Bible recording touches Q’eqchí ‘Apostle Paul’

COBÁN, Guatemala — No sound came from the Scripture-recording booth.

Carlos and Isidro glanced at each other. Viña Studios’ recording technicians were puzzled over the silence. What had happened to the Q’eqchí “Apostle Paul” inside the booth?

“Recording ...,” Isidro announced once again, as he pushed the recording button on his computer. Still nothing. Only silence. The voice of the apostle had gone mute.

Carlos motioned to Isidro to lean over and take a peek behind the curtain. As he did, Isidro saw the young Q’eqchí actor leaning forward in his chair, his head in his hand. “I can’t do this now,” the Scripture reader told them as he fought back his emotions. “You’ll have to continue with someone else.”

Viña’s Scripture-recording team was in the middle of Paul’s letter to the Romans, recording Chapter 7, in which Paul writes about man’s sinful nature.

“For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me,” Romans 7:15-20.

Carlos assured the reader that it would be no problem for him to take a break to gather himself. “We’ll go on with someone else today,” he said. But as he said farewell last month in Cobán, Carlos wondered, “Will he come back? What will I do if I have to find someone to take his place?”

The Apostle Paul’s part in the dramatized New Testament recording, sponsored by Albuquerque, N.M.-based Faith Comes By Hearing, is one of the longest, most important roles. It was only at the last minute that Carlos found someone to take the role.

Some 25 actors play the roles of Jesus, the Apostle Paul, Mary, disciples and other New Testament characters, recording dramatized versions of the Scriptures. The recordings have proved an effective means of telling the Bible story to Mayans who are not readers but oral learners. Viña technicians have recorded the New Testament in more than 25 languages of Central America, and it remains a significant part of our ministry here. Guatemala has 21 official Mayan languages and dozens more dialects.

On the day Carlos selected Q’eqchí actors for each of the roles, he passed out all the parts until only two remained: the Apostle Paul’s and a minor role. “What now?” Carlos had wondered that day as he looked over the group.

He had been reluctant to give a part to this particular Q’eqchí fellow because he appeared to read slowly and with difficulty. Despite his misgivings, Carlos asked the young man if would take on the role. “Well, if you feel that’s what the Holy Spirit is telling you to do,” the man answered, “I’ll do it.” Carlos agreed, insisting the man practice his part at home. Later, as they worked with him, Carlos and Isidro noticed the man’s diligence, improvement and attention to detail, asking them to re-record portions that he felt were not stated with exactly the right feeling.

So when he left unexpectedly, much of the recording hung in the balance. The Q’eqchí are one of Guatemala’s largest Mayan groups with population estimates ranging from about 500,000, up to 1 million, some living in Belize and Honduras.

Viña’s Q’eqchí recording project marked the first time it has recorded the Scriptures solely on behalf of the Catholic Church, which had commissioned its own Q’eqchí New Testament translation. As with most Guatemalan towns, the Catholic church building in Cobán sits next to the central park.

Viña’s team reported they enjoyed good relationships the “Apostle Paul,” other actors and with the church leadership, finishing their field work June 16 without any difficulties. In addition to the “Apostle Paul’s” work suspension, they noted some other things they had not encountered while working among evangelicals. Some issues appeared to be linked to the Catholic Church’s authority structure.

In one case, a Q’eqchí woman apparently felt unworthy to read her part. Carlos only learned of her reluctance later, but it turns out she was pregnant during the recording. This simple fact caused her to feel unworthy to read the Scriptures. Another Catholic actor explained to Carlos that in times past, only the parish priest — who must remain celibate — could read God’s Holy Bible, and this woman’s pregnancy caused her to feel unworthy.

“She came and read her part, and it went fine,” Carlos told me, adding, “(The readers) saw things they’d never seen before because they’d never read the Bible.” It is not unusual to find believers who are unfamiliar with the Scriptures, whether among evangelicals or Catholics, Carlos and Isidro report. “The majority of the people in the (Guatemalan) evangelical churches don’t read the Bible,” Carlos said.

In the case of the Q’eqchí “Apostle Paul,” the actor recovered from his emotional reaction to God’s word and returned to complete his work two or three days later without any further delays, saying, “Now, God willing, I’ll be able to do this.”

