WordsforLife
Spring 2014
Now with Call to Prayer
wycliffe.org.uk
We believe that Jesus died and rose from death,
and so we believe that those who believe in him and die,
God will raise them,
they will be with Jesus for eternity
Above: 1Thessalonians 4:14 in Mankanya (Gambia, Guinea Bissau Above: 1Thessalonians 4:14 into in Mankanya (Gambia, by Guinea & Senegal) translated back English. Illustration JasonBissau Ramasami. & Senegal) translated back into English. Illustration by Jason Ramasami. Frontcover: cover:Visiting An alleythe in Kathmandu, Nepal. Hadid, Photo by Ari Vitikainen. Front market at Hadjer a refugee camp in Chad. Photo by Zeke du Plessis.
Welcome Paul told the Thessalonian Church to ‘Pray continually.’ What a challenge! I hope that the new format of Words for Life – with a prayer for every day and prayers to go alongside articles – will be helpful to you as you endeavour to pray continually. God is doing marvellous things through his word and his people. In this edition, we’re sharing some of the ways people are getting involved in Bible translation by going. As you read on, you’ll see (especially on pages 4 and 5) that it doesn’t always mean getting on a plane!
Hannah Thomas Editor E: hannah_thomas@wycliffe.org
In this issue… P4 Go? From the director P6 Diary of a missionary Papua New Guinea P10 A book and a bike Mankanya language, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau P14 A world of opportunities Who does it take to translate the Bible? P16 How to make a Bible P20 Your mission, should you choose to accept it Challenges for the church P26 Gift and Kathryn Asiku From the UK to Uganda P30 Our latest news
New address Wycliffe Bible Translators, The Clare Charity Centre, Wycombe Road, Saunderton, High Wycombe HP14 4BF T: 0300 303 1111 E: askus@wycliffe.org.uk Scottish Office: 342 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8LY T: 0141 248 5555 E: scotland_uk@wycliffe.org Northern Ireland Office: 342 Beersbridge Road, Belfast BT5 5DY T: +44 (0)28 9046 9905 E: nireland_uk@wycliffe.org
Pray… April Phones and films, Growing families, Mankanya language May South Sudan, Wycliffe Australia, Cabo Verde Islands, Mediterranean projects June Churches, Travel, Projects nearing completion, Central African Republic, Events July Quichua language, Wycliffe workers, Answers to prayer, News
Designed and produced by
Wycliffe UK Ltd. is a charity registered in England and Wales, number 251233 and a charity registered in Scotland, number SC039140.
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Go?
Therefore, go
Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in Eddie Arthur heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT) I’m completely in favour of people going to the ends of the earth to witness about Jesus. As the director of a mission organisation, that probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise. With Wycliffe, people have gone to all sorts of places and are serving God in amazing ways. However, as a Bible translator, I’m a little bit cautious when people start talking about the ‘Great Commission’ command to go into all the world because, technically, there is no such thing. I don’t want to get tied up in Greek knots, but the structure of what we have come to call the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) is actually rather complex and very difficult to express in fluent English. In English, the command to ‘go and’ is quite common. We say things like, ‘Go and buy a pint of milk,’ or ‘Go and see if your dad has fixed the car yet.’ In our English versions of the Bible, Jesus command to the disciples is presented in this form, ‘Go and make disciples….’ So, from a thousand pulpits preachers thunder the missionary call ‘GO!’ The central command of these verses, however, is to ‘make disciples’. The other phrases (‘go’, ‘teach’ and ‘baptise’) are not actually commands as such, but assumptions of what we are doing alongside making disciples. We all go somewhere, some of us to far flung places, others on commuter trains to an office and others go down the road to the shops. We all ‘go’, but do we all ‘make disciples’?
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The Nukuoro translation team, Micronesia, pray with an unwell member at her home.
At home, at work, overseas or wherever we find ourselves, we all need to find ways of witnessing about Christ in a clear and accessible fashion. None of us are off the hook. Bible translation work is right at the heart of this disciple-making commission: it is almost impossible for people to become committed disciples of Jesus
Photos: Elyse Patten
and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Christ if they don’t have access to the Scriptures in the language that speaks to them most directly. Some people go to the ends of the earth to be involved in Bible translation. Others work from home. Others support the ministry through prayer and financial generosity. All of these are important. We are all going somewhere. If God is calling you
to go to an office, a classroom or a workshop on a daily basis, then he is calling you to make disciples in a tough mission field. If he is calling you to translate the Scriptures with Wycliffe, then you’d better get your bags packed! Eddie Arthur is Wycliffe’s UK director. Read more of his musings on his blog, kouya.net.
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New release There was no popcorn in the ‘movie theatre’ in a small village in Cameroon. Forty people watched a preliminary showing of the Luke Film (a four-hour film based on Luke’s account) in the Bamunka language, projected onto a sheet at the front of a local church. After seeing Jesus performing miracles, one young man left the room and went to see the pastor. Touched by what he had seen, this man gave his life to Jesus as the film continued!
