Spreading God's Love
Growing up in a Quechua village in Peru, Pali's life was full of shame. In her home, her parents wouldn’t speak Quechua in front of her and forbid her to use the language spoken in her village. They wanted a "better" life for their daughter, one where she spoke only Spanish. Being a Spanish speaker meant more prestige, since Quechuas were sometimes looked down upon. But Pali loved to sneak up the mountain to play with her friends. There she could speak her language freely.
Starting School
Pali's embarrassment only increased when she started school in her village. The teacher banned Quechua from the classroom. Most of the students struggled without their mother tongue, but the teacher quickly noticed that Pali had a better grasp of Spanish. She made Pali an example for the other kids to follow and even forced her to punish the others with a stick if they spoke Quechua. Pali’s emotional scars and deep shame drove her to flee to the nearby city as soon as she could. There she tried to forget her past and pretended she didn’t speak Quechua.
Years passed, and Pali began to work for a new couple in town who were Bible translators. Slowly Pali’s shyness began to fade, and she started helping with the translation and literacy materials for a local Quechua language. During the project, she accepted Christ's love for her and chose to follow Him. She dreamt of starting a missionary-training school for Quechua speakers, and years later, God made that dream a reality. Now every summer, Quechua young people attend the school where they’re equipped to reach out to the surrounding Quechua communities and beyond.
Women of the Bible
Pali is also a member of the teaching team for the Women of the Bible program which is training dozens of women to teach from the Quechua Scriptures. For many of the ladies who attend, they are studying the Bible in their language for the first time. Their homework before each new workshop in the program is to return home and teach the lessons they’ve learned to others. As a result, hundreds of women are working through this Quechua Bible study right now. The trainees are proud to be graduating this winter. They are all a part of spreading God’s love, the same love that transformed Pali from denying her cultural heritage to using it to change lives in Jesus’ name.
This story is by Amy Lineburg. Read more about Amy on her blog.