Later, the reader explained to Carlos what happened that day inside the recording booth: “The Word of God is very powerful,” he said. “It touched me very powerfully, and it really made me think.”

Another actor — prior to recording his part as the narrator of Matthew’s gospel —asked for a copy of the Bible in Q’eqchí to take home and practice. Carlos agreed. After the man had finished recording his part, he asked, “Do I have to leave the Bible, or can I take it?” Carlos answered, “Take it on one condition: that you read it.” The “Apostle Paul,” who was standing nearby and overhead the conversation, added, “Take it, but read Romans Chapter 7,” The Q’eqchí apostle recommended Romans Chapter 7 to several actors.

As he read his parts, the apostle encountered many new things in God’s word. Reading Romans Chapter 1, in which the biblical writer condemns man’s depravity and homosexuality, the actor commented, “Wow! I’ve never seen this in the Bible before. The Apostle Paul sure was a macho man. Homosexuals are human beings; they have rights just like we do.”

Carlos answered, “Yes, but Paul said these words inspired by the Holy Spirit. These weren’t just his opinions.”

“Yes,” the actor answered, “you’re right. That makes sense.”

When he read Paul’s instruction that women must remain silent in church (I Corinthians 14:34-35), the reader responded with amazement again at the biblical author’s “chauvinism.” Several times during the recording, he asked Carlos, “Why did you give me this part? Did you have some reason or some purpose?” “No,” Carlos answered, he did not have any secret agenda or purpose.

But it may be that God had his own purposes in how it worked out. As the Jewish prophet Isaiah wrote 2,500 years ago, in Isaiah 55:11, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

*****

Postscript: As evangelicals, Carlos and Isidro were uncertain what to expect working with Catholics, but they said they didn’t do any preaching to the Catholics. Nevertheless, it appears God’s word spoke to the actors the same way it can to anyone who reads it, convincing them of truths they had not read or understood.

Regarding the “Apostle Paul’s” emotional response, Isidro tells me this was not the first time he has witnessed such a response to to God’s word while recording it. In 2001, while recording the Scriptures near Antigua, Guatemala, a reader burst into tears, sobbing loudly inside the recording booth as he was convicted by the truth of God’s word. In that case, the man was a leader in an evangelical church and had even helped with the Scripture translation into the local Mayan language. Isidro couldn’t recall the exact passage or theme, but he remembered the man saying, “I’ve never understood this until now as I read it.”

Please be in prayer for the Q’eqchí Scripture recording. It has obviously touched lives already, and, Lord willing, it will be used to reach many more Q’eqchí Mayans with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:17, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

For further reading, see my account of Viña’s Ixil New Testament recording, which describes Mayans’ difficulties reading their own language.

Note: Spellings differ for the Q’eqchí Mayans. The older orthography spells the name K’ekchí.

Clear skies aid planting, drag audio Bible sales

A respite between storm systems provided nice traveling weather, but it worked against sales for a team distributing audio Scripture players in northwest Guatemala.

After weeks of uninterrupted rainfall, many mountain-dwelling Chuj Mayans of the San Mateo Ixtatán region had been unable to plant their hillside corn crops until last week. As a result, most church members from outlying towns — who had been invited to five central towns — could not come but had to seize the moment to plant their crops.

“The rains put off people’s planting so long that when the rains let up, they were out planting,” said Dave Ekstrom, who joined the traveling team. Ekstrom and his wife, Helen, worked together many years translating the Scriptures in three Mayan languages.

The team sold about 30 out of 300 MegaVoice audio Scripture players (for about $40 each) to believers who live in the remote Cuchumatanes Mountains.

In one town, five of their six customers were women, Ekstrom noted. “I was surprised that the women had money of their own to buy with, but they did,” he said.

During their travels, they met men on literature committees and other church leaders who agreed to take on the responsibility of training people who to use the players effectively for teaching and discipleship.

In one town, some men had come to the town for another purpose but wound up sitting in on the team’s training session. Later, they bought some Scripture players. In another case, a young man bought a player, hoping to use it as an evangelistic tool to share the good news of Jesus Christ with his parents.

High-amped linguistic buffet in Mayan church

SOLOLÁ — I wonder what Mayan children think about God.

