Zapotec Update & Prayer Request - Feb 2021

​from Valerie and Nicasio Martinez

​Translating God's Word with and for the people who speak Quiatoni Zapotec
How was your February? We’re guessing that many of you dealt with more snow than you had for a long time! This last week has been quite cold for us, down in the low 50s and high 40s at night.

Nicasio is still doing youth group meetings and the Zapotec church service via Zoom. People seem to like it better and better as they get used to using Zoom and talking to a camera instead of people.

Nicasio has also revised some of Acts and finished checking the first part of Deditos (videos made using fingers for puppets; see deditos.org) scripts and songs to dub the videos into Quiatoni Zapotec. These have gone back to Beto for his consideration of the corrections and comments since he’s heading up this project.

Nicasio and Beto have also worked with the two other authors of the book about Quiatoni Zapotec numbers. After I went through it and made some suggestions and corrections, they all went through them. After they made some more changes, Nicasio asked me to read and comment on it again, so I did.

Beto has, for several years, been helping to teach a workshop for indigenous people on how to use LibreOffice. Because of the covid restrictions, the director asked Beto to make a couple of videos for the online students to watch. (Here is one: https://www.powtoon.com/s/gcZRv6veFlD/1/m)

Beto also continues to work on and revise the book of Genesis and the Psalms.

After Nicasio’s parents showed so much interest in reading in Zapotec through the simple puzzles I made them, I decided to make “large print” editions of a couple of our Zapotec books. They have both enjoyed looking at the two volumes of picture dictionaries that we’ve done. Each picture has a word, sometimes a sentence, by it, so it’s pretty easy to read the words.

Nicasio and his siblings have been having weekly meetings to talk about Mom and Dad’s living situation, their fields and house in Quiatoni, etc. About 10 days ago, Nicasio suggested to them that he move out of his office and we make it into a house for them so they can live more independently. (Nicasio’s office is on our other piece of land, right next door to our house and yard.) Dad was all for it right away but it took Nicasio pointing out to his mom all the advantages they would have. She finally agreed to a two month trial, and then there was no stopping them as they got excited about having their own place! Nicasio, on the other hand, was realizing how much he was going to miss having a separate office but had already decided to ask the owners of a couple of unoccupied houses near us if we could rent a room for his office. (Still no answer on that. We’d appreciate your prayers for a good office situation for Nicasio.)

One week from actually starting the change, including building a new bathroom for them, we moved Mom and Dad into their own little house. They seem to be happy there, especially since they have six chicks! Dad is enjoying clearing out the “wild field” that that piece of land had become. Mom’s settling well into the house. When we took them a few more things that they needed, Mom said she felt like a bride, getting so many new kitchen things! We are thankful for friends who gave them some kitchen things, too.

Rusty went to the Dominican Republic for three days as part of his photography job at MudLOVE. You can read and see why they went on MudLOVE.com “What’s Possible in Three Days?”

Meanwhile Mike, Tara and Royan stayed home and battled all the snow the hit that area.

Thank you for your support and prayers for us and for our ministry of Bible translation. Even though we don’t have any special events coming up, we appreciate your prayers for us, for our kids, for Nicasio’s parents, and especially for those who speak Quiatoni Zapotec, that they will come to know Jesus.
love, Valerie and Nicasio
www.cten.org/NicasioMartinez