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God, When Will You Speak in My Tongue?

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

This poem is by James Lokuuda Kadanya, a speaker of the Toposa language of South Sudan. Toposa is still without Scripture.

God, When Will You Speak in My Tongue?

Far and near
It is said that you, God, speak!
How do you do that?
Is it in their tongues?
If it is truly so,
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

East and west, north and south,
The Creator speaks, it is said!
Not in the language as of birds;
But in other human tongues I cannot understand!
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

Children and grown-ups of other lands,
With their different tongues,
Know your voice.
In their tongues you speak a special message to them!
If you speak messages in different tongues,
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

In the world around, we perceive you,
Yet your language is not clear.
We want to know you personally,
We want to hear you speak to us.
If you know all tongues,
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

We search you as a treasure.
Our eyes look on mountains, rivers,
Even in caves, forest and world around us.
Many voices are heard, confused we become,
If your voice is one, as of that of the Creator of all,
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

Oh! God, Creator of all people,
You who do not segregate,
Is it possible to hear you speak?
Can you speak in my tongue?
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

When he wrote the poem, James was studying in a linguistics school, and he now works for a mission, spreading God’s good news around the country. As many as half a million people who speak Toposa still only have a few portions of the Bible in their language. Do something so that people like James will hear God speak their tongue.

This poem has been reposted from the blog of a partner organisation, The Seed Company. Read their blog.

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Posted in Africa, Culture, Languages, People | 2 Comments »

The time is right

Friday, January 13th, 2012

John Hamilton, the coordinator of Wycliffe Bible Translators’ work in Northern Ireland, is making exciting plans for a trip abroad:

“Last week I booked flights to return to Ivory Coast. We left there as a family in July 1997 having completed an 8 year Wycliffe assignment at Vavoua International School teaching the children of mission families working in West Africa. Both our children and myself have made separate trips back to Ivory Coast quite a while ago, but for my wife, this will be her first time in Africa for almost 15 years.

“So why are we returning to the land of mangoes? To be part of a belated celebration of the New Testament in the Kouya language. Belated because the Kouya New Testaments arrived in the port of Abidjan in 2002, the day after Wycliffe personnel were evacuated due to the worsening political situation. Belated because that led to ten years of civil unrest and violence. Belated because the civil war battle lines in Ivory Coast were drawn right through Kouya territory. Belated because, for the past decade, the Kouya church leaders have not judged it wise to hold a public celebration of God’s word in their heart language.

“But now they feel the time is right.“ Read more from John’s blog.

As well as praying for John and his family’s trip to Ivory Coast, let’s praise God that the Kouya people have God’s word in their language. 350 million people do not, but you could help to change that.

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The journey starts here…

Saturday, December 31st, 2011

John Wycliffe, a fourteenth-century scholar, is credited with the first complete translation of the Bible into any modern European language. While many had translated portions into Old and Middle English, Wycliffe’s translation is the first complete English Bible.

His work was opposed by the organised church at the time. The concept of a Bible accessible to the common man was so vile that, in response, Bible translation was declared an act of heresy, and his body was burnt as punishment… 43 years after he died.

Wycliffe translated the New Testament almost entirely alone from the Latin Vulgate (no one in the fourteenth century learnt Greek). Every copy had to be handwritten, with each Bible taking up to a year to produce. But, by 1408, even reading a copy was punishable by death.

Why did he bother?

“Holy Scriptures is the faith of the Church, and the more widely its true meaning becomes known the better it will be. Therefore since the laity should know the faith, it should be taught in whatever language is most easily comprehended… [After all,] Christ and His apostles taught the people in the language best known to them.” From a sermon by Wycliffe.

A lot has changed since Wycliffe’s work. Today, hundreds of versions of the Bible exist in English. In fact, there are as many English translations as there are languages with a complete Bible. And there are more than 2,000 with no Scripture at all.

Wycliffe’s death was more than 600 years ago today, but Bible translation is not 600-year-old history. Give the Bible: the Story everybody needs.

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News of a significant ‘first’

Monday, November 14th, 2011

A wonderful first! Bible translators and sign language consultants from around the world celebrated at the Deaf translation centre in Nairobi, Kenya:

Hands waved in Deaf “applause” and feet danced in heartfelt praise to God, as Njatha Paul Ndungu, Director of DOOR Africa (Deaf Opportunity Out Reach), was officially “knighted” as a consultant commissioned to work with sign language translation.

Never before in history has a Deaf translator been recognized as a Bible translation consultant. Paul will provide a key role in the checking of sign language translations, ensuring that they convey the original meaning accurately and express it in the most natural and clear way for each Deaf language community. As a Deaf consultant, Paul brings to the task what no hearing consultant can bring: a native signer’s knowledge of how best to express the Scriptures visually, and an insider’s knowledge of Deaf culture.