A child who attends a Mayan church around here is likely to wonder whether God speaks her language. She will likely hear sermons given in a mix of Spanish and Kaqchikel Mayan — about 75 percent to 85 percent in her mother tongue. When she hears the preacher pray or read from God’s Word, however, she’s likely to hear Spanish prayers and Spanish Scriptures.

That’s how it was again yesterday as I visited another Mayan church. The Kaqchikel preacher offered the typical linguistic buffet, praying in Spanish and reading only from the Reina-Valera Spanish Bible, instead of the Western Kaqchikel New Testament translation, which was printed in 1996. When he spoke extemporaneously, teaching and explaining, the preacher primarily used Kaqchikel, mixing in a few Spanish words.

When a preacher takes on this role of “interpreter,” acting as an intermediary between the people and God, a Mayan child might be led to believe God speaks Spanish and doesn’t understand Mayan languages. Perhaps Mayans don’t know the Reina-Valera Bible is also a translation from the original biblical languages.

I was happy to attend the service. It was good to be reminded that I’m not living in a Spanish-speaking world. My friend, Jose, who is Kaqchikel, invited me to attend the church. His sister goes there, and it’s a Mayan crowd, 100 percent.

I had already attended a three-hour morning service at Jose’s church in the middle of town, attended mostly by Spanish-speaking Ladinos. My hind quarters were ready for a break, but the afternoon service — seated on an unbending, flat metal chair — lasted at least three hours as well.

The music time proved to be among the loudest I’ve ever experienced. The church sported six upright Peavey speakers standing proudly on either side of the stage. At one point, I glanced down to see whether the thundering bass was causing my clothes to vibrate. Nope. The pulsing music beat against my chest, but it didn’t appear to be moving my clothes.

Fortunately, I had remembered my earplugs, made of neon green foam. Jose and other Guatemalans usually laugh at my earplugs, but midway through the music time he motioned that he wanted to try my spare set. “These really help!” he shouted after he stuffed them in his ears. Later, he said the music had been giving him a headache. Imagine that! These poor Mayan evangelicals are all going to be deaf soon.

A man led the singing for a while, but pretty soon a short Mayan woman climbed the stage and took the microphone, continuing in a repetitive singing style (again, all in Spanish) for probably 30 to 45 minutes. As she continued, the men began to kneel one by one and pray by their chairs. I suspect they were tired. Later, the women (who sat on the opposite side of the center aisle) also began kneeling by their chairs.

This being a Pentecostal church, a group of four or five women danced in front of the church by the stage. Their hopping dance appeared to indicate they were being led by by the Spirit as their arms dangled loosely at their sides and their heads bobbed up and down. They had been gathered there by an usher. Whenever he noticed a woman taken by the dancing spirit, he herded her up front.

After the female song leader finished singing, she disappeared behind the pulpit, presumably kneeling in prayer. She continued praying for five or 10 more minutes. I noticed her speech seemed to have changed and so I asked Jose. He confirmed that she was not speaking Kaqchikel any longer but had begun to “speak in tongues.” Perhaps she has not read I Corinthians 14:27-28, which calls for an interpretation of tongues spoken in public services, or 14:14-19, where Paul teaches that he would rather speak five understandable words “that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.”

Later, during the sermon I saw something we might want to try at my home church in Oregon: Two ushers, a woman and a man, paced up and back beside their respective group, poking people who appeared to be dozing off. Fortunately, Jose warned me about this practice before the usher reached me.

Audio Scripture sales to Chuj modest, growing

A team distributing audio Scriptures to the Chuj Mayans in Northwest Guatemala reports modest sales to enthusiastic buyers.

David and Helen Ekstrom, who worked on the Scripture translation, along with Jeff Nelson of OC International and several Mayan young men are spending the week in the Cuchumatanes Mountains, promoting and selling the audio New Testament players.

By Wednesday noon, the team sold about 25 out of 300 players. Although the MegaVoice players are sold at a discount for $40, they remain expensive for many Mayans.

“Real lights are turning on when people hear the Scriptures in their own language,” Nelson said. “I think it’s going to motivate them to study the Scriptures more. They need to understand them well if they’re going to share them with someone else.”

Technicians from Viña Studios collaborated with a team of Chuj Mayan “actors” reading for the dramatized audio Scriptures recording last year.

