Distributing Bibles by the Light of a Generator

Thank goodness for these donkeys! They carried our gear in the mountains.

In July, I had the privilege of traveling to Peru as part of a 14-member team from my church. Our mission was to journey into the Andes Mountains to deliver the recently translated New Testament to the Quechua people, the native people of Peru. This mission required hiking between villages to places not easily traversed by vehicles.

We spent the majority of each day hiking, usually about five to ten miles a day. Our group attracted a lot of attention as we traipsed along the mountain pathways. The people living in the mountains looked on with curiosity at this group of “Gringos.” A team of 20 donkeys carried our gear: tents, equipment, and personal effects packed into duffel bags. So, in addition to the Gringos, we had donkeys and the Peruvians who traveled with us as our guides, cooks, and “donkey drivers.” We were quite a crew!

Our teens played soccer with the local kids in each village.

We normally reached our intended villages by mid-afternoon, and our first task was to make camp. After that, we attempted to interact with the local people. To engage them, the teens in our group would start to play soccer. That drew a great number of kids. It didn’t matter that the same language wasn’t spoken; soccer seemed to be the universal language. After playing with us, the kids eagerly brought their parents back later in the evening.

Yeppo, one of the Peruvian missionaries, also walked around the surrounding area with a bullhorn. He’d announce the activities for the evening, which included the “Jesus” film translated into Quechua. As the sun set, the people made their way to us. Some people walked for two or more hours to watch the video and hear what we had to say.

In an area that had virtually no electricity, we had to be fully prepared to share our message. That meant using a generator to power all the equipment. The video projector, the sound system, and a single light bulb were the extent of what we used for the presentations. One little light bulb made a huge difference in a space that was totally dark otherwise.

The “Jesus” movie was shown first. Once it was over, a Peruvian missionary shared the gospel message with the crowd. After that, it was time for the Gringos! Our leader, Pastor Adam, would give a brief introduction to the crowd which was translated by our Peruvian leader, Ade, since he could speak English, Spanish, and Quechua.  Two members from our group would then share their own testimonies, again translated by Ade. After that, we always sang a song in English. Even though the Quechua people didn’t know exactly what we were saying, they seemed to enjoy and appreciate it.




I present a Bible and calendar to one of the Quechua people.
(Photo courtesy of D. Griffieth)

The final moment of every evening was the distribution of the Quechua Bibles. This was a huge event for the villagers, as they’d never before had a Bible in their own language. The mayor of each village called families up one by one, and we took turns presenting them with a Bible. Many families opened the Bibles immediately and started to read by our generator-powered light bulb or by their own headlamps. It humbled me to think how I’d taken for granted owning a Bible in English, and here these people were getting one in Quechua for the first time. The smiles on the people’s faces said it all. This was a big deal. It filled me with joy to be able to spread God’s Word to people who were reading it for the first time…in Quechua!

Next week: Enjoying Peruvian cultural moments