Praying for spiritual victory

June 18th, 2013 by Jo Johnson

The word of God in English is available to us in so many different formats and versions. We don’t even have to pay for the multiple versions of the Bible in English that are accessible online. The Avatime people of south eastern Ghana were introduced to Christianity a hundred years ago but they still have no Bible in their language.

The majority of the Avatime profess to be Christian but traditional religion is widely practised alongside Christianity. The manager of the Avatime project, Divine Munumkum asks us to pray that ‘the people of Avatime, especially the churches, would fully commit themselves to the Avatime literacy and Bible translation programmes.’

Photo from Wycliffe USA

Translation work has begun and several books from the New Testament have been drafted and consultant checked*. Divine rejoices that the published books – Matthew, Mark, John, 1 and 2 Thessalonians and James – are being read in churches and at other occasions such as funerals. The Avatime have a low rate of literacy so

‘the project has printed reading books which include proverbs, health, basic primers, numeracy and more. In all there are 11 titles. We are seeking permission from the Education Ministry to introduce the Avatime language into the primary school so pray that we are able to do so.’

There is a feeling of spiritual opposition to Bible translation in this language. Please pray for spiritual victory. One of the areas the project has known opposition in is the area of health. One staff member, Walter, has had a big wound on the top of his left foot for over 6 months. Please pray for Walter’s healing and the good health of all project staff and their families. The Avatime project staff need our support and right now you can pray for them. Please stand in the gap on their behalf today.

The Avatime Bible translation project is supported by our partner organisation the Seed Company; for more information about the project please visit the Seed Company website.

* Translations are checked by specialist consultants to make sure that they are an accurate translation and are clear and natural to the readers.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Africa, Bible Translation, Prayer | No Comments »

Without a home and without a Bible

June 17th, 2013 by Hannah

This week is Refugee Week in the UK. Organisations from around the country are highlighting the substantial needs of refugee communities, not just here but all over the world.

Amid the distress and struggles of living as a refugee, there is sometimes a little hope. Some refugees will have more of a chance to see the Bible in their own language because they live outside their country, a country where it might be difficult for Bible translation workers to live. So the people living away from their homeland can be the first to get the benefits of the Bible in their language and literacy work. Take, for example, the experience of one Wycliffe worker, Eunice in Chad:

Eunice at market in ChadEunice … is part of a small multi-national team who are providing guidance to a literacy program for the displaced Massalit people of Darfur. These Massalit live in two refugee camps set up next to a small town called Hadjer Hadid, 60km from the border. Before 2003 it had a population of around 5,000 Chadian Massalit, but the population has boomed to 10 times that since the Sudanese Massalit came.

Read on in this article to find out how Eunice’s Malaysian upbringing and training in Library Science equipped her perfectly to love and serve Massalit people living as refugees in Chad.

Hadjer Hadid

Hadjer Hadid. Photo: Wycliffe | Zeke du Plessis

You can find out more about the events and news of Refugee Week from the website – there are events going on all over the country.

Tags: ,
Posted in Africa, Bible Translation, Culture, Languages, Missionary life | No Comments »

Developing the first dictionaries

June 16th, 2013 by Hannah

The Warringtons (Wycliffe workers based in Papua New Guinea) have been working with nine languages to help them develop their very first dictionaries – each in three languages!

Four Papua New Guineans stand at a chalkboard working on a multi-language dictionary.

It was fascinating to see some of the entries that they had included in each of the dictionaries. Each dictionary is quite small at the moment, given the newness of the enterprise, and yet, already in only 500 or so words, there are entries that are surprising and interestingly defined. Here are some examples from the languages:

Pou language
kori tawur a shell that has been turned into a wind instrument.

Barapu language
pariti verb surik (long as) crawl (with your bottom)

Wolwale language
kawa noun tupela meri maritim (wanpela man) two women (married to one man)

Sumo language
11 different types of banana!

You can read more examples of the dictionary discoveries over on the Warrington’s blog.

Sound fascinating? Then you might be just the person to help language communities who are writing their language for the first time. Find out more here.

 

Tags: ,
Posted in Languages, Missionary life, Pacific | No Comments »

What can literacy do for women?

June 14th, 2013 by Hannah

Being literate is something that’s easy to take for granted. For most of the people who will read this, the act of reading won’t even be conscious – you see the words and they automatically mean something. But it’s not the case for millions around the world:

When women attend literacy classes, they learn much more than how to read and write. By the end of a typical programme, participants are able to write notes, stories and letters, read letters and books, tell time, add, count money, and read scales. Suddenly they can interact with the world in a new way, gathering information through reading and expressing themselves through writing. Using their basic knowledge of mathematics, women can shop at the marketplace without fear of being cheated. It is also easier for an individual to bridge into the national or trade languages once they learn to read and write in their mother tongue. [...]

mother2

The ‘poorest of the poor’ in almost all societies are women and children. Literacy gives women the skills they need to manage rural micro-economic businesses, or ‘cottage industries’. These endeavors give women their own source of income, promoting independence and equality and enabling them to improve their homes, buy food and clothing for their families, and pay school fees for all their children – not just boys. As a result, literacy is seen as the foundation for all sustainable community development.

