Beans'Talk March 2018

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Extra help

As the Quechua teams read through the proofs, Mark asked Oscar, a native Quechua speaker and fellow missionary, if he would like to read some as well. After Oscar read a couple books and had tasted how sweet the translation is in his own language, he offered to read through the entire Bible.

It’s so encouraging to read Oscar’s comments when he sends back a file. Oscar is not new to the Bible. So, it means a lot to have him say:

What a beautiful translation, brother! I’m not just reading to check the translation, I’m reading to worship the One who confused all the languages in the first place.

I’m reliving the life of Paul [as I read this].

And, God is really glorified in what you are doing, Mark.

Beans'talk February 2018

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A Quechua-speaking Good Shepherd

Sumer represents the Huacaybamba area on the translation team. His church sent him to a large neighboring community to read Scrip-ture as part of a big community festival. He chose to read John 10 about Jesus being the Good Shepherd.

Quechua people shepherd their sheep daily. They can really relate to John 10. Sumer’s au-dience raved about how clear and special it was to hear this in their own language. They lamented that it was too bad that Sumer hadn’t been there the previous day to read Scripture, too.

Because it was a community festival, many family members had returned to the area from the capital city to be there for the occa-sion. Even though they are usually immersed in Spanish while in the city, they too, ex-claimed how special it was to hear the mes-sage in the language of their heart.

How to eat an elephant

Beans'talk January 2018

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At Christmas we celebrate the Word of God made flesh. Jesus, the Christmas babe, came for all people, even those in the remotest corners of the earth. Join us in praying that the written Word of God becomes available for Quechua speakers in central Peru before another Christmas rolls around.

Praises and Prayer Requests

Beans'talk December 2017

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Every year there are SO many things to be thankful for. This year is no exception. Here are some highlights along with a brand new praise.

Guidance and provision

We thank God for his leading us to establish our home base here in Ohio near Mom Bean. He confirmed that to us in many ways including positive feedback from many of you. Shortly after, another confirmation was learning that Mark needs to be close to medical care.

We thank God for a home of our own with a garage, a big deal in ice & snow country. Daily we pinch ourselves, marveling at how God provided and how he used so many of his people to fill our home with all we need and more to make it liveable.

Beans'Talk November 2017

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Bible day

During our recent trip to Peru we got to help celebrate Bible Day! Hundreds of believers, young and old, formed up in the street to march through town carrying signs, flags, banners, and…Bibles! This year, the parade ended up at the main town square where they held an outdoor meeting. They have the Spanish Bible, and they hope to soon have the Bible in their Quechua as well. Mark was on the program to give them a taste of what’s coming. He read Old and New Testament passages in Quechua about God’s Word. 

No Bible left behind

We’re back in the U.S. now from our three-plus weeks in Peru, where we helped the six teams begin checking the proofs of their respective Bibles. They prefer to work together rather than each guy reading alone. By drawing up a schedule, everyone’s on the “same page,” reading through the same material. Working that way, they sometimes help each other with things they find. That way, no Bible is “left behind.”

Beans'talk October 2017

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A concert in Germany

Last week, on the 13th, there was a benefit concert in Germany for the Quechua Bibles we’re shepherding to completion. “How’s that?” you ask.

Well actually, it was a concert our dear friend and colleague Angelika Marsch orchestrated as a gift to her church. It was a way to celebrate 30 years to the day her church commissioned her, and they have faithfully supported her ever since. After serving alongside us in Peru to help Quechua speakers learn to read in their language, she returned to Germany, where she served fourteen years as the director for Wycliffe Bible Translators there. She’s now in a new role.

A musician herself, Angelika once had the joy of producing a CD of Quechua-German songs along with Siegfried Fietz, one of the top Christian composers of German praise music. For the celebration at her church last week, she invited Siegfried along with his son to come put on a concert. With Siegfried’s music and the Quechua songs, the concert was a success. Part-way through the concert they did a video interview with Mark via Skype, introducing the project to the concertgoers. The church leaders had suggested that an offering be collected on behalf of these six Bibles. Then, the following Sunday, when Angelika spoke in her church, a second offering was taken.

Beans'Talk September 2017

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That’s a STACK of pages!

This is a copy of one Quechua Bible. It weighs in at 1,984 pages, which is actually less pages than my English Bible. It’s probably what your Bible would look like, too, if you were to print it out yourself with regular paper. It looks pretty daunting, don’t you think? Four of the six Bibles have their preliminary layout done and the other two are in process.

Moving down the checklist

Once we have the inital layout in hand, the next step is for them to be "proofed" and signed off by a native speaker. If the above stack of pages looks daunting to us, we imagine that it will also be daunting to our Quechua co-workers. Be in prayer for each of them as they tackle this important job.

Bean August 2017 Prayer Requests

* Praise that five of the six Bibles have been turned over for layout. Praise that three of those Bibles now have preliminary proofs. And praise that the team working by Skype with Mark to finish the sixth Bible is making good progress. Pray for each of these Bibles as they pass through different stages on their way to publication.

* We are thankful for excellent medical care here. Pray that the series of treatments Mark is undergoing will effectively knock down his lymphoma enabling him to continue working unhindered for many more years.

Beans'talk June 2017

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Another month goes whizzing by. The years go whizzing by, too. Inside this month's Beans'talk is a photo from 40 years ago. Seems a bit impossible!

Keep reading to see what sorts of things we've started collecting.

This month Mark will go down to Peru and be back up again before the next Beans'talk comes out. The trip is not primarily for translation. Check out the prayer requests.

Thank you for sticking with us as we steadily press on to finish.

Mark & Patti Bean

Beans'talk May 2017

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This letter contains BIG NEWS. For most of you this will be new NEWS about a decision that's been in process for a long time now. For those of you who got a sneak peak, read the second page to see what happened after we made the decision.

Lots happening. Lots to do. We're so thankful for your encouragement along the way.

Mark & Patti

PS: This is the first time in nine years we've had a front row seat as spring amazingly takes over the winter landscape and pops out all over!