In our house here in Shell, Ecuador, we have several Bibles of our own.  We have small ones in Spanish and in English.  We each have a bilingual one in different versions.  We have multiple versions available on the computer in Spanish and English.

But some people don’t even have one Bible in their own language.  We saw that change for some folks last Saturday.

We went to Makuma, a small village about a half-hour from Shell by plane.  In our plane were Fred, our pilot, his wife Desi, Janet and her son Elijah, and the two of us.

We went as visitors to the dedication of a Bible translation that had been many years in the making. This Bible was translated by many hard workers, and now is printed and complete, in the Shuar language.

Daniel Chu, president of the Shuar Church Association, opened the first box of new Bibles.  You could feel the joy as he held up the Bible for all to see.

A large part of the dedication was to recognize the many people, both Shuar and missionaries, who had worked on the translation.  They each received their own copy.

It was really hot, and after a while several people moved into the shade by the side of the building.  Others used umbrellas and chairs for shade.

After the dedication, lunch was served.  We had fish and cabbage wrapped in a leaf, soup, rice and meat.

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After lunch, we visited a store, and then waited for the plane back to Shell.

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You can read about this community and its history in Frank and Marie Drown’s book, Mission to the Headhunters.