Pray n Praise God for how he used this preliminary showing of the Luke film in the Bamunka language. n Pray that this young man would continue to grow in faith. n Pray that the final film will soon be available. We wait expectantly to hear how God will use it! n The Luke Film has recently arrived in the neighbouring language, Bambalang, too: pray for the fruit to be seen 30, 60 and 100-fold. n Locally, a lot of people are asking for the Luke film on their phones. Pray for this pioneering work. n Pray for the Wycliffe partners who do the technical work behind this and other films. They’d like to make the John Film available to teams translating the Bible.
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Questions and answers John works with a people group originally from Asia. They have recently finished the Luke Film. What barriers did you encounter in getting the Luke film completed? John – One of the main challenges was technical. We had to add titles to each of the 55 parts of the film and the computer program we used gave us problems. How will it be distributed? John – Some DVDs have already been circulated in-country among believers. By May, the film will be downloadable from a website. We are also planning to make it available on micro-SD (memory) cards which can be used in phones. How many speakers could benefit? John – There are 900,000 speakers in-country and 1 million in the UK. Many people in-country use mobile phones that will be able to show the film.
Call to Prayer
Tuesday 1 – Monday 14 April
Nothing new under the sun ‘My cell phone battery is empty again,’ complained Jonah, a Papua New Guinean. ‘I just charged it at the school yesterday, but my daughter used it to watch the JESUS Film last night and used up all the power.’ When the JESUS Film was first dubbed into Jonah’s language, no one even dreamed people would be able to watch the whole film on their phones.
Pray nP raise God for the breakthroughs in this project, especially with the technical processes. nP ray for the distribution of DVDs in-country. nT he process of getting the material available online and on memory cards could face more technical problems. nP ray that God would use this material to reach members of this language community. nC ontinue to pray for John and the others involved.
Pray for phones to be well used. n Visuals and videos on mobile phones are bringing Scripture closer to Deaf communities, for whom sign language videos are an easier-to-understand medium. n Pray for mobile Scripture resources from Faith Comes By Hearing, who produce audio Scriptures, and YouVersion, a very popular Bible app. n Mobile phones also do the obvious: let us thank God for the increased connectivity in remote regions that comes through phones.
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Luke and Laura with a member of their team and his family.
Diary of a missionary Luke and Laura Warrington have been doing linguistic work and language learning in a village in Papua New Guinea (lukeandlaurainpng.blogspot.com). 7:00am – Clamber out of the mosquito net, and switch on the radio for the twice-weekly roll call. We’re required to check-in to let our colleagues know everything is going OK. ‘Alpha 396, negative traffic [no messages], have a lovely day.’ 7:30am – Enjoy some yoghurt and granola, while tackling a crossword (thanks, Nan!) 8:00am – Head down to meet our language helpers, Petrus and Ignus. 9:05am – We come across a Sissano word we’ve never heard before: teni se’lin, meaning ‘half-caste’. We ask who is considered to be half-caste. A person who has one white parent and one black parent? We are surprised to hear that unless both your parents are Sissano, you are mixed race! Their identity is very strong, despite the fact that there are only about 3,000 people in their language community and they are one of over 800 language communities in Papua New Guinea! 12:00pm – Lunch time. We enjoy some instant noodles (we eat them cooked but the local children enjoy eating them raw), with dehydrated vegetables and fried egg.
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12:30pm – Our language helpers take a nap, but it’s too hot for us. 1:30pm – We listen to a story we recorded from an older man, Lukas. Petrus and Ignus help us as we probe them about various words used. 3:00pm – It begins to rain so hard that we can’t hear each other. It has been over three weeks since the last downpour and our water supply has started to look rather low. 4:00pm – We talk about some of our recordings where the ‘tch’ sound is being used interchangeably with the ‘t’ sound. Petrus and
Call to Prayer
Tuesday 15 – Monday 21 April
Pray n Luke and Laura say, ‘Please pray for us as we work to complete the linguistic report of the Sissano language and translate it into a more widely-used language so that the national translators and literacy workers can use our analysis.’ Photos: Luke and Laura Warrington
n Luke and Laura have family news: their first child was born at the end of February. Pray for their expanding family and for the time they are spending in the UK adjusting to the new arrival.
Ignus tell us that they think the younger generation speaks Sissano at greater speed and therefore do not properly pronounce the ‘tch’ sound. 5:00pm – Finish work for the day. A neighbour gives us some wild mushrooms. Laura makes a mushroom and soya bean loaf for tea. 6:00pm – The generator comes on (and with it, the lights and fans). 6:30pm – We write up some of our findings, polish up transcriptions and make sure all is in order for tomorrow. 7:30pm – Show Petrus and Ignus some photos of our family and the British countryside. They find the concept of a 900-year-old building mind-boggling (which is fair enough – so do I!). 8:30pm – Get ready for bed before the generator goes off. 9:00pm – Listen to The Two Towers on the iPod in the dark. 10:00pm (ish) – Sleep.
