Christmas Letter 2009

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas! What an exciting time of the year this is as we celebrate the birth of our Savior! As always, the past year seemed to fly by and was filled with a number of exciting events.
On August 7, David McAlpine joined our family as he and Amy were wed at Carmel Church. What a privilege and blessing to welcome another member into our family.
On Father's Day, we found out that our family will be growing again! Alec and Becky are excitedly expecting a child in February. Amy informed us that now we are officially old, but we can't wait for our first grandchild.
In 2009 we had three daughters and two sons-in-law in college. In June Lori received an Associate's Degree in Accounting from Colorado Tech University and will receive a Bachelor's Degree in December, 2010. Amy finishes this month at Central College with majors in Linguistics and East Asian Studies. David also completes his degree this month, with a major in Banking from Iowa State University. Alec is attending Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon for Computer Science, and Becky is studying photography through the New York Photography Institute.
In the spring we began to make plans for Rachel and I to travel with Brian for a year. I received a leave of absence from my ESL responsibilities at school, and we left home in August. So far our travels have taken us to Alaska, Spain, Turkey, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico. It's been an incredible experience to work with so many translation teams as they work to put God's Word into their own languages.
Because of our travels, I'm home-schooling Rachel for her 7th grade year. We enjoy incorporating our travels into our studies, learning about Alaskan landscapes, Muslim beliefs, and Peruvian history. Since we're based in Chiapas, Mexico for 2 1/2 months, Rachel is able to experience where our family lived for five years before she was born.

Although it will be strange not to be "home" for Christmas this year, we can still celebrate the Reason for the Season - Jesus's birth. May you be filled anew with awe and wonder of this miracle. Brian, Donna and Rachel

Guadalupe Day

Today, December 12, is Guadalupe Day in Mexico. I have to admit I knew very little about this holiday before coming here. I knew that the city of San Cristobal had been preparing for it for several weeks, but the actual history was not something I was familiar with. But in school this week Rachel and I have been doing some research and study on what some consider to be Mexico's most important religious holiday.

In 1531, an indigenous man named Juan Diego had two separate visions of the Virgin Mary in a remote area outside Mexico City. After the second vision, during which the Virgin Mary instructed Juan to build a Catholic church in her name, the Catholic officials demanded proof of the visions. When Juan gathered roses in his blanket from the spot of the visions and then showed it to the church officials, there was an imprint of the Virgin Mary on the inside of his blanket.
Since San Cristobal has a church named after The Virgin of Guadalupe, there have been a number of festivities the past few weeks. The area surrounding the church is filled with vendors selling churros, fried bananas, pizza, other foods, toys, and CD's. The church itself is decorated and lit up for the hundreds of people who come to visit it each day and night and worship there.
Another aspect of the celebration includes parades. Several times a day there are a variety of small parades throughout the city. Last Saturday we saw a parade made entirely of candy and potato chip delivery trucks. Other parades include torch runners, replicas of the Virgin de Guadalupe, and musical groups.
A final part of the celebration is fireworks, which have been going off at all hours of the day and night for over a week now. Unfortunately, these are not the fireworks that explode in a colorful shower of lights. These are the fireworks that simply make a loud bang. Hearing these fireworks during the day isn't a huge issue, but at 2:00 A.M., we're not particularly enjoying this part of the festivities!
It's been very interesting learning first-hand about this part of the Mexican culture. Especially since Guadalupe Day is considered to represent the essence of Mexico, the fusion of Catholic Spain and indigenous Mexico.

Misc!!!!

   Random things we have learned the past weeks in Chiapas........

-We can walk one block and get freshly made tortillas. :) Yum!

-Coke is very popular in Mexico; Pepsi not so much. You very, very occasionally see Dr. Pepper and 7-Up, and never Mellow Yellow, Mtn. Dew, or Mr. Pibb.
-Sunday brunches happen a lot here, but they do not start until 1 or 2 pm.
-You can find a lot of places selling tamales on Saturday night.  Some of the kinds are mole, azafran, chicken, pork, frijoles, and many more. My favorites are azafran and chicken.
-Occasionally there are loud bursts of fireworks going off, and it scares me a lot!
-The streets and the sidewalks are not even, and so it makes walking very difficult.
-There are a lot of bakeries selling all different kinds of bread. A bread that is very popular here is Pan Coleto, a sugary, cookie type of bread.
-Most of the streets are one way because they are quite narrow. If there is red arrow, then the cross street has the right of way. If there is a black arrow, then you go first.

-There is one big grocery store, a couple medium sized ones, and a lot of little ones, including lots of fruit and vegetable stands.
-If you hear a clanging sound going by, it's the gas truck. It goes by several times each day.
-If you hear the "Mission Impossible" song, it's the water truck selling big containers of drinking water. It also goes by several times a day.
-If you hear a cow bell, it's the garbage truck. This goes by only once a day, and it's in the morning.
-Graffiti is on a lot of the houses and stores around here.  I'm not very observant, but my mom thinks there's more graffiti every day! 

-

Voces para la Paz y la Fraternidad

Last night we had the privilege of attending a concert entitled "Voices for Peace and Brotherhood". As many of you are aware, there has been a great deal of unrest in the state of Chiapas the past several years, coming to a head with the Zapatista uprising in 1994. Since that time, various churches throughout the state have united to heal some of the divisions that exist. One result of these efforts was last night's concert. For the past nine years, a number of Chiapas churches have worked together to put on an incredible musical concert. For two hours, we worshipped with groups from Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Baptist, and 7th Day Adventist Churches; groups ranging in size from three to 96; groups accompanied by piano, guitar, marimba, and violin. There was Christmas music, praise songs, English hymns sung in Spanish, and songs that we were hearing for the first time. (The picture is the choir from the Presbyterian Church here in San Cristobal.) Each group was talented and brought a meaningful message, with the final group being a fitting climax to the program. This all-male choir of almost 100 included boys as young as seven, three men playing guitar, two playing trumpet, 32 boys and men playing violin, and the rest singing. The entire concert was an incredible example of different denominations working together for a single purpose - raising their voices in praise to God.

One of the blessings of the past few months has been getting to know people from so many different countries. That thought struck me last week as we met with the Ch'ols and individuals from the Mexican, Netherlands, and Norwegian Bible Societies. It also struck me last night when we went out for dinner after the concert. Just yesterday we met a young couple from the Netherlands who are teaching at the John Kempers Seminary in Berriozabal. They had come to San Cristobal to hear their friend Rogelio sing in the concert. (Rogelio and Becky live in the basement apartment of the house we're staying in.) At dinner there were 14 of us sitting around the table with Spanish, English, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, and Dutch all represented. What a great time of fellowship we had over tacos, chalupas, and tortas. Our prayer is that wherever you live, whatever language you speak, and whatever foods you may be eating, that you find fellow Christians who can encourage and uplift you in your faith. Take care! Donna