One young man who bought a player told Nelson, “My mom and dad are not Christians, and I’m hoping with this they’ll be able to hear the Gospel.”

Another who had recently attended a funeral told the team he hopes to learn more about the Scriptures to be able to share from God’s Word for the appropriate situation.

Today, the team is in San Mateo Ixtatán, the largest city of the region, anticipating an uptick in sales.

“Until somebody gets it in their hands and sees what it is, they’re not going to be too excited, but the word’s getting out,” Nelson said.

Accident takes life of worker's girlfriend's sister

Late last evening, the sister of Flavio’s girlfriend succumbed to injuries she suffered Friday night in a hit-and-run accident.

Carmen, 18, had been walking to a Guatemala City disco after dinner with two friends, when a car went out of control and hit them, fleeing the scene. Carmen was critically injured; a companion suffered broken bones. Flavio, Vina Studio’s videographer, told me he did not recognize her when he first saw her on Saturday.

Flavio was recently robbed while aboard a bus from Guatemala City to his work here in Sololá.

Yesterday, doctors said Carmen’s brain appeared to have stopped functioning. Still, her family held out hope because her pulse did seem to quicken when she heard her sister’s voice. She apparently did not know Jesus.

Please pray for the families involved to find peace and rest in Christ, whose cross alone offers reconciliation with God and eternal hope amidst sorrow.

‘Why didn’t you bring him to me before?’

GUATEMALA CITY — When the doctor saw little Juanito’s condition Friday and noticed his parents had missed an appointment early this year, he became angry.

“Why didn’t you bring him to me before?” the doctor asked Isidro’s wife.

She didn’t know what to say. A quiet, polite Kaqchikel Mayan woman, she doesn’t speak Spanish well and was only following the directions given her by hospital officials.

The misunderstanding or wrong directions apparently caused Isidro’s wife to miss an appointment around January with the doctor. They didn’t realize this until later, after they returned from a trip to Guatemala City.

Last July, just a baby, Juanito suffered a severe fever while Isidro, one of Viña Studios’ Scripture recording technicians, was several hours away, recording an audio New Testament. The fever appears to have caused brain damage. At about 15 months, the boy cannot sit up or walk, and he has trouble seeing and hearing.

Five weeks ago, Juanito fell unconscious for 30 minutes one evening, frightening his mother. Once again, Isidro was many hours away, recording the Q’eqchí New Testament. When he heard the news Isidro said he began to think, “I can’t do this any more.” Working at Viña provides regular income for these brothers, but it’s far from lucrative and they struggle financially and relationally.

Friday morning, Juanito had an appointment with the specialist in Guatemala City. When Isidro’s wife and his father arrived at the hospital that morning something special happened. In the doctor’s presence, Juanito fell unconscious exactly as he had last month. The doctor quickly ordered the boy to the emergency room, where they helped him to recover.

As the doctor prescribed medicine for a two-year treatment, he demanded to know why Isidro’s wife had not brought the boy to his January appointment. Through her broken Spanish, she explained that they had followed the directions of the receptionist, taking Juanito to the only appointment they thought was ordered. The doctor was still upset, asking why they didn’t send the boy with someone who understood Spanish better.

By the grace of God, Isidro sent his wife to the appointment Friday. Many monthly therapy lessons have seemed fruitless. They spend 100 quetzales (about $13) — nearly 10 percent of Isidro’s monthly salary — just on bus fare. The appointment often lasts just five minutes.

Fortunately, the Lord allowed Juanito to experience a bad spell in the doctor’s presence to communicate what her words could not.

Isidro and Carlos, Viña’s Scripture recording director, finished their Scripture recording on Monday and returned to Sololá yesterday. We received them back joyfully but it was a bittersweet reunion to see Isidro’s tears and hear how their families are suffering.

Carlos’ wife, who began to experience health problems while he was away, continues to suffer from her illness as well. Just this morning, Carlos had to leave to attend a doctor’s appointment with his wife.

Later, Isidro told me he feels happy to have accomplished something for the Lord’s service, producing a Scripture recording that will bless the body of Christ.

Please pray for these brothers, who, I believe, are on the front lines of a spiritual battle and are experiencing suffering and trials for their service, while they are away from their families for weeks at a time.

