Anne and her co-workers
Author Archives: Ken & Anne
Sacrificial Support
Ken with two grandsons
Ken just returned from his trip to SouthEast Asia. We’ll tell more stories about that in our monthly newsletter. Although suffering from jet lag, he spent the next morning with our grandkids who missed him very much while he was gone!
Christine & Anne
While he was away, Anne was able to spend a week with our daughter, Christine. She lives on the other side of the country, so it was a special treat to be with her. We only get to be with each other a few times a year.
When I think about how much we miss our children and grandchildren I remember how kind our parents were as we lived far from them in Indonesia for so many years. They missed those critical growing up years but supported us in spite of their loss.
Support comes in different modes. It usually means a sacrifice on someone’s part.
Thank you for your sacrificially prayer and giving month after month. Your support is immeasurable.
Keyboards for ALL!
I like that our partner organization, SIL, has created something necessary for so many people around the world. With technology often favoring well known languages it leaves millions of people at a loss when they want to use the computer.
We love languages! God created them all! Being able to type a language is important for Bible Translation.
So proud that this is now available. Give it a try here if you can use it for your own work!
Serving the Easiest Way
Photo by Mike Tinnion on Unsplash
Food….one of our most basic of needs is right up there with water and air. A person can go without food for about three weeks and up to eight weeks if drinking water. Most of us, gratefully, eat every few hours when awake.
Eating food is a basic need, but when we are weary or hurting it can become one of the hardest things to supply for ourselves. The act of planning what to eat, shopping for the food, putting it away, cooking it, eating it and then cleaning it all up can look daunting when tired or stressed out.
I remember when my daughter was in college and juggling taking a heavy load of classes as well as work and keeping up with relationships. She wished there was a pill she could take that would fill her stomach up. Cooking seemed like too much work.
On the other hand, preparing food for others can be one of the easiest ways to care for them. Preparing food from home or even purchasing it from a restaurant is a relatively easy way to give. It’s easier than having a difficult conversation where there is stress involved. It’s easier than talking deeply with people when a loved one is dying. It’s easier than sitting quietly with someone who is mourning and we don’t know how to make it better for them.
This past week found me in the kitchen cooking for a family. The instructions were that each meal needed to feed 10-12 people because there were many in their large family coming and going. Coming and going because their mother, wife, and friend was suffering terribly and could not lovingly prepare meals for her own family anymore.
After I delivered a meal to this family, the husband showed me some of their beautiful yard. But then I saw that weeds three feet tall grew in the garden planted by his wife just a few short months before. Too weak to clean it up and the family too busy to care for it, the weeds are growing with the same speed as the tumor in her head. One looks messy, the other will kill unless there is a miracle. They still pray and hope each day.
Sometimes the easiest gifts are one of the most necessary. So dozens have offered to bring meals to this family so that they can serve and survive. The harder part is the next gift: providing something else necessary to live but harder to give. It might be time, it might be mowing a lawn, it might be cleaning out a chicken coop, it might be weeding that garden….
Today I’m so grateful for all who have sacrificially given to me. It might have come easy for you. It might not have been easy.
Thank you. We try to pass on your generosity to others as able.
P. S. Just before posting this I saw that our friend has died and is now in the presence of God.
Equip, Translate, Print, Done!
Click here to watch a short video highlighting Wycliffe’s goal of changing lives in 25 communities in 18 different countries this summer.
The link we lead you to more information and how you can give and pray.
This verse was so special to me as I read it this morning:
“My heart is confident in you, O God…no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart.” Psalm 108:1
When my heart is heavy with the burdens of others, I will try to sing God’s praises today! Oh that others could know these words in their own language!
Thank you for helping end Bible Poverty!
Celebrating 35 years of Marital Bliss
Got your attention? Anyone who has been in any kind of relationship knows that there are good days and bad days. We’ve had our own ups and downs, but 35 years ago we committed to each other publicly and plan on staying married for many more if God so wills it!
We’re taking time to REST and just enjoy each other’s company this week. 35 years ago, when we were newly married, we had moved from the east coast to Wyoming. Camping in the many national parks out west became the norm for us. While we no longer sleep in tents, we are enjoying the Great Smoky Mountain National Park this week. It’s so close to our home, yet Anne had never spent any time here.
Thank you for your care when we are working and when we are getting rejuvenated.
How will you rest this year?
The Love of a Prophet
Photo by Emmanuel Phaeton on Unsplash
I’ve been reading the Minor Prophets the last couple of weeks. Lots of gloom and doom mark these pages! Warnings, threats and more warnings from different men across the ages.
It must have been hard to be a prophet. I’m not sure I could have done it. I want to be liked too much!
But what has struck me this time reading is the love and hope that comes across from each of them save Jonah (recently called “The very worst prophet”).
