Archive for February, 2011

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Many Roles: Administration

Friday, February 25th, 2011

Art and Denice Aviles had completed 4 ½ years of post-graduate linguistics.  They had raised their financial support.  They had gone to French-language school.  And they had travelled miles along bumpy, dusty roads to their base in Chad.  They were ready to help translate the Bible.

Working on the Centre in Chad

The base in Chad, though, was short of some people.  They had no one to manage the centre or oversee centre construction projects, so Art and Denice agreed to do these roles.  They were determined to move onto their roles in translation work.  But on returning from a year at home, there was still no one to take up the roles of centre manager…

Fortunately, a couple who already had administration and managerial skills agreed to volunteer in Chad.  Art and Denice were freed up to work with one of the least reached people groups in the world.  They now have Scripture portions in their language.

“Ken and Lori’s arrival finally freed us up, as well as a host of others, to follow God’s call,” said Art. “After 7½ years of waiting, we finally realized our vision of working among the people.” Read more.

The task of Bible translation is made up of a huge number of roles.  Without people willing to do these, the work can’t go ahead.  Find out about some of the roles that you can get involved with to enable Bible translation.

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Posted in Africa, Missionary life, People, Serving Overseas | 1 Comment »

Understanding the Scriptures – Resources online

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

Last Wednesday (16 February) Sue Pearson did a great job speaking on ‘How not to do word studies’ – the second of our series of monthly Biblefresh Evening classes.

More information on our Understanding the Scriptures Evening Class series can be found on our website; the March class is entitled “Does the Old Testament have something to say to today’s church?”

If you weren’t able to get there for last month’s talk, it can be heard or downloaded as a podcast here or from iTunes.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Posted in BibleFresh, Evening Classes, Events | 1 Comment »

UNESCO International Mother Language Day

Monday, February 21st, 2011

On 21 February, UNESCO celebrate mother-tongue languages around the world.  The date commemorates the death of two Bangla speakers, who, in 1952, were shot by police for protesting for national recognition of their mother tongue.

Bangla (or Bengali) is now the primary language of Bangladesh.  The continued use of the mother tongue even when Bangla speakers were a minority before independence, helped to preserve culture and heritage of the people.

But unlike Bengali, many mother-tongue languages are spoken by linguistic minorities; because they don’t speak a majority language, speakers of minority languages often don’t receive the same respect and don’t have access to education in their mother-tongue.

The Director General of UNESCO reminds us of the personal and cultural importance of the mother languages:

“The mother language, in which the first words are uttered and individual thought expressed, is the foundation for the history and culture of each individual…. Languages are the best vehicles of mutual understanding and tolerance. Respect for all languages is a key factor for ensuring peaceful coexistence, without exclusion, of societies and all of their members.”

Wycliffe Bible Translators believe in the importance of mother-tongue languages.  The work of Bible translation is inextricably connected to language development and literacy, helping to preserve languages and protecting the cultures of minority language groups.

Celebrate mother tongue languages by finding out how you can give the Bible to someone in their mother-tongue.

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Posted in Culture, Languages | 1 Comment »

Martin Luther: 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546

Friday, February 18th, 2011

Luther’s famous 95 Theses mark, in many people’s minds, the beginning of the Reformation in Europe. But his most fundamental work for the Reformation is probably his work of 17 years later…

Luther loved the Bible, but lived at a time when even theological scholars rarely approached the Bible.  One of his fellow professors gained his doctorate in theology years before he ever owned a Bible! Luther knew that part of the problem was that the Bible was not accessible.  So he concluded that a new translation, in the common language of the German people was necessary.

But his focus in his translation was not to make the Bible accessible to the scholars and theologians; rather, he wanted the ‘tailors and shoemakers, yea, even women and ignorant persons’* to be able to read God’s word.

He dedicated his time in exile to translating the Bible into the common language of the German people for the first time.  So committed was he to the ordinariness of the language in the translation, he would take trips into local towns and villages to listen to the way people spoke.