Spanish ‘queen’ of Bible translations reigns

Perhaps springing from its first author’s royal surname, the Reina-Valera Spanish Bible occupies uniquely revered “queenly” status within Spanish-speaking Christendom — annually extending its 400-year marathon of wide acceptance and popularity.

The Reina-Valera translation shows few signs of ending its run — even among many of Guatemala’s indigenous Mayans who speak Spanish as a second language.

Inside the few Mayan churches I have visited here in Guatemala, the pastors may teach, preach and give announcements in their Mayan tongue, but when they read the sermon text, many reach for the Reina-Valera Bible — even if the Bible is available in their own language.

Once known as the “Bear Bible,” the Reina-Valera enjoys special reverence despite decades of work translating the Scriptures into the Mayan tongues.

I don’t claim to know the reason why, but it’s a subject of interest and concern for us here at Viña Studios. We believe people everywhere would benefit most by having and putting into practice an accurate Bible translation in the language of their heart. It’s part of the reason why I’m looking into this subject for a video we would like to produce.

Some Mayan pastors preach in two languages, beginning in Spanish and then pausing to interpret into Mayan what they just said in Spanish or read from the Reina-Valera Bible.

“I think (pastors) feel like they have better control if they do an off-the-cuff translation,” says David Ekstrom, a linguist who has translated the Old Testament into three Mayan languages. But Ekstrom cautioned that such informal translations from the Spanish text to Mayan can quickly introduce errors. While working on the Jacalteco Old Testament a man joined them who had worked 21 years with a Catholic priest.

“After he worked with us a few years he said, ‘I had no idea what kind of heresies I was promoting with my off-the-cuff translations,’ ” Ekstrom said.

A Mayan co-worker at Viña Studios, who was once asked to read the Scriptures in his church, chose to read from his Mayan translation. After reading that day, several church members approached him and thanked him, saying how clear and understandable it was. Since then, however, he said there has been little encouragement to use the Mayan translation.

In some cases Mayans don’t have the Bible in their mother tongue, but in many cases today they do — at least the New Testament. Here in Sololá, the Western Cakchiquel New Testament was printed 1996 and recorded on audio by Viña not long after.

Many regard the Spanish Reina-Valera version as “the” inspired Word of God. Some Mayan pastors refer to their mother-tongue translations as “commentaries,” reaching for the Mayan translation only if they don’t understand the Spanish.

To understand why the Reina-Valera enjoys such special status in Latins’ hearts, it may be helpful to consider its lengthy history.

Nine years before England’s King James I saw the results of the Authorized Version he had commissioned, the Reina-Valera Bible was published. It was 1602.

In those days, the Catholic Church of Rome enjoyed broad political power and transmitted the Word of God to its adherents only in the antiquated Latin language, which uneducated, common people could not understand. Fearing a loss of its power, the church engaged in bloody persecution against any who dared to put the Scriptures in common tongues. Bible translators were viewed as innovators, prosecuted and executed by church and state authorities in England, Spain and elsewhere.

Within this dangerous environment, Casiodoro de Reina (1520-1594) and a team of co-workers produced a complete Spanish Bible translation. In Spanish, Reina’s surname means “queen,” a harbinger of how his translation would reign in the centuries to come.

Raised Catholic, Reina entered the San Isidoro Monastery del Campo in southern Spain, near Seville, where he sat under Dr. Blanco Garcia Arias. Arias had heard and converted to the Reformed doctrine of “justification by faith” under the influence of the Waldenses, later reading the Reformers’ writings to his followers. But when Reina attempted to put the Scriptures in the language of the common people, he drew the ire of the Inquisition. In 1557, Reina fled Spain for his life. Monks who remained behind faced Inquisition trials, which branded some “heretics,” burning them alive.

Reaching Germany, Reina — along with 10 friends, including fellow monk, Cipriano de Valera — joined French-Calvinist Huguenot believers. Five years later, Spanish Inquisitors burned Reina in effigy and placed his writings on a list of prohibited books. Subsequent Spanish threats forced Reina to flee Germany for Holland, then to flee Holland for Germany, where he remained until his death in 1594, pastoring and translating.