…

Jan Zacchariassen, a Deaf pastor, translator and consultant-in-training from Denmark, wiped the tears from his eyes as he watched this inaugural event unfold.

“In this hearing world oftentimes we are told that we’re incapable of achieving things or that we can’t become leaders. And now finally a Deaf person has become a leader, a consultant, and it’s such a rich experience to have witnessed that and to realize that God does not forget Deaf people. He has raised us up,” he said.

At present, no sign language has a complete Bible translation. But Paul and many others are working towards the vision of everyone, Deaf and hearing, having access to God’s word in their language. Catch the vision – give the Story.

This story is taken from a press release from DOOR International. Read the whole release.

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Happy birthday Martin Luther

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

Today is Martin Luther’s 528th birthday. Even though he’s not around to celebrate it, it is difficult to escape the impact of his life.

Take this example: a couple of weeks ago was Reformation Day. It marks the anniversary of the day Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the front of All Saints Church in Wittenburg, an event which sparked the Reformation in Europe. Even centuries later people celebrate it, some with surprising activities like ‘Pin the theses on the church door’ and Reformation Day masks (right).

As well as sparking  new attitudes about the church, Luther  prompted new thinking about the Bible, by translating the Bible into every-day German:

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. Read more from this earlier post.

There are still millions around the world who have yet to experience the impact of this new thinking. While his translation prompted Bible translations in English, French and Dutch, it has yet to touch the 2,000 languages that are still without a single verse of Scripture.

Help them to access God’s word.

*Mask image from The Resurgence.

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‘An interesting and varied life’

Saturday, November 5th, 2011

Earlier this month we were saddened to hear of the death of Irene Walker. Irene had been a Wycliffe short-termer from the 1970’s. But, looking back at her life, the phrase ‘short-termer’ doesn’t really cover it.

In 1975, at the age of 55, Irene made the decision to use the freedom of her retirement to go to Papua New Guinea with Wycliffe. She volunteered, providing important teaching and administration skills. Irene returned home after her first 3 ¼ years, but soon felt that she should return to this work.

Her letters home tell of some of her amazing experiences:

December 1980

November 1st was a very special day for the people of villages on the banks of the Sepik river for on that day their own Yessan-Mayo New testament was dedicated![…] The previous day some of us had flown out from Ukarumpa and then travelled upriver in two canoes joined by planks of wood, enjoying the beauty of the river, the birds and foliage, and the little villages on the bank.  It was a wonderful experience to rejoice with the people in song and prayer and reading from their own New Testaments.

March 1981

I have acquired a car; bits of it are held together by tape but all vital parts work and it successfully negotiates mud, a flood, a plank bridge and herds of water buffalo between the centre and the aviation department.

After a further 3+ years, Irene returned home. But she still wasn’t finished with Wycliffe. She volunteered with the Wycliffe office in Northern Ireland, representing Wycliffe at churches and helping in the office. All in all, Irene’s short-term work lasted more than 14 years.

She is fondly missed, and her life – by committing to supporting the work of Bible translation – has touched many lives. You can read more about Irene from Wycliffe’s Northern Ireland coordinator John Hamilton, on his blog.

Find out how you could be part of Wycliffe’s work in any number of ways.

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Perseverance

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

The communist rule in Ethiopia was a time of persecution and pain for many Christians. But it was during that time that Alemayehu Hailu – who was the first member of Wycliffe Africa and the first African member of any Wycliffe organization – chose to follow Jesus.

Alemayehu Hailu, photo by Adam Jeske

Pressure was fierce:

‘He spent a total of nine months in prison for following Jesus.  While he was in jail, he was tortured and forced into hard labor all day.  At night other prisoners often beat him. He knew of other believers in prison, who were also friends, who were sometimes taken away and killed.  Through it all, however, Alemayehu refused to renounce Jesus….

‘Alemayehu shared one experience of how the church planned a communion service… Special care was taken for security while traveling since several small house-churches would join together for the special event. The members split into multiple groups, and women wore traditional funeral attire to remove suspicion from the authorities about their destination.

‘That night, the Christians gathered, worshipped, and celebrated the Lord’s Supper together, which was a rare privilege in those years. As night fell, nearly everyone boarded a bus headed back to the city. Alemayehu and a few others stayed behind talking.  Just minutes after the bus departed, Communist officials passed by the building. The believers acknowledged them, and the government workers continued on their way.

