Here's a testimony from one of our projects in southeast Asia:
When the complete Bible for this language group was dedicated, all 12,000+ copies were sold before the dedication service was over. The consultants had pastors leaning over to them during the service wanting to know how to get more copies printed. They were disappointed when the consultants explained that they would first have to carefully read the whole Bible and note any punctuation or other mistakes because the second printing needed to weed out all the errors. Later the consultants returned to their home area and had a pastor who had not been part of the project come and beg them to hurry up the second printing. He said that their Bible was perfect for his people.
It's been almost a year now since I flew to the Central African Republic for my first glimpse of a Bible translation project. Ever since then, I've been working hard on deputation and waiting for another opportunity to gain further hands-on experience with a translation project. I'm excited to report that arrangements are now being made for me to join two experienced BI translation consultants for a translation workshop in Asia this coming spring. Lord willing, I'll be leaving on February 10 and arriving back in the US on March 4. Please pray for good weather and no problems with visas, customs, delayed flights, or other issues.
I'm anticipating that this trip to Asia will be beneficial for several reasons. First, it will provide hands-on experience and training in translation consultant work that will be vital for my future ministry. Second, the workshops will be in English rather than in French (which is the language used for most of our African projects). Since I haven't yet had formal language training in French, I'm not yet fluent enough to communicate easily in a French-speaking workshop without an interpreter. So being in an English-speaking workshop will enable me to participate and understand much more readily. Third, it will provide additional cross-cultural experience that will be helpful in a variety of ways.
This will be my first trip to eastern Asia (I went on a tour of the Holy Lands in 2005, but that was a very different section of Asia, i.e. western Asia). So please pray for me as I adjust to an unfamiliar culture for several weeks. Pray also for the workshops that will be conducted during the weeks we are there. We are planning to work with the national translators in checking the books of Psalms and Proverbs, in preparation for those books to be included with the publication of the New Testament in that language.
I got back to Indiana several days ago, after finishing up all the meetings and other business at the office in Grand Rapids. It was an intense two days, but we got much accomplished. During the "Chad Summit", as it was termed, I learned a great deal about what is going on in the field of Chad. Please pray for our translation projects there: Rito (NT), Dagba (NT), Day (OT), Ngamh (OT), Sara Madjingaye (OT), Sara Kaba Naa (OT), Sara Kaba Dem (OT), and Tumag (OT). There is much spiritual warfare going on in that country, and we desperately need the Lord's help and your prayers!
Before I left, I was able to join all my friends at the BI office for their annual Christmas party. We even had professional actors come from a local theatre to present a play for us, called "A Christmas of Many Parts". In the photo at the left, the man in the blue (playing the part of the director of a Christmas pageant) explains to his cast members that 8 other members of the cast won't be coming, and the 5 of them will just have to make up for it by doubling up on different parts. It was pretty funny to watch! Anyhow, the evening was a lot of fun.
I'm also excited to report that things are coming together for me to go to Asia with a team of consultants, to assist and gain experience with some of our projects there. Since the workshops will be in English, I'll be able to participate much more than I could in a workshop in Africa, where the workshops would be in French (I haven't been to French language school yet and am not yet fluent in that language). I will probably be leaving around Feb 9 and returning around March 8 or 9. Today I finished filling out the necessary forms for a visa application; please pray that this process will go smoothly.
Well, I'm sitting here at the Bibles International Headquarters in Grand Rapids, and in one piece, praise the Lord! When I left Chicago very early this morning, the weather was cloudy but not one flake of snow was falling. But as I got closer to Grand Rapids, the weather began getting worse, and by the time I reached the office, it was snowing steadily and the roads were getting slippery in places. But I did not run into any problems.
It does feel very strange to be here (but in a nice way, because I do enjoy visiting my friends and coworkers here!), especially at this time of year, since my previous trips to the office have all been during the summertime. The "Chad Summit" meeting sessions start tomorrow at 8:15am, US Eastern Time. My main responsibility during the sessions will be to take notes on the discussions - not always as easy a task as it sounds, so please pray!
As I've been making my way up to Grand Rapids, others of my coworkers have been traveling from various other corners of the globe - Africa, Asia, Haiti, and other places. Some are coming to participate in the "Chad Summit" meetings, others are going to their respective homes. Please pray for travel safety for all of them as well!
It was snowing again when I got up this morning. Just a few minutes ago, I took this photo of the driveway of the guest house where I'm staying. That's my old maroon Buick, sitting there getting covered with a blanket of snow! It's still snowing as I write, though it seems to be lightening up just a little.
With the Christmas season coming on, I'm taking a few weeks' break from calling pastors. Most churches have too many Christmas events going on right now to think about their missionary budgets and calendars! After Christmas, I'll be back calling pastors as usual, and Lord willing, I'll be able to fill in the few gaps that I have left in my 2010 calendar.
But in the meantime, what will I be doing? You can be sure that I won't spend all my time sitting around playing computer games (though those can be nice for a study break once in a while)! One thing I'd like to focus on during the next few weeks is my French studies. I'd been using some free material from the internet for some time, but had been getting more and more frustrated with it, as it was usable but slow and cumbersome, and not really suited for my learning style. But most of the really good material is quite expensive. I'd been keeping my eyes open for something better that was within my price range, and was contemplating purchasing some audio CDs when I stumbled across two other websites* with free material, one offering video courses and the other with short French lessons by podcast. These are both much less cumbersome and much better suited for my learning style, so I'm hoping to make some real progress in French over the next few weeks.
