Hello! I’m here writing from the Choice compound in Viacha Bolivia. There are many things to report concerning the projects and the trip, but I’ll just give the highlights right now.
We had an amazing experience in Peru this last week. The country, the people, and the whole experience were absolutely incredible. Highlights included seeing Machu Picchu, running into a large group of people we know from BYU (many of whom could become large donors and advocates), and visiting Taquile island, where we were welcomed by Tim’s friend (now the village president). He was anxious to learn about the project and offered to help in whatever way he could. They are not members, but he listened intently as Tim explained the Book of Mormon, and talked about bringing the completed videos to them to show when done. The spirit is incredibly strong amongst the Quechua people.
We had a lot of good time spent with Juan Carlos, our local manager, talking about the project and doing training. It was so valuable to speak to him in person, and he was able to realize a lot of things that were difficult to communicate through zoom. We were able to talk about a few gotchas that come up often, and I was able to get him the money as well as a small tripod and earphones to help with the recording phase. They will begin recording this week.
Yesterday we crossed over into Bolivia after an exhausting 3 or 4 hours at the border trying to fulfill all the entry requirements they had (none of which were online). We made it in eventually and were met by two workers from Choice. After a long drive to Viacha over horrible roads we arrived to find Willy Mendoza and the whole team working with him on the project assembled and waiting for us. We were greeted warmly and I began to explain how the project started and we watched the video Their Own Tongue together. There was a very strong spirit and we began to make plans for how to continue on to the next phase of recording. This week we will be training Willy on how to use the recording equipment, and on Wednesday we will have a meeting with the whole team about voice acting. There is incredible enthusiasm and excitement about the project and the impact it will have among the people.
Alright, that is all for now, my laptop battery is about to die and there’s not a proper grounded outlet in this room! I will plan on giving a more full report when we return this next week.
Jonathan
Book of Mormon Dubbing 