Christmas 2010

I haven't updated my blog for a while because there hasn't been much to report, but now that the holidays are mostly over and my trip to Chad is imminent, I thought it was time to let my readers know what's been going on in the last couple weeks.

Christmas was great! I spent it at my grandmother's home in Pennsylvania, along with my parents. We very rarely get to spend Christmas together, so it was a real blessing. We were even able to keep some of the family traditions that we practiced when I was a kid, although we were thousands of miles away from the area where I spent most of my childhood Christmases. As well as celebrating the birth of our Lord, we had some extra-special gifts this year. My dad received BibleWorks 8, a Bible software program that is especially good for doing research in the original languages. And I received a Kindle - a portable device for storing and reading electronic books. I love it already - it is great to be able to have reading material close at hand, without taking up lots of suitcase space.

A couple of days after Christmas, my parents and I drove down to my home base in southern Indiana (taking separate cars but meeting for meals and an overnight stay on the way). My departure from Pennsylvania was delayed for a few hours when I stopped to pump up my tires and found that one was flat. In the process of fixing it, the mechanic found that one of the brake pads badly needed to be replaced as well. Praise the Lord that these problems were discovered before they caused an accident! Finally I got going, and made it back to Indiana with no other major problems.

Preparations for Chad are going well. My suitcases are already mostly packed, primarily with items to store with the missionaries there until I move to Chad permanently. Please pray that I won't forget any important details! Pray also for me as I prepare mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for this trip, and that I will learn many important and useful things on this trip that will help me as I prepare to move to the mission field.

One final praise. After watching my support percentage dip from 63.9% to 63.3% (due to increases in insurance costs), an increase from a current supporter has brought my support back up to 64.1%. Praise the Lord! Many churches will be considering their missions budgets over the next few months, so please continue to pray. The Lord is providing!

Weekend in New York City

I got back today from my last meeting of the year, on Long Island, New York! It was my first time to go into New York City (as far as I can remember), though I've driven through the city on the interstates once or twice, on the way to other places. I arrived on Friday afternoon, met the pastor and wife, several church members, and other missionaries in the Bronx. They were there to move a young BMM appointee couple into their new lodgings behind the auditorium of the church they will be helping to plant. I had never met them before, so it was neat to briefly get to know this missionary couple.

After we got all the missionaries' stuff moved into their apartment, I went with the pastor, wife and son, and a church member into Manhattan for a tour of New York City (via subway, ferry, and lots of walking!). I got to see the Statue of Liberty, Grand Central Station, Times Square, St Patrick's Cathedral, and Rockefeller Center with the huge Christmas tree. In spite of the December chill and the busy Friday night, I really enjoyed seeing these famous sights. I have posted some photos of my trip here.

The next day, I joined the pastor and several other church members for their nursing home ministry. I didn't have any responsibilities here, just sang Christmas songs with the church folks and greeted some of the residents. In the evening, I gave a devotional at the church's ladies Christmas party, which went fairly well. On Sunday, I gave presentations in Sunday School and the evening service, as well as introducing myself in the morning service. All those presentations went very well. Thank you to all who prayed for my weekend ministries! I have no more meetings scheduled until after I return from my survey trip to Chad.

When I got back to Pennsylvania today, two important things were waiting for me: my passport - complete with my visa for my trip to Chad - and my meds to protect me against malaria and traveler's "bugs". Praise the Lord that all the official paperwork is now in place for this trip! Now I can focus on personal preparations for the trip, including packing (as time draws closer).

Thank you for your faithful prayer support!

Update on Preparations for Chad Trip

This morning's task was to get my shots for my trip to Chad. I had a 9:00 appointment at a travel health clinic in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, about half an hour away. I was ready to go in plenty of time ... but then my car wouldn't start! My dad tried to jump it using their car and jumper cables, but it still wouldn't start. The same thing happened to me a few weeks ago, and that time it eventually started again - but we didn't have time to wait, so Dad graciously dispensed with his own study plans for the morning and drove me to the clinic.