n Several other members have recently had new additions to their families. Pray especially for these members: n David and Janet Wilkinson, with new baby Joel n Andrew and Clare Koens, with baby Eowyn n Ian and Lizz Hollman, and new baby Harry
Over the Easter weekend, join us in praying: n Jesus our Sacrifice, as we remember your death, we pray for those who are suffering in your name around the world, under persecution or abuse, indifference or rejection. Pray specifically for Christians in Pakistan, Nigeria, Somalia. n Jesus our Lord, as we meet in your word those who mourned you, we thank you that your full revelation shows us that you rose. Pray for those who are cut off from God’s revelation through illiteracy, social pressure or government legislation. n Jesus our Saviour, as we rejoice in your victory, we celebrate your work in the world, as you bring many to know you for the first time. Pray for newly translated and newly printed Bibles that will serve growing churches. n Jesus our King, as we anticipate your return, we consider those who still haven’t heard that you came. Use your people to reach the unreached and to comfort the hopeless. Pray for people groups with no witness among them.
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A book and a bike
Why translate the Bible for a ‘Christian’ people group? In 1995, a Senegalese Catholic monk began translating the New Testament into his own language, Mankanya. The Mankanya people are nearly all Catholic but he felt that, because they had never had the Bible in the language they understood best, they had never really understood the Gospel. He worked with other Mankanya
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speakers for five years on an experimental version of the Gospels before he was appointed abbot of his monastery and had to stop his day-to-day involvement with the translation. In the 12 years since then, a group of Mankanya people have continued translating the Bible,
Call to Prayer
Tuesday 22 – Monday 28 April
A young man stopped Gustave, the translator, as he cycled through Ziguinchor [ZIG-unshore], a town in southern Senegal: ‘There’s a woman who wants to talk to you.’ The woman was a ‘spiritual’ healer, often possessed by a spirit and a purveyor of magic charms, but what she said touched Gustave’s heart: she has been listening to the audio Scripture recordings in Mankanya, and she knows that how she is living is not in line with God’s word. She hasn’t given up her practices yet, but she says she’ll keep listening.
Pray MANKANYA Country: Senegal and Guinea-Bissau Population: 75,000 Religion: 99% Catholic, with traditional beliefs Translation progress: waiting for the New Testament and Genesis launch in May 2014 (some portions available)
assisted by members of Wycliffe. Last year, Gustave, the main translator, was in Cameroon holding one of the first copies of Genesis and the New Testament in his language. It was God’s wonderful surprise that the abbot was also in the capital at the time, and able to join in this advanced celebration of the work he had dreamt of for his people nearly 20 years earlier. In the photograph, Gustave is in the centre and the abbot on the left.
n Getting people to reconsider their traditional beliefs in light of God’s word is one of the main aims of the Mankanya translation project. Pray for this woman and for other Mankanya speakers to learn that God has power over the spirits. n Leviticus and Hebrews contain important teaching about sacrifices and idolatry. Audio passages from these books have recently been completed. n Pray for the team to be strengthened spiritually against the devil’s attacks and discouragement. n Praise God for a song-writing workshop, with music based on themes and lessons learnt in Genesis. n The songs will also be part of a dramatic recording of Genesis. They will be a marvellous resource for churches as they approach the launch of Genesis in Mankanya. n The launch of the New Testament and Genesis is planned for 10 May – pray that the printed copies will have arrived by then. n Pray for the hearts of the Mankanya people to be open to God’s word as this new Scripture book is celebrated and shared.
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A team celebrated a completed book before fighting broke out.
Conflict in South Sudan On 15th December, an alleged coup led to fighting in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, which quickly spread to other parts of the nation. A lot of people have been killed and an estimated 500,000 displaced. Some fighting has been ethnically targeted. nP ray that in the Lord’s grace and mercy the suffering won’t last much longer. nA s they fled, many people risked poverty and illness. Pray for health. nP ray for leaders and influential people among different communities, that their desire would be for peace.
n Pray for a deep sense of ‘never again’ among leaders. n Ask God to bring good out of suffering, refining the church. n Pray for those involved in Bible translation and language development, both nationals and expatriates, that they would have a clear sense of the next steps amid much uncertainty. Expatriates had to leave the country, but South Sudanese workers couldn’t. n Pray that God would bring long-term healing from trauma.
Happy birthday Wycliffe Australia! Wycliffe Australia is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year and they have big plans. n Praise God for these 60 years. Wycliffe Australia has had unique opportunities to serve the Bibleless in Australia and the Pacific. Pray for the anniversary plans of the Wycliffe Australia team:
n Powerful prayer – in the lead up to the Wycliffe World Day of Prayer in November, Wycliffe Australia is running 60 days of prayer for Bible translation. n Sharing the message through magazines, newspapers and adverts. And pray for these upcoming events:
nA big step of faith – to mark 60 years, they want to fund 60 language projects.
n More than 70 churches are planning to hold anniversary services, mostly in March and April.
nN ew resources – the team have developed materials for children, service outlines, powerpoints and videos.
n Three celebration dinners are coming up, with a key Aboriginal leader speaking.
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Find out more at wycliffe.org.au/60th-anniversary.
