easier to participate from a distance.

The pot is having trouble

It was day one of the workshop and time to start. Mark checked in with the team of men in Peru, eager to see how the new equipment would work. Unlike many of their latino-countrymen, Quechua speakers often start meetings, even church services, ahead of time. But, here they were all still sitting around the breakfast table laughing and having a great time. It turns out they were still waiting for their breakfast: a hearty soup and piles of potatoes. The holdup? “The pot is having trouble coming to a boil!” What a nice way to avoid embarassing anyone, or casting blame!

Rather than feel stressed about the delay, our friends were enjoying catching up with each other. A late breakfast was the pot’s problem, not theirs. We’re glad they are getting along and forming a team. Subsequent mornings they started on time or early.

Read more...

Mark & Patti March 2025 Prayer Requests

March 3 through the 22nd Mark will be working with the group representing 4 related Quechua languages. They hope to adapt Genesis 22 through 32 with God's help. This time, Mark will be in Ohio while they gather in Huanuco, Peru.

We took equipment down in January to help facilitate working from a distance. Pray that the technology all works to keep both sides clearly communicating with each other. Pray for each of the men involved to grow in their ability to read (and write) their own language. This is a first for most of them, and so important!

January-February 2025 Beans'Talk

Download a printable version of the Beans'Talk.

The Lord is going to what?

It was sort of a last minute decision to leave for Peru on January 2nd. On the way, my phone dinged with a message: Tomorrow the Lord will come to install the shower …

This was just one of the humorous results that an automatic translator produced. If you know Spanish, you can understand where this one came from (“el señor” can mean “the Lord” or just “the man”).

We enjoy funny translation examples, but we sure don’t want to find any in the work we do!

Back in Peru

The new translation project is meeting together for the second time. Mark will usually work with them virtually from Ohio, but we came in person this time to meet them and to be known. Plus, Mark wants to iron out some technical glitches that will make long-distance consulting easier.

A new place to stay

We’re staying in a little Airbnb just down the hill from where the translation workshop is being held in JAWCA’s office (our Quechua partners). This location is very convenient. The tricky part isn’t walking uphill, though some days the mud is pretty slippery. The real trick is trying to safely cross a major road with no stop light or designated crosswalks.

Read more...