Chiapas Week #2

It was another great week in San Cristobal. On Monday, Brad Olson came for an eight-day visit. Brad is an RCA missionary, secunded to the United Bible Societies. Brad is one of the main computer programmers for the translation software Paratext 7.
The first two days Brad was here, he and Brian worked together on various issues of Paratext. On Thursday, the four Ch'ol translators came to San Cristobal to work with Brian and Brad for a couple of days. One of the translators had had dengue fever just a few weeks ago, but was feeling well enough to come. Soon after he arrived, however, he got a phone call that his wife was running a high temp and was possibly coming down with dengue as well. So Thursday morning he caught a bus back to Palenque to be with her.
Brian and Brad worked with the other three translators for several hours on Thursday, getting Paratext 7 installed on their computers and teaching them how to use it. The Ch'ols already have the Bible in their language, but they are in the process of revising the text and adding introductions for each book of the Bible. The translators are all full-time pastors and do the translation work in addition to their pastoral responsibilities.
Friday the translators returned for another day of training. Unfortunately, Brad came down with a bug of some sort during the night and was unable to work with them. In fact he was unable to do much of anything for two days! Brian worked with the team quite a bit, with the plan being for us to make a follow-up visit to Palenque at some point in the next month to continue the training.
Friday evening we had a very interesting meeting. Two employees from the Mexican Bible Society, as well as a man from the Norwegian Bible Society and a woman from the Netherlands Bible Society came to meet with the Ch'ol translators. Both Norway and the Netherlands are huge contributors to translation work being done in the Americas. The two individuals had come to visit the Ch'ol and Tojolabal translators to investigate the possibility of providing support for both projects. It was a unique and interesting conversation as they discussed with the Ch'ols their language usage and translation needs. We found out that the man from the Norwegian Bible Society had lived for several years in Canar, so it was exciting to relay to him the good news that the Quichua translation was now completed.
The original plan was for Brad and Brian to go to San Pedro on Sunday to work with the Tojolabal translators for a few days. But since Brad only started feeling better Sunday morning, that didn't seem like a wise decision. So on Sunday we went to a Presbyterian Church here in San Cristobal, then did some walking around and resting in the afternoon (and Brad did a little shopping, as you can see in the picture). We continue to appreciate your prayers as we work with various translation teams here in Chiapas. God bless! Donna

First Week in Chiapas

It was a very good week here in San Cristobal. The first few days we unpacked, did a little furniture rearranging, set up our bedrooms, school room and office, and just plain got settled in. Rachel and I are in a pretty good routine with school and spend most of the days studying together. We also have gone for lots of walks around the city to figure out where the grocery stores, tortillerias, taquerias, and bread stores are (as well as the best places to buy candy!)
Last Tuesday was a little like Christmas in November. Before we left for Acapulco, we had three of our big suitcases shipped to Chiapas. We didn't want to take them with us to Ecuador, Peru, Cheranastico and Acapulco. And it was a lot cheaper to ship them ($23) then to pay the airline's extra baggage fee. So last week Tuesday, Brian went to the shipping company office, and there were our suitcases! It was fun seeing what we had packed and having a few more changes of clothes, books, and some kitchen goodies.
This past weekend seemed somewhat strange, and at first we couldn't figure out why. Then we realized that it was the first weekend since September 5 that we hadn't been traveling! So instead of packing, checking out, catching a bus or plane, checking back in, unpacking, and getting accustomed to a new place, we were free to do something else! So Saturday morning Brian and I went to the market. Now that was the San Cristobal that we remembered! What a reminder of years ago as we walked past stalls selling tomatoes, papaya, avocado, chayote, several variety of bananas, as well as chickens, spices, rice, beans, and hundreds of other things.
Then for lunch we grilled ribs, chorizo and beef with the family that is living in the basement of the mission house, Rogelio and Becky. Actually Rogelio did the grilling and we did the eating! After lunch Rachel and I went to the movie theater at the shopping plaza (not the San Cristobal that we remember from before!) and saw "New Moon". I have to admit that I am not a Twilight fan, but Rachel is and I was curious to see what all the hype was about. The movie wasn't too bad, but I don't think I'll run out and read the books anytime soon.
After a little shopping at the mall, we got home in time for tamales. On Saturdays in San Cristobal, various people make tamales in their homes and then sell them in the evenings. You can tell who has tamales for sale by the red light they hang outside their house. So we went to a few different "red light" houses and picked up tamales de mole, azafran and de bola. Yum. We made sure to buy plenty so we'd have leftovers.
Rachel already wrote about Sunday and our visit with Vern and Carla Sterk to Nuevo Zinacantan. This Tzotzil village is made up entirely of displaced Christians. Vern said that there are 50 villages throughout Chiapas for Tzotzils who have been forced from their own villages because of their Christian beliefs. It was amazing to worship with the people and see the Sterk's reconnect with friends from the years that they lived here.
Now as we prepare for Thanksgiving, we are reminded of how thankful we are. Thankful to God for being so loving and faithful; thankful for this opportunity to serve Him in the area of Bible translation; and thankful for family and friends who mean so much to us. We pray that you will all have a very meaningful and blessed Thanksgiving! Donna

Sunday morning

   We had a very fun day Sunday! We went to a church with Vern and Carla Sterk. They were missionaries  for several years in Chiapas. They are now retired, but they come down here a couple times a year. The church service was in the Maya language, Tzotzil. It was very interesting going to church and singing some of the songs in Tzotzil. They had some familiar hymns like "Holy, Holy, Holy" and some other ones that my parents knew. Almost all the people were dressed in their traditional clothes. Also, they were seperated by men on one side and women on the other during the service.

  After a while my mom and I got to go to Sunday school with Carla, which was really fun. We sang "Jesus Loves Me" in English to see if anyone knew it. There were about 35 kids there, and they were sitting on long wooden benches. The benches were quite tiny and close together! The lesson was about Muslims and different facts about them. For example, they are called to prayer 5 times a day and they don't pray on their knees, but on the ground. The kids thought it was really funny when Carla acted that out. (We knew those facts, of course, because we had been in Turkey.)  We could pick out some of the stuff Carla was talking about from the hand motions she did, but otherwise, she talked all in Tzotzil. It was very cute after Sunday School because all the kids wanted their picture taken.

  After church, we went to two people's houses because they were sick and wanted to have someone pray for them. On the way back to San Cristobal, we stopped and got some wood for our fireplace. All in all, we were gone from "home" for 5 hours. Even though we didn't understand Tzotzil, we could still interact with each other. Of course we stood out with our height and our clothing. But we were also very welcomed.

San Cristobal

After nearly 14 years, we're back in Chiapas! Brian has been here several times working with different translation teams. But this is the first time I've been back since we lived here from 1991-1995. And of course it's the first time for Rachel's since she wasn't born when we lived here.
It was with great excitement and anticipation that we flew from Mexico City to Tuxtla this past Sunday. After landing, we took a taxi to San Cristobal de Las Casas. When we lived here, it took at least 1 1/2 hours to get here from the airport. But because they built a new airport and a new road, the time has been cut dramatically to a little less than an hour. The route isn't nearly as "thrilling" either as the new road doesn't contain all of the hair pin curves that the old one did.
Once in San Cristobal, we made our way to what will be our home for the next 2 1/2 months. When we lived in Mexico nearly 20 years ago, the RCA owned a large home called the mission house. RCA missionaries that lived in remote areas stayed at the mission house periodically whenever they needed to do banking, shopping, laundry, attend meetings, etc. We stayed here many times during those years, and actually lived here our last few months in Chiapas in 1995. The RCA has since sold the house to a couple who used to manage the house, Jeff and Deb Feenstra. The Feenstra's were gracious enough to allow us to live here during our stay in Chiapas.
Even though it has been 14 years since we lived here, it immediately felt like we were back home. We're staying in the same bedrooms that we stayed in several times before. We love having a full kitchen and being able to cook meals again! Thank goodness there's also a washing machine and clothes lines. Not being able to do laundry consistently the past 2 1/2 months was a challenge.
As we continue to get settled in, we'll write more about the city of San Cristobal and the work that Brian will be involved in here in Chiapas. As always, thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers this year. Donna

Chiapas!