From the Wycliffe USA blog. Read more here.

Without literacy, written words – even the words of God – are meaningless. Help to bring meaning by supporting the literacy work Wycliffe does.

Tags: ,
Posted in Languages | No Comments »

Then and now

June 12th, 2013 by Hannah

This gorgeous old photo of a literacy specialist working with two men in Papua New Guinea was probably taken in the 1970s and obviously much has changed since then.

Circa 1970: a woman sits between two Papua New Guinean men doing language work

New Guineans rarely wear traditional dress every day, western women rarely wear curlers to bed and most of the translation and literacy work is done by those who know their own language best. Over the decades, as we’ve sought how to best serve those without access to Scripture, our methods have changed but our desire to help people understand God’s great love is still as strong as ever.

Find out more about what translating the Bible looks like today, and why the work is as needed as ever at wycliffe.org.uk.

Words: Elyse Patten | Photo: unknown

Tags: ,
Posted in Bible Translation, Culture, Missionary life, Pacific | No Comments »

The final stretch

June 10th, 2013 by Jo Johnson

The Logo team in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are nearing the finish line. They are working on final checks before the New Testament can be published. At this stage in the translation of a New Testament there are often increased spiritual attacks.

This project has known great challenges with several staff members dying while the translators have been working and lots of disruption through civil war and rebel activity. Consultant Doug Wright is currently in Isiro, a town in the heart of the rainforest, working with the translation team as they do final checks of Matthew, Luke and parts of John’s Gospel. His time there has not been uneventful: as he travelled there, both the regular and the backup ignition systems failed on the plane that was carrying him and a crash was narrowly averted. He believes that this ‘near miss’ is related to the spiritual battle in that area with the Logo New Testament nearing completion.

Despite this, Doug is encouraged by the churches’ desire to participate more:

‘The interdenominational church organization that we partner with in this region asked me to join them in a session of their board meetings to discuss how the churches could take a more leading role in evaluating and approving the Logo translation before sending it off for printing. These top Protestant and Catholic church leaders said that if they have a more active role in evaluating the translation, they will ensure that it’s used to the fullest in their churches.‘

The Logo team - Aguma, Doug Wright, Pastor Lalima (head of translation committee), Madrakele and Adara

The Logo team – Aguma, Doug Wright, Pastor Lalima (head of translation committee), Madrakele and Adara

Pray for the Logo people as God prepares them at every level to be changed forever by his word in their language.

The Logo project is supported by partner organisation The Seed Company. More information about the Logo project can be found here.

 

Tags: , ,
Posted in Africa, Bible Translation, Prayer | No Comments »

Are we nearly there?

June 9th, 2013 by Hannah

Laurent came back regularly to encourage us. ‘Well, is the Bible ready yet?!’

Was he joking, or serious? Surely he knew that it was always going to be a marathon, this translation, not a sprint? The Kouya language [a language of Ivory Coast] still had to be written down, an alphabet had yet to be established, and Emile and our other village-friends had some task ahead to teach these Irish how to speak a tonal language fluently. With their Irish intonation, they made every sentence they spoke into a question! Would they even survive? They had clearly never used a simple oil-lamp or a machete before; Madame had never pounded foutou (made from mashed yam or plantain banana) nor drawn well-water by the look of her muscles. And what real work did Monsieur do, if he had no fields to till, and no wares to sell at market?

Old Laurent was a character, of that there was no doubt. Maybe it was the set to his jaw, maybe the twinkle in his eye, but it was probably a bit of both. You knew Baï Laurent could be a stubborn old man, but you knew also that a smile was never far away from his lips. Ready for a laugh, ready for a fight, he was as tough as they came.

However, it was not long before Laurent’s smile was starting to get broader and broader every time we saw him. ‘The Lord is at work! The Lord is at work!’ he exclaimed, as he told of yet another Kouya being converted to Christ. Indeed, it seemed to be true. Kouyas, students or civil servants, were returning from their work in the cities to say they were now Christians. In the villages, the few Christians were starting to meet for worship in Kouya, their mother-tongue.

Kouyas everywhere were beginning to realise that the Lord had not passed them by or forgotten them. What old Baï Laurent had been telling them for years had actually been the Truth. And we had the privilege of being right in the middle of it.

This extract comes from No Ordinary Book, Wycliffe translator Philip Saunders’ memories of working with the Kouya people of the Ivory Coast to see the New Testament translated into their language for the first time. If you want to read about what happened next, you can download No Ordinary Book for Kindle here.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Africa, Bible Translation, Missionary life | No Comments »

Translators beware! Fire falling

June 8th, 2013 by Ruth

How risky is it to be a Bible translator? This week, BBC2 broadcast a documentary about William Tyndale, describing how his Bible translation work ultimately led him to be burnt at the stake. Since this happened to the likes of Tyndale, Bible translation might not seem a safe career choice. Serving God in any capacity can be a risky business, and often costs everything. Literally.