‘ “Can you imagine what would have happened if they had come just a few minutes earlier?” he shuddered as he thought about what could have happened that night more than 20 years ago.’

Alemayehu’s commitment continued through those 20 years. He is now the director of Wycliffe Africa, and one of many longing to share God’s story with everyone in the language they best understand, through Bible translation. You can read more about Alemayehu on theWordisLife.net.

Share God’s Story.

Story account by Adam Jeske.

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David Brainerd: 1718 – 1747

Sunday, October 9th, 2011

David Brainerd was not an archetypal candidate for a heroic and inspiring missionary. Before going into ministry, he had already failed his attempt at farming. On to university, where he was expelled in his second year. He was ill thoughout his adult life, have contracted tuberculosis, which eventually killed him. He also struggled with depression, even praying for death on occasions. His first two years in mission saw only two converts from the Native American communities amongst which he worked.

On this day in 1747, he died aged only 29, at the home of the theologian Jonathan Edwards. Edwards looked beyond these continual difficulties. He was so encouraged by the commitment of Brainerd’s life, he decided to publish a biography, recounting trials, turned-down-offers of a more comfortable life and 3,000 miles covered on horseback.

This book of Edwards’, The Life of David Brainerd, became his most popular work. Since its publication, it has never been out of print. John Wesley prescribed its reading for every preacher. Brainerd’s life, as retold in the book, has been cited by many missionaries as influential in their lives, including Henry Martyn, William Carey, Adoniram Judson, Robert McCheyne and Jim Elliot.

His work and expulsion from Yale were also major factors in the establishment of Princeton and Dartmouth Universities. And the Brainerd Hall is the only  the university building at Yale to be named after an expelled student. A lot of influence for a man who during his lifetime was seen to be a sickly and melancholic failure!

Brainerd’s life was not constrained by what he appeared to be. He knew that God invites anyone and everyone to participate in his work. God is doing amazing things around the world through Bible translation. You could participate by praying, giving, going or telling someone else about the 340 million people who still don’t have a single word of Scripture in their own language. Visit wycliffe.org.uk to find out more.

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Alister McGrath speaks at Wycliffe Bible Translators event

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

On 5 October 2011, over 60 church leaders in London gathered at the Emmanuel Centre Westminster to hear Professor Alister McGrath speak on the origins and the significance of the King James Bible (the Authorised Version).  He described one of the great themes of the reforming movements of the 16th century: that of accessibility, removing barriers which stopped ordinary people from having access to the riches of the Christian faith.

Alister McGrathThere was a recognition that language really matters.  There is no point having something of immense value if it’s locked in a box, confined there in a language that people cannot understand. 

Following Professor McGrath’s message, Eddie Arthur Director of Wycliffe Bible Translators, shared some of his experiences.  Eddie lived in the Ivory Coast, working on the translation of the Kouya New Testament.  He described the people he’d got to know through this work, and the impact that the Kouya Scriptures had in their lives and community.

“The Kouya NT won’t have the global impact that the KJV had, there are only 14,000 Kouya.  It’s not going to be a world changing book…  But by God’s grace we made history for the Kouya people.  Not because we’re anything special, but because this Word is special.”

Listen the full message here [1:03].

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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A look behind the scenes

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

Recently, we had a visitor on work experience here at The Wycliffe Centre. She shared some of her reactions and why she’s interested in Wycliffe’s work:

As part of my preparation for the future, I came to Wycliffe to do a week’s work experience. During the week, I got to visit several departments and see what their part is in the organization, learn about Bible translation work going on all around the world, and find out more about the 6,860 languages on this planet!

Everyone I met at Wycliffe was really welcoming and friendly (some of them were hilarious!), and made the week a great experience for me. I also got a chance to talk to some of the international students who were doing a language course at the time, which was interesting as well. All the departments I visited explained their role in the Wycliffe organization, and I was occasionally given a chance to try a bit of their work.

There are many reasons as to why I chose Wycliffe as my work experience placement. I love languages and translation. As I’ve found out more about Bible translation, it’s interesting to see the process – it takes so many years, good language skills, and lots of co-operation and effort to complete a transcript of a book from the Bible, the New Testament and the Bible itself. I found it fascinating! I first heard about Wycliffe through some people at my church, who actually work at Wycliffe, and over the past few years, I‘ve heard more about this organisation from my family and friends, and what they do.

So, I will now say thanks to everyone who had to put up with me that week, and I’m really happy that I enjoyed the week, as I was fairly nervous at first! My week at Wycliffe has been a really valuable experience.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the work behind the scenes in Bible translation, why not find out more about our internship programme? It’s a chance to serve the worldwide work of Bible translation from a UK base.

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