Language School

As of the beginning of October my team and I have been in language school studying Quechua. Our time there was amazing! We were able to form great relationships with our teachers and other students who were from different parts of the world. It was so cool to meet so many different people and learn about their culture, traditions, and beliefs. The Lord opened up so many opportunities for us to share our testimonies and beliefs with many people we met while

being there. However the most lasting relationships were made with our teachers who we met with everyday. It became very clear the Lord was really working in their hearts as time went on. Several times one of us would come home and share how the Lord opened a great opportunity to share our faith, stories, testimonies, etc. They were very curious and showed much interest in what we did and made comments about the difference they saw in us as compared to the other students. Of course we told them the reason we are different is because Jesus has changed our lives.

Kelli asked one of our friends what she believed in and she told us her family was Catholic but she really didn’t know what to believe in. She told us she was open to anything and was interested in hearing what we believe. We were very excited to have found someone so honest, willing, and ready to listen. Over a course of 2 months she hung out with us and we all became very close. We continue to pray for her and praise the Lord for the many times we were able to share His love and truth with her. Please pray for the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all of our teachers and friends in Cochabamba.

Well, I bet you are wondering about the language now, right? This was a different story. Quechua is a very difficult language and proved to be a big struggle for all of us. It was very easy to get discouraged with this being the second language we learned in 8 months. We found ourselves struggling to remember how to talk in English. The other day I made out a grocery list and intending to write ham I wrote jam (the j is silent like h) this is how it is spelled here. So Misty bought jelly thinking I meant jam making it a total of three jars of jelly. We felt we were all going crazy. You know it gets bad when your partner speaks different languages in her sleep.

The main difficulty is not the pronunciation of the many plosives but the length. Quechua is a very literal language and the average word in Quechua is about 12 letters long. A one page bible story in English or Spanish can be anywhere from 2 to 3½ pages in Quechua. This wouldn’t be that big of a problem if we weren’t working with some of the hardest working people in our time. It isa struggle for them to find time to stop working long enough to listen to a story and when they do they are usually so tired they either struggle to stay awake or pay attention. I don’t mean to sound like a downer but these are some of the harsh realities we are facing. So, this being said, we appreciate all of your prayers and ask you to continue praying for us in this area specifically. I will do my best to keep you updated with the language-learning process.