One month from today, I'll be leaving France to begin a new life in
Chad, Africa. Yes, the long journey toward Africa is nearly over, and new adventures - new journeys - are about to begin. I've visited Africa four times, but this time is different: this time, I don't have a return ticket. I'll be really living there. Africa will now be my home, not just a place I've visited.
Most of the time, I'm thrilled! Soon I will be in Chad where I so long to be - seeing new and old friends, getting back into the Bible translation ministry, getting better acquainted with the people and languages that I just had time to be introduced to on my earlier trips. Besides, I've been waiting for 23 years to make this move - what could be more thrilling than seeing that nearly life-long dream soon to become a reality?
Often I am a bit nervous too. There will be so many things to get used to: cold showers, no super-high-speed internet access, brushing my teeth with filtered water, hot weather, limited electricity and running water, unpaved roads, mosquito nets. But far more than that, there will be new customs and a new culture to adjust to, new languages to learn ... and new difficulties to face. BI's ministry in Chad, while so very much needed, faces many challenges, and I will need to depend on the Lord's grace every day to help me through them.
Sometimes I am also a little sad. One year in France has been just enough time to gain sufficient skill in the language to communicate on a reasonable variety of topics and make some good friends. How thankful I am for my Christian French friends, who have been so gracious with all my stumbling attempts to communicate in French! And for my American missionary friends, who did so much to help me get settled in and to help me learn my way around! I can't imagine how I would have managed this year without the support of all of my friends here. And soon I must say goodbye to them - how can I do that?! I'm not sure when I will next be able to visit Bordeaux to see them all again. Yes, goodbyes are sad, even when the "hello" on the other end is very exciting!
Thrilled ... nervous ... sad ... excited ... sometimes by turns, and sometimes all at once! I suppose it is normal to have mixed emotions when looking forward to making such a big step. Wouldn't you feel the same? Still, mostly it is exciting! New adventures are ahead. The Lord will be with me in all of them. Please pray that I will continually seek to draw close to Him, whatever adventures He has in store for me in the months and years ahead!
Update on the Rito New Testament
Translators Gilbert and Ndjoni, with consultant Susan Hossack, have been working hard at finishing the corrections for the Rito New Testament. In their last workshop, both Gilbert and Ndjoni were in poor health, but the Lord answered your prayers and gave them strength to continue each day. They checked the spelling of nearly 2000 words, and made corrections to the book introductions that will be placed at the beginning of each book. Praise the Lord that they were able to finish all the corrections!
Electricity is limited in Chad, so the translators are not able to have their own computers, but the translation center in Balimba has both computers and electricity, so most of the work is done by hand and then entered into the computer later by the translation office staff. Therefore the next task for the Rito project is to enter all the corrections into the computer; the finished text will then be sent to the BI headquarters in Grand Rapids for formatting.
Please pray:
Electricity is limited in Chad, so the translators are not able to have their own computers, but the translation center in Balimba has both computers and electricity, so most of the work is done by hand and then entered into the computer later by the translation office staff. Therefore the next task for the Rito project is to enter all the corrections into the computer; the finished text will then be sent to the BI headquarters in Grand Rapids for formatting.
Please pray:
- For Susan Hossack and office staff Mamra and Kimiri as they enter the corrections;
- For the staff in Grand Rapids as they format the text once it is received;
- For the remaining funds needed to cover the printing costs (about $6,000 still needed).
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| Chad Translation Center in Balimba |
Visa Update
Shortly after I sent in my visa application a few weeks ago to the Chadian embassy, I received a call that I needed to send in one more document. I suppose I should be used to this by now: as a friend said, when doing business in France you will always be missing one required document the first time around! In this case, I had sent everything in, but one document wasn't what they wanted. Eventually, I was able to get the right document and sent it in, but still wondered if even that was what they wanted. So today, I called to verify that they have it and are satisfied with all my paperwork.
Even after 10 months in France, I get all sorts of butterflies in my stomach about phone calls -- you can't read people's lips or gestures over the phone, and I find it much easier to get derailed if the person talks fast or has an accent that I'm not accustomed to. In this case, I spoke to two people, one of whom wasn't too hard to understand, the other I kept having to ask to repeat things. But in spite of that, we did manage to communicate, and praise the Lord, they are now satisfied with all my paperwork, and I should receive my visa next week! I'm very thankful to be nearly done with this process -- for the moment, anyway. Visas will be a part of my life as long as the Lord has me in this ministry -- maybe the next 35 years or more - so I'm trying to get used to it. Thankfully, the Lord is in control even of the decisions of embassies and consulates -- whether they know it or not!
