Archive for July, 2011

« Older Entries

Running the Race: Sat 17 Sept

Saturday, July 30th, 2011

With just over six weeks to go to the Running the Race event at Strathclyde Park in September, the race to the starting line is on. The race is 10k, sponsored for charities working in Africa. And Saturday 17 September is looking, more and more, like it will be a day not to miss!

Last minute training?

If you want to join in the main event – the10k sponsored run for five charities including Wycliffe Bible Translators – there’s still time. Have a look at this training schedule on the Running the Race facebook page for an idea of how to get from 5k to 10k in just 6 weeks.

And you don’t even have to run: if you fancy a pleasant Saturday afternoon walk – sponsored for charity, of course – Strathclyde Park is a great place to do it.

What else is going on?

As well as the running, the day will also be filled with lots of other things to do. The charities – Wycliffe Bible Translators, MAF, AIM, CBM and Open Doors – will all be exhibiting. There will also be a live band, magic show, jewelry sales and much more.

Add Running the Race in Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire on Saturday, September 17 to your diaries now. You can find out more about what the event is all about on our events page, and follow the countdown to the starting line on the Running the Race Facebook page and Twitter @runrace11.

Tags: ,
Posted in Events, UK | No Comments »

CABTAL: Bible Translation in Cameroon

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

CABTAL, the Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy, began work in 1989. Since then, it has been changing lives through sharing a vision for Bible translation, giving God’s word to people and pioneering new techniques in language projects.

Cameroon is home to more than 270 languages, of which Michel Kenmogne – General Director of CABTAL – say 104 still need translation. CABTAL are involved with 23 programmes at the moment, with 200 people directly involved.

Their work is making a difference. In partnership with The JESUS Film project, they produced the film in Mundani, where God used it to change hearts:

A man who was a witchdoctor in the community watched [the film] for the first time. The next Sunday he went to church with his wife. Another person expressed surprise to see him there, as he never went to church. The man said, ‘I watched the Jesus Film. If anybody watches that film and does not change his way of living, he is not a human being.’

Chief Fombele, of the Mundani comunity, said:

“[The New Testament] wonderful. This brings development to our village and makes us proud… we have to learn to read it, because if anybody refuses to read the Bible now, let him not blame anybody. This is the Bible in our dialect.”

You can find out more about CABTAL at cabtal.org, where you can find information about all the projects with which they are currently involved. You can also catch up with some of the other Global Alliance partner organisations we’ve featured recently: Wycliffe Benin and Wycliffe Bible Translators Philippines.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Africa, Serving Overseas | No Comments »

Re-dedication’s what you need

Monday, July 25th, 2011

Ed Lauber has been working with Wycliffe USA since 1978. He has seen some amazing things, but recently one story really struck him. He had heard about an ambitious Bible translation project – translating four New Testaments in Ghana at the same time! Incredibly, all four were launched in 2009. But what happened next was even more amazing:

“On July 16, there will be [was] a re-dedication of one of those New Testaments – the one for the Siwu language. When I saw that announcement, I wondered what on earth was a “re-dedication”?

Only 27,000 people speak Siwu [and only 13,500 are adults]. So only 1,500 New Testaments were published. [...] All 1,500 sold within a month of the dedication in 2009!

So, of the 27,000 Siwu, one in nine adults bought a New Testament! If the sale of a new translation had the same proportions in the USA, it would sell 27 million copies in its first month.

We will travel from Accra to Akpafu to be part of the Siwu people’s big celebration to launch the arrival of the second printing of their New Testament. The proportion will then no longer be one in nine. Expectations are that it will go up to at least one in four.” Read more from Ed in his original post.

