May Prayer Letter

Dear Prayer Supporters,

For once, this prayer letter is not about a month full of deputation meetings! Since my last prayer letter, I have been focusing on two other aspects of my preparation for ministry with Bibles International: practical experience and necessary academic training.

TENEK WORKSHOP

In the middle of May, I was able to participate in a translation workshop for the Tenek New Testament. The Tenek are an ancient Mayan people who live in Mexico. Bibles International has been working on a translation of the New Testament into their language for several years, and they already have one of the Gospels published, but they are eager to receive the whole New Testament. Sometimes the workshops for this translation are held in Mexico, and sometimes in the USA. This time, they were held in Maine. During the workshop, we finished checking the whole book of James and got started on Acts. We conducted three days of the workshop in area churches. People from the churches were able to come and observe live Bible translation in action. It was neat to see how everyone got excited about the translation ministry. I had the opportunity of leading the workshop through one full chapter of Acts. This was only the second time I had ever led a workshop, and Bible translation is very challenging work! But everyone was very gracious, and it actually went very well. Praise the Lord for His help and strength during this workshop, and please pray for me as I continue to prepare for this ministry. Pray also for the Tenek translation team as they continue translation of the Bible into their own language.

LINGUISTICS CLASS

A few days after I returned from the workshop in Maine, I drove down to Greenville, South Carolina. I’ll be here studying linguistics all summer at Bob Jones University. Yesterday, I finished (and passed) my first class: Language Learning. This class is about how to learn foreign languages effectively, with or without the help of dictionaries and formal classrooms. We studied various language teaching methods, techniques from successful language learners, how to study languages through a language helper, how children acquire their mother tongue, how adults acquire a second language, and some basic linguistics. I’m looking forward to putting it all into practice someday! This month, my classes will focus on some of the more technical aspects of linguistics. Please pray that I will learn all the material that is presented, and that I will be able to apply it effectively in my future ministry with Bibles International.

SUPPORT INCREASE

Praise the Lord for another significant increase in support this month: I am now at 58%! I only need about $50 per month more support to reach the 60% required to attend Launch Seminar in September (an important step that I must take before being cleared for the field). Thanks for your continued prayers!

In Christ's Service,
Anna Beth Wivell