Call to Prayer
More than a name change There’s much more to the Cabo Verde Islands. n Praise God for partnership in the Cape Verdean Association, which overseas Bible translation. n Everyone has been encouraged by holding a copy of the new Luke and Acts book, which contains translations into both the primary languages of Cabo Verde! n Translation in both these languages is going well – one has 40% of the New Testament drafted and the other 70%!
Tuesday 29 April – Monday 26 May n As a result of the curriculum change, teachers have been asking for copies of the Luke/Acts translation for their classrooms. n One large seminary has started classes in preaching in the mother tongue. Pray that this will bring back the 15–30 age group, which has been increasingly absent from congregations. n Advisors Steve and Trina Graham have returned to the US for their home leave. Pray for rest for them, and continuing enthusiasm for the teams.
n As this new school year started, the students were in for a surprise: it was the first year the mother tongue was on the curriculum. Pray that it will help students to love their language and to understand other lessons better. Local languages are making an impression. In fact, on 31 Oct, 2013, Cape Verde announced that the official country name would be the Republic of Cabo Verde, the name in the national language.The country is made up of a series of 10 islands off the coast of West Africa.Around 500,000 people live there.
Prayers and praises From teams working in the Mediterranean region nP raise: A shepherd who is not yet following Christ from the region has been listening to the Bible on an MP3 player (called a MegaVoice) that he carries in the hood of his cloak – so much that he’s started memorising parts.
n Praise: The Assyrian translation team is looking at the final draft copies of the New Testament and Psalms before sending them for publication! n And pray: The team is facing attack – both the translators have been ill, discouraged and sleeping badly, sometimes so they can hardly work.
nA nd pray: The shepherd has started sharing the Bible passages with other shepherds using the player. Ask God to draw them to know him.
n Pray: A village tester planned to visit France to help the ‘U’ team with translation, but his visa application was delayed. Pray for God to open doors in the visa process.
n Pray: May God pour out mercy on those suffering because of war in this region. Pray for an end to the fighting and for open doors of hope.
n Pray: There’s a team supporting all the Mediterranean translation teams. Pray for protection, provision and spiritual strengthening for them.
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A world of opportunity Who does it take to translate the Bible? When I visit churches to speak about Wycliffe I frequently find myself answering questions about the need for Bible Phil Prior translation.Yes, there are 4,000 languages that have none of Bible, including at least 1,900 that still need a translation project to begin, but it’s rare that I get asked about how much translation is currently in progress. Globally there are language programmes underway in just over 2,000 languages and Wycliffe personnel are involved in more than three quarters of these. That’s a significant amount of work taking place right now in languages from 130 countries. Exciting, isn’t it? Yes, it should be exciting! Not just because of the scale of the work underway, but also because of the way that Bible translation is happening. More people, from more countries, are involved in Bible translation and language development than ever before. They are not all coming from the West. Western missionaries work alongside, and in many cases for, colleagues from Africa, Asia and South America. The world of mission is changing as we see the church growing stronger in the countries that used to be the receivers of missionaries. But the revolution doesn’t stop with the increased mix of nationalities. The tools for mission are changing too. We may not be surprised that the typewriter has been replaced by the computer and that most places in the world can now access the internet and email communication. But the idea that Scripture is frequently downloaded to mobile phones and shared around communities by Bluetooth may come as a surprise.* continued on page 18
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*Bluetooth is a wireless technology used for sharing data over short distances.
What a difference technology makes From a translation consultant working in Papua New Guinea. Enthusiastic translators, ready and able to translate, but we had a problem: half of them spent their time waiting because we only had one computer for each two-man team. I took out a number of donated second-hand computers so everyone could have one. The perfect solution? Instead of one problem we ended up with three! Keeping up with translation – Translated chapters started mounting up, waiting to be checked. The translators were moving so fast that it was hard for us consultants to keep up. Feeling powerless – The second problem was power, or rather, lack of. The village is 17 miles from the nearest source, so we used solar panels. But with 20 laptops running, the backup system was overwhelmed as soon as the sun hid behind the clouds. Tech support needed – At one translation workshop I spent 80% of my time keeping computers running rather than helping Papua New Guinean translators improve their translations (which I was there to do!).
Photo: Benjamin Myers
The solution came in the form of ’netbook’ computers, which are smaller, less expensive and more energy-efficient than laptops. By replacing all the old laptops with netbooks, we would reduce our power usage; the translators would all have new computers that worked; and all the computers would be exactly the same, making it easier to fix problems. It worked magnificently. At our next workshop, when one computer had a problem, I was able to get the translator going again on an identical model in 25 minutes. I was able to spend 80% of my time with translators, not their computers! Read the full story on wycliffe.org.uk/wordsforlife.