   We're all settled in Chiapas now! Yesterday we got to San Cristobal at 4:30 pm. We flew here from Mexico City to Tuxtla. Then we took a taxi for an hour to the mission house. Well, it's not a mission house any more, but it used to be when my family lived here before. A family from Michigan, that owns it now, is letting us live here for the next few months.

   The house is huge!! As soon as we got in the gate, I said, "Wow! It's just like the home movies!!"  I have my own room, and it has 3 beds and a desk in it. Now we can actually do our school work at a desk instead of on a bed!  This morning we did some rearranging of beds and desks. We wanted to put one of the beds in a closet, but it wouldn't fit, so we put it in my room.  So now I have lots of places to hang out. 



P.S. I tried writing a blog in Acapulco, but the ocean called on me everyday!  It was very fun playing in the waves in the ocean.  One day we found a sand dollar - alive!  It was annoying when we had our two-hour time share "talk" (sales pitch), because the ocean was right there, but we had to wait until all four people were done trying to sell us something.  At least they gave us some water to drink!  As you probably saw in my mom's blog, I got my hair braided.  I chose a ton of different colors for the beads, but the lady doing the braids favored orange a lot for the rubber bands.  The braids are still in, and I hope they last a few more weeks.  My hair will be really fluffy when the braids finally come out!

Ahhh, Acapulco

What a great time we had in Acapulco. I don't think we've ever had a vacation like this before. Except for Tuesday's city tour, we basically didn't leave the Grand Mayan. We just relaxed! Because the weather was so hot and humid, our main activity everyday was spending time at the pool and ocean. Rachel had such a blast riding the waves. She never wanted to come out of the water! A few of the evenings we enjoyed watching the sunset over the ocean. So beautiful.
Since we had a kitchen in our suite, we made most of our own meals. Every few days we'd go to a nearby shopping center to buy things at Wal-Mart and/or go out to eat. One morning we had the brunch at the Mayan with lots of good authentic Mexican food. (as you can see!)
This morning (Saturday) we checked out and caught the 11:15 bus for Mexico City. It was another gorgeous ride through great scenery. We're staying in Mexico City tonight, then tomorrow we have a flight to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas. We're very excited to not only be back in Chiapas, but to be based somewhere for a few months after so much traveling. We'll be visiting different projects in Chiapas, but probably won't leave there until the first part of February. We'll let you know how it feels to be "back home." Donna

Acapulco

I never really thought we'd be spending a week on vacation in Acapulco, but here we are. Thanks so much to mom and dad for the time-share! It's wonderful.
We arrived here Saturday afternoon on the bus from Mexico City. It was a beautiful 5-hour drive through some incredible scenery.
We had seen pictures of the Grand Mayan on the internet, but nothing totally prepares you for what it's like. The open-air lobby is immense with several thatch-roofed buildings and replicas of Mayan monuments. Our 7th floor "room" is really a suite - kitchen, living room, bedroom, and patio. There's even a dipping pool on the patio! The Mayan is right along the ocean and has a 1-kilometer long swimming pool, a water park complete with lazy river, and several lakes and ponds through the grounds.
We're quite far from the city of Acapulco, so most of the time we spend at the Mayan, lounging by the pool or relaxing by the ocean. The temp is always in the 80's or 90's, so the water feels great. Last night we sat on the beach and watched the sun set into the ocean. Beautiful!
Yesterday we took a 4-hour tour of the city. We stopped at the Chapel of Peace, George Wessmuller's (Tarzan's) home, a flea market, several beautiful look-outs of the city, and of course the cliff divers. This tradition has been going on for 50 years, with divers as young as 12 diving into the water. We saw 6 different dives - some with two divers at once, some alone, and the highest dive from 35 meters. It was a great show, but probably the most impressive was watching the divers scale the rock wall to get to where they were going to dive! I think that took as much talent as the diving itself.
We don't have any plans for the rest of the week, which suits us just fine. We may do another tour tomorow or Friday, but nothing definite at this point. Hey, it's a vacation! We head back to Mexico City on Saturday, then on to Chiapas on Sunday. As nice as this week has been, we're anxious to get to Chiapas and work with the translation teams there. Have a super week! Donna

Purhepecha

Last Friday morning we left Cheranastico after working with the Purhepecha translation team for four days. Approximately 100,000 people speak this language in a number of towns and villages throughout the state of Michoacan. Brian visited this team almost five years ago when they were just beginning their work. Now they’re getting very close to finishing the New Testament and hope to send it to the typesetter in February, 2010. Then they plan on beginning the Old Testament translation.
Every translation team and project is different, but this was a very unique week for several different reasons.
The first difference was that all five of the translators have other jobs (mostly in education), so their translation work takes place in the late afternoon and evening, beginning at around 4:00. Another difference was that our lodging was in the same house where the translators work. We had the two bedrooms, and they worked in the living room. There weren’t any doors on the bedrooms, so Rachel and I got a first-hand view of exactly what it is that Brian does with a team. (Also, the bathroom was right off the living room. Since there was only a curtain for a door to the bathroom, we had to time our visits accordingly!)
On Monday, because it was a holiday, the translators worked off and on from 8:00 AM until 8:30 PM, so we had lots of chances to hear them in action. Tuesday one of the translators didn’t go to work, so he was there most of the day as well and was joined by a couple of the other translators in the evening. Wednesday and Thursday they started working around 3:30 and finished up around 10:30 (even later on Thursday).
Because Cheranastico is such a small town (3,000), there aren’t really any restaurants, but several people have small shops in their homes where they sell food. There was one place just up the street that sold the best tacos every morning. For 40 cents, we got a fresh-off-the-grill tortilla filled with the toppings of our choice. Just down the road the other way, a family sold tortas (Mexican sandwiches) and quesadillas every evening. So when the translators weren’t taking turns feeding us, we didn’t have far to go to find something delicious to eat.
Something else that was different was the number of people we met who had either spent time in the U.S. or had at least one family member who was currently in the U.S. Every time we went anywhere, we got asked where we were from. When we said the U.S., they wanted to know where in the U.S. I don’t think very many of them had heard of Iowa, but when we said we’re from the state next to Illinois, that sounded familiar! Actually, three of the translators had lived for a time in the Chicago area, one even graduated from high school there.
So now we have a bit of a break before heading to Chiapas. We're looking forward to our week in Acapulco. We'll let you know how we like it! Donna