Luther’s translation marked a shift in the church’s approach to the Bible, as Philip Schaff notes:

“The Bible ceased to be a foreign book in a foreign tongue, and became far more clear and dear to the common people. Hereafter the Reformation depended no longer on the works of the Reformers, but on the book of God, which everybody could read for himself as his daily guide in spiritual life.”

It spured on Bible translation in Europe, especially in French, Dutch and English.

But around the world over 500 years later, over 300 million people do not have the Bible in the language they speak and understand best.  Find out how you can be part of Bible translation.

*The fact that these people could read and understand the Bible was part of the criticism (from Cochlaeus) of Luther’s translation.

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Posted in Culture, Languages, People | 5 Comments »

The End of Transitional Gift Aid

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

We all want our money to go as far as possible. Because of this, many Wycliffe supporters who pay income tax make Gift Aid donations which allow Wycliffe to claim back the tax.

Back in April 2008, the basic rate of tax was reduced, from 22 percent to 20 percent.  The result for charities was a reduction in the amount of Gift Aid that could be claimed back. Generously, the Treasury agreed to delay the fall in Gift Aid by three years.

Which brings us to now.  Gift Aid will be falling back to match the tax rate after 5 April 2011.

What implication does this have for you or for Wycliffe? Well, let’s say someone very kindly gives £10.  Current levels of Gift Aid mean that we can claim back another £2.82 making the total value of the gift £12.82. From 6 April, the amount of tax we can claim back on a gift is reduced – meaning the value of that £10 gift will be reduced to £12.50.

For one gift this may not seem like a lot, but spread out over the year this will result in a significant reduction in income for Wycliffe Bible Translators in the UK.

What can you do?

  • Give early – make sure that any gifts you were planning to give to Wycliffe, you do before the beginning of April: this will give us time to process everything before the 6th April deadline.
  • Review your giving – if you give regularly to Wycliffe, or any other organisation, this may be the time to review your giving.
  • If you pay income tax and haven’t given us permission to claim the tax back on gifts that you give to us, now would be a great time to do that. Our Response Centre can tell you how to do this: askus@wycliffe.org
  • Pray – even if you can’t Gift Aid your gifts, please pray that God would continue to supply for the needs of Bible translators, in the UK and all around the world.

You can find out more about these changes from Stewardship, who offer practical, Christian advice about money-issues.

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Many Roles: IT

Monday, February 14th, 2011

The work of Bible translation is made up of  a variety of people.  The obvious roles immediately spring to mind: well, you need someone to do the translation, and someone to work out which languages need translation, someone to consult on accuracy, to help language groups to use the Bible, to teach literacy.  Already we have a list of five roles.

But this list is nowhere near comprehensive.  Take the experience of these translation teams in Africa:

An IT specialist in Africa was attending a meeting of mother-tongue translators who had come from working in an area wracked by war. During their time together, he asked them to list the most difficult challenges they faced. The men compiled a long list of the difficulties and obstacles they faced doing translation work in a war zone.

Then, each African translator was asked to vote for his top seven obstacles. When the votes were tallied, the civil war came near the top of the list – but it was second. The number one hindrance on their joint list was the lack of computer support!

The support that IT specialists provide is invaluable to the task of Bible translation.  Find out more about the huge variety of roles through which you could enable people to hear God’s words for the first time.

If IT is your passion, why not come along to Check IT Out at the Wycliffe Centre near High Wycombe on 26th February to find out more about how you could play a part in Bible translation?

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Posted in Africa, People, Serving Overseas | No Comments »

What’s in a word?

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

Next week sees our second Understanding the Scriptures evening class. The topic will be ‘How not to do word studies: discovering Biblical concepts’.

Looking at how to approach Biblical concepts equips us to read and teach the Bible.  The talk will enable both leading in a small group setting – building confidence in a knowledge of God’s word – as well as helping in personal Bible study and discipleship.