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Technology can help those who would normally be beyond the reach of the printed word to share in the joy of the message. Even in isolated regions or communities where carrying a Bible could result in imprisonment, mobile and internet technology can give access where before it was impossible. All of this doesn’t happen by accident. People with skills in media, film, technology, computing and web design play a vital part in getting the story out there. Without them the process would be slower and more challenging. In fact, the need for skilled people to support language projects is growing as quickly as the
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number of language projects getting underway. Every project needs to have the money accounted for, a job best done by trained accountants. They need computers to work on, networks to share information through, and someone to solve the problems that arise from working with technology. They will work in an office somewhere, a building that needs to be built, maintained and cleaned. Projects are funded because people hear stories about language development and Bible translation, but those stories need to be collected, edited and distributed all around the world, so communications teams compile information into
Photos: Zeke du Plessis
... people with these skills are often missing from the world of global missions
magazines (just like this one), designers design and printers print, until magazines, emails and videos full of stories arrive in your hands. But people with these skills are often missing from the world of global missions, not because they are not in our churches, but because they have never seen themselves as having the requisite skills or a part to play. Too often, perceptions of mission organisations assume that, in the case of Wycliffe Bible Translators, only linguists need apply. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The simple fact is that language work would fall apart
without a significant team providing support. There’s a group of people who can claim to be translating the Bible by managing money, training others, fixing computers, recording interviews, answering phones. Because, honestly, without them the whole process would have to wind down and stop. So this Sunday when you are waiting for the service to start and you have a moment to look around at your church community, ask yourself, who could you see making a difference in global mission? Phil Prior is Wycliffe’s UK Communications Director.
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Your mission should you You don’t need to live in a far-flung country to be a missionary. Set yourself these ‘missionary challenges’ to start living crossculturally where you are and see what opportunities God will open up to you…
Challenge 1 Learn more about the world around you – It can be easy not to pay much attention to what’s happening overseas. Educate yourself – when a country you don’t know about comes up on the news, read more about it. Operation World or the World Factbook are great places to start. Take the next step – Think you’ve got tip-top world knowledge? Try a name-every-country challenge here: sporcle.com/games/g/world
Challenge 2 Cook an ‘international’ recipe – Look at bbcgoodfood.com for a variety of recipes, or – even better – ask a neighbour or someone you know whose home culture is not British to teach you a recipe. Challenge 2
Take the next step – Buy the ingredients for your dinner at a nearby ethnic shop. The staff may be able to give you some great pointers for making it more authentic.
Challenge 3 Visit a church service in another language – It’s more than language that’ll be different. Go along to one in your area to encourage those believers (many of whom will speak English too, so you can still introduce yourself!). Take the next step – Learn a few phrases in the language to get started in conversation at the service. See if you can greet people outside church in their mother tongue.
Challenge 4 Go to GO – GOfest (27-30 June, see the back page) is a great gathering for people considering their place in God’s mission. Take some time out to visit (or camp for the whole weekend) and be inspired. Talk to the mission organisations there to see what you could do. Take the next step – Could you share about GOfest with your family, friends, church and get a group going together? gofestival.info
Challenge 5 Teach a language – If you are a fluent English speaker, you may find that this single qualification could make you a valuable teacher. Keep an eye out for people at your church, place of work, children’s school or in your area who might appreciate English conversation and tutoring. Take the next step – Find out about local English as a Second Language courses and see if your conversation and time could be valuable.
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u choose to accept it
Challenge 3
Challenge 6 Post a present – You don’t need to be overseas to encourage a missionary. If you know a missionary, send them a card or a packet of sweets with a message – I promise it won’t go unappreciated! (Ask your missionary friend about the best way to send packages.)
For more ideas about doing mission where you are and links to items mentioned in this article, go to wycliffe.org.uk/ wordsforlife.
Photos: Marc Ewell
Take the next step – If the missionary has a connection to your church, group of friends or family, set aside a regular time to pray for them and to discuss how you can encourage them. How about sending Christian books or music you’ve been enjoying recently?
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A Bible in every bilum Bilums (string bags from Papua New Guinea) are tools for work, sometimes carrying sleeping children, sometimes food, firewood or mobile phones. What is carried in the bilum is what is important for daily life. That is why the local translation organisation in Papua New Guinea wants to see a Bible in every bilum. nP raise God that partners have joined the bilum partnership. Papua New Guinea remains in great need of Bible translation, with more than 300 languages still to go! nP ray against spiritual attack, especially in the practicalities of arranging meetings and scheduling and in the reticence of partners to work with other denominations. Pray for these two Papua New Guinean churches who are bilum partners: nC assowary Road United Church took a lead in financially supporting the translation organisation and lease a house at a low rent for the team.Visit wycliffe.org.uk/ wordsforlife to watch more of Cassowary Road Church’s story. n When Our Saviour Lutheran Church found out that there was a language group in their church district that didn’t have Scriptures in their language, they asked the translation organisation for help, training and supervision.