Hosea 1:10 God, through Hosea, reminds people of His covenant with His people which will not be broken: “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured…”
Joels 2:13 implores them to “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from seeing calamity.”
Amos repeats the phrase from God “…yet you have not returned to me” over and over again, but then calls out “Seek me and live!”
This is the kind of follower of God that I want to be. While I want to warn, I really want to love.
Giving people God’s words in their heart language is one of the best ways I can love people.
Thank you for your continued support both prayerfully and financially that makes this possible!!
Some Good News!
Jaars in Waxhaw, NC
Our partner organization, Jaars, has 4 days a year that they open up for a great touring experience for the whole family! You can also come daily for a tour in the morning, but Jaars Day is the best way to see their facilities.
Here are some of the things you can do that day:
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Watch a pilot demonstrate the precision and skill needed to operate a mission airplane or helicopter overseas.
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Come see how people get Internet in the rainforest. Record your voice into the JESUS film.
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Learn how God’s Word is changing lives, how Internet access helps translation work, and much more.
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Chat with JAARS people on our campus. They’re pilots, software developers, boat captains, trainers, translators, and more—people who’ve served all over the world. And they all have stories.
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Hop into a missionary plane or helicopter. Or pile into a four-wheel-drive vehicle and enjoy our off-road course. Either way, you’ll get a taste of how Bible translators reach remote villages. Come early! Rides in both aircraft and the vehicle course are limited, and tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. (waiver required)
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Visit our museums to take a close look at the heart of our work: language, culture, and Bible translation. Come trace the history of writing. Or learn the importance of minority languages, and how former Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas made a difference. Check out the newest exhibit about Scripture Celebration.
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Shop at our gift shop and take home a souvenir of your day at JAARS. Your gift shop purchase helps JAARS make Bible translation possibleCome June 9, 2018 from 9am-4pm!
Check out these Bible portions that were dedicated in April 2018!
You helped with this!
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Garap New Testament dedicated on March 31, 2018.
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Location: Chad
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Population: 12,000
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Ramuki* New Testament dedicated on April 7, 2018.
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Location: Southeast Asia
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Thudanga* New Testament dedicated on April 8, 11 and 18, 2018.
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Location: South Asia
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Population: 500,000
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Vagla Bible dedicated on April 21, 2018.
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Location: Ghana
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Population: 16,000
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Lemi New Testament dedicated on April 24, 2018.
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Location: Myanmar (Bible Society of Myanmar)
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Population: 20,000
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Koromfé New Testament dedicated on April 28, 2018.
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Location: Burkina Faso
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Population: 196,000
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Soli New Testament dedicated on April 28, 2018.
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Location: Zambia
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Population: 54,400
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For the second year in a row, Wycliffe USA “has been recognized on Forbes’ 2018 list of America’s Best Midsize Employers, ranking No. 310 out of 500 companies.” We find it a great organization to serve!
Thank you for partnering with us to make a difference in the world ending Bible Poverty!
Dinner with Jesus!
Bible.com
This just in from Wycliffe USA:
Marketing has created a new, 7-day YouVersion devotional called “Dinner with Jesus” to go along with our quarterly theme, Feasting on Scripture. |
Jesus often used meals to engage with people and teach important lessons. And he continues to call us to his table to feast on who he is and learn more about him through his Word. Jesus’ example provides an opportunity to invite friends, outcasts and even enemies to know God’s story of love and salvation. |
You can find “Dinner with Jesus” by searching the YouVersion app or accessing the devotional online at Bible.com. Be sure to share the devotional with your family and friends too! |
Worth VS Time/Effort/Finances
In the 27 plus years that we have worked for Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT), we have never heard the phrase “They are not worth it”.
When we joined WBT in 1990, we shared that over 2000 Bibles still needed translating. That number has crept up and down over the years.
Up? How can that be? As language workers toil alongside nationals, they often find that languages that they previously thought were similar to another language, have big enough differences in their thoughts and meaning so that they need their own translation. What good is giving them a Bible when they are no closer to understanding it than before? So sometimes translation needs go up.
Down? Well, we expect the numbers to go down as many people work hard at giving God’s words in their own heart language and there are new publications like the 27 listed above.
Why do we care? Because God’s words are vibrant and living and give information about a God who wants to be in relationship with people.
I want everyone to have what I have every day: A Bible I can read or listen to in my own language.
This morning I wrote this verse to a dear friend who is struggling with some issues:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
What a verse of HOPE! I could share that because we both know English.
We just celebrated some recent Bible Translations. Look at the image above. Check out how many speakers are in the Abadi language. Then check out how many are in the Yemba language. Big difference, yes?
Both need God’s words. They are both worth the time, effort and financial input to make it happen.
Won’t it be great to meet people from both languages groups one day in heaven? You are making this possible! Thank you!
The Haugh Herald 