18 April 2011

	Recording in Apurímac Quechua

March 2011--After spending hours helping with the recording of the JESUS Film in the Apurimac dialect of Quechua, a language group in Peru, Brendan and Erin Connally were excited to see it come to life.

Imagine, after centuries of being taught that Spanish is the only language in which you can worship God, you watch Jesus speak to you in your heart language, Quechua!

This is a monumental accomplishment for this language group: their first movie, their first recorded gospel, and their biggest evangelization and church planting tool.

On Friday, 1 April 2011, Brendan and Erin were part of a team that took the JESUS Film to the village of Virundo, Peru. Villages were invited from miles around with a purpose: bring your families and friends to hear the message of Jesus in your own language.

	Erin Connally doing dentristy in rural Peru

Erin Connally, DDS hosted a dental clinic, and AIDIA* hosted a workshop on how to read the Bible. This was followed by public readings of the gospels in Quechua, and finally a showing of the JESUS Film. Three hundred people attended the showing, most of them arriving by foot, having walked all day. The movie was followed by a clear gospel presentation and lively singing. The warm celebration lasted long into the night.

One brother who had seen it before in Spanish commented, "The great thing about this new version is that you can understand everything they say. It's amazing, I understand every word!"

PRAY

Upcoming dental trips that will use the JESUS Film for the first time in Apurimac Quechua, that God would use this movie to open hearts to the gospel.

*AIDIA

In Abancay, Peru, SIM is teamed with AIDIA (pronounced like the English word "idea"), a Peruvian-run Christian organization which has as its goal the transformation of the Apurimac region through the translation of God's word into Quechua. They are currently hard at work translating the Bible into Apurimac Quechua and teaching Quechua literacy throughout the region, in villages as far as eighteen hours away by bus. While AIDIA's main goal is translation of the scriptures and literacy in Quechua, they also provide pastoral and leader training. They are also deeply concerned with human need and are involved in children's ministries and family transformation.

Brendan works with AIDIA as a linguist; he is a literacy and author training consultant. This is a great help to AIDIA as the Bible is coming soon in Apurímac Quechua and literacy must be promoted at a faster rate. The dental clinic, led by Erin, is used to care for human need in the villages that AIDIA visits and to help establish relationships with village leadership that so that AIDIA can work with more villages. AIDIA personnel go with Brendan and Erin on trips throughout Apurímac to serve people with dental clinics, teaching literacy, preaching the gospel, and training leaders in biblical and family counseling.

	Quechua Woman wearing the distinctive fedora or bowler hat known locally as bombin © Peter Morris

Read more about Brendan and Erin at their website.

For a list of ways you may serve, please visit Peru Opportunities.

UPDATE 2012: The Apurímac Quechua Prepare to Read Scripture