Once there, the process was simple enough, as it usually is, though I won't say it was painless! I came back with three little holes in my arm, which will protect me against polio, meningitis, and tetanus. I will pick up other medications to prevent malaria and fight "traveler's bugs" on Monday.

When we returned, I tried my car again and it still wouldn't start, so I called AAA. Their sturdier jumper cables and greater experience successfully got it started, but the AAA driver said the battery was effectively dead (or "flat" as they say in Australia) and should be replaced. So I drove my car to the mechanic again - the third time in the past month. While writing this post, I got a call from the mechanic that it is fixed. Praise the Lord that it was simple this time! But please pray that I will have no more car troubles for a while!

Also, praise the Lord that Bibles International received my passport with my Chad visa, and they sent it on to me, so I should have it in my hands any day now.

What Does a Consultant Do All Day?

I have discussed various aspects of a consultant's work in previous posts, attempting to give you a picture of what a consultant's ministry entails. But this week, one of my coworkers in Chad did such a good job of summarizing a consultant's work that, at the risk of being redundant, I obtained his permission to quote it.

First, though, let me refresh you on a few basic details. Normally in our translation work, it is the mother-tongue speakers of a language who actually translate the Bible. They act as the experts in their language, making sure that the translation is clear and natural. They work with experts in the biblical language and Bible translation, who help them make sure it is accurate according to the original languages.

Now, with that in mind, let's see how this works...

Periodically, throughout the year, the translator will meet with the translation consultant. These meetings or workshops, as we call them, are intense and last from a few days to two weeks. This is when the translation really comes to its final form.

However, before the translation workshop takes place the translation consultant prepares for it ahead of time. Before the workshop, the consultant previews the translation work. Now, it is important to keep in mind that normally the consultant does not know the language that he is checking. So how does he check the work?

The consultant checks the translation with the help of the Interlinear. The Interlinear is simply a copy of the translation that includes a translation of each word in French underneath. By looking at the French words the consultant can understand the translation very well. As he compares the Interlinear translation with the Hebrew or Greek Biblical text, he makes notes where the translation may not be accurate.

Then the translator and consultant make corrections during the workshop. The consultant goes through his list of notes and discusses the possible translation problems with the translator. Sometimes the mistakes are simple, like an omission of a period. At other times, an entire phrase needs to be changed because the translator misunderstood what the Biblical text was saying. The workshop is one of the most important steps in the translation process because it is at this time that the translation is put in its final form.

The cycle repeats after the workshop. The consultant prepares for another language group. He then meets with them to discuss corrections.

The work of a consultant is a full-time job. A full schedule would include about six two-week workshops per year. Considering preparation time, travel, and managing other translation and ministry tasks, the hours fill up. And this is a major problem today in translation ministry world wide: a shortage of consultants.

This helps explain a little of what I do all day. Yes, much of my time is spent alone at my desk, but not all of it. Being on the field allows us the opportunity to preach in the churches, to teach in the Bible school, and to share the good news of Jesus with those around us. This is what we do, and we are excited to do it. Thank you helping us so that we can.

I hope this helps to give you another glimpse at what I will be doing on the field. Yes, I will be spending a lot of time studying and preparing for workshops, but I will also be involved in church ministries (no, not preaching, however!) and sharing Christ with those around me. Currently, I spend most of my days on deputation activities and preparing myself for consultant work. Although this is very important too, I am eager for the day when I will be able to devote my full attention to my ministry in Africa. Thank you all for your support and prayers!

LEFT: Two Bibles International translation consultants hard at work in a translation workshop in Africa.