Cheranastico and Dia de los Muertos

Sunday morning found us on the road - again. Iskra and Yolanda dropped us off at the bus station for our 10:15 bus ride to Zamora. We check a couple of our bags, bought a few things to eat and drink, and waited for the bus.
When we boarded the bus, the “bus attendant” handed us each a can of pop and a snack. We knew then that it was going to be different than some of our other bus rides. Little did we know how luxurious it would be! There were only 3 seats across with triple the leg room of most buses (or airplanes, for that matter). Besides the snack, we also got pillows and headphones for the movies. Unfortunately, the movies were pretty awful, but the scenery outside was incredible, so who needs a movie?
After just a few stops to let people on and off, we arrived in Zamora at 4:00. Joaquin, one of the translators, was there to pick us up and drive us the 1 ½ hours to Cheranastico. The village of Cheranastico has approximately 3,000 people, the majority belonging to the language group Purhepecha. There are no hotels here, so we’re staying in the house that the translators rent to do their translation work. The house has quite a bit of room, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, and living room with their tables, chairs, computers, and a printer.
That evening we walked around a little, getting a feel for the town. When we got back, Joaquin’s brother, Tanganxuan, came over to invite us to his house for supper. His wife had made a delicious soup of shrimp, carrots, cabbage, and chayote. She also served atole, a warm vanilla-flavored, milk-based drink.
With full stomachs, we headed back to the house to get ready for the week. Because it was a holiday weekend and most people had Monday off, there was a lot of activity on the street until very late at night, and we didn’t get to sleep quite as early as hoped. We’re also pretty sure that every dog in the town made a point of welcoming us by barking right outside our window.
Monday morning around 6:00 I thought I heard someone - first outside the house, then in the house, then to our surprise, in our bedroom! It was someone related to the owner of the house, looking for something. I’m not sure who was more embarrassed or surprised, him or us, but we haven’t had any more early morning visitors since, thank goodness!
Usually the translation team works in the evenings because they all have regular jobs during the day (most of them are teachers or work in schools). But again, since it was a holiday, they had Monday off, so the translators starting arriving at 8:00. They worked until about noon and said they would be back around 3:00. We were invited to go with them to the cemetery for the Dia de los Muertos festivities. We walked up there, and it was quite a sight. Almost all of the graves were decorated with flowers, beautiful wreaths, and baskets of food as an offering for those that had passed on. Families were seated by the graves of their loved ones, enjoying each other’s company and eating fruit, bread, tacos, ice cream, or whatever other food they had brought along. At some of the grave sites, there was a short service going on.
We found the family of one of the translators and sat with them for awhile before walking around the cemetery. Rachel and I went back to the cemetery later in the afternoon, and almost everyone had gone home. But the flowers and decorations remained, along with several candles. It definitely was a meaningful way for the families to spend time together and honor those who had died. Donna

Touring Mexico City

Saturday was tourist day for us. Iskra was willing to take us wherever we wanted to go, to do whatever we wanted to do. The day started with an excellent breakfast prepared by Yolanda. The food she prepares isn’t complicated or extravagant, but the flavors are just so fresh and delicious.
Our first stop of the day was Wal-Mart. That was not at my insistence, although I didn’t complain having to go there! We could actually buy our bus tickets to Zamora at a ticket office in Wal-Mart. So Yolanda, Rachel and I roamed around the store for awhile while Brian and Iskra got the tickets. It was fun seeing how the store compared to what we were used to in NW Iowa (much bigger, lots more variety, mostly the same items).
Then Iskra drove us to downtown Mexico City and dropped us off at the Archaeology Museum. She recommended this museum as being something very worthwhile for us to see. We greatly enjoyed it, especially the displays about the Maya, including the Tojolabal. We walked around Chapultepec Park for over an hour, watching paddle boats and canoes in the lake, checking out the hundreds of booths selling everything from popcorn, Halloween costumes, souvenirs, candy, toys, and almost anything else you could want.
We walked along the Avenida Reforma on the way to the Zocalo. On the way, we saw a statue of Christopher Columbus and the Monument of Independence. Iskra picked us up and drove us the rest of the way to the Zocalo. We saw where the president does El Grito Viva Mexico on September 15 for Independence Day. We also went inside the Cathedral (I think Rachel’s lost count of how many Catholic churches we’ve been in the past 2 months.)
We hadn’t had lunch yet, so we drove to a Christian book store that had a small coffee shop in it. I had a delicious mango crepe, and Brian and Rachel had a chicken ciabatta (I know, not very Mexican!) We enjoyed a Christian concert that was going on at the book store before making a few purchases and continuing our adventures. D
By this time it was dark, so we went back to the Zocalo which was beautifully lit up. The entire day, Iskra and Yolanda were great about pointing out the main attractions. At times it was a bit overwhelming trying to absorb all of the information they shared with us about the many museums, churches, monuments, statues, important buildings, major streets, etc. that we passed by. We decided that when we saw a nudist cross the street, that we had seen it all!
There were several other places that Iskra was willing to take us, but we decided to call it a day. Traffic once again was pretty crazy, and it took quite awhile to get home. We made a brief stop at a taqueria for a quick bite, and finally by 9:00 we were “home.”
We’re so grateful to Iskra and Yolanda for their hospitality and all of their help with the bus tickets, power cable purchase, city tour, meals, as well as letting us do a couple of loads of laundry. What a blessing to have brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who freely give of themselves. We have been so blessed. Donna

Arrival in Mexico

We’re back in Mexico! Despite the fact that we’ve never spent much time in Mexico City, it still feels like we’re back home.
Our flights from Guayaquil to San Jose, then San Jose to Mexico City were uneventful, which is always a good sign. The worst part was the gentleman who sat in front of Brian on the second flight. He absolutely insisted on reclining his seat, but every time he did the back of his seat bashed into Brian’s knees. I’ve never seen anyone so determined to recline those extra two inches despite making someone else very uncomfortable.
We landed around 9:00 p.m., went through immigration and customs, picked up our bags, changed some money, and waited for our ride. Iskra, a woman who has worked in the Mexican Bible Society office for 18 years, had graciously offered to not only pick us up from the airport, but also invited us to stay at her home for the weekend. It was a welcome change to not have to rely on buses and taxis for transportation and not have to check into a hotel, for a few nights anyway.
It was quite late when we got to the home that Iskra shares with her mom Yolanda. Before going to bed, we discovered the second casualty of our trip (the first being my missing Grand Tetons t-shirt in Cuenca). We searched every suitcase, carry-on, purse, pocket, toiletry bag, everything, but my computer power cable was nowhere to be found. We both saw in in Guayaquil in the electronics carry-on, but somehow it didn’t make the trip. Somewhat disgusted and frustrated, we finally went to bed, knowing that Friday would be a busy day, and now it would also include an electronics purchase.
By 7:30 the next morning, the four of us were on our way to the Mexican Bible Society (SBM) office in downtown Mexico City. Traffic wasn’t too bad, and it only took about 35 minutes. Iskra introduced us to several of the people in the office before we headed out to grab some breakfast. On the way to eat, we met Bob Bascom, who was going to be spending the day at the office as well, so he joined us for breakfast. It was good catching up with Bob again after spending the two weeks in Alaska with him.
Back at the office, Rachel and I did some school work while we waited for an 11:00 meeting with Abner, the General Secretary of the SBM. Bob, Brian, and Iskra were going to meet with Abner to discuss the various translation projects in Mexico and our role with those projects in the upcoming months.
Rachel and I stuck around for the introductions, then excused ourselves for some important business. Iskra had told us that just a few blocks away, there were two museums, The Wax Museum and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum. We didn’t think we could pass that up, so we spent a very enjoyable couple of hours taking pictures of Elvis, Pancho Villa, Barack Obama, Harry Potter, and seeing the weird and unusual at Ripley’s.
By the time we got back, the meeting was done and we had a chance to eat some of our first real Mexican food. We walked to a small street stand that sold delicious quesadillas and other similar foods. Bob left for the airport for his 5:30 flight, and Rachel and I again left for important needs. No museums this time, but a shopping mall. We didn’t buy much, but it was fun walking around and looking in the stores. We did buy a couple of magazines (in English!) for the bus rides we will be taking in the coming weeks.
After more meetings and making arrangements to get to Cheranastico (where the Purhepecha team works), we finally left the office at 6:00. As you can imagine, Friday night traffic in Mexico City, coupled with the holiday (Dia de los Muertos) and the fact that it was raining, was awful. Iskra dropped Brian off at an enormous electronics shopping complex to buy my power cable. After several unsuccessful attempts, he was finally able to get what we needed. Then, back to Iskra’s house. Despite her excellent driving and use of every short-cut imaginable, we didn’t get back until 8:30. I’m so glad we don’t live in the most populated city in the world!
Yolanda had a great supper waiting for us when we got back, and that was a perfect ending to a busy, somewhat hectic, yet very enjoyable day. Donna