Even after 10 months in France, I get all sorts of butterflies in my stomach about phone calls -- you can't read people's lips or gestures over the phone, and I find it much easier to get derailed if the person talks fast or has an accent that I'm not accustomed to. In this case, I spoke to two people, one of whom wasn't too hard to understand, the other I kept having to ask to repeat things. But in spite of that, we did manage to communicate, and praise the Lord, they are now satisfied with all my paperwork, and I should receive my visa next week! I'm very thankful to be nearly done with this process -- for the moment, anyway. Visas will be a part of my life as long as the Lord has me in this ministry -- maybe the next 35 years or more - so I'm trying to get used to it. Thankfully, the Lord is in control even of the decisions of embassies and consulates -- whether they know it or not!
Sara Madjingaye: a trade language in need of the Scriptures
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| Location of Sara Madjingaye speakers |
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| The Sara Madjingaye translation team |
Please pray:
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| Torta at a training workshop |
- For translators Noubadoumadji, Madjissem, Nayedi, and Torta, that the Lord will give them wisdom as they translate and unity as a team.
- That the Lord will provide for the personal needs of the translators, so that they will be able to translate without worries and distractions.
- That the translation will be finished by the goal date of 2016.
- For funds to print the translation.
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| Reading the Sara Majingaye New Testament for the first time |
October Prayer Letter
"Live to the hilt every situation which you believe to be the will of God." I think it was Jim Elliot who said something along these lines. Those words are a challenge to me whenever I hear them: whether my situation is temporary or long-term, if it is God's will for me, I need to use the situation for the glory of God. My time in France is fast drawing to a close; please pray with me that these few remaining months will not be wasted, but that the Lord will help me to make the most of each day.
Language School Update
I am now halfway through my final semester of language school. I am very pleased with the quality of each of my professors and classes, which focus on different aspects of French, including written and oral comprehension and production, French phonetics, grammar and spelling, and several classes about French culture.
I have also enjoyed making new friends among my classmates. Please keep praying that the Lord will help me to be a good testimony among those who do not know Him, and pray that He will work in their hearts.
December 2012: Moving to Africa!
As the end of language school draws near, I am also making definite plans to move on to Chad. Praise the Lord that He helped me find plane tickets for a very good price! I will be flying from France to Chad on December 30-31. I have sent in my application for a visa; please pray that it will be processed and returned to me in good order. Pray for all the details that will be involved with the process of moving out of my apartment here in France and shifting my belongings (and myself!) to a new country and a new home.
While I am studying French and making plans for "the big move" to Africa, my colleagues are continuing the work of the ministry in Chad. As I write, a consultant is working with the Sara Madjingaye translation team to edit a portion of the Old Testament in that language; another consultant has met with two other language groups within the last couple months to edit portions of the New Testament. A literacy teachers' training workshop is scheduled for the upcoming weeks. Please pray that the Lord will give wisdom to the consultants, translators, and literacy teachers, and that good progress would be made on each project. Pray for unity and spiritual growth among the Chadian churches.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support!
In Christ's Service,
Anna Beth Wivell
Train ticket purchased!
As you know, I bought my plane tickets some weeks ago. I'll be flying out of Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, as it is about $1000 cheaper to do that than to fly out of Bordeaux. My plane leaves late in the evening, so I should have plenty of time to take the four-hour train trip from Bordeaux to Paris. When I bought my plane tickets, the winter train tickets weren't available yet, so I had to wait until today for the train ticket. I purchased it this morning, in time to get a good price and to pick a good time. I'll be leaving Bordeaux at 9:23am on December 30, and arriving at the airport in Paris at 1:41pm, with over 8 hours to spare before my plane leaves. Even though Charles de Gaulle Airport is huge, I think I will have enough time to find my gate!