In English we have literally hundreds of Bible translations to choose from. But there are people all around the world longing to read God’s word in their own language, but who can’t because there is no translation in their mother tongue. Read more on our website about how you can share the word with them.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Africa, Events, Languages, Missionary life, Serving Overseas | No Comments »

(Bible)Freshen up for July

Saturday, July 23rd, 2011

We are now more than halfway through the year, and it can be easy to forget those resolutions we made months ago in January. But summer is actually a brilliant time to get back to our resolutions – including getting back to celebrating the Bible.

biblefresh logoBiblefresh* is a brilliant way of getting back into the Bible. And they’ve got ten great reasons why July is a super month to get involved. For example,

1. Free book giveaway – CWR are giving away free copies of Selwyn Hughes’ book Getting the Best from the Bible to everyone in a Biblefresh church. But stocks are limited, so get signed up soon!

…

3. Genesis to Revelation – There are some great resources for getting into reading the Bible cover-to-cover, by yourself, with friends or as a church (and they work just as well starting in July as January!).

A Burkinabe woman holds the Bissa Lebir New Testament close to her heart.…

6. For young people – Soul Survivor has been running a Bible-in-a-year programme, and they start again in September.

Visit the Biblefresh website – biblefresh.com – to fill in the blanks and find out more about the great resources available. Here at Wycliffe Bible Translators, we feel particularly passionate about number 10: ‘Give the Bible’. Biblefresh is raising money to give the Bible to people in Burkina Faso. Find out more.

*Biblefresh: a movement of churches, agencies, colleges and festivals seeking to encourage and inspire churches across the UK to a greater confidence and appetite for the word of God.

Tags: ,
Posted in BibleFresh, Culture | No Comments »

WYnet on Camp: 1-8 August

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

Grab your wellies, tent pegs and sleeping bags — it’s WYnet camp time! Now a well-established annual tradition, Wycliffe’s Youth Network are heading off to Oxfordshire for a brilliant week of sleeping in tents and learning to love God more. Plus, real showers!

WYnet is a group of young people, between 13 and 18, who are passionate about getting involved with God’s mission and sharing the Bible — the Story everybody needs — with the world. It provides the chance to connect with God’s mission through prayer, giving to a project, visiting that project and advocating the need for Bible translation.

It’s a ‘network’ because it’s build around relationships, with each other and with God. That’s what WYnet camp is all about. The week will be spent sharing with one another, studying what God is saying through his word, and encouraging each other in worship. The theme this year is discipleship, with a related mini-theme for each day to consider in personal devotions and small groups.

As well as all this, there will be loads of time for fun in the sun (we hope!).

The camp runs from Monday 1 to Monday 8 August at Windmill Farm Conference Centre, near Oxford. For more information and a last minute chance to sign up, visit wynetuk.org. You can also find more information about getting involved with WYnet throughout the rest of the year.

Tags: ,
Posted in Events, UK | No Comments »

Wycliffe Bible Translators Philippines

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

A few days ago, I wrote about Wycliffe Benin, who are working with churches in Benin to help everyone have the Bible in their own language. Watch this video to see one way the same is being done in the Philippines.

This is Our Story – The Philippines from Wycliffe Global Alliance on Vimeo.

“And my hope is that other churches will see this example and testimony and they will be inspired to do the same… God has already provided.”

Churches around the world are getting involved in what God is doing through Bible translation, sharing God’s Story in the languages people think and dream in, their ‘heart’ languages. Local Wycliffe organisations, like Wycliffe Bible Translators in Philippines and in the UK, can help your church to get involved with the work.

Find out how your church in the UK could be part of God’s Bible translation work. Although Wycliffe Bible Translators (UK) have no farms at present, we do run a conference centre – the Wycliffe Centre – a proportion of whose profits go to Bible translation!

Tags: , ,
Posted in Culture, Multimedia, Pacific | No Comments »

C T Studd: 2 Dec 1860 – 16 July 1931

Saturday, July 16th, 2011

“If Jesus Christ be the Son of God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” C. T. Studd

Today marks the anniversary of the death of C. T. Studd. As well as being a first class cricketer – one of the team which played the infamous game against Australia which began the Ashes tradition – Studd was also a missionary to China and to Africa.