P.S. Once again, no luck with uploading pictures. They will have to wait until this weekend!

21 Hours in Guayaquil

That’s how much time we were able to spend in Guayaquil last Thursday and Friday. After our bus ride from Canar, we got to Guayaquil Thursday evening about 6:00. We instantly noticed the heat and humidity of being at sea-level as opposed to the cool, high-elevation climate of Canar. We checked into our hotel, attempted to get the internet working (unsuccessfully), unpacked a little, and went out looking for adventure. Actually, we were just looking for a nearby place to grab a bite to eat, but that can be an adventure in certain places!
Guayaquil was founded in 1534 and is the largest city in Ecuador. Our hotel was in the center of the city, so it wasn’t a problem finding something to eat. How we ended up going to McDonald’s is a mystery, but it may have something to do with traveling with a 12-year old!
After our fries and ice cream, it was still fairly early, so we walked to Malecon 2000. This 1 ½ mile waterfront walk includes shops, museums, gardens, restaurants, monuments, docks, etc., along the Guayas River. It is billed as the largest architectural development in Guayaquil in the past century. We were very impressed. There were hundreds of other people there enjoying the area as well.
When we got back to the hotel, we tried to get the internet working again, with very limited success. It seems the router was in one of the guest rooms across the hall, and the signal was so weak, that we had to sit out in the hall across from the room to even get an iffy connection. Oh, what we’ll do to stay connected! In the morning, Brian was going to sit out in the hall again to connect to the internet. He explained to the housekeeper what he was doing, and she said she could just put the router in our room, which she did! She definitely came to our rescue that day.
We still had a few hours before our flight, so we did some more exploring. First we went to Seminario Park. This park is famous for the iguanas that live there. We enjoyed seeing them roam freely throughout the park, undisturbed by the many people walking around (and posing for pictures with them).
We decided to walk down to Malecon once again and not only see it during the day, but also see the parts we didn’t get to the night before. Wouldn’t you know they had another McDonald’s, and once again, we managed to enjoy some of their ice cream. I wish we had had a chance to take a picture of the security guard with a machine gun guarding McDonald’s, but it didn’t seem like a wise choice. Believe me, I didn’t dare take any extra napkins!
Finally we made our way to the airport. It was a typical airport trip, waiting in several lines; first to check-in, pay the airport tax, have our tickets checked to make sure we paid the airport tax, immigration, and finally security. We had a few more minutes before boarding, so we sat in a café where there was free internet (are you detecting a theme here?)
While we were waiting, Brian heard his name on the loud-speaker, and so he immediately went over to the gate to see what the problem was. About 10 passengers were randomly chosen to have their checked bags searched, and my bag was one of the lucky ones! So he had to go down with the other 9 passengers to watch them search my bag. Luckily, there weren’t any problems (good thing I didn’t take those extra McD’s napkins!), and we soon were ready to board. Now we’re on to Mexico! The weeks in South America were great, and now we’re excited and ready for the next several weeks in Mexico. Donna
P.S. I desperately tried to add photos to this blog, but the internet connection wouldn't allow it. I'll try to put some pictures on Facebook, but the result may be the same.

Ingapirca ruins!

My mom and I went to Ingapirca (which is in Ecuador) on Oct. 27. We had a lot of fun! Ingapirca is considered to be the most important ruins in Ecuador, and it is about 45 minutes away from Canar (by bus at least). Right at the beginning of the ruins, there were llamas! We were able to get a picture of one of them, and my mom said it was very photogenic. :) The photo above is the "Temple of the Sun", where the Incas worshiped the sun. There was a very beautiful view of the valleys from up there.  It was kind of a dangerous place to walk, though, and one time I fell.  I didn't get hurt too bad, but it wasn't much fun!

When we were walking to a part of a mountain that looks like a face, it was quite funny because this little dog would guide us around. It would go ahead of us, and when we stopped to take pictures and stuff, it would come back to us.
The face in the mountain was really cool. It had eyelashes made from some bushes! :) They don't know if it was man-made, or if it is natural.  It was very deceiving because there were some other rocks that looked like turtles or other animals and they had fences around them, but we almost missed the face! There was no sign or anything to show us where it was. It was a tough walk getting there, but it was very cool looking.  Rachel

Making Plans

After working with the Quichua translation team all day Tuesday, there was still an issue of word breaks that needed to be addressed. Quichua words can be very long, with as many as five suffixes on one word. So Tuesday evening Brian spent several hours on the computer, figuring out a way to break the words correctly. Wednesday morning he showed the team what he had worked on, and they were extremely happy with the results.
Now the translation is finished! In a few months, three different examples or layouts of one of the books will be sent to the team. From those, they can decide which one they prefer. After that, they'll get one book at a time as it's being typeset. This gives them one last chance to proof-read the translation and make any final corrections. If all goes well, within a year the completed Bibles should arrive in time for their dedication. Considering that only about 500 languages around the world have the entire Bible, this is truly a major accomplishment and celebration.

Allow me to share a little about making plans and having those plans change.

This is how we thought our last day in Canar would go:
Brian would work with the team from 8:30-10:30 in the morning. Rachel and I were going to do a few hours of school, then meet him at the translation office at 10:20. We’d have a short time of prayer with the team, then we’d check out of the hotel and catch an 11:00 bus for Guayaquil. We were told the bus ride would take about 5 hours, so we’d get to our hotel in Guayaquil around 5:00 or 6:00 at the latest.

