Apr-Jul: I'll be in the South Pacific.
FAIENAP Old Testament translation project
In Peru, an organization called FAIENAP — Fraternidad de Asociaciones de Iglesias Evangélicas Nativas de la Amazonía Peruana (Brotherhood of Associations of Evangelical Native Churches of the Peruvian Amazon) — is running an Old Testament translation project for six languages that already have the New Testament. Here’s a glimpse of the project in pictures (slideshow runs about five minutes and requires JavaScript):
Translators working on the project have moved with their families to the FAIENAP headquarters near Pucallpa, Peru. The adjustment has been and continues to be very difficult for them, they told me when I visited on Tuesday.
In the villages where they are from, they grow, hunt, and catch virtually all of the food that they eat. They have gardens to work and rivers in which to bathe. But in town, they have to buy all their food, which is extremely strange and difficult to do. One man described showers as “dungeons” compared with the rivers he’s used to at home.
Too, the people come from totally different languages and cultures. After dinner, a woman might take leftover food to share with her neighbor from a different people group. “Take that away, I have enough myself!” the neighbor would say. Both women ended up with hurt feelings because neither understood the other’s cultural point of view.
But they haven’t given up. They’ve stuck with it, learning to love each other and continuing the translation process. How many of us would’ve done the same? They’re really amazing people.
CSS Photo Shuffler designed by Carl Camera.
categories peru
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