For his translation, Reina spurned the Church’s Latin translation and relied on original Hebrew and Greek sources. The original biblical authors wrote the Old Testament in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek. Reina referred to the Hebrew Masoretic Text, which dates from the seventh to tenth centuries A.D., and to Dutchman Desiderius Erasmus’ 1516 compilation of several New Testament Greek texts known as the Textus Receptus, which gets its name from the Latin phrase, textum ergo habes, nunc ab omnibus receptum: “So you hold the text, now received by all.” Reina also referred back to several prior Spanish translation efforts. At the time, these were the best available source materials, correcting many errors which had crept into the Latin Scriptures used by the Catholic church. Highlighting the source of his translation, Reina wrote on the cover of his Bible in Hebrew text (with a Spanish translation below), “The Word of our God endures forever.”

In 1569, Reina published 2,600 copies of his translation in Basel, Switzerland, directly challenging a decree issued 18 years earlier by the Spanish Inquisition, which had prohibited the Bible in any “vulgar tongue.” Dubbed the “Bear Bible,” its cover artwork shows a bear retrieving honey from a tree. (Psalm 119:103, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”)

The second half of the Spanish Bible translation gets its name from Cipriano de Valera. After fleeing the monastery with Reina in 1557, Valera later traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, where he studied under the influential French Protestant Reformer, John Calvin. Valera’s first major translation project involved putting Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion” into Spanish.

Mayans might be interested to know Valera held a dim view of the Spanish conquistadors: He wrote that the European conquerors sought to enrich themselves, robbing and killing natives, “people for whom Jesus died.”

Valera’s interest in personal evangelism and gaining a better understanding of the Gospel led him to England where he studied at Cambridge, later teaching at Oxford. While in England he married an Englishwoman named Ana, with whom he had three children, and he began an outreach, teaching the Gospel to seamen and prisoners. In 1582, some 12 years before Reina died, Valera began to revise his old friend’s “Bear Bible.”

In 1602, then 70 years old, Valera finished his 20-year project and died. His revision became known as the Reina-Valera Version. He announced his goals for revising Reina’s work in this way: It was “the same that motivated Casidoro de Reina, who had been motivated by that hallowed Person, the Lord Himself. He desired to proclaim the glory of God and to make a clear service to his nation.”

***

Since the first Reina-Valera Bible was published, it has undergone several revisions (most recently in 1960 and 1995) to update ever-changing language issues, employing some new translation theories and to correct some translation errors, using more accurate original source materials. Yet, despite these recent revisions, the Reina-Valera still uses verb forms unfamiliar in Latin America.

Several factors may explain why this Bible would be more commonly accepted and used by many Mayans. Spanish is Guatemala’s national language, and as such it enjoys privileged status in government, education and business. Few Mayans (perhaps just 5 percent) are literate in their own language, being taught Spanish in school. Perhaps most significantly, in a multilingual milieu, the Reina-Valera may represent a beloved stranger, whose flowery language sounds beautiful and enchanting, enabling its adherents to overlook any mystifying aspects to its message.

Still, I wonder if Osidoro de Reina and Cipriano de Valera would smile to see Mayan preachers using their Spanish translation instead of reading from Mayan translations prepared for Mayan mother-tongue speakers.

*******************

For a detailed description of the various Bible translations in Spanish, see this entry on Wikipedia’s website.

Team to promote audio Bible for Chuj Mayans

Beginning Monday, David and Helen Ekstrom, along with several able assistants, will return to the Cuchumatanes Mountains for five days, offering audio Bibles to the Chuj Mayan people among whom they lived and translated for 16 years.

They will be offering “MegaVoice” digital audio players of the Chuj Scriptures for sale to those who attend a 2-hour class on how to make the most of the audio Bible through listening groups, asking questions and applying the Word.

The team, which includes Mayan co-workers, will visit five different areas, one each day; each one centrally located among other villages as it was not practical to travel to every village in the steep, rugged mountain range.

The Ekstroms, missionaries with CAM International, are legendary figures in Guatemala, having spent the majority of their lives here. They now live north of here in Huehuetenango. In February, Guatemala’s respected Mariano Galvez University awarded them honorary doctorate degrees in linguistics, recognizing their service the Mayan peoples; among other things, the Ekstroms translated the Old Testament into at least three Mayan languages.