This is how our day really turned out:
The first part of the day went as scheduled. Brian did go to work with the team on the word break issue from 8:30-10:30. Rachel and I did some school work, then went to the translation office around 10:20. As soon as we got there, Manuel and Oliva, two of the three translators, left to record their weekly Quichua radio program. We had gone with them the previous week, and the recording took about half an hour, so we figured we were still okay schedule-wise.
While we waited for them to return, we sat and talked with Reinaldo about the translation project. He mentioned that when everyone returned we’d have some coffee (so far so good), and that Oliva had prepared cuy, or guinea pig, for us as a special treat (uh-uh). We really thought we’d get by without eating this Quichua staple, but it looked like our luck ran out.
11:00 came and went, 11:30 came and went, and still the rest of the team hadn’t returned. Finally, since we had to be checked out of our hotel by 12:00, Brian went with Reinaldo to pick up our suitcases. The other translators finally came back, but soon left again. Finally around 12:30 everyone was back and our lunch was ready. And what a feast it was! Yes, it included cuy (which, according to Rachel, does NOT taste like chicken), soup, rice, potatoes, and corn.
Then they brought out coffee and a beautifully decorated cake that said, “Dios te bendiga, Brian” (God bless you, Brian). One by one, they went around the table and expressed their gratitude to Brian for the computer assistance he had given them over the past few years. It was deeply touching to see how appreciative they were. When Manuel got done speaking, he handed Brian a gift, a typical Quichua hat, which Brian had been eying and commenting on all week. After Oliva spoke, she presented me with a beautiful Quichua blouse that she had made.
It was very meaningful and touching to not only spend two weeks working with these incredible Christians and to see their sacrifice and determination to complete this project, but to also share this very special time with them.
Finally, around 1:30, Manuel took us to the main road where the buses to Guayquil stop. Despite assurances that the buses pass by “all the time”, we waited until almost 2:20 before finally boarding the bus we needed. The scenery on the way to Guayaquil was gorgeous and a reminder of how incredibly diverse and spectacular the country of Ecuador is.
Right at 6:00, the bus pulled into the terminal, and soon we were on our way to the hotel. Traffic was hectic, but by 7:00 we were in our room, remembering and relishing the events of the day.
Did the day turn out the way we thought it would? Not at all. Were there times of frustration and impatience as we wanted to get going and couldn’t? Of course. But would we have wanted to miss any of it? Not for a second. What God had planned for the day turned out so much better than what we had planned. Why is that sometimes so hard to remember? Donna

Back in Canar

We are back in Canar after spending the weekend in Cuenca. We could've stayed here this weekend, but we decided we needed a little L&I (as opposed to R&R). Our weekend was spent during Laundry and Internet. We hadn't done much laundry for two weeks, so we were in almost desperate need of a laundromat. I tried to do some things by hand, but Canar was so wet and cold last week that even the smallest things took forever to dry. I wasn't even going to try blue jeans and sweaters! So we found a laundromat and in an hour and a half everything was clean, dry and folded. Now we look and smell a lot better! There was one casualty, though, in our laundry efforts. Somehow I lost my Grand Tetons t-shirt. I must've left it in the dryer or something because I can't find it anywhere. I'll just have to go shopping, I guess.
We also spent a lot of time on the internet since the hotel in Cuenca had wireless and we don't have that here in Canar. Brian didn't have a chance to check his e-mail all week, and he had over 75 work-related e-mails that needed his attention. So he spent several hours responding to those, Rachel spent a few hours on YouTube, and I was able to download pictures and make some Skype calls.
In addition to L and I we also walked around the colonial city of Cuenca quite a bit. We even took a 1 1/2 hour tour on a double-decker tour bus. We spent all of 30 seconds on the top level before it started raining, but we still got to see many of the city's sights (see our pictures on Facebook).
Sunday afternoon we took the 2 hour bus ride back to Canar and are here now for a few more days. Brian is very excited about the Quichua de Canar project. If all goes well, the translators will be giving him the completed text when we leave on Wednesday. They started the New Testament 19 years ago and finished it about 9 years ago. The main translator, Reinaldo, wasn't sure he had the energy to begin the Old Testament at that point. But after reading a translation book, was re-energized to continue translating. Now they are days away from finishing it. Brian has been helping them with word breaks, sub-titles, spell check, and all of the other last-minute details needing attention. It's exciting to think that within a year, this Bible will be translated for the nearly 100,000 Quichua de Canar speakers.
We have quite a bit of traveling in the next couple of weeks. Wednesday we take the 4-hour bus ride back to Guayaquil, where we'll spend the night. Thursday we fly from Guayaquil to Mexico City, where we'll spend 3 nights. Brian will be meeting with people from the Mexican Bible Society regarding several projects in the country. Then for 5 days we'll be working with the Purepacha translation, which Brian has never been to before. Then on to some R&R for a week, and finally to Chiapas around November 16. As always, thanks for coming along with us on this journey and we pray that God is blessing you wherever you are! Donna

Ecuador and Sioux Center comparisons!

  Hills:
Sioux Center, when you are walking, it is very flat. But in Ecuador, you're in the mountains, so it's a lot steeper. Not the best place to be rolling your luggage 8 blocks (all uphill) trying to find your hotel.
  Ice cream:
Almost every other store here is an ice cream shop. It is very easy to find ice cream after a good day of school. :)

 Restaurants:
Most of the time in Sioux Center, they give you menus at restaurants (here they don't). They don't give rice with every single meal or have cuy (guinea pig) on the menu.  Also, there are usually more than 3 tables in the restaurants.
 School:
Here, you can sleep in until 9 o' clock and still get plenty done by noon. :) It is very nice.
 Language:
Most of the people here speak either Spanish or Quichua, so you don't hear very much English. :(  

(P.S. My parents can't stop talking about the prices here, since everything is very cheap, like $1.75 for a 3-course meal, $30 a night for a hotel, and 90 cents for an hour of internet.)

Ecuador

Just a quick update on where we´re at now. (Rachel thinks my blogs are too long, so this will be short). We left Lima, Peru, on Saturday with a short 2 hour flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador. We went right to the bus station and got on a bus for the 4 hour ride to Cuenca. The scenery was gorgeous as we ascended from Guayaquil, through the Parque Nacional Cajas, and finally into Cuenca. We spent a relaxing Saturday evening and Sunday in Cuenca. We were able to walk to a nearby grocery store and shopping center, and also to the city´s main plaza. Monday morning we were back on the road again, taking the 1 1/2 hour bus ride to Canar. After a quick lunch, Brian went right to work with the translation team, and Rachel and I did our school work. Our hotel is very nice, but it doesn´t have internet access, so we go to an internet cafe for that. It´s not far from the hotel, so it´s not a problem (just not as convenient as we´re used to). Today we had lunch with Brian and one of the translators. I´ll write more about the Quichua translation team and project later this week. (Gotta keep this short, you know!) This weekend, when we can use our own computers again, we´ll post pictures of our bus ride and this very scenic town. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers! Donna

