Training Translators in Chad

The last few weeks have been so exciting, and I haven't even had time to tell you about it!  Yes, I'm back from my second visit to Chad, and the Lord gave me a great trip!

Since I'd been to Chad just 7 months before, my surroundings were more familiar, and even some of the people were familiar.  The Chadians gave me a warm African welcome, assuring me that they are still praying for me and hope I'll soon be able to move to Chad long-term (I hope so too!).

My earlier workshops in various countries have been mainly translation checking workshops, where the translators and consultants go over a first draft of a translation and edit it together to ensure it is accurate, clear and natural.  On this trip, I got to participate in a different part of a consultant's work: training translators.  23 Chadian translators from 7 different language groups came to learn how to translate the Bible into their own languages.  They learned about basic principles of Bible translation, how to handle common translation difficulties, how to study the biblical text, and how to examine their own language.  Some of the translators were new, and some were seasoned veterans of translation work.  They were a great group to work with - willing to learn and ready to discuss and ask questions.

Since I am a new consultant, I mostly observed the other consultants as they taught, so I can see how to conduct a training session, and someday do it myself.  I did teach one session (see photo), which went quite well.  I learned a lot from attending the workshop, and I look forward to more training workshops in the future, as the Lord provides opportunities.

Although the workshop took up much of my time each day, I was able to experience more of the culture and interact with some of the people too.  I attended two churches that I didn't visit last time, met some new people and got better acquainted with others.  I am learning to recognize more names and faces of the Chadian people.  I look forward to the day when I can come back with a better grasp of French - and eventually, of some of their languages - so I can talk with them better!

Besides the translator training workshop, I experienced several more "firsts" for me in Africa:

• My first rainy-season visit to Africa (very green vegetation, and frequent rainstorms)
• My first - and second - flat tires on African roads (caused only relatively minor delays)
• My first time to fly on Ethiopian Airlines and visit the airport in Addis Ababa (a good experience)
• My first taste of camel meat - at a French restaurant in the capital (it was tasty!)

The flight back to the US was long, but thankfully I was able to sleep relatively well on the plane - especially good, since I had to leave the next day for a missions conference at a supporting church in Connecticut!  But the Lord kept me alert as I drove, and helped me to share what the Lord has been doing since I last visited the church.  I was able to show them some very fresh photos of Chad, too - some of them taken only a few days earlier!

Lord willing, it will not be long before I will be back in Chad.  As of today, my support is at nearly 90%, and I still hope and pray to reach full support by the end of the year and start language school in January.  I will very soon begin the application process for French classes at a university in France.  Please pray for all the details that need to be worked out for that to happen, if it is the Lord's timing.

You can view more photos of my trip by clicking here.