How did you get interested in Bible translation? I grew up in Peru, observing my parents live among and serving the Nomatsiguenga people. As the translation progressed, I observed Antonio, one of our friends and swimming buddies, stand outside our patio and listen as my father read the translated Scriptures. As he listened over time, God worked in his heart. Seeing how the power of the Word in his language changed his life, I was moved to dedicate my life to helping others receive the Word in their languages. 

What gets you excited when you work with others in Bible translation? I get excited seeing how others engage with the Scriptures through their own language and cultural lenses. I am amazed how God’s Word can be understood and applied in each cultural context.

What is the most gratifying thing you have done as a translation consultant? Two very gratifying experiences in translation consulting have been, 1) working with a team in West Asia as they grappled personally with the person of the Lord Jesus and began to see Him as an answer to their lives and to their communities, and 2) presently being able to work with the great granddaughter of the man who translated the NT with my father. She is now a translator in the OT project.

What is your consulting philosophy? And what's your philosophy of mentoring? I prefer face-to-face consulting whenever possible and prefer an oral method over a written back translation approach. When a person hears a Scripture passage and retells it with clarity, it gives me confidence that it is translated well. When the person cannot retell it, we look for reasons that result in lack of understanding.

In my consulting I want to motivate the translation team to always keep their audience in view as they translate and encourage them to carefully and widely check their work in their communities. My role is to walk alongside the translation team, honor them and help them grow in their abilities and with them grow in understanding our Creator.

As a mentor I seek to lead by example and give ample opportunity for the one being mentored to practice and grow in the giftings that they have.

What translation resources do you really value? Original language resources, numerous translations in Spanish, English and various Quechua/Kichwa languages, Translator Notes and the UBS Handbook notes. I also value following threads on the BT list when I'm able.

How would you describe your relationship to current developments in the field of translation? I appreciate how technology brings so many resources to the fingertips. I am growing in my understanding of how AI can play a positive part in the translation/consulting process, yet feel very strongly that the language community needs to own the process and make final decisions on how their translation is carried out.

What worries you about where the field of translation is heading? What gives you hope? I am concerned that urgency and “efficient use of resources” in the area of Bible translation could affect how the process should be a discipling process for the translators and the communities. 

I have hope as I see language communities take the lead in translation and language development, as I see translators with much experience in their own languages becoming consultants and applying that to help others, as I see Latin Americans becoming more and more involved in the Bible translation movement, and their churches taking an active role in the movement. 

How do you continue to grow as a consultant? Reflecting on those who were my consultants, interfacing with my consultant peers as we grapple with how to best train and mentor new consultants, watching those I get to mentor grow in their abilities and in their love for God and others, and seeing translation teams challenged by God’s Word, all play a big part in my continued growth as a consultant.

How do you share your translation discoveries with others? Mostly by personal conversation and interaction at consultant and BT events.

Can you share about a time when you realized you were wrong and what you learned from it? In working through the translation of Exodus, I became aware that the translation team had a better understanding of the parts of the altar of incense than I did. I recognized that and expressed my appreciation for the research they had done.

What are your top tips for someone starting on a career path in Bible translation? Be humble and learn from the people. Always listen before you suggest. Take time to learn the language and culture of the people you will be working with. Seek God at all times and let the Word affect your life. This is not an academic exercise. Expect it to affect the lives of those you work with.

Share something that you learned from a mentor or from a mentee? A friend involved in community development once said to me, “If I could do it over, I would focus on the Word in the language. That is what changes people’s lives.” That counsel from Glen Smith helped change the course of my life.

What do you see as the place of the church in Bible translation? Where there is a church, it needs to be leading in the BT process, its promotion and use. We began the translation work among the Lambayeque Quechua people before there was a church. After the church had begun to grow, leaders from the young church came to us and said “you are doing the translation for us. We want to be involved. Please work with us.” That changed our direction.

How would you tell that you have served the church well? I would feel I have served the church well when the Scriptures are used naturally by the believers and churches.

What would you say to young/aspiring translators? Visit a translation project early in your training process and see what is involved.

Any other comments? Although translation methods and strategies have changed much over the decades, it is important to keep learning from those who blazed the trail, honor them and humbly move forward knowing that this is God’s work, and He is using many, many people from many cultures and languages to get His word out to the world.