Country Profile: Benin

Some Facts and Figures:

• The capital city of Benin is Porto-Novo.
• The population is 9 million.
• With a land size of about 113,000 square kilometres, Benin is about the size of the US state of Pennsylvania, and half the size of the Australian state of Victoria.
• The official language is French, but there are over 50 indigenous languages spoken in the country.
• According to the Joshua Project website, about 44% of Beninese people follow ethnic religions (which includes voodoo). 35% ascribe to some form of Christianity, about 60% of which are Roman Catholic. Syncretism (i.e. combining religions) between ethnic religions and Christianity is very common. About 21% are Muslim.
  

Bibles International in Benin
We are currently working on translating the Bible into the Dendi language of northern Benin. Most of the people in this language group are Muslim. Different resources vary widely on the number of speakers of this language group: one resource says there are about 32,000 speakers (this figure is from 1995); another says 139,000.

The people of Benin need to be able to read the truth of God's Word. Will you pray for our Dendi translation team?

Praise from the Kabiyé NT for Togo

The Kabiyé is a language spoken by over a million people*, primarily in Togo. Bibles International is currently in the finishing stages of translating the New Testament into this language. It is so exciting when a translation reaches this point, but it is also a matter of prayer, because it means that BI will soon need to find enough money to print thousands of copies, amounting to thousands of dollars. But we are all praising the Lord for His provision for the Kabiyé people, because through a single gift of over $40,000, there are now enough funds to print the Kabiyé New Testament! Soon the Kabiyé people will have the Word of God in their own language.

This is a very exciting time to be a part of Bibles International, as we now have more Bible translations at or near completion than at any other time in our history. Four translations have been printed in the past year. Please continue in prayer for the 10 translations (including Kabiyé) that are scheduled for printing within the next 12 months.

On a personal note, my monthly support is still holding steady, but my support estimate has been adjusted slightly due to increased insurance costs. Thankfully, it is not a large increase, but enough to change my support percentage from 63.9% to 63.3%. Thank you for your continued prayers!

* This figure is according to the Joshua Project website.

Tickets to Chad!

Plane tickets to Chad have been purchased! Here is the schedule as it currently stands (all times are according to the location's time zone):

• Leave Louisville, KY, at 3:20 pm on Jan 7. Fly 1 hour 17 minutes. Arrive in Chicago, IL, at 3:37 pm. Layover: 2 hours 44 minutes.
  
• Leave Chicago at 6:21 pm on Jan 7. Fly 8 hours 19 minutes. Arrive in Paris, France, at 9:40 am on Jan 8. Layover: 6 hours 30 minutes.
  
• Leave Paris at 4:10 pm. Fly 5 hours 40 minutes. Arrive in N'djamena, Chad, at 9:50 pm.
• Probably take a bus from N'djamena to Koumra. Another consultant will be traveling with me for safety reasons. I'll remain with the missionaries there in Chad for nearly a month, and go back to N'djamena by bus or MAF plane.
  
• Leave N'djamena at 11:45 pm on Feb 5. Fly 5 hours 50 minutes. Arrive in Paris at 5:35 am on Feb 6. Layover: 7 hours 20 minutes.
  
• Leave Paris at 12:55 pm. Fly 9 hours 31 minutes. Arrive in Chicago at 3:26 pm. Layover: 3 hours 19 minutes.
  
• Leave Chicago at 6:45 pm. Fly 1 hour 13 minutes. Arrive in Louisville at 8:58 pm.

Total round-trip flight time is 31 hours 50 minutes, plus 19 hours and 53 minutes of layovers. Total with layovers: 51 hours 22 minutes. And that's just the travel to and from N'djamena, not counting the long trips between N'djamena and Koumra! Please pray for good weather and smooth connections at all these places.

A Church with a Great Heritage

I had a great meeting yesterday in Wingdale, New York, at a church that was founded in 1757. It is is the oldest continuously operating Baptist church in the state. Having grown up on a mission field where few Independent Baptist churches are much older than 30 years old, I found myself rather in awe of a church that is over 250 years old. What an amazing heritage!

