Download a printable copy of the September-October 2023 Beans'talk with photos.

A masterpiece

We recently visited the art museum on the campus of Oberlin College with friends. Since we tend to browse at different rates, we weren’t always in the same gallery together. Mark called me back at one point to be sure that I had seen some of the fine detail. Each tiny brush stroke came together to depict delicate lace as it folded over itself. It was an impressive display of careful painstaking work, and then repeated thousands of times throughout the painting to make the whole.

Translating the Bible is a bit like painting a masterpiece. We choose each word carefully (over 62,500* unique words per Bible), crafting and sculpting each sentence so that the message is clear, natural, and exact. But instead of the outcome being a painting which sits in a museum, we have a translation of God’s word to reside in people’s hearts and minds, encouraging, convicting, and transforming.

Giving a hand

In three different places in Peru, in three different Quechua languages, five young missionaries are at work, smack dab in the adventures God’s called them to. Learning the language is a huge challenge and they need all the help they can get. So, one day Mark said to me, “Hey, what do you think about offering them a course over how Quechua languages work? You would do a great job!”

We were taught a similar course when we first started, and it was a huge help. So, with Mark’s help to re-work past course material, just the other day I finished teaching the first three days of class. It’s been very challenging, to say the least. In addition, there’s the challenge of doing this over the Internet. We hope it will help others as much as it did us.

Family updates

Jeremiah, our grandson with leukemia, received his bone marrow transplant on September 13th. Just a few hours after it arrived by plane it was making its way into his body. The first couple of days have gone well. Now, it is a waiting process to see how well his body takes what it received. Meanwhile, Jeremiah is suffering from typical yet painful symptoms that make it difficult to eat or swallow. Eventually, those issues should clear up. Here he is suctioning out a build-up of mucus.

It was a delight to have our son Ernie here from Germany, first with little Lucy and then with the rest of his family. We did a lot of fun things together, including Mark taking Remy (8) and Ender (10) backpacking.

Praise and Prayer Requests

Praise for the privilege of working with God’s Word. Pray for Mark as he checks the book of 1 Corinthians for one team and begins checking the book of Numbers with another.

Pray for Patti as she continues to prepare and present classes online.

Praise for the recent news from a team that is traveling through many mountain areas encouraging isolated Quechua speaking pastors and congregations.

Continue to pray for Jeremiah and his whole family as they deal with the physical and emotional toll of all he’s going through. 

So thankful for you! We thank God for the encouragement he gives through so many of you.

Mark & Patti