The speaker, Sue Pearson, has been involved in Bible translation for many years, working on translation in Chad, training translators and working as a consultant for translation projects.  Translating the Bible requires a systematic look at the words of the Bible, so she is well equipped by experience and study to help us develop our study of the Bible’s words.

The next class will be on February 16th.  Find out more and register for the class.

If you missed last month’s evening class, you can find resources from it on our website.

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Posted in BibleFresh, Evening Classes, Events, UK | 1 Comment »

Valentines Cards Support Bible Translation

Monday, February 7th, 2011

For the past two years Wycliffe Bible Translators have been working in partnership with Just Cards Direct to give you the option of purchasing beautiful handmade greetings cards while supporting Bible Translation at the same time.

Greetings card with 'heart' designJust Cards imports and sells handmade greetings cards from Africa and printed cards from around the world. We sell ‘just cards’ – meaning that we not only sell cards but also that through our sales we help to provide justice, dignity and hope for the poor. The business not only supports card makers at grass roots level, but also supports Christian charities in the developing world.

With each card you buy from Just Cards you can nominate a charity to receive a percentage of the profit. Of course, we’d like to encourage you to make sure your nominated charity is Wycliffe Bible Translators.

In a recent update, Anne Horrobin who runs Just Cards, said,

We are extremely grateful to everyone who has supported us in so many ways. Not only have we been able to help provide employment to over 100 individuals in Africa, but we have also been able to give away an amazing £10,000 to the charities that we support.

Amongst greetings cards for all seasons, Valentines cards have just appeared on the Just Cards website. So if you’re looking for a card for that special someone and want to make a difference to the lives of others at the same time, here’s your perfect opportunity.

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Posted in UK | 1 Comment »

The Ghanaian Celebrations

Monday, February 7th, 2011

Back in November, we wrote about the dedication of the Chumburung Bible in Ghana.  The completion of this programme made the Bible available to over 70,000 people.

These people had been waiting for a long time to read all the Bible:

The New Testament has been available in Chumburung since 1988.  The language also has a dictionary and grammars, providing access to literacy. Now, after 21 years, the people will be able to read the whole of the Bible in their own language. Read more from the previous post.

Keir and Gillian Hansford, who travelled to Ghana for the dedication, have been sharing pictures of the celebrations.

Visit the Above Bar Church website to read about Keir and Gillian’s dedicated work with the Chumburung people and to see  more of their photos.

The Chumburung people have waited to hear God’s words for over 25 years since the beginning of translation work in their language.  But many more are still waiting. Bible translation is yet to begin in over 2,000 languages.  You can give God’s story.

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Posted in Africa, Languages, People | 1 Comment »

Life of a Language Project

Saturday, February 5th, 2011

Daniel speaks Kuria.  He longs to tell others about Jesus and his saving work.  And he has the New Testament in his language, to give him the words to say.  But when Daniel tries to read the words like he reads Swahili, it doesn’t make sense.

In order to enable Daniel and other Kuria speakers to read the Bible fluently, they don’t just need translators.  They need language analysts, to determine whether the writing system that the New Testament is in is adequate.  They need literacy experts and teachers to help people learn how to read the words that were in their own language.  So many roles are needed to enable Daniel to read the words at his finger tips. Read more about Daniel’s experience.

Any Bible translation project takes so many more roles than just language workers.  Throughout the project there will be a need for administrators and project managers to ensure things run smoothly. Finance workers correspond with donors and ensure that donations reach the places they are needed. School teachers are involved by teaching expatriate children, with IT workers having a vital role in facilitating the work of all the staff.  To keep things moving, pilots, mechanics, and car mechanics are involved.  There are Centre managers, communications specialists, construction supervisors, counsellors, desktop publishers, IT specialists, graphic designers, personnel staff and public relations specialists to name just a few!  (More on the life of a language project).

There’s a need for all sorts of skills in the ongoing work of Bible translation.  Why not come along to Window on Wycliffe (20-26th February, High Wycombe) - and take six days to explore how you can be involved?

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Posted in Languages, Missionary life, People, Serving Overseas | 1 Comment »

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