ഈ പേജ് നിലവിൽ മലയാളം ൽ ലഭ്യമല്ല.
It’s pretty unusual that a language goes from discovery to distribution of the recorded materials in one month, but that is what happened for Zapoteco: Elotepec speakers of San Juan this year.
We recorded it in July, but discovered we would not be able to depend on social media for distribution. We hadn’t seen any cell phones – not uncommon in the subsistence economy of rural Mexico. So we purchased small SD drive speakers locally for about $3 each, and uploaded the finished Elotepec language program onto 1-gig SD cards, with a simple Spanish New Testament and Words of Life. We were ready for a distribution trip.
We rattled in a public shuttle over mountain roads for 5 or 6 hours to reach the village of San Juan de Elotepec. Unknown to us, a group at the diner we had frequented dring recoding was in the process of wondering if we would ever come back. One of the elder Elotepec, Demetria, was really sorry she hadn’t connected with us when we were recording. This group was amazed when the shuttle van pulled in front of the diner and we stepped out.
After church service in the next village of Llano Monte — a one-hour hike over the mountain to the next valley — Demetria implored us to come back to her own house. We were welcomed in to enjoy elote (boiled corn in the husk). We played the Elotepec for her. She revealed why she was so anxious that we visit by bringing out her very elderly and blind mother. This lady only spoke Elotepec — one of the few mono-linguals in the language. She grasped the little speaker and was obviously amazed to hear it speaking in her only language. Her daughter back-translated the message for us — the story of the lost sheep and Jesus’ invitation to come to Him.
Two times in this project we nearly gave up: once during our first entry into this area, when our van got stranded and once after some people questioned whether this project was even necessary because of a low number of monolinguals and their language being listed as moribund.
Now we know that for years to come there will be hundreds of Elotepec that understand these new language recordings and are grateful to hear their mother tongue. This whole project may bring many into the fold. Praise God!