Mark & Patti March 2022 Prayer Requests

We're thankful for the opportunity to reach nearly 300 participants during the Sociedades Bíblicas webinar Mark taught last month. (at the time of this writing, we can't tell you how Feb 22nd went --Mark teaching translation-consultants-in-training.)

March 8 - We will be the missionaries in the "hot seat" at one of Wycliffe's regularly scheduled Explore Wycliffe Live webinars for people interested in or investigating work with Wycliffe. Pray that we will be focused and sensitive to how God would have us answer questions from the host as well as from the audience.
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The Beans'talk January/February 2022

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An unexpected Christmas season

We’ve had an unusual holiday season! A friend from Peru arrived the week before Christmas, and unknowingly brought Covid with her. Then, Christmas Eve, the residence where Mom Bean lives called to say that she had tested positive. They asked us to collect her and bring her home for ten days. I felt like I was running a clinic, caring for three patients since Mark soon came down with Covid, too.

Hurray for the body of Christ! Friends in our community group were a huge help. We enjoyed the meals they dropped off, groceries, games and even a baby monitor to care for mom. Most encouraging was their checking in on us each day to see how we were doing. God graciously kept me healthy until it was time for mom to go back to her residence. Then I crashed for three days.

Lots of training coming up

In addition to his regular work, Mark is preparing for three different opportunities to teach.

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Mark & Patti January 2022 Prayer Requests

* For the process and progress of checking the book of Proverbs for the Panao Quechua team. The process includes having Mark’s “mentee” check the book and then comparing notes with Mark’s comments.

 * For a workshop to help train, encourage and further motivate a handful of Quechua men to travel from village to village selling Bibles and organizing Bible reading groups.

 * For God’s Word to work powerfully in the lives of individuals and whole communities as Quechua speakers open it up together.

Thanks,

Mark & Patti

The Beans'talk November/December 2021

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We look the same, right?

When our family was young we needed to get out new prayer cards regularly because our children grew so fast. It’s been nearly eight years since we’ve made a new prayer card. Maybe there’s a bit less hair and a few more wrinkles, but our hearts still desire to follow after God.

We’re happy to send you a 4x6 copy of what you see here, but we need your help. Since our Beans’Talks have been sent by email for so long, we’re not sure where each of you live these days! If you’d like to get a copy of this photo in your mailbox, please go to https://form.jotform.com/213163549666160 and let us know your snailmail address.

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Mark & Patti November 2021 Prayer Requests

Praise: A second Quechua translation now has an audio recording for the Old Testament. Both recordings are now in the process of being prepared for distribution.

Pray: for strategic ideas and people to facilitate getting more Bibles out to the hinterlands where Quechua speakers live. Pray, too, for a new generation of leaders to build up the Quechua speaking church. Quite a few of the key leaders were ushered out by Covid or are aging out.

Continue to pray for Mark: as he does translation consulting for other projects, mentors a Guatemalan translator to be a consultant, and continues to support the Quechua speaking churches in different areas with training materials.

The Beans'talk September/October 2021

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Almost there

As we have mentioned in past letters, Mark is now working as a translation consultant. That means that he checks over what others have translated to make sure that it is faithful and communicates well. Since June, Mark has been checking the Old Testament translation for Panao Quechua, spoken in the Peruvian highlands. Their current goal is to have the books of Job and Exodus checked by the end of September.

It is mid-September as I write this, so I can’t report yet that Mark and the Panao Quechua team have met their goal. The book of Job is finished but they are still plugging away on the book of Exodus. Right now they are reading each paragraph in the book to someone who didn’t work on the translation to be sure that it is understood. Thank you for keeping them all in your prayers.

Looking ahead

Since he just started in June, Mark has been spending extra time to help the Panao team get everything done. Starting October there will be new translation goals, and the new pace should be more reasonable.

Looking ahead, Mark also expects the residual stabs of pain from shingles to disappear. Practically, they aren’t a big deal anymore, but they are still noticeable.

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Mark & Patti September 2021 Prayer Requests

Pray for Mark & the team of Panao Quechua mother-tongue translators as they press to finish the book of Exodus. As the consultant, Mark has studied through and commented on their translation of Exodus. Still to finish in September, when funding goals require its completion, are the team's responses to the 500+ notes Mark's made. Then, Mark must go through those responses to see how they handled them. Sometimes there is yet another round of back and forth between consultant and team before everyone is satisfied. Together, Mark and the translation team also have ten days set aside to do a "comprehension check" with a native speaker who didn't work on the translation. Without God's obvious help, (and your prayers!) this mountain of work won't move!

The Beans'talk July/August 2021

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Those unscheduled surprises!

It happens to all of us. We make our plans, and then God surprises us with unscheduled events and circumstances. Some are wonderful, and others not so much. Here are some surprises on both ends of the spectrum.

A recording surprise

For a variety of reasons, none of the men have been able to stay in the capital city to finish recording the Old Testament for Huamalies- Dos de Mayo Quechua. That was an unplanned surprise for those who are responsible for getting it done. So, a technician will travel up to Huanuco where Wilmer and Walter live, and the two of them will finish reading all the remaining text.

Shingles surprise

Even though he had been vaccinated, Mark broke out with a doozy of a case of shingles—probably due to his lymphoma. Big blisters popped out down the back of his leg and backside. We still haven’t sat down to a meal together in weeks—he can’t sit down! At last, most of his sores are drying up.

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Beans'talk May/June 2021

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Aren’t you glad your mother spoke English?

Since we are in the language business, sometimes Mark and I stop and exclaim how thankful we are that English is our mother tongue. We never had to struggle to learn it.

Let’s say you had to learn English and this week’s vocabulary includes the verb “to break.” OK. You learn to conjugate it. Got it—I break, you break, he breaks…. Then, you start hearing it in conversations and sometimes you wonder what exactly is breaking?

• His face broke out when …

• The discussion broke down, which is not the same as the man broke down…

• The men broke in through the window.

• The meeting broke up, which isn’t the same as the couple broke up.

• He broke even.

Adding little words like in, out, up, down adds some tricky twists! Most of you reading this are native English speakers. Aren’t you glad your mother spoke English?

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Mark & Patti May 2021 Prayer Requests

* April 26 - May 7th, three languages in Colombia will work on getting the Jesus Film into their respective languages. Pray for Mark as he assists one of those three teams and checks their translation of the script for faithfulness to God's Word. Mark and the other two consultants will use Spanish as a common language.

* The workshop, originally planned for last fall, was postponed in hopes of being able to hold it in person in Bogotá. We're still waiting to hear whether Mark will be traveling or working via the internet here in Ohio.

* Continue to pray for Quechua speaking men and women to open and use the translated Scriptures. Pray for the use of Bible studies newly adapted to other Quechua dialects to help build disciples and strengthen Quechua speaking believers.