On 1st September 1960, 50 years ago today, Wycliffe Bible Translators was officially born in the UK.
The training of translators had been taking place in the UK since the early 50s, but 1960 was the year in which Wycliffe UK (named after John Wycliffe – an early Bible translator who wanted people to be able to learn about God in their own language) was formally recognised as part of this growing, world-wide family of translation organisations.
Back in 1960 the world population was estimated to be around 3 billion and the best guess was that there were about 1,000 languages that required a translation project of some kind.
Today the world population numbers close to 6.7 billion people with around 6,900 different languages in use.
Currently Wycliffe, working in partnership with language communities and local organisations is involved in 1,300 Bible translation programmes while another 2,200 are waiting to start.
Over the 50 years, Wycliffe Bible Translators have had three different homes in the UK. They are now based on a 22 acre site just a few miles from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. Students from around the world still come to the centre every year for training, many of whom graduate with Masters degree qualifications awarded by the University of Middlesex.
In addition to the training, around 350 personnel are associated with the UK operation, most of whom are working overseas. Eddie Arthur, Executive Director of Wycliffe Bible Translators in the UK says, “It is amazing to think that so many leaders in the world Bible translation movement have been trained and equipped for their roles in this quiet little corner of Buckinghamshire.” A small number of personnel are UK-based and working in support roles such as IT, personnel, finance or communications.
The Wycliffe Centre hosts variety of fascinating conference groups throughout the year. This week a group of Koreans were on site, and some gave a performance of traditional Korean folk music. Unusual instruments combined to produce a delicate and uplifting harmony. It was so beautiful!
As I listened spellbound, I was reminded of the verses in Revelation 7 v 9-11:
9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice:
”Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God…
What a sound that will be, as people from every part of the earth unite in worship to God!
It is our privilege in Wycliffe Bible Translators to see the way that God is gathering people from every language to worship. Communities receive God’s word and sing it back to Him in their own language and style. Ethnomusicologists are at the forefront of this work. Just as reading God’s word in the mother tongue speaks to the heart like no other language, so singing and praying to God in the mother tongue enables people to pour out their hearts to him with a new freedom.
But today there are still over 300 million people from 2,200 language groups without a single verse of scripture in their mother tongue. Join us in helping to change this. Give the Story.
Have you ever thought, “I’m rubbish at languages. Surely there’s no place for me in Bible Translation?” The biggest mistake that can be made by anyone is to assume that you need to speak another language to be involved in the work of Wycliffe.
There’s actually a huge demand for non-linguists. From teachers to IT specialists, accountants, personnel managers and communications experts, there’s a need for people in support roles all around the world. Most of the time you’ll only need to communicate in English or French.
In a few weeks, on Saturday 2nd October 2010 Wycliffe Bible Translators will be holding a one-day event “Wycliffe and Me” in Linlithgow, Scotland. This is aimed at helping people to explore the breadth of what God is doing in and through Bible translation, and discover the part that they can play in that.
The event will look at topics such as:
Why translate the Bible?
How can I be involved, either in the UK or overseas?
How should we approach the issue of raising financial support?
What’s it really like to live and work overseas?
Wycliffe staff will be presenting about the work they’re involved in and we’ll also be watching videos to see the impact of Bible translation and literacy on the lives of minority language communities.
We would like to know what you think about the future of partnerships between churches and mission agencies. We’ve even put a survey online so you don’t need to move from where you are to answer the questions… http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/wycliffeuk
Back in 2006 Global Connections (GC) published a collection of papers under the heading Churches and Agencies in Partnership. Through this they drew attention to the fact that often there is a gap between what churches view and support as mission and what mission organisations do.
For Wycliffe this threw up a number of questions, ones that we cannot answer ourselves. So this survey is the first step in asking what we should be doing. As the introduction says…
This short survey aims to gauge your opinion as to the role mission agencies have to play in the future of mission. Are we a dying breed or do we have a valuable place in spreading the good news of Jesus Christ around the world? And, if we are to be effective for another 50 years, how should we be working with your church to help you achieve what God is calling you to do?
Can you take 10 minutes to complete the survey and pass it on to others in your church that may have something to share too?
Our short term Engage team to Indonesia arrived home safely at the end of July, after spending several weeks having their perceptions challenged across cultures, and learning to connect with Christians in a very different context. Here are some of their reflections:
Encouraging…
“I think the past month has been a great reminder that it is the same God we are serving and worshipping wherever in the world we are.”
