Like Drinking Water

When SIL Translation Consultant Mark Bean and his family settled in Peru to support communities in their translation efforts, he encountered many different groups each working to provide the New Testament for their people in their own language. Many of the country’s Quechua languages still lack one important resource—a Bible in their own language. Bean knew this enormous task would require immense time and manpower if done through traditional translation methods.

Living among the people in the community, Bean witnessed the difficulties his neighbors experienced firsthand. The only Bibles available for pastors to read and teach from were printed in Spanish, a language that many in the community did not understand well. After centuries of waiting, the Quechua needed a Bible of their own, and Bean began working with a technological solution to hurry this day forward.