I am now staying with a church member, but will be leaving for Bath, New York, tomorrow morning. On Wednesday, I will present my ministry for the last time until after Thanksgiving. Thank you for praying!

Support Possibilities

As I call pastors and visit churches, I so often hear the words, "We can't take on new missionaries right now" that it is easy to wonder whether there are any churches out there who are adding on new missionaries. Yet, I know that God is not in a recession and is well able to provide my needs, so I keep on calling, visiting, and trusting Him ... and trying to be patient! But today I received an encouraging email from a missions committee member at a church I visited recently. This church is taking on new missionaries, in spite of the economy, and at least one member of the committee has caught a vision for my ministry! Please pray as this church and others seek the Lord's will in this matter.

A Weekend Out West

Well, not really out west, but at least I was at the most western end of my deputation area. I had a wonderful weekend at Good News Baptist Church in Sioux City, Iowa. I have some great connections with this church, as the founding pastor's daughter was my roommate in seminary. The church has recently graduated from missionary status, and the new pastor and his wife are dear friends of mine from college and seminary. We enjoyed great fellowship together!

I had given my presentation at this church before, in my first few months of deputation, when the church was still a CBM church plant. I was so new and "green" in deputation, but they were very gracious! They have prayed for me faithfully ever since, and the Sunday School kids send me letters and pictures almost every month. But since it's been a while since the church has seen me, we arranged for me to come again. It was such a blessing, and the offering gave strong evidence to a saying among missionaries: the smaller the church, the larger the gift. I think their gift may have been the largest love offering I've ever received - and this coming from a church of around 30-40 people! What generous people! How humbling and encouraging!

On another note, I still have no word of new committed support. Please keep praying!

Confronting the Word of God

Recently, Bibles International held its annual Harvest Dinner, where much is done to promote awareness of the needs of Bible translation. I am never able to attend because of deputation meetings, but I always hear of the results. This year the focus was Chad, so it is very close to my heart! The main speaker was Mark Seymour, a former missionary in Chad. The written transcript of his message is exciting to read! Here is an excerpt from it (click here to read the whole article):

A week after the Sara Madjingaye New Testament arrived in Chad, I decided to take an evangelistic trip with a group of Bible School students which would allow us to use and distribute the New Testaments. Many people were saved over that weekend as people heard the Gospel in their own language. On the way home, I had to stop the vehicle due to rain. When I did, the vehicle was surrounded by a whole group of tribal initiates who worship Satan. You could feel the evil and danger. The leader, a tall Sara man, came up to the passenger side window of the truck and asked the pastor for something to eat or money to buy food. The group of initiates all carried whips and they are allowed to beat those who do not help them. While I was trying to decide what to do, the pastor took one of the New Testaments, put it through the window into the face of the initiate leader. He then said “This is the Word of God. This book says what you are doing is sin and we will not give you anything or help you in any way.” I really thought that the pastor could have been a little more diplomatic! You could sense the spiritual battle going on. Then the leader gave a huge laugh and the group disappeared into the bush. It was a no nonsense battle between Satan and the Word of God! The impact of the power of the Word in the culture! The Word also impacts lives, as the pastor confronting with the Word of God in hand that day was one of the pastors who had compromised years earlier [under a country-wide persecution in the '70s]!

Back in Familiar Territory

You know you've been on deputation for a while when it seems strange to be in a familiar place! I'm back in my old stomping grounds in central Iowa, and am actually writing this from the library at Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny. This is only my second time back on the campus since I graduated from seminary in 2007, and it truly does feel odd to be back here. But at the same time, it feels really good, too! I have set up my display in the dining hall (dubbed "The Multi" when I was a student, but since then it's been renovated and renamed "Benson Hall"), and have already been able to talk to a few old and new acquaintances. This school hasn't had much exposure to BI's ministry, so pray that God will use me over the next couple weeks as I spend time on this campus.

