But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me..
2 Corinthians 12:9
Every mother who has given birth can understand how awesome the pain of childbirth is and yet how God-given we are able to endure. However, what you look forward to is giving birth, having your baby close to you and walking out of the delivery room. The Lord gave me the opportunity to have a normal delivery, but of the moments after that I only remember these words in my mind, “it is by my grace” and “in your weakness my power is perfected.” It is only by his grace that my baby was born well, it is only by his grace that I am still here and my heart only wishes that the doctors and nurses who attended me were not blind to the grace that God showed that day to his servant. In my weakness God’s power is made manifest.
Birth of Karina
Surely you have been able to see our baby by video, thank God she is already with us. We cannot stop thanking God for her life and for the life of each one of you who were praying for her birth, for her health and mine. We are both well, in good health and as a family, we continue to learn and see how each day God’s mercies are new. I have recovered very well thanks to God. These first days have been a challenge but the Lord helps us in each new thing we discover with Karina.
Online “Language Development” course
In the spare time I have, I continue to advance in a course that will help me to focus better in the areas of service where the Lord has called me with the native speakers. For now I must study a little of the culture and the Nahuatl language of Morelos, this will help me to better understand other indigenous communities we work with and thus serve the Lord with a greater understanding of the needs they have.
Keyboards for languages of Colombia and Venezuela
Imagine having all your equipment to play soccer, your wardrobe, your cleats or chimpunes, your socks or stockings, but you have no ball or ball, there would be no way to play and win. In July, when Pepe worked for a few days with representatives of various languages from Colombia and Venezuela, he noticed that the speakers of these languages could not write in their language from their computers or cell phones; some have this equipment: their knowledge and their hands, but their computer or cell phones do not have the proper keyboard to write the letters of their own alphabet as some are different from Spanish.
Many times they must have been copying characters from somewhere else every time they typed or simply typed without the proper characters.
Among the language programs we have, there is one called Keyman that lets us create keyboards with special characters that can be installed on computers and cell phones. Pepe worked on this for a few weeks.
Thank God it is already finished and has been shared with the colleagues who work with these different groups. Now the task is to distribute it to all the speakers who use computers and especially cell phones. This will help to improve their communication, make it easier for them to create other text materials and give more value to their languages.
Corongo Songbook
Pepe was also able to complete an application so that speakers of the Quechua language in the Corongo area of Peru can have a songbook on their cell phones, with songs for church and schools.
They had their songs already printed out and then organized to record themselves singing along. Another program we have, called Reading App Builder, allows you to put this text and audio together to create an Android app so they can read their songs which are highlighted line by line as the audio progresses.
Thank God it is also already finished. The task these days is for other people to make the necessary arrangements to make this songbook available on the Internet to anyone. Thus, any speaker of Corongo Quechua with Internet access will be able to download the songbook and have these songs at hand, and even share it with others when they no longer have Internet access.
Plans for EMDC in October
In October there was an event aimed at people from Spanish America who collaborate in the movement of translation and use of Scriptures and how to use the different computer tools that exist, such as Keyman or App Builder that we talked about above. Weeks before this, Pepe was able to prepare some of the materials for a short Paratext workshop that other friends would give at this event.
Workshop in Ecuador
This weekend Pepe traveled to Ecuador to support a new Paratext workshop for two indigenous language teams from that country: Tsáchila and Cofán speakers. Both teams are new to their projects and have a lot to learn. He will show them how to use Paratext for Bible translation so that they can learn how to use it in their translation.
These workshops always represent a challenge, as he must make the best use of the five days of training to teach people with little or no computer knowledge, and the fact that they are in two different languages also adds another challenge to this week.
But it is our hope that by the end of the week they will have a good understanding of how best to use this program now as they begin, and be able to lay the groundwork for good long-distance communication in the years to come.
Prayer requests
We appreciate your prayers for the following reasons:
- The trip to Ecuador. May all participants arrive and return home safely and may God give wisdom and understanding to all.
- For this first trip apart, since Karina was born.
- May God continue to show us the best ways to share our ministry and allow us to continue raising equipment to cover our needs upon our return to Peru.
Thanks to each one of you who are being part of the Lord’s ministry with your prayers, offerings and messages of encouragement.
Rosas Maya Family
Iglesia Bautista Getsemaní from Cuautla, Morelos, México.
Iglesia Evangélica Unión Peruana El Sembrador from Iquitos, Perú.
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