You might wonder if I'll be using all those hours to do any sightseeing. Probably not, unless the weather is unusually warm. December 30 will likely be very cold in Paris, and I'll be on my way to Chad's tropical climate so will not be taking my winter coat. I will have a jacket to get me through the colder places, but I probably won't want to spend much time in the European winter weather. I will have things with me that I can do to fill the time, so I am sure I won't be bored!
I have begun the paperwork to get a visa to Chad, and hope to have it ready to send soon. Please pray that there will be no problems with that process.
You might wonder if I'll be using all those hours to do any sightseeing. Probably not, unless the weather is unusually warm. December 30 will likely be very cold in Paris, and I'll be on my way to Chad's tropical climate so will not be taking my winter coat. I will have a jacket to get me through the colder places, but I probably won't want to spend much time in the European winter weather. I will have things with me that I can do to fill the time, so I am sure I won't be bored!
I have begun the paperwork to get a visa to Chad, and hope to have it ready to send soon. Please pray that there will be no problems with that process.
Expressing opinions in a foreign language
This is the main theme of my Wednesday morning class. Actually the class is called "oral expression" and the idea is to learn to express ourselves in French. I had a similar class last semester (though under a different name), and although sometimes a bit scary, it was very helpful. We were just starting to get to the point where we could talk about likes and dislikes and opinions, and we would talk about things like, "What were your first impressions of France?" As the semester went on, we discussed somewhat more complex questions, like, "Tell your classmates why they should visit your home town." These might sound like simple topics, but it was harder than it sounds! When learning to speak another language, concrete things are easiest to talk about, like the weather or where you are from. Likes and dislikes are usually more abstract and complex, and are therefore harder. But with practice, I think we did get at least a bit better at expressing our opinions.
This semester my oral expression class is moving beyond just describing what we think about a topic: we will also be learning how to argue for or against a position. Since this is just the second week, we have just started learning about how to do this, and haven't had much practice in it yet. Before the semester is over, I'll have to take my turn in giving a presentation before the class (and although I'm sure the experience will be good for me, I am glad all the same that we are doing them in alphabetical order, which means I'm not first on the list).
Today, however, we spent most of our time giving our opinions on some topics from the news, though not expanding too much on it yet. The first topic was to discuss a short extract from an old news article that the teacher had copied for us. When we had finished talking about that, the teacher asked if anyone had a particular news topic that they wanted to discuss. And the first topic that was suggested was ... the debate over homosexual marriage! Thankfully, our short discussion did not turn into a heated debate, but it was certainly an interesting way to start off the semester. I did have the chance to express my opinion (or maybe I should say, God's opinion, as given in His Word), which I did as concisely as I could, trying to be kind as well as truthful. Interestingly, I was the only one in the class who was not supportive of homosexual marriage, even though most of the students were from a country where it is illegal. At any rate, at least the topic gave me a chance to share with the class that I am a Christian, though it wasn't the way I'd planned! One never knows what sorts of opportunities the Lord may bring our way!
Please keep praying that the Lord will help me to be a good testimony to my classmates and professors.
This semester my oral expression class is moving beyond just describing what we think about a topic: we will also be learning how to argue for or against a position. Since this is just the second week, we have just started learning about how to do this, and haven't had much practice in it yet. Before the semester is over, I'll have to take my turn in giving a presentation before the class (and although I'm sure the experience will be good for me, I am glad all the same that we are doing them in alphabetical order, which means I'm not first on the list).
Today, however, we spent most of our time giving our opinions on some topics from the news, though not expanding too much on it yet. The first topic was to discuss a short extract from an old news article that the teacher had copied for us. When we had finished talking about that, the teacher asked if anyone had a particular news topic that they wanted to discuss. And the first topic that was suggested was ... the debate over homosexual marriage! Thankfully, our short discussion did not turn into a heated debate, but it was certainly an interesting way to start off the semester. I did have the chance to express my opinion (or maybe I should say, God's opinion, as given in His Word), which I did as concisely as I could, trying to be kind as well as truthful. Interestingly, I was the only one in the class who was not supportive of homosexual marriage, even though most of the students were from a country where it is illegal. At any rate, at least the topic gave me a chance to share with the class that I am a Christian, though it wasn't the way I'd planned! One never knows what sorts of opportunities the Lord may bring our way!
Please keep praying that the Lord will help me to be a good testimony to my classmates and professors.
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