On the deputation side of things, I've hit a rather dry period in my monthly support level. I've been at 64% for a while now. I do trust the Lord to provide, but it sure doesn't get any easier to wait for new support to come in! Please pray that I will hear of new support soon. I have been praying that my support will reach 70% by the end of this month. I only need about $200 more per month to reach that point - the equivalent of one more large supporter, or a couple of smaller ones. Thanks for praying!

The Neverending Road

I thought my trip yesterday would never be finished! I drove all the way from Cincinnatus, New York, to my home base at Shepherd's Bethel in southern Indiana - a trip of over 750 miles. Normally I would make that a two-day trip, but since I only have a few days before I have to leave again for my next deputation tour, I wanted to get home as soon as possible. So I left Cincinnatus before 5:30 AM and drove all day, finally making it home after 9:00 PM. Praise the Lord for keeping me safe again!

I'm pretty tired today (understandably!), so am taking the day off to recover and try to shake off the last remnants of the cold I had last week. But tomorrow I'll be packing again. I need to replace my summer and early fall clothes with winter gear, since I won't be back here until after Christmas. Then on Sunday I will present my ministry to Washington Baptist Church in Dillsboro, Indiana, and on Monday, I leave for a missions conference in Peoria, Illinois. Please pray for safe travels and that the Lord will use my ministry at the churches I visit.

Meeting in Dryden

Thank you for praying for me as I ministered in Dryden, New York, all day yesterday. It was a really good day! The Lord answered your prayers, and although I had a cough on Saturday, and am still coughing today, I hardly coughed at all on Sunday, though I could still feel the effects of the cold. I did a lot of talking - before, during, after, and between services - and although my voice was getting a little hoarse by the end of the day, it held out! The people asked great questions, and seemed very interested in Bible translation ministry. I hope the Lord gives me a good reason to go back there someday!

Fall in rural New York

I'm sitting here in a comfortable guest house in Cincinnatus, New York - a small, rural town about an hour south of Syracuse. I drove up here from Elyria, Ohio, earlier this week. I would have enjoyed the fall colors, except that I couldn't really see them - it was rainy, foggy, and misty the whole trip, so I couldn't see much except for the water on my windshield and the road in front of me! But at least the area around the town here has some nice fall colors, so I'm not altogether missing out.

This guest house is not only comfortable, I am also very well taken care of, as the church volunteered to provide all my evening meals. The house is well stocked with food, so I don't need to worry about other meals either! The only drawback of staying here is that, for once, Verizon's good coverage has failed me - there is no cell phone reception at all here. But I do have internet most of the time, and anyway, I don't really mind having a good excuse for not making phone calls! So I'm enjoying my days here with other tasks: getting ready for upcoming meetings, studying French, working on translation tools, and reading.

This Sunday I will be at a church not too far from here - Dryden, New York. It will be a very busy day, as I'll be speaking in Sunday School, showing a 12-minute DVD in the morning service, speaking in Junior Church, and giving my presentation in the evening service. On top of all this, I've come down with a cold - probably related to the rather sudden change in weather. It seemed that in just a few days, it changed from balmy Indian summer to autumn chill and rain. Please pray that the worst of my cold will be over by Sunday, and that the Lord will give me strength, energy, and ability to focus on my ministry there.

What if they don't have a word for that?

I'm often asked what we do when we need to translate a word in the Bible that doesn't exist in a language. The classic example is the word "snow" - people wonder how a language could have a word for snow if they've never seen it (although actually, this particular word isn't always as much of a problem as you might think - people can know what snow is without seeing it). But of course, it is true that unknown words and concepts do inevitably come up when translating the Bible. Then we face the dilemma of wanting to translate in a way that makes sense, but wanting to remain faithful to the Scriptures. Yet, there are good ways of handling these while still being faithful to the original culture and historical setting of the Bible. I'll list the main ones, with some brief examples, quoted from our Translator Training Manual. Not all of these methods will work for every case, but they are all legitimate options in at least some situations.