Pray for these UK church initiatives: n Through InFocus, churches commit to see a complete New Testament through, standing behind an Asian or African team in prayer, encouragement and gifts. wycliffe.org.uk/infocus n Churches can chose to pray for a team and people group over four years as they translate their first gospel, the book of Luke and the film adaptation The JESUS Film. wycliffe.org.uk/firstgospelprayer n Like Gift and Kathryn Asiku (page 26), all Wycliffe members need prayer and finance support from churches and individuals. Pray for churches to take the initiative to give generously to Wycliffe workers in need of a boost. wycliffe.org.uk/members
Photo: Marc Ewell
Have vision, will travel
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Captain Denny Dyvig, a pilot with Wycliffe partner SIL and AIM: ‘I see flying as the go part of the Great Commission. Go. That means get out there somewhere. I was there to be the driver for the Great Commission.’ n Denny and his wife retired last year. Pray that God will raise up more missionary pilots. n Thank God for SIL boats serving remote island communities where there is no other way to travel. (SIL is Wycliffe’s primary partner.) n 90% of road fatalities happen in low or middle income countries. Pray for safe travel for mission workers.
Just the beginning
Call to Prayer
Tuesday 27 May – Monday 16 June
At the launch of the Kaiwá Bible last year, one man clasped his new copy of the Bible and said, with tears streaming down his face, ‘At last! God’s word in my language!’ Another man, who works with a group of recovering drug addicts, bought five copies, saying, ‘This will be the best things to help them get their lives back on track!’ People in the UK prayed for the Kaiwá Bible through the last stages. Pray for other translation projects nearing completion, where teams often face more challenges as the enemy attacks. Ask God for... n S trength, health and passion for the translators n r esilience for translators and their families n p rotection in areas of tension and violence nw isdom in the final decisions about word choice, spelling and phrasing n fi nances for the publishing process n s mooth printing and delivery of the published books no pen hearts in the community to embrace God’s word in their language Dorival, one of the Kaiwá translators
Scripture projects nearing completion include: Assyrian (Asia) Cassa (Colombia)
n Ask God to protect national translators and literacy workers in Kenya and Nigeria (and many other countries) as they travel long distances on bicycles or motorbikes.
Nugunu (Cameroon)
n JAARS, partners in technology and transport, have been running motorbike training courses in Africa, to equip translators to travel safely.
Kuteb (Nigeria)
n Pray for India, parts of which face heavy rains at this time of year, making travel dangerous. n Last year, a team in Asia used their four-by-four to help other organisations when floods came. Pray for courage in the storms.
Djimini (Ivory Coast) Omaraz (East Africa) Garap (Chad) Burunge (Tanzania) Central Mnong (Cambodia) Bantoanon (Philippines) Lole (Timor) Crimean Tatar (Ukraine) Kandawo (Papua New Guinea)
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Photo: Elyse Patten
‘We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.’ 2 Corinthians 10:3-4
Photo: Marc Ewell
A picture prompts a thousand prayers Central African Republic Use this photo to inspire you to pray. These are some of the facts we were prompted to pray about: nC entral African Republic (CAR) continues to be in a very volatile political situation with tremendous humanitarian needs. n 8 2 languages are spoken in CAR. A lot of translation work still needs to happen. nM any other organisations, including UNESCO and Bible Society, also work in CAR. nH alf of all Africans are under 19 years old.
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n Estimates suggest that more than 40 million African school-aged children have never been in a classroom. n The church is growing in Africa: 100 years ago, less than 2% of the world’s Christians lived in sub-Saharan Africa, but now nearly it’s nearly a quarter. n There is research that suggests that two-thirds of Christians make the decision before their 18th birthday.
Call to Prayer
Itching feet and pounding hearts: exploring God’s call ‘Send out men to explore the land…’ (Numbers 13:2) Pray for people exploring God’s future for them at these events: nT he Two Week Stint is for exploring Wycliffe work. Pray for people to come, to ask the right questions and have feet itching to take God’s word to the world. nF irst Steps and the Next Steps are shorter chances for to find out more about mission. Logistics can be complicated with events all over the UK, so pray for the organisers. nA t prayer events in the autumn, we will call upon God together to work through his translated word and be astounded by what he is already doing. Pray for people to host prayer events at their churches. 27 – 30 June n 27 June is the first day of GOfest (see back page). Keep in prayer George Verwer and J John, who have a vast amount of speaking to do, and for the seminar leaders. n Pray that people at GOfest will be moved by the need for everyone to hear the good news, and that participants will see how their gifts could be given back to God in service, whether in the UK or overseas.
Tuesday 17 June – Monday 7 July
Team members n Praise the Lord: Revelation in ‘A’ Quichua has been approved after a long wait. Now translators Larry and Segundo can focus on Romans. Pray for the work on Romans, 1 John, Galatians and 2 Corinthians. n The Gospels have been published in Quichua: pray that they will be accepted and used in all the churches. n Pray for Juana, the literacy teacher, as she continues to teach while Wycliffe worker Susan is away. n Pray for wisdom and direction for Larry, the team leader, as he considers how and when to organise a recording workshop to produce audio Scriptures. n Pray for Kris, who is putting the final touches to a Quichua website, to make Scriptures available online. n Pray for the Quichua people to have a hunger for God’s word. Pray that the Quichua church will grow in faith and to share the gospel with other Quichua speakers. n Pray for those who do not approve of the translated Scriptures to have a change of heart and be willing to have calm discussions about it.
n May God ordain the right conversations – from late night campsite conversations to bumping into serving mission workers over lunch. n GOfest comes to an end on 30 June. Pray that as people leave, taking the word to the world would be part of their next step on their adventure with Jesus. Word Alive 7-17 April, Prestatyn GOfest 2014 27-30 June, Bulstrode, Gerrards Cross
Two Week Stint 20 July – 1 August,Valence, France More events at wycliffe.org.uk/events
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Gift and Kathryn Asiku After a spell in the UK, Gift and Kathryn Asiku are moving back to Uganda.