William Tyndale sculptureWhile the fires found Tyndale confronting the powers-that-be of his day, other servants of God lost their lives for another reason. I’m reminded of the biblical stories of Nadab and Abihu offering ‘strange fire’ at the altar of God (Leviticus 10) or Uzzah touching the ark (2 Samuel 6). The men in these latter accounts overstepped the mark and found themselves at odds with God himself. Surely bringing any service to a holy God carries a fearsome responsibility, and doing God’s work has to be done God’s way.

Oldi Morava of the Bible SocietyBible Society’s Oldi Morava describes how he feels about his role as a Bible translator.

So how does it feel to translate the most widely read book in the world?
“It’s not just a great scholarly exercise, [although] I enjoy that aspect too,” says Mr Morava. “Being a devoted Christian, it’s also a privilege – and a big responsibility.” (read whole article from the BBC here)

Today, Bible translation is still carried out worldwide by thousands of normal, humble, yet intrepid people. They wrestle to find the right phrases and words, and through the process God’s fire refines both the translators and the words that are used. They know well the responsibility they carry. But despite their admitted limitations, God is using their efforts to reveal himself, as the Scriptures become available to minority language communities for the first time ever in history.

If you’re quick, you can still watch The BBC’s ‘Most Dangerous Man in Tudor England’ on iPlayer and be inspired by Tyndale’s life which was fearlessly laid down in the flames for God.

You can also read more on the Wycliffe website about being a translator, or check out Wycliffe Director Eddie Arthur’s post on the cost of following Jesus, called Come on, if you think you are hard enough.

 

Tags:
Posted in Bible Translation, Missionary life, People | No Comments »

God’s word in Roma words

June 7th, 2013 by Hannah

At Christianity Today, Melody Wachsmuth has been writing about growing faith among Roma communities in Europe. Read the whole article, but to give you a taster, here’s one bit that excited us (you’ll see why!):

In 1999, three years after Florian Tanaṣie became a Christian, he felt a strong desire to translate the Bible into Romani. Even while working as a brick-maker, he started privately translating the Psalms. When he heard about the Gypsy Smith School [a ministry school for Roma people in Romania], he telephoned and asked if he could study there. After graduating in 2000, he went for further study and then returned to brick-making.

“I was working with bricks every day, but constantly on my knees asking God to let me translate the Bible,” Florian says. Finally, in 2006, he received an unexpected call from an old professor, and eventually became a mother-tongue translator working with Wycliffe Bible Translators. So far he has helped to translate six books of the Bible into the Usari Romani dialect.

Preview_ca-GM-rmo-18More and more people are becoming involved in ministry among the Roma people across Europe, including increasing numbers of Roma people themselves. God is providing the workers, and he’s also providing the harvest:

Recently, one team [working with a Roma language] sent this report: ‘Last year, Manolito, the son of believing parents, asked us to send him a Sinte* New Testament in prison. Manolito read through the whole New Testament and became a believer. He told his parents, “I finally understand what you’ve been trying to explain to me all these years.”He has given his New Testament to another prisoner and is asking for another copy. Soon he will be baptised in prison.’

The prisoner to whom he gave the New Testament said, ‘I have started reading the Bible in German several times but I stopped every time because I couldn’t understand it. When I received a copy of this Bible, I was happy and proud at the same time. I can really understand it and it touches me deeply. Many Sinti don’t have any idea what they’re holding in their hands. They should fall down on their knees and thank God that he has made this translation possible.’ From Wycliffe’s Call to Prayer bulletin earlier this year.

Find out how you could share the Bible with people still waiting for it.

*Sinte Romanes, a Roma language

Tags: ,
Posted in Bible Translation, Europe | No Comments »

Everyone who asks receives

June 5th, 2013 by Jo Johnson

The Weera people of Kenya are battling against the odds to get God’s word into their language. But now,  another obstacle has come up: the translation team have lost their vehicle in a serious accident and need a new one! The Weera people live in a remote area and the roads to it are poor so the vehicle needs to be a robust, four-wheel drive.

The Weera team has two-thirds of the amount needed to buy a new vehicle already but where is the other third, a significant amount of money, going to come from? This news was recently shared at the UK Wycliffe offices, so we prayed and shared it on prayer networks so that as many people as possible would pray for this need.

Launching a Weera literacy book

Launching a Weera literacy book

In less than a week, money was given specifically for this need and the amount given is nearly as much as the total amount needed. God cares so much for his children and their needs that if we ask he gives us good things. Let’s get far more into the habit of asking.

‘So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.’ Matthew 7:11 (NLT)

Find how you can be part of the team by praying for Bible translation.

Weera is a pseudonym the team use to help keep the translators safe.

Tags: ,
Posted in Africa, Prayer | No Comments »

« Older Entries