Besides studying French, I'll be spending some time working on some of my ongoing ministry projects. All the BI consultants - even new, less experienced ones like myself - participate in helping to develop various tools to assist our consultants and national translators (don't worry, all my work is checked by an experienced consultant before it is used for an actual translation). I'm currently working on several tools related to the books of 2 Chronicles, 1 Kings, and Esther. I'm also working on a study of Solomon's Temple, which will help our translators as they work through translating the difficult passages on the Temple's construction in 1 Kings 5-7 and 2 Chronicles 2-4. Finally, I also have several books that I'm reading to help prepare myself for the ministry of a translation consultant. So I'll have plenty to do even when I'm not traveling from church to church!
This past weekend was the last deputation meeting of 2009 for me. I had a great time at a mini-missions conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Pontiac, Illinois. The DVD that I usually show, The Tumag Story, wouldn't work, but otherwise my ministry presentations went smoothly. The other missionaries who were there were a couple who are planting a church in southeast Iowa, and a traveling evangelist and his wife. I always enjoy getting to know other missionaries and hearing their burden for their field and for the lost, and this time was no different. I was challenged again about the need to share the gospel whenever the Lord brings an opportunity to do so.
I leave Chicago next Tuesday (December 15) to head up to the BI Headquarters in Grand Rapids to participate in a two-day strategic planning meeting for the mission field of Chad, where I will begin my full-time ministry. Please pray for the discussions and decisions that will be made during this meeting. Also, pray for good weather as I travel during this chilly time of year! I still get nervous every winter about driving on snowy, icy roads (by the way, today I saw my first snow of the season. I'm sure there will be plenty more before the spring comes!).
Looking ahead to 2010, praise the Lord that my schedule is quite full with meetings. I still have some fairly large gaps in April and early May that I would like to fill, so keep praying for more opportunities!
Only a few hours after I sent my prayer letter, I received an email from the pastor of a church I visited in October, informing me that his church has voted to give $1,000 toward my linguistics classes next summer! Another church I visited recently was also hoping to raise a substantial amount toward my tuition need. Between these two gifts, other gifts that have come in, and the money I had already saved up, I'm pretty sure that I already have the amount I need for tuition! Also, I've had two good offers of rent-free housing in the Greenville area for the summer, so all have to do is to choose between the two! I think the Lord is reminding me again that He is well able to provide my needs!
The application process is continuing without any major difficulties so far. I am just waiting now for the last of the paperwork to be processed. Thanks for your continued prayers as I plan and prepare for a busy summer of classes.
A: I praise the Lord that He has provided all my monthly support needs! Please contact me by email if you would like to know about any additional needs I may have.
Besides my personal needs, each of the Bible translation projects with which BI is working needs funds to cover the cost of printing thousands of copies of the Scriptures. If you would like to know more about the financial needs of specific projects, please email me or email inbox@biblesint.org for further information.
I’ve almost reached the end of my fall series of meetings. Since I left Indiana on October 10, my car and I have traveled through at least portions of 11 different states. So you can understand why by the time I got to Chicago, I was completely exhausted! But I was able to take a few days off to recuperate, and am now feeling much better, which is a good thing, since the year is not quite over yet!
NEW ENGLAND, ETC.
The majority of my meetings this month were in Connecticut and Massachusetts. I even managed a quick trip to Maine to catch up with everyone at my sending church. I then stopped for a meeting in eastern Ohio before heading still further west to Chicago, where I am staying now at a church’s missionary guest house. Praise the Lord for good meetings and for working in people’s hearts. At one church in particular, I was thrilled to see the church folk getting excited about Bible translation ministry. In fact, I felt that by the end of the evening, they were almost as excited and burdened for the ministry as I am!
WRAPPING UP THE YEAR
I have two more ministry-related events for the year. The first is a missions conference this weekend in Pontiac, Illinois. Please pray for the Lord to work in hearts once again. Then on December 15, I’ll be heading up to the B.I. Headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to meet with various coworkers, which will involve important planning for the field of Chad. Actually, it’s kind of neat how the Lord worked out my schedule for this event. I hadn’t planned on going up to Grand Rapids again until at least the middle of 2010. But I had made plans to stay in Chicago to participate in this upcoming missions conference, and this is about the closest to Grand Rapids that my deputation travels usually take me. The Lord knew my schedule before I did, and worked it out so that I would already be fairly close by!
EXCITING DAYS FOR B.I.
These are thrilling days to be a part of the ministry of B.I., as we have so many projects that are nearly finished. Today I learned that the copies of the New Testament for a language in Asia have finally arrived in the country. Another New Testament for Asia is being printed right now. And the Waali people of Ghana, West Africa, are waiting to receive the shipment of their complete Bibles. Praise the Lord that thousands more people will finally have the Word of God available to them in their own language!
KEEP PRAYING!
I have not learned specifically of any new support this month, so my support level is still at 41%. But I know there are still churches and individuals that are considering taking me on, so I’m waiting on the Lord. Over the next couple months, many churches will be evaluating their missions budgets and voting on new missionaries. Please pray that the Lord will lead some of them to take me on for support. And continue to pray that the Lord will raise my support to 60% by January, if that is His will. Thanks for praying!