I was privileged to meet them and their co-workers earlier this year during an ethnomusicology seminar, even staying a few nights in their former Sebeb home with a team from Viña (and nearly being blown off the mountain by the winds).

Last July, the Ekstroms finished the Old Testament in the Chuj language of the San Mateo Ixtatán region near the Mexican border. Recording technicians from Viña Studios spent about two months in Sebeb recording the New Testament. Later, several Chuj Mayan believers — in cooperation with the Ekstroms — recorded Psalms, Proverbs and Genesis.

The resulting recordings have been electronically loaded onto hand-held MegaVoice digital players for Mayans to buy at a discounted price of 300 quetzales, about $40 (roughly a week’s wages).

“If we can sell them all, great,” Ekstrom said. “If we can sell 150, I will be very happy. Three hundred quetzales is a pretty good piece of cash for a lot of these people.” A Chuj believer told Ekstrom 300 won’t be enough, insisting they will need 500.

Jeff Nelson, a missionary with SEPAL (OC International), will join the Ekstroms for next week’s project. Nelson said they introduced the dramatized recording on May 21 to the actors who played various voices needed for the audio Scriptures; it was well-received.

“This is the first real availability to the public,” Nelson said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re educated or uneducated; there’s something about listening to the message of the God of the universe that divides between the joints and the marrow.”

“I’m especially interested in the mentoring of leaders to help other people use the Scriptures,” Nelson said, noting small listening groups in homes or elsewhere could help transform people’s lives. “Once it’s out there we want to help people appreciate it and respond in light of what God’s doing.”

***

If you’re interested in helping promote the audio Scriptures project to Chuj Mayan believers, you can donate through this link to CAM International, designating Project # 62820 “audio scriptures.”

Flavio returns to Viña aboard new bike, debts

Flavio, Viña’s videographer, returned to work today with a smile on his face, aboard a new motorcycle and a pile of debt. He hasn’t gotten his money back from being robbed aboard a bus last week, but there’s a chance he might.

He spent the last couple of days trying to straighten things out with his bank and to buy a new motorcycle. I asked him jokingly whether he sold his troublesome cat to buy the bike. Flavio’s affection for his cat, after all, is what the thieves used as a conversation piece to distract him and pilfer his backpack on the bus. He smiled and said, “Nunca!” (Never!) Well, no surprise there. Today, I was shocked to find out that he didn’t pack Baudelaire here from Guatemala City in his kitty backpack. Instead, the cat “went to work” with his girlfriend, Linda.

Bank authorities promised Flavio they would investigate his case. One curiosity is that the individuals (and probably other members of their gang) who stole from him attempted to cash four of his checks at four different banks within 30 minutes of each other. They succeeded in three cases. The fourth failed because by then, there were not sufficient funds to cover the check. Unfortunately, the failed attempt resulted in a fine of 100 quetzales ($13) for insufficient funds.

Flavio had planned on taking on some debt to buy the new motorbike. Now, the $2,100 debt is double what it would have been. We’re happy to have Flavio back and praise God he’s safe. Please pray for his bank situation. It’s possible they will agree the check signatures are not his and return the money.

*****

At the time I published this blog entry, I didn’t have any photos of his kitty backpack or his motorcycle. But Flavio & Linda have obviously made a trip down to Lake Atitlán recently. He provided these photos for me today (July 1). So here they are. As you can see when he’s wearing his kitty backpack, it draws quite a crowd.

Flavio tries to recoup stolen bank funds

Flavio continues to try to recoup his losses from last week’s theft aboard a bus.

He hasn’t shown up for work yet here in Sololá, as he is trying to straighten out things with his bank. We’re told he is visiting the bank offices, trying to convince them that he wasn’t the one who wrote the checks that practically drained his bank account.

Two thieves on a bus last Monday stole his cell phone, his government ID and some blank checks, later emptying his bank account of about $1,000. One distracted Flavio, talking to him about his cat, while the other pilfered his backpack.

We’re not too optimistic that he’ll be able to persuade them to replace his losses, but perhaps he will receive favor as he explains his story. Whatever happens, please continue to pray for him. Now, instead of having a new motorcycle to ride here from Guatemala City, he doesn’t even have his old one. Days earlier, he sold the old motorcycle and deposited the money in the bank.

