The Beans'Talk January 2015

Download the January 2015 Beans'Talk with photos here.

A weird reindeer?

At the recent translation workshop we introduced marshmallows and toothpick construction for a fun break one afternoon. Some of the guys had never heard of marshmallows before. It was interesting that three teams built animals. This donkey was carrying the box of toothpicks for awhile.

A Gluten?Free Andean Pizza

During workshops we take turns making breakfast. Usually every morning it’s the same thing: a large bowl of porridge, hard boiled eggs and fresh bakery bread. On rare occasions, if Sumer is feeling ambitious, he makes what he calls “pizza” for breakfast. The crust is made of French fries! Besides cheese he adds green fava beans. A US cookbook would probably call it a strata since it is really baked eggs. It’s also interesting that he always serves it with cooked veggies, including more fries!

The Beans'Talk December 2014

Download the December 2014 Bean'sTalk with photos here.

Surprise news

The very first day of this translation workshop, Sumer got an unexpected phone call from home. His wife told him she had given birth to a baby girl. Obviously, they knew they were expecting a baby, but they weren’t expecting anything to happen until December. Sumer turned right around and traveled the 8 hours or so back home on the second day of the workshop. I wish we had a photo of his new baby daughter. She was born on her big sister’s third birthday. This photo is of another baby girl wearing a traditional frilly hat. After a couple weeks, Sumer hopes to come back and join us for the last two weeks of the workshop.

Words—and their emotional impact

Beans'talk November 2014

Download Beans'talk November 2014 with photos here.

One of our co-workers, Leoncio, was away from translation for 6 months teaching high school language arts in various villages. In the evenings, he taught in the local church. Working through the book of 1 Peter, the believers in one village were surprised to learn two truths.

I never knew the Bible said THAT!

Beans'talk October 2014

We're in Huaraz with the translation team. Yesterday we finished the revision of I Corinthians and started 2 Corinthians.  We also finished recording Genesis, making changes for naturalness.

Pray for the backlog of OT books that Mark still needs to check.

Inside: photos, a challenge we face, and an update on Shatu's broken arm.

Thank you for your continued prayers,

Mark & Patti Bean

Beans'talk September 2014

Frosty mornings, frigid baptisms, friendly faces. We're back from our latest trip with lots of photos. Plus, news of an imminent little Bean.

Download the September 2014 Beans'talk here.

Mark & Patti Bean

August 2014 Beans'Talk

Download the August 2014 Beans'Talk with photos here.

A different kind of check

We just finished another workshop. This time, half of the men worked on reading the book of Genesis aloud. We wanted them to not only check for errors, but to especially check that the text flows naturally. In order to help them stay focused and do a careful job, we had them begin recording chapter by chapter for part of each day. One man followed along on the computer to see if the other man read what the text actually says. Any tweaks, edits and alterations then went to Mark and the rest of the group (which was meanwhile working on revising Acts and 1 Corinthians) for approval. Sumer recording, Enrique checking Now, besides another check on Scripture, we have a chunk of Genesis recorded for four of the languages. We plan to make these recordings available in the different areas.

A different kind of meal

July 2014 Beans'talk

Download the July 2014 Beans'talk with photos here.

Utcubamba

The little congregation at Utcubamba has no pastor. So, Felipe and his wife took public transportation as far as they could and then walked uphill two and a half hours to spend the weekend with the church there. It was the church’s anniversary. The villagers were so thankful to have someone show up to help them celebrate.

What follows are a couple stories that Felipe told us from that weekend. It makes a difference when God’s word is in your own language.

Repentant tears

One evening Felipe taught the first ten verses of Galatians chapter six. The passage talks about our relationships and behavior, particularly with other believers.

June 2014 Beans'talk

Download the June 2014 Beans'talk with photos here.

A visit with two pastors

Earlier this month two Quechua pastors came to visit from their villages. During the conversation, Mark asked about the “Proclaimers”— players distributed by Faith Comes by Hearing that have the recorded Quechua New Testament on them.

One man had received one and used it regularly as part of each service. The other pastor, Efraín, didn’t know what we were talking about. While we don’t have a Proclaimer, we do have the same recording on a flash drive along with a recording of the entire hymnbook in Quechua. So, Mark pulled one out and demonstrated it for him. It was an Ah-ha! moment for him. He told us this story:

May 2014 Beans'talk

Download the PDF of the May 2014 Beans'talk here.

Why was Paul in the basket?

This past workshop a funny example came up illustrating again differences between the Quechua spoken among the five groups we are translating for.

Quechua sometimes requires an explicitly stated reason or purpose. You can’t leave it unsaid. So, in Acts 9:25 when Paul is in a large basket and lowered down, the Quechua adds one word that means “in order to escape.”

April 2014 Beans' Talk

Download the April 2014 Beans' Talk here.

A new school year begins

March marks the beginning of a new school year here in Peru. The seasons come and go while we continue to check chapter after chapter in the process of finishing up these five Quechua Bibles.

Mark dedicated part of the month to working on a series of spelling and grammar books for Quechua speakers in all five language areas to learn how to write. It turns out that this is not a task for the timid! This is due not only to the variety in the Quechua, but also to two different schools of thought.