Photo of C T Studd

In 1885, he left his comfortable and successful life in England to travel to China, one of the Cambridge Seven who Hudson Taylor recruited for the China Inland Mission (now OMF). Ten years later, Studd toured universities across the USA to search for volunteers willing to give their lives for the furtherance of God’s word.

He was struck after hearing a talk, entitled ‘Cannibals want Missionaries’, and decided to travel to the region between the Nile and Lake Chad, at the time the least evangelised region in Africa. He set up there the ‘Heart of Africa Mission’, now WEC International.

He and his wife ran the mission, he in Africa, she back in the UK. They lived and worked separately until her death, two years before his. As well as this sacrifice of family, Studd continued to travel and preach despite severe warnings about his health; one doctor had described him as a ‘museum of diseases’.

He set up numerous mission bases across Africa, telling people the news about Jesus, as well as being involved in humanitarian work, and beginning a Bible translation at the age of 70! Of his life of dedication, he said, “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”

The challenge of his life may be best summed up in this verse he composed:

Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Studd gave his life to sharing the Bible, the Story that everyone needs to hear. You can be involved in doing the same.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Missionary life, Serving Overseas | 1 Comment »

Wycliffe Benin

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

The national language of Benin is French, but  more than 50 other languages are spoken within the country. Of these, only 10 have a complete Bible; 8 more have the New Testament. In 2003, a group of churches and missions in Benin came together to help more people in their nation read the Bible in their own language. They became Wycliffe Benin.

Picture by Heather Pubols.

The aims of Wycliffe Benin are not just to do literacy and translation. They are raising awareness among churches in Benin about how Beninese Christians can be involved in seeing a Bible available in every language in their nation. Part of this involves recruiting Beninese men and women who want to be involved in God’s work through Bible translation: 11 workers and 6 volunteers are already involved.

Despite the initial challenges Wycliffe Benin faced – including the skepticism of local leaders and a lack of funding – there are exciting results already. Daniel Dedji, the director of Wycliffe Benin, is seeing some in his own family:

“The book of Luke was published as a portion [in my language].  Last holidays I visited my family in my village. When [one of my uncles] saw the book, he got excited and amazed and asked if he could have a copy of that book.” Read more about Wycliffe Benin.

Wycliffe Benin is one of many organisations around the world who come under the umbrella of Wycliffe Global Alliance. Working together, they aim to see a Bible translation project started in every language where one is needed. A different partner organisation is featured on their website wycliffe.net each week. You can also find more there about other organisations and the worldwide work of Bible translation.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Africa | 2 Comments »

On the hunt for an IT Intern

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

When writing Romans, Paul is very clear. God’s work is not just for pastor and elders. It’s not just for translators and specialists in Scripture use. It’s not even just for those who want to go abroad.

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us…. If your gift is serving, then serve.” Rom 12:6-7

Right here in the UK there are opportunities to serve God’s work through helping in Bible translation. And the opportunities are not always those you’d think.

Right now, the IT department at the Wycliffe Centre (High Wycombe) are looking for someone who can do an internship with them. An internship, normally spread over a year, gives you the chance to spend some time helping the work of Bible translation in practical ways. It is unsalaried, but comes with accommodation, food and an allowance – perfect for a year out.

An IT intern would need to be enthusiastic about IT, with skills in some IT areas. But most importantly, it’s a role for someone who is enthusiastic about what God is doing and takes up the opportunity to serve! Find out more about the role of IT intern.

Not into IT? The Wycliffe Centre is always on the look out for enthusiastic people to be interns – find out about some of the other roles interns play.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Short-term, UK | No Comments »

More about Kande’s Story

Saturday, July 9th, 2011

Kande’s Story — a story used to educate people about Aids which we blogged about a couple of days ago here — is impacting lives across Africa. This report from CBN, an American Christian news channel, looks at how the story is teaching people in a community in Uganda.

You can read more about Kande’s Story on TheWordIsLife.net. Find out about how you could be involved in Wycliffe’s work, as the Scriptures and biproducts of translation change lives now and for eternity.

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

« Older Entries