What will you do back in Uganda? Kathryn – I will be working on literacy materials, helping to get them ready for publishing and keeping the archives up-to-date. Literacy is important if we want people to read the Scriptures, of course, but it also helps people improve their standards of living and education, learn about HIV/AIDS and hygiene, and apply what the Bible teaches. Gift – In the UK I’ve done an MBA [Masters in Business Administration]. An MBA is not only for businesses; in Bible translation, there is a need for people who are highly trained and qualified to manage translation projects. This means that people with much-needed translation and linguistics knowledge can focus on that instead of administration and management. My life was transformed by the Bible, so I want to give my skills to Bible translation in Uganda. What will the big changes be? Gift – We’ve become used to having clean water from the tap and electricity throughout the day here
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in the UK. There are only a few potholes and no mosquitoes here, so it will be a challenge adjusting. Kathryn – One of the main adjustments will be the climate, particularly for the children. When we arrived back in the UK from Uganda, they weren’t used to wearing long trousers or socks, and it was a shock having to wear them every day. James says he wants to take his best friend with him and Simon Peter keeps saying, ‘We are going on a big aeroplane, aren’t we?’ What are you most excited about? Kathryn – I’m looking forward – we both are – to getting back to the work we believe God has called us to. Gift – The most exciting thing is that we’ll be back to celebrate with two language communities who have just finished translating the New Testament. I’m looking forward to seeing the impact – that’s what I’m praying for. Other languages, in which I helped set up Luke translation projects, are getting ready to translate the whole New Testament now.
Call to Prayer
Tuesday 8 – Monday 14 July
Pray: n For an abundance of churches to pray with them, encourage them and provide for them. n For adjustments to life in Uganda, especially for James and Simon Peter, and for Gift and Kathryn to feel settled in their new roles n For the two new New Testaments Gift and Kathryn aren’t the only people facing changes. Pray:
‘ Bible translation into my language makes Christianity a mother-tongue religion to my people.’ Bishop Joel Obetia, Church of Uganda
Kathryn – At the moment, people speaking these languages listen to the pastor read the Bible in a neighbouring language or English and wait for him to interpret it. But when the New Testament is available, they will be able to hear and understand it without a mediator. That’s powerful! They’ll be able to grow in their Christian lives. What can people in the UK do to be involved? Kathryn – Prayer is vital to our work in Uganda. We would appreciate more people supporting us in prayer and in financial partnership so that we can return to Uganda. Our return has been delayed due to insufficient financial support.
n For students starting their training in language and translation at Redcliffe College. It’s a big change: back to studies and starting out as churchsupported workers. n For members speaking about their work over the summer, that they will have stamina and inspiration and that they will be met by supportive listeners. n Some workers live in places where restful holidays are hard to come by or expensive. Pray for ways for them to get the breaks they need. n For homeschooling families – everyone else is on holiday but these parents are preparing for the next academic year. Pray for children returning from overseas, as they adjust back to their parents’ culture. n Pray for the hearts of the Mankanya people to be open to God’s word as this new Scripture book is celebrated and shared.
Gift – I think supporting Wycliffe Bible Translators is a wonderful life-time privilege and opportunity for people and churches. We welcome them to join our UK support team. To give towards Gift and Kathryn’s ministry, receive their newsletter or get in touch, contact the UK office. You can find out much more about the work in Uganda and neighbouring Tanzania at thetask.net.
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A Weera man
What happened next? You prayed: A trauma healing workshop was planned for January in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. n Because of the continuing conflict in the country, the workshop wasn’t able to go ahead, but is more needed now than ever. Pray for peace and for opportunities to share healing from God’s word.
You prayed: LEAD Asia, part of Wycliffe’s partner SIL, supports organisations involved in development work in Asia, and gathered the ‘community of practice’ in November. n Matt Wisbey, who coordinates LEAD’s events, says, ‘Thanks for your prayers. It was a really good and energising time! Participants were very engaged in the discussions and shared lots
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of interesting experiences. Please pray that, because of the things they have heard and learned, people will be better placed to build relationships with other organisations that support the communities they are working with.’ n ‘Please also pray for the LEAD Asia team as we think about how to follow up and continue to facilitate the community of practice (both at events and informally in between).’ Visit leadimpact.org to find out more about LEAD Asia.
You prayed: The Oku New Testament (Cameroon) was being launched as we prayed in October. n It was a day of celebration. 80% of the New Testaments were bought on the day. The prime minister of Cameroon, himself an Oku speaker, bought 20 copies for family and friends!