Back in Lima

Well, we're back in Lima once again. Our time in Ayacucho was very enjoyable and Brian felt good about the work they got done. There are several different Quechua languages, totaling 10 million speakers. Quechua de Ayacucho has over 1 million speakers. They have had the Bible in their language for several years, and now they're doing a revision. The four translators began their work in January of this year and plan to finish the project in 3 years. Brian was able to get Paratext 7 set up for them and train them in it. All of the projects Brian is involved in are exciting, but it's particularly exciting to see projects of this magnitude that could reach such a great number of readers.
By the way, we goofed big time on this trip. We had left some of our luggage at the hotel in Lima because the airline we took to Ayacucho was very fussy about over-weight bags. So we just took the absolute necessities. Unfortunately, we didn't take the camera charger, and of course, after taking only a few pictures in Ayacucho, the battery was dead. So we apologize for not being able to send more pictures. There were certainly several times when we wanted the camera!
We left our hotel in Ayacucho this morning at 6:00 (another early morning - woohoo!), and landed in Lima 8:20. We got our luggage right away, and there was a taxi waiting to take us to the hotel. So we thought we'd have lots of time to relax at the hotel, but that didn't exactly happen. It's supposed to be about a 25 minute ride, but instead it took over an hour. Crazy city traffic! I'm just glad we weren't the ones driving!
After checking in to the same hotel we were in last weekend (same hotel, different room), we grabbed a quick breakfast, showered, and were back out the door at 11:00 to go to the Bible Society office. It was neat meeting everyone at the office and learning a bit about the work they're involved in. Tonight one of the ladies from the office is going to go with us on a tour of the city. We didn't see very much of Lima last weekend when we were here, so that should be fun.
Tomorrow morning we leave for Guayaquil, Ecuador. From Guayaquil, we take a four-hour bus ride to Cuenca. We'll stay there Saturday night and Sunday night, and then take another bus to Canar on Monday morning. We don't leave Ecuador until the following Thursday (October 29), so we will have several days to work with the Quichua team as they near the completion of their project. From there, we will spend a few days in Mexico City working at the Mexican Bible Society office, followed by a week working with the Purepacha translation project. So our travels are far from over!
As always, we deeply appreciate your prayers for the projects, the translators, and our travels and health. Thanks for joining us in these travels! Donna

Birthday Celebration

"I'll never forget this birthday,” Brian said Wednesday after the Ayacucho translation team threw him a birthday party. The translation team had been working all morning on Paratext 7 training, and it was time for their morning break. Ricardo, the translation coordinator, had invited Rachel and me to spend the morning at the Bible Society office so that we could enjoy the festivities. His wife bought a birthday cake and prepared a typical Peruvian coconut-flavored hot beverage. The day before was the birthday of German, one of the other translators, so the party was for both him and Brian. After a birthday song in Spanish, the guys got to blow out the candles and open presents. Brian received a beautiful and colorful Ayacucho wall-hanging. We then had a great time of fellowship around the table, enjoying not only the cake and drink, but even more so the fellowship of these believers. They commented that instead of getting older, the guys were that much closer to heaven. What a great visual for a Christian!
The team finished work for the day around 12:45, and we went to a typical Peruvian restaurant for lunch. For less than $2, we had a bowl of quinua soup, rice, salad, meat and juice. (After such expensive meals on other parts of our trip, we're loving these prices!)
With our stomachs full, our adventures for the day continued. One of the translators had hired a man from his church to take us sight-seeing in his van. So the driver, his wife and two daughters, Ricardo and his wife and daughter, 3 of the translators, Brian, Rachel and I set out. For almost an hour we steadily climbed to a small town called Quinua. Outside of the town there was an obelisk commemorating the Battle of Ayacucho. It was fascinating hearing the
history of the battle that claimed thousands of lives and ensured the freedom for all of South America. The obelisk, built in 1974 on the 150th anniversary of the battle, sits on a pampa or plateau. We were told that on the anniversary of the battle in December, thousands of people come to visit the pampa and see the battle recreated. On this day, however, we were practically the only tourists. Several times we were approached by local kids saying that they would sing for us. The translators had a great time asking the kids to sing certain songs in Quechua, then explaining the songs to us.
After seeing the obelisk, we drove into the town of Quinua, which is famous for its ceramics. We did some shopping, then stopped at the Wari Archaeological Complex. It really was closed for the day, but the gentleman let us into the museum to see the various artifacts of the ancient Wari culture. We didn't get a chance to visit the archaeological site because of the time, but instead headed back down to Ayacucho. It was gorgeous scenery, and as always, so interesting traveling with the translators and learning from them.
Brian ended his special day with a delicious trout dinner, then back to the hotel to read birthday greetings and make some phone calls. He appreciated so much all of your thoughts and prayers to make this a very memorable birthday! Donna

Awesome Things about Ayacucho

- It is believed that a group called the Huari Culture lived in this area more than 15,000 years ago, even before the Incas.

- The Battle of Ayacucho in 1824 granted the independence for not only Peru, but all of South America.

- The city was first named Ayacucho, then San Juan de la Frontera de Huamanga (St. John on the Huamanga Frontier), then La Muy Noble y Leal Ciudad de Huamanga, and finally in 1825 back to Ayacucho.

- The name Ayacucho has two possible meanings from the Quechua language:  either death (aya) and corner (cucho), or purple (kuchu) and soul (aya).

- There are approximately 1-2 million speakers of the Quechua de Ayacucho language.

- Ayacucho has an elevation of over 9,000 feet and is surrounded by the Andes Mountains.

- Ayacucho is known for its 33 churches, which stand for all of the years of Jesus' life.  That's why its nickname is "The City of Churches."

(P.S. it hails here.)
(P.P.S. it's hailing right now. It's really cool because it bounces off the roofs. hehe)

Final Europe and First Mexico & Peru misc. stuff!!!!!

This is just some miscellaneous stuff that we picked up during our latest trips:

  -We have been through airport security 15 times now.  Outside of the U.S. you don't have to take off your shoes; in the U.S. you have to take off your shoes.  Every time we have to take off our belts and sweaters and take our computers out of our backpacks.
 -Coke Zero is really popular in Europe.  About the only pop we would ever see is Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero.  No Mountain Dew or MelloYellow :(
-Inca Cola is a really popular pop in Peru. It tastes very good.
 -Bread is served at almost every meal in Europe. One time in Turkey, we had a loaf of bread that could fit a football in it! It was huge and hollow inside.
 -A lot of homeless cats roam the streets of Turkey. One time at a restaurant we went to, there was this one cat that jumped up on the chair next to us! It was very funny. :)
 -There is no grass around Madrid, Spain. (well...almost no grass)
 -There is this one department store in Lima named Ripley's. After seeing the prices, my dad said, "Can you believe it? Or not?"
 -We never got lost in Turkey......but somehow we kept getting lost in Spain.
 -There is a casino in Lima named Orange City. What a coincidence!
 -Costa Rica has really good chocolate covered coffee beans. :) They give away free samples of them at the airport. But they are not so happy when you come back for more.