I learned today that his account does still have about $100 — enough for a “burro,” (donkey) but that’s hardly efficient transportation for long distances.

Crooks swipe motorcycle from backpack

How can a crook steal a motorcycle from a backpack? In the world of crooks, there are amateur petty thieves, and there are professionals.

Unfortunately for Flavio, Viña Studios’ videographer, his assailants fall into the latter category. He learned this today when he went to make a bank deposit. Not only did the thieves aboard a Guatemala City bus swipe his cell phone from his backpack on Monday — they also got his motorcycle. Flavio had sold his motorcycle last week, planning to upgrade and buy a new one. He had deposited the proceeds from his sale in his bank account for safekeeping.

But on Friday, bank authorities informed him that his bank account of $1,000 — roughly four to six months’ wages — had been drained to practically nothing. The thieves who distracted him and stole his cell phone also swiped his cedula, or government identification. He didn’t realize this until the next day.

The light-fingered crooks also managed to swipe several checks from the back of his checkbook, leaving the top checks intact. Seeing this, Flavio thought they had not touched his checkbook. Later, however, with the cedula and blank checks in hand, the thieves withdrew all his savings. It’s unlikely the bank will cover his losses.

Flavio tends to be a pretty mild, upbeat fellow, but I could tell when he left today that he is hurting. Being on the receiving end of criminals’ dirty deeds is no picnic, especially when they robbed him by manipulating his friendliness and eagerness to talk about his beloved cat. I wish I had remembered to ask Flavio if I could pray for him before he left. If you would like, please join me in praying for him, perhaps thinking of James 1:2-4 and Romans 8:28. Even though it stings sometimes, a child of God can rejoice knowing the Lord’s merciful hand works to discipline and bless us for our good, drawing us to him.

First Alma, then Arthur ... slog, slog, slog

I employed a bit of a triple jump this morning to cross one of the rivers, ... er ... streets here on my way to work. Many smarter Guatemalans stayed home, leaving the town market nearly empty today.

I figured the rains were more effects of Tropical Depression Alma, but I learned this morning that her kissin’ cousin, Arthur, known around here as Arturo, had joined the fray in a one-two punch. First from the west, then the east. Storms usually follow in alphabetical sequence, but since Alma originated in the Pacific Ocean and Arthur in the Caribbean Ocean they each share the first-letter “A.”

Guatemala’s authorities have declared an “Orange Alert” for the entire country in response to the rains (here’s a computer-translated version of the news alert). In the northeastern part of Guatemala, more than six inches of rain have fallen within 24 hours. I’d guess we’ve gotten at least a couple of inches here, maybe up to three or four. For most of us at Viña, it’s been soggy, not dangerous.

But for Flavio, our videographer, who travels back and forth from Guatemala City for the weekends, it was a bit more costly. Because of the rain, he left his motorcycle at home and boarded a bus this morning with his cat, Baudelaire, in his port-a-cat backback and other things in his personal backback. Unfortunately, some petty thieves took advantage, one distracting him and talking to him about his cat while another rifled through his backpack, stealing his cell phone and some other things: Bus fare: $2. Stolen items: $200.

Accuweather's hurricane center provides colorful images but rather disinterested, U.S.-centric reporting.

“We’re going to have to watch the area again all week long,” said the weather reporter as they showed swirling clouds. “This time of year if there’s the a development (affecting the U.S.) it can often come from southern Gulf of Mexico or the western Caribbean. But thunderstorms are the main concern in the middle of the country again...” In other words, “It’s only real news it affects the good old U.S. of A.” Oh, well, at least he acknowledged weather (if not life forms) outside the borders.

I’m hoping to figure out a way to cut down on the humidity in my apartment. (Perhaps convincing the landlady to replace the windows she broke when she got locked out.) My wrinkling books are wishing for sunnier days.

Meanwhile, among other things, I’m researching data for a video we hope to produce on Bible translations. Seems many Mayan pastors have such reverence for the antiquated Reina-Valera Spanish version of the Bible (sort of the King James Version for Spanish speakers) that they don’t use the more understandable translations in their own language.

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Here are a couple of weather reports from the area in Spanish and translated by Google.