1. Use a descriptive phrase.
Sometimes, if there is no single word available in the language, a short phrase can be used. Here is a short example from Togo, West Africa:

In Togo, the Kabiyé translation team was looking for a word for “priest.” A previous translation had used a native Kayibé word that was the common word for the priest of fetish worship, something the Christians naturally rejected. Rather than using that word, the team used the phrase “animal sacrificer.”

This type of solution can work really well in many cases, as it did in Kabiyé, but if used too much or not done carefully, it can make the translation long and clumsy. For example, the book of Ruth frequently uses a Hebrew word, go'el, which has a technical meaning unknown to most cultures today, something like, "a widow's dead husband's male next-of-kin, who is obligated to marry her and raise up an inheritance for her" (see Deut 25:5-10). Imagine how a translation would look if the word was translated that way every time!

2. Use a foreign word with a general word.
Sometimes you can use a foreign word along with a general native word. Here is another West African example.

Consider the following example from a workshop with the Waalii Old Testament translation project in Ghana, West Africa. Psalm 104:18 says: “The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.” (KJV) The translator, in his rough draft, had used the word “rabbits” for the word “conies.” However, the creature mentioned here, called a shaphan in Hebrew, is not a rabbit, but an animal similar to the badgers that are found in the United States. The problem they encountered is that neither the badger nor the shaphan lived in Ghana. The word “rabbit” was tempting, since the Ghanaians did know about rabbits; they were also familiar with a small animal called the “grass-cutter” that was very common in Ghana. Neither the badger, rabbit, nor grass-cutter lived in rocks, however. The team finally decided to use “shaphan animals,” the foreign word from Hebrew along with the general word “animal.”

By translating with both a foreign word and a general native word, the Waalii readers will be able to at least understand that a shaphan is a type of animal, even if they don't know everything about the animal. This is often a good solution when translating specific names of plants, animals, minerals, and so on, that are unknown in the receptor culture.

3. Use a foreign word alone.
Sometimes it is possible to use a foreign word alone and still make good sense in the translation. Here's an example from the southwestern part of the Sahara Desert in Africa.

The Songhai language, spoken in Mali around the city of Timbuktu, has many words that have been borrowed from Arabic. When the need for a word for “angel” arose, the translation team found that there was an Arabic word malakah that carries that meaning and was already understood by the majority of the Songhai people. Interestingly, the word malakah is related to the Hebrew word for “angel,” which is mal’ak.

Notice that this solution worked well in Songhai because the word, although not a native word, was already familiar to the Songhai speakers.

4. Use a more general word
In some situations, a more general word can be used. Our example for this type of solution comes from English.

In Genesis 43:11, Jacob is counseling his sons about what to take to Egypt to appease the man who has taken Simeon as a prisoner in surety for their honesty. “And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds.” The word “nuts” toward the end of the verse is actually “pistachios,” a type of nut well-known in the Western World now but not known in England in the 17^th century. The KJV translators used the general word “nuts.”

This solution is often especially useful where the specific meaning of the original is unknown.

5. Use a more specific word
It certain cases, a more specific word can be used. Here is an example from Asia.

In translating the phrase, “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted” from Matthew 15:13, the Matu translator from southeast Asia had used the word “tree” in his first draft because his language had no word for the generic word “plant.” It is normally impossible to uproot a tree by hand, however. Matu has many words for different types of plants, but no general word for “plant.” After much thought, the team decided to use the word that meant “sprout,” since even though it is more specific than “plant,” every plant at some time in its life has been a sprout.

This solution can be useful in situations where the original word is very general, but the receptor language has no general word available.

I hope that gives you some idea of the various ways of handling the difficulties of translating unknown concepts. As you can see, it can be complicated, and there is no one solution that will work perfectly in every case. Thank you for your continued prayers for the wisdom of our translation teams!