Travels

The last few days have been filled with final farewells and preparations to be gone for several months. They've also been filled with all aspects of traveling - early morning trips to the airport, waiting in line, boarding passes, counting suitcases, security check-points, crowded airplanes, hotel shuttles, and finding things to do during the flights (as you can see in the picture of Rachel).
We left Sioux Center Friday morning at 7:00 AM. The first flight was from Omaha to Houston with a short connection in Houston. It got even shorter when we left Omaha half an hour late. So we ran through the airport to get to the gate. But because of rainstorms in Houston, our next flight was also delayed, so that was a relief. After a two hour wait, we were finally on our way to Mexico City and our stopover for the night.
A woman from the Mexican Bible Society had graciously agreed to store a couple of our bigger suitcases for the weeks we're in South America, so she and her sister met us at the hotel. After an enjoyable supper with the two of them, we went back to the hotel and called it a night.
This morning (Saturday) started early with the alarm going off at 4:30 and a ride to the airport at 5:00. Check-in took quite awhile, and finally at 8:00 we were on our way to Costa Rica. After a short layover in the San Jose airport, we were on our final flight to Lima, Peru. One more round of customs, immigration, baggage claim, and a ride to the hotel, and we finally were checked-in at 4:30. During the immigration process, the officer asked us how long we were going to be in Peru. Brian wasn't sure, so he asked me, but I had no idea! We consoled ourselves with the fact that at least we knew which country we were in! That may not be the case in a few weeks.
After resting a little in the hotel (the picture is of Rachel in our 8th floor hotel room), we walked to a busy shopping center for supper. We'll be here in Lima tomorrow as well, and then another early morning flight on Monday morning to Ayacucho to work with the Quechua de Ayacucho translation team. We're anxious to see how much they've progressed with their project since Brian's last visit in January. Thanks for praying for each of the translation teams and the incredible work they're doing. We also appreciate prayers for our continued travel and good health.
Take care, Donna

Back in Iowa

We are back in Iowa for a few days between trips. It feels good to be home for a few days to worship at Carmel Church and see family and friends again. Although we're not sure about this 40 degree weather! It definitely changed seasons while we were gone.
This past week Brian worked with the Turkish Bible Society. The individuals who work there were incredibly hospitable to us as well as excited about the assistance Brian was able to give them. He worked with and trained four individuals on two different translation projects. The main project he worked on was a Kurdish translation. This New Testament was completed a few years ago, and now they're working on the Old Testament. The translators are hoping to finish it in the next 2-3 years.
Another translation Brian worked on was converting a Turkish text that had done over 300 years ago. This translation would be comparable to our King James Version and is still the preferred translation for many people. The text was not in a usable electronic format, so Brian spent several evenings converting it to Paratext. Now they'll be able to refer to both this translation and a newer Turkish translation while working on the Kurdish project. Also, it will be much easier to reprint it later in this format.
You may have noticed that while we were in Turkey we didn't give a lot of information about the work Brian was involved in. Turkey is 98% Muslim with less than 1% Christian. Christianity is legal, but discrimination against Christians is relatively commonplace. One of the translators Brian worked with has been imprisoned 20 times in the past 25 years because his credentials say he's a Christian. He also was unable to get a passport for 5 years. Most of the people at the Bible Society office have had difficulty getting visas to travel to other countries. There is also discrimination against the Kurds. Until a few years ago, it was illegal to speak the Kurdish language. So please pray for the Turkish Bible Society and their situation. They also have many projects they would like to do, including a Turkish Children's Bible, and are hopeful funding will become available to complete them.
Our next trip is to Mexico and South America. We leave Friday (October 9) for one week in Peru, two weeks in Ecuador, and two weeks in central Mexico. Then around the middle of November we make our way down to Chiapas for a number of months. It will be good to be settled somewhere for more than a week at a time. And it will be even better being "back home" and working with the Tojolabal project once again after so many years.
As always, we appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we serve in the area of translation. We love your feedback and comments (hint hint!), so if there's ever anything you want us to write about, please let us know. Take care, Donna

Sight-seeing

The last two days have been filled with sight-seeing for Rachel and me. Yesterday we spent the morning at the Archaeological Museum. It's amazing to see things that were around 2,000 years before Christ was born. We saw dozens of sarcophagii (the picture is Rachel standing in front of one of the largest), the Tiled Pavilion, and the world's oldest surviving peace treaty, carved in stone in 1269 B.C.
After all of that ancient history, we took a lunch break of bread and roasted corn bought from street vendors. Yum. Then we hit the Basilica Cisterns, begun by Costantine in the first century. The roof is supported by 336 pillars, all beautifully lit in the underground cavern.
That night the three of us went for a walk to find a restaurant for supper. Finding one isn't a problem, since this part of the city definitely caters to tourists. There are hundreds of restaurants within walking distance. You can't walk past a restaurant without someone "encouraging" you to look at their menu and have dinner there (Brian's learning all about this restaurant's menu). One restaurant caught our attention and interest when they offered a free appetizer plate (hey, we're still Dutch even though we're in Turkey!) The food was delicious, as was the traditional apple tea we enjoyed after the meal.
Today Rachel and I took off again for more sight-seeing. I thought we'd hit Topkapi Palace first. This palace was built by the Sultan Mehmet II in the mid 1400's as his residence, seat of government, and college for soldiers. Unfortunately, several dozen tour groups also thought this would be a good time to visit the palace, so we constantly fought crowds of people. Despite this, the palace was incredible, especially the imperial wardrobe, jewel-encrusted dagger, and Spoonmaker's Diamond (all 86 carats of it).
After the palace, we found a place for lunch, then headed to Suleymaniye Mosque. On the way there, we walked through the Grand Bazaar. Or at least one tiny part of the Grand Bazaar (the picture is one of thousands of shops). The Grand Bazaar is one of the world's largest buildings, covering an area of over 3,000,000 square feet. We basically just stayed on one street so we wouldn't get terribly lost (as I'm good at doing). It was quite the place and just a bit overwhelming.
After seeing the mosque, we headed back to the hotel. Our route took us to the outskirts of the Egyptian, or Spice Market. We decided to save this market for another day. So we hopped on the tram and got back to the hotel, tired but full of images of our day. Donna

Turkey!

  Yeah, we are in Turkey!! We got here on Saturday. The flights went very well (we were quite tired, but all the same, well). After about an hour unpacking and stuff like that, we went exploring. Our hotel is right in the middle of the Old City. It is also right in the middle of a lot of tourist attractions. The people who work in the restaurants really want you to go there. They will, at almost every resturant, ask if you want to go in or if you want a menu to look at. There is also a lot of rugs here. We saw things like the Blue Mosque, AyaSofia, Topkapi Palace, and other thing like that. We fell asleep very well that night.  :)
  Then yesterday we went exploring the town again. We had a better grasp of Istanbul now, so we kind of knew where we wanted to go. (only a little bit though.) Then we went walking around by the water. They had all kinds of things in little street side carts. There were things like popped corn, chestnuts, pretzels, fruit juice, and finally corn. Yes they have corn, they roast it and it smells really good!   After looking around, we (mostly my parents) decided that we would go on a one and a half hour cruise. It was very fun! The boat was a two story one. It cruised around the Bosphorus. The rocking of the boat was very calming. For the first half of the ride, we were on the top part. The second part was in the bottom part, which was inside so it wasn't very noisy in there.
  After that relaxing ride, we went to a restaurant that had really good wraps! They had french fries in them!! I loved it. My dad got pomegranate juice. Wow!! It was kind of sour! Then we rested at the hotel for a while. We were fully charged then, so we went walking near the place we went in the morning. I had a very good supper, chocolate milkshake and a chocolate cookie, yum! My dad had an ice cream cone and a cinnamon-brownie sort of thing. We didn't have the healthiest supper ever. :)  The best part of the day was that we didn't get lost. Yeah!!

TURKISH WORD OF THE DAY: Dur
Dur means Stop or halt.
Sentence:
The police told Brian "dur!" when he tried to climb the Blue Mosque to take a picture (just kidding!! We would never do that!).