“It is very encouraging to see how God is working thousands of miles away from home to bring people to Himself…”
Learning…
“I gained an invaluable insight into local ownership of Bible translation projects which was inspiring”
“… the model here was more to work in partnership with locals”
“Mission often requires patience and flexibility, it needs to be built on effective working relationships.”
“I’ve leant a lot about the work and life involved in Bible translation… about the necessity of the involvement of locals in this work; and about the challenges and opportunities of mission life in general.”
“We were able to see mission life first hand and observe Scripture in Use workshops, visit a local translation project and spend some time with the local translation consultant.”
Inspired…
“I feel challenged afresh to be involved in overseas mission using my gifts and supporting missionaries through prayer.”
“… I will be more able to pray and think intelligently about mission…”
“I hope to be able to share my experience with my church”
“The trip was also a valuable reminder about how blessed we are in terms of not only English translations of the Bible but also other resources, and I plan to bear this in mind and make the most of them!”
Phil Prior introduces some colleagues who are working in Trauma Healing workshops in Africa. They are seeing God heal hearts and change the lives of those who have suffered trauma through war or displacement. Their story:
This is the kind of difference having God’s word in our heart language makes. 350+million people still do not have a word of scripture in their language. You can make a difference for them. Give the Story.
A Glimpse into the Extraordinary Life of a Third Culture Kid – new book by by Heidi Sand-Hart.
‘Home Keeps Moving’ follows Heidi and her missionary family on their many moves through the eyes of a Third Culture Kid (TCK) and the unique phenomena of having four very different home countries to relate to. It tells the true story of being catapulted from continent to continent constantly: leaving friends and starting all over again, her unquenchable search for a ‘home’ and sense of belonging in this world, her desire for a life-partner with the odds all but against her due to constantly relocating (even into adulthood). You will laugh and cry along with Heidi as she recounts hilarious and heart-breaking tales from her childhood as West blends with East.
That is the true beauty of Heidi’s upbringing, it crossed borders and defied logic but she lacked for nothing. Heidi Sand-Hart is an Adult Third Culture Kid who grew up in England, India and Norway due to her parent’s work. She has been involved with YWAM internationally and volunteered at orphanages in India, Morocco, Thailand and China. She has a passion for travel, photography and Arsenal football club. Heidi currently lives in London, England with her husband and views herself as a citizen of the world.
The 2010 Engage short term team to Cameroon flew out this morning, only days after the other teams arrived back in the UK. They will be working alongside the local and expatriate team involved in promoting mother-tongue literacy and encouraging the use of the translated Scriptures.
In the coming weeks, there will be lots of opportunities for the team to engage with the local church and community, and observe Bible translation in progress. Team members will be spending a weekend staying with a local Christian family in their own compound – as well as helping with the corn harvest in the fields; an intimate and challenging encounter with life in Cameroon. They will be building relationships, listening and learning, being prepared to learn some of the language!
There will also be an opportunity to work with local children’s workers to implement a childrens holiday Bible club programme with a difference! The programme is enabling the children to learn in their own mother tongue. In many countries, as in Cameroon, education is often delivered in the national language, a language that is unfamiliar and hard for children to understand.
Our short term Engage teams to Indonesia and Cambodia arrived home safely, after spending several weeks having their perceptions challenged across cultures, and learning to connect with Christians in a very different context. They will have a lot to process.
They will have seen firsthand that “Connection is everything” (as the tagline for “The Visitor” states, see our last blog post), not least in discovering how God’s word in the mother tongue communicates like nothing else. No doubt, as they settle back in at home, they will be seeing their own culture with new eyes, and perhaps questioning some things they have always taken as given.
Sharing experience across cultures is a huge privilege. We are enriched as we learn to see the world through others’ eyes, and it is good to become more aware that we are part of a global church, made up of people from ‘every tribe and language and people and nation’ (Revelation 5v9).
Many of us have easy access to God’s word in our own mother tongue, the language we understand best. But as the Engage teams to Indonesia and Cambodia have seen, there are still many without any scripture in their language. How can they connect with God without it?
Please pray for those who are still waiting for God’s word in their language, and for those who are working to make it available. A third Engage team flys out soon to Cameroon for a month. Pray they will also have an enriching time and be an encouragement to the community they are visiting.
The training of translators had been taking place in the UK since the early 50s, but 1960 was the year in which Wycliffe UK (named after John Wycliffe – an early Bible translator who wanted people to be able to learn about God in their own language) was formally recognised as part of this growing, world-wide family of translation organisations.
