For me, the month of April in Chad in particular seems to be a mixture of pleasure and trial. It is the height of “hot season”, which means constant heat and dust. Yet it is also the season for mangoes: so sweet and juicy, at their best (in my opinion) eaten fresh here in this tropical climate.
Ministry is much the same, always full of joys and hardships. We see God’s hand at work and we have many blessings and encouragements, yet there are always obstacles and discouragements. If you have ever served in a Christian ministry, I’m sure you can relate to that!
Update on Paul Yongo
Many of you have been praying for the assistant Sara Kaba Deme translator, Paul Yongo, who suffered a stroke last November. Currently he remains partially paralyzed and unable to speak, and sadly, it is unlikely at this point that his condition will improve enough to allow him to return to translation work.
One of Paul’s tasks as assistant translator was that of typist. Since most of our Chadian translators are not able to have computers, the chief translator writes out the first draft of the translation by hand. The assistant translator then types it up on a battery-powered machine that looks rather like a typewriter with a miniature screen. The text is then transferred directly from this machine into a file on a computer so that it can be printed and edited. Since Paul is now unable to do this, we knew we needed to find another person to take over for him.
Thankfully, two younger Sara Kaba Deme men have already undergone training as translators. One of them, Azor Ngamal, is a Bible school student right here in Balimba. I have started working with him to train him to be able to take over some of the tasks that Paul used to do, including the typist work. While Azor’s studies currently limit the time he has to devote to translation work, my prayer is that in time he will be able to be a great help to the Sara Kaba Deme team.
Computer Problems
In March, missionary Birch Champeon and volunteer Nathan Babcock came to Chad to upgrade the computer system in our translation center. The old computers were suffering from viruses which were making work difficult, so they brought new computers running a different operating system. Hopefully this operating system will help prevent viruses from getting into the computers in the future. It has already been a blessing to be able to share important files without the risk of sharing viruses!
Translation Update
Both the Sara Kaba Deme and Sara Kaba Naa teams have now finished, or nearly finished, corrections on all the historical books and much of the poetic books. We are encouraged by the progress that has been made, but we are aware that many of the remaining books are the most difficult, including the prophetic books and some poetic books such as the book of Job. We appreciate your continued prayers for us.
In Christ's Service,
Anna Beth Wivell
Ministry is much the same, always full of joys and hardships. We see God’s hand at work and we have many blessings and encouragements, yet there are always obstacles and discouragements. If you have ever served in a Christian ministry, I’m sure you can relate to that!
Update on Paul Yongo
Many of you have been praying for the assistant Sara Kaba Deme translator, Paul Yongo, who suffered a stroke last November. Currently he remains partially paralyzed and unable to speak, and sadly, it is unlikely at this point that his condition will improve enough to allow him to return to translation work.
One of Paul’s tasks as assistant translator was that of typist. Since most of our Chadian translators are not able to have computers, the chief translator writes out the first draft of the translation by hand. The assistant translator then types it up on a battery-powered machine that looks rather like a typewriter with a miniature screen. The text is then transferred directly from this machine into a file on a computer so that it can be printed and edited. Since Paul is now unable to do this, we knew we needed to find another person to take over for him.
Thankfully, two younger Sara Kaba Deme men have already undergone training as translators. One of them, Azor Ngamal, is a Bible school student right here in Balimba. I have started working with him to train him to be able to take over some of the tasks that Paul used to do, including the typist work. While Azor’s studies currently limit the time he has to devote to translation work, my prayer is that in time he will be able to be a great help to the Sara Kaba Deme team.
Computer Problems
In March, missionary Birch Champeon and volunteer Nathan Babcock came to Chad to upgrade the computer system in our translation center. The old computers were suffering from viruses which were making work difficult, so they brought new computers running a different operating system. Hopefully this operating system will help prevent viruses from getting into the computers in the future. It has already been a blessing to be able to share important files without the risk of sharing viruses!
Translation Update
Both the Sara Kaba Deme and Sara Kaba Naa teams have now finished, or nearly finished, corrections on all the historical books and much of the poetic books. We are encouraged by the progress that has been made, but we are aware that many of the remaining books are the most difficult, including the prophetic books and some poetic books such as the book of Job. We appreciate your continued prayers for us.
In Christ's Service,
Anna Beth Wivell
Praise God for what he is doing there, Anna! I'm so glad you are able to serve there. :-)
ReplyDeleteJim Davis, South Carolina