Focus on Nigeria You prayed: The Theological College
Call to Prayer
Tuesday 15 July – Monday 28 July
of Northern Nigeria asked for prayer that the Bible translation department would be accredited.
You prayed: Among the Garaja
n God answers in surprising ways: staff in the department found out recently that it has been accredited since 2009 – but no one had told them. Pray that God will equip the students for Bible translation.
n The Saju storying coordinator met with the local community leader, who was very open to Bible stories being translated in his language. Since then, the story crafters have been back at work and are making good progress.
You prayed: The Cishingini New
You prayed: The Burdu project in the
n Praise God: the Okphela New Testament was launched in March 2013 and the Cishingini in November. Old Testament work is beginning in both languages.
n Encouragement! When a Chadian worker attended a wake in the Burdu area, he was able to play a Burdu recording of the creation story to assembled people. Other attendees were very interested to listen. Recordings are also being played on the radio.
You prayed: The Mwaghavul team
You prayed: We celebrated when
n A milestone: more than 50% of the Old Testament has been checked by a consultant and all the books have been drafted. Pray for patience and diligence in checking and changes. Soon the Mwaghavul people will have the whole Bible!
n The New Testament is due to be launched later this year, but it needs God’s hand to pull it through. All sorts of other challenges have been thrown at the team since the draft was completed.
Testament was nearing completion and the Okphela New Testament was being printed.
were also working on the Old Testament.
You prayed: The Lis Ma Ron
projects in Chad, the Saju oral Bible storying project was nearly at a standstill.
same area of Chad was also slow.
the final touches were done to the Husa New Testament.
You prayed: The Banyole and
translation was in progress.
Bagwere New Testament translations are nearing completion.
n Progress is encouraging and the team are now in the final stages. There’s more work to do on Mark, Luke, Galatians, Corinthians, Timothy and Thessalonians.
n Pray for the teams as they ‘intensify publicity’: they want to get churches, bishops, pastors, radio programmes and the community on board ready for the completion.
You prayed: The Weera team, because
of the pressure of the dominant religion in their community, were struggling to find community checkers for drafted Scripture. n Keep praying for the Weera work: they still need fearless community checkers. Pray for a miraculous change of heart among the community leaders.
You prayed: In Papua New Guinea, the Kurti translators were progressing, but had no advisor on the ground with them. n Thomas, a translator, was able to work with translation advisors last year. The team is part of a group of 13 language teams from the Manus communities, and they are working together to form the Manus Bible Translation organisation.
Weera, Burdu, Garaja, Saju and Husa are pseudonyms used to protect those working in certain situations.
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The Tunen translation team
Our latest news Chasing away back luck Cameroon: Batoumbek is a Tunen literacy teacher. He also officiates a rite called ombek in his community, which is said to chase away bad luck after accidental deaths, suicides and murders. One day recently, Batoumbek came to the translation office and said that his incantations weren’t working anymore. One of the translators read John 14:1 and Galatians 3:13-14 in the Tunen language with him, saying, ‘This is the real reason to leave your rites.’ Batoumbek was convinced: ‘Now I feel peace in my heart. I will stop doing incantations and, whenever I’m asked for them, I will use only my Bible to help people.’
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A few days later, Batoumbek was asked to officiate ombek after a man died in a road accident. He went, but dressed simply rather than in the traditional clothes he used to wear for the rite – and he used only his Bible!
What’s been done, what’s left to do 6,918 – languages in use around the world 6 billion – people who speak languages with some of the Bible or preliminary work started 180 million – people who don’t have access to the Bible in their language 1,919 – languages to go
Call to Prayer
Tuesday 29 – Thursday 31 July
Photo: Søren Kjeldgaard
How does the Bible make you feel?
This was the reaction when partners from another organisation helped to ‘field test’ a draft translation of Luke into an African language: ‘This is the first time I’ve ever read anything in my language. My heart is on fire. I love this!’
Eddie and Sue Arthur
Under new management? This summer, Wycliffe Bible Translators in the UK are anticipating something new: Executive Director Eddie Arthur will be stepping down after six years of leading the organisation and someone new will be stepping into his shoes. Eddie and his wife Sue hope to stay working with Wycliffe (Sue is a translation consultant).
Another man (not a Christian) was asked to read another portion and then to explain what the text said. He did so, summarising with, ‘And the boy was healed in front of everyone,’ and adding, ‘Jesus has all the power.’
Pray: n For men and women whose lives are being changed by understanding the Bible in their language, including Batoumbek. n For Eddie and Sue Arthur, as Eddie moves into a new role. n For the new director for Wycliffe in the UK.
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day o r THE W EEKEND
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wycliffe.org.uk Wycliffe UK Ltd., a company registered in England and Wales, no 819788; a charity registered in England and Wales, no 251233; and in Scotland, no SC039140 Registered office: The Clare Charity Centre, Wycombe Road, Saunderton, High Wycombe HP14 4BF