On a side street in the bustling city of Iquitos, a bright orange, four-story building towered over the surrounding neighborhood. From the balcony, you could see miles of homes stretching to the edge of the nearest river. Some sat on stilts over the water’s edge or floated on makeshift wooden docks, their tin roofs shining in the sunlight. The continuing system of rivers was barely visible in the distance. Each river hosted more villages and communities.

You saw people everywhere you looked. They cruised across the river in boats, rode through the streets on motorbikes and taxis, shopped the sprawling open-air market, and found relief from the heat on shaded verandas and riverside park benches.

Selmira arrived at the orange building — the Napo Quechua translation workshop center — that would be her home for the next month. She had just completed the three-and-a-half day journey by boat to get there from her riverside village. It was a trip she made three times a year, leaving her husband and children behind, to translate Bible stories into her language.

Her husband used to come with her to the translation workshops. He said he got lonely when she was gone. Secretly, Selmira thought he was suspicious; of the five Napo speakers on the translation team, she was the only woman. He eventually became more trusting, but Selmira worried about him while she was away. She wondered if he was taking care of the kids, or if he had started drinking again.

Napo Quechua Culture

Shamanism and alcoholism were prevalent in the Napo Quechua culture. Alcohol was a major part of every gathering or ceremony invoking spirits. In most families, the drunkenness led to violence. And when the men were too drunk to fish or work the fields, poverty prevailed. Babies went hungry and were given alcohol to stop their crying and help them sleep.

Selmira was just a young teen when she married. Most Napo girls married even younger, but she asked to wait until after she finished primary school. She wanted to learn to read first.

By the age of 51, Selmira and her husband had lost 11 children and suffered four miscarriages. When her 9-year-old boy died from a snakebite, Selmira was so traumatized that she ran away. Her older daughter took her in for three months after that so Selmira could grieve.

God Spoke to Selmira

Selmira believed that before she ever gave her life to Christ, God spoke to her in dreams. She dreamed there was a large tree laid across a river as a bridge, and she was trying to cross it. She was wobbling dangerously when a man appeared wearing a bright white robe. He handed her a Bible, and when she nearly fell, he took her right hand and led her across the river to safety.

Shortly after that she had another dream in which she was climbing a tall ladder to heaven. When she reached heaven, it was completely silent and there were many houses, but they were all empty. A man appeared and asked her, “Why did you come here? You have to go take care of your children and serve God’s Son.”

After those dreams, Selmira started searching for a Bible she could understand.

Selmira’s Transformation

She heard about a workshop on sharing Bible stories in oral cultures like hers. There she met a Wycliffe translator named Christa. Selmira invited Christa and her ministry partner, Maritsa, to her village to help her learn more Bible stories. The more Selmira learned about Scripture, the less she drank and the more she felt love and compassion for the people around her.

When Selmira first quit drinking, her husband threatened to leave her. “He wanted a wife who would go drinking with him,” she said. “But whenever he got drunk, I put my hand on him and prayed for him, and he got less and less drunk.”

When she joined the Napo Quechua translation project with Christa, Maritsa and the other translators, she met more Christians who she could share her new life with. Selmira said she sometimes felt closer to them than to her own family. In those relationships, she drew strength and comfort. She also got those things from God’s Word.

As a translator, Selmira excelled quickly, even though it was hard work. “It … [wore] out my brain,” she said with a smile. Her peers looked to her for guidance when studying Bible stories because they trusted her judgment and understanding. She was one of the only translators who never missed a workshop in over four years.

“ … I really [didn’t] want to miss and get behind,” she said.

Her favorite thing about translation work was sharing the Bible stories with others. Back home, she spent every Sunday afternoon reading the newly translated stories to anyone who wanted to listen. The kids particularly enjoyed the story of the blind man at the gates of Jericho as well as the story of Zacchaeus. Selmira said, “Sometimes they want to repeatedly hear the stories.”

It started just with kids, but later her neighbors came too. Even the village shaman and the local religious leader came to hear Selmira read. Eventually her husband began listening as well. Selmira knows the significance of having Scripture available for future generations of Napo Quechua speakers:

She continued: “It’s important for them to learn because it teaches them how to make themselves strong with Jesus and live a better life than our ancestors [lived] without knowing God.”

New Life in God’s Word

Selmira found joy in her new life. When she wasn’t translating, she loved to cook and read to her grandkids. And she loved to sing about Jesus. Her favorite song was called “Jesus Is Powerful.” It’s about how Jesus heals the sick and gives new life.

“Only Jesus can do this,” she said.

With every new story she translated, God revealed how He’d been working in her life, not unlike the lives of people in Scripture.

When she read the story of Job, Selmira thought of her own suffering after losing her mom and kids. But she knew God wasn’t punishing Job, so she had hope for her life too. When another Christian couple in her village lost two of their children, they thought God was angry with them. But Selmira was able to share her story and encourage them:

People told Selmira that she was being punished for abandoning their traditional religion. “But I didn’t want to turn back. God helped me through that.” God had transformed her heart, and she trusted Him.

“I don’t want to go back to my old owner, Satan,” she said. “Christ has died for me. I want to stay with Him.”

When she learned the story of Abraham and how he desired children, she remembered God’s promise to provide descendants as numerous as the stars. She would often think of the 11 children she buried. But God blessed Selmira with more than 10 grandchildren to teach about God’s promises.

“Abraham followed God’s calling,” she said. “People ask why I go to workshops and follow these sisters. I tell them